This programme is open to all!

If you attended the Developing Maitri programme in January you can have a 25% discount on the regular or concession price of this programme

“Altogether on the bodhisattva path, there are ten stages, or bhumis. At each of the ten stages you are loosening up and getting more inspired, because there is less bondage of samsaric confusion or aggression. However, there is more to the bodhisattva path than purely engaging in peaceful activities or being a ‘goody-goody.’” – Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

A bodhisattva or awakened warrior is someone who is deeply committed to cultivating wisdom and compassion in order to free all beings from suffering. This path is not a hazy ideal that we try to live up to, but a well defined process of unfolding that arises naturally through meditation practice and dedication to others. 

As our practice shifts focus from self to other it could be easy to misunderstand the teachings so that the dharma becomes a way of negating our own needs. Therefore the aspiring bodhisattva must nurture the intelligence and gentleness needed to relate to situations whole-heartedly, whilst also taking into account where they are on the path. At the same time, once one has made the commitment to work for the benefit of others, there will always be opportunities for further opening and further bravery.

Against the backdrop of the complex suffering that we see around us in the 21st century, the heroism of awakened warriors-in-training is more needed than ever. The Buddhist tradition provides tremendous resources to help us retain poise and kindness amidst the most challenging of situations.

Following on from the first in the series of Mahayana weekends, we will continue to explore tonglen, or sending-and-taking meditation. We will provide some of the wider context and rationale for this much loved practice, as well as encouraging discussion and critical engagement with what it might mean to exchange oneself for others.

This programme will take place in person at the London Shambhala Meditation Centre but can also be attended online – Please contact Katrina on [email protected] if you would like to participate remotely.

About the Teachers

Rachael Cheang has been meditating since 1997 and has studying with many different spiritual groups and Buddhist teachers. She first joined Shambhala in 2014 and is currently a trustee of the London Shambhala Meditation Centre. In 2016, she did an MSc. in Mindfulness and Compassion and is now doing a PhD researching the effects of mindfulness for people with alexithymia and autism. In 2019, she had a systematic review published about the effects of mindfulness on empathy and compassion in children and adolescents. She is a British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) registered teacher, qualified to teach the 8-week Mindfulness Based Living Course and Compassion Based Living Course. She also began practicing Tai Chi in 2009 has been a qualified instructor since 2013. She lives in Northampton with her husband and their four teenagers, where she runs her own meditation group, offering classes, short courses, workshops and retreats.

Llew Watkins has been practising Buddhism for 20 years with Shambhala, as well as with teachers from the Tibetan Kagyu tradition. In his twenties he spent two and a half years in solitary meditation retreats in India and Wales. He now lives in Putney and is a writer, visual artist and academic, with an interest in the meeting point between Buddhism and science-fiction. In 2022 he co-founded Black Mountain Meditation with Jesse Watkins and Cailin Burney-O’Dowd with the mission to create accessible meditation retreats in the Black Mountains, Wales.

Timings

We do not want cost to be a barrrier to anyone attending and understand that these are challenging times financially for many people – please do not hesitate to contact us if you require a further concession.