 Introduction to the Sadhana of Mahamudra – Weekend Retreat
with Robert Gailey
May 4 / 9:00 AM - May 5 / 5:00 PM
The Sadhana of Mahamudra is a unique and treasured practice within the Shambhala community that was received and translated by the Dorje Dradül Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1968. He offered this sadhana to his students as a group practice. It communicates his realization and rouses energy to overcome the forces of materialism which cut humanity off from its true nature and potential. The sadhana also provides a pathway to tune into the energy and insight of the Nyingma and Karma Kagyü lineages of Vajrayana Buddhism that originated in Tibet. The Halifax Shambhala Centre currently offers this practice monthly on the New Moon.
This retreat is an opportunity for newer and older practitioners to deepen the experience of this sadhana through a weekend of practice, talks, and discussion. There will be four sessions, which will consist of mindfulness and awareness sitting practice, talk, discussion, and the practice of the sadhana. Participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch Saturday and Sunday.
This program has no pre-requisites. It is appropriate for anyone aspiring to take a fresh look at the world and our place in it.
Themes of the talks will include:
Encountering Lineage
Purpose and background of the Sadhana
Joining Mahamudra and Maha Ati Lineages
Lineage Figures
Instructions for Practice
Non-theism and Theism
Non-theistic devotion
Overcoming Materialism
Surrendering and Wisdom
The Charnel Ground and Shambhala
Appreciating the basic ground
Nowness and Invocation
Generosity and Letting Go
Mandala and Society
Shastri Robert Gailey will lead the program. Bob joined this community in 1974 in Boulder, Colorado when he first encountered the Dorje Dradül and this sadhana practice. He studied and practiced under his direction in Boulder and New York City. Later he was accepted as a student of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and resided at Karmê Chöling in Vermont, then Boston, and moved to Halifax in 1992. Bob was appointed as a shastri (“senior teacher”) in 2016. He currently plies the waters of business and government as an information technology architect.
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