Letter to a Friend: July 22 to August 9
Teacher: Khenpo Dr. Ngawang Jorden. For Khenpo Jorden’s bio, see http://internationalbuddhistacademy.org/about-us/khenpo-ngawang-jorden/
Sanskrit Suhṛllekha; Tibetan བཤེས་པའི་སྤྲིང་ཡིག་, shepé tring yik, Wylie bshes pa’i spring yig) — a shastra by Nagarjuna. This text belongs to Nagarjuna’s Collection of Advice.
Nagarjuna (1st – 2nd century A.D.) wrote his celebrated poem Letter to a Friend as a letter of advice to his friend King Gautamiputra.
This advice gives a concise and comprehensive introduction to the entire path and practice of Buddhism. It guides both householders and the ordained onto the path leading to liberation and enlightenment. The instructions are of special interest to those who wish to take up spiritual activity while continuing to live and work in society; they are meant to convey the whole meaning of the Dharma to the ordinary person in a language and style that are easy to understand.
Despite its short length (only 123 verses), it covers the whole Mahayana path with unusual clarity and memorable imagery; thus it is widely quoted by Tibet’s great masters and scholars in the many commentaries they have written on the Buddhist path. (From RigpaWiki)
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The Complete Path, Year 3: August 15 to September 4
Teacher: His Holiness the 42nd Sakya Trizin, Ratna Vajra Rinpoche
For information on The Complete Path, please go to http://internationalbuddhistacademy.org/7-year-study-program-2017-2023/
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Shamatha meditation retreat : September 9 to 17
Shamatha (‘calm abiding’) refers to a state of mind free of defilements, clear, calm and focused. Such a mind is necessary in the pursuit of wisdom, which is the only tool to overcome ignorance, the root-cause of all suffering. For this reason, proficiency in shamatha meditation is an essential part of the Buddhist training, regardless of which tradition one follows.
In this meditation retreat, Ven. Dhammadipa will offer instructions for the cultivation of deep states of meditative absorption based on mindfulness on the ‘in-and-out-breath’ (anapana-sati). This will be supplemented with the possibility to consult with the teacher in daily private interviews to help fine-tune the practice according to one’s needs. The course also offers Qigong and Yoga classes every day to help the body adjust to the extended periods of sitting.
Teacher: Venerable Dhammadipa
Bhante Dhammadipa was born in Czechoslovakia, where he studied Chinese literature and philosophy. He later pursued his studies in Jerusalem, Berlin and Paris, before enrolling at the Nalanda University in India to study Sanskrit and Buddhist philosophy. He then lived in Japan, Sri Lanka and Burma, studying and practicing as a Buddhist monk under renowned contemporary masters of Buddhism. One of his principal teachers was the Burmese meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw, who recognized him as his first Western disciple qualified to teach meditation.
Ven. Dhammadipa’s years of training in retreat combined with his extensive scholarly background make him an ideal teacher, able to guide students in transformative meditation practice grounded in a deep understanding of the path. Bhante has extensively taught the Dharma in both theory and practice, and led students in meditation retreats in Europe, North and South America, India, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. (More detailed biography at http://dhammadipa.info/Bio.htm.)
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For more information, or to register for any of these courses, please email us at 2register4iba@gmail.com