Retreats
Lama Kathy Wesley (Gyurme Chötsö)
WHO: Lama Kathy Wesley (Gyurme Chötsö)
WHAT: “Guidebook to Compassion: The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva”
WHEN: Nov. 3-4, 2012
WHERE: Saranam, a secluded retreat house on a hilltop just north of Elkins, W.Va.
DETAILS: The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva is a classic treasury of Mahayana advice by the Tibetan Buddhist master Ngulchu Thogme. In these 37 four-line verses, Thogme describes how a bodhisattva — a being in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition committed to attaining enlightenment for the benefit of suffering beings — would train in the path of sacred selflessness. His text begins with the bodhisattva’s lofty aspiration to benefit others, then works through the Six Perfections (generosity, ethics, patience, diligence, meditation and wisdom), which are the actions that bring about a bodhisattva’s enlightenment. Along the way, Thogme describes how a bodhisattva would respond to disappointment, loss, theft, personal injury, insult, and other painful problems of the human condition. The advice challenges our deeply-held self-centered beliefs and shows us the new possibilities opened by a life lived in the condition of love.
This seminar will cover most, if not all, the 37 verses and show a method of practicing with the verses through oral recitation and thoughtful reflection. Each session will include a question period, and meditation instruction will be given in the morning session of each day.
ABOUT LAMA KATHY: Lama Kathy serves at the Columbus Karma Thegsum Chöling Meditation Center as its practice coordinator, and travels to other Buddhist centers throughout the country to teach. She has been a student of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche since 1977. She participated in the first three-year retreat led by Khenpo Rinpoche at Karme Ling Retreat Center in upstate New York, and thus earned the title of “retreat lama.” She is a graduate of Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and lives in Newark, Ohio with her husband, Michael.
— Here is her web site.
— A video of her speaking
ARRANGEMENTS: Suggested dana for Lama Kathy is $50/day. Attending both Saturday and Sunday sessions is recommended. The teachings will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m., with a break for lunch and rest. There is no cost to stay overnight at Saranam, however donations are welcome. A warm meal will be available Friday evening. Offerings of covered dishes, soups, breakfast and snack food are requested from participants so as to share simple nutritious meals as a group. People coming from afar are welcome to stay over Sunday night as well. When Lama Kathy came to Saranam in 2009, the retreat featured warm, congenial meals and evening conversation. Saranam also has beautiful wooded trails to explore.
TO REGISTER: contact Ruth Blackwell Rogers (ruth.blackwellrogers@gmail.com; 304-636-2662) or Barbara Weaner (weaner2@gmail.com; 304-478-2123).
