You are invited to join us for this auspicious Amitabha and Phowa retreat offered by Khenpo Jigme here at Vajra Vidya Retreat Center. For this retreat, Khenpo Jigme will lead Amitabha and Phowa practice, offering oral instructions, teachings, and time for questions and answers as well as meditation sitting.
There will be a full six days of practice and teachings for this retreat. Those lodging at Vajra Vidya are recommended to arrive afternoon or evening of Saturday, April 6th, with a departure on Saturday, April 13th. The retreat will begin at 9:00am on Sunday, April 7th, and the final session will be held the morning of Saturday, April 13th.
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A Note from Khenpo Jigme:
Our world is facing many difficulties and challenges. Many people have died. There have been a lot of pandemics, wars, natural disasters, and a lot of new diseases, causing a lot of suffering and disturbing emotions. Our lives are uncertain and we don't know when our time will come.
Phowa is the most important and most profound practice to prepare and support ourselves and others for the opportunity to be reborn into Dewachen, the Pure Land of Amitabha.
Phowa is the best on Amitabha practice: Om Ami Dewa Hrih.
ཨོཾ་ཨ་མི་དྷེ་ཝ་ཧྲཱིཿ OM AMI DEWA HRIH
Before coming to retreat, please recite the Amitabha mantra. Please recite the mantra 600,000 times, or at least 100,000 times.
There are the 4 causes that lead to one's rebirth in Dewachen and this is the reason we practice Amitabha. Amitabha's practice contains the 4 causes for one's rebirth in Dewachen.
When we practice, let us remember to practice not only for ourselves, but for all mother sentient beings. We pray for those who are alive, those who are dead, beings in all realms - human, animal, higher, and lower. Let us include all mother sentient beings in our practice.
May our practice help pacify war and sickness. May all sentient beings be reborn in the blissful Pure Land of Dewachen.
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In Sutra, Phowa means Transmission of Mind or Consciousness. It is stated in the Tantra that Phowa is the swift, supreme path to free oneself from samsara and to attain enlightenment. The benefits of having the connection with and receiving teaching on Phowa are incredibly immense. It is also applicable to those who do not practice it and those who have strong emotional afflictions with no desire to denounce samsara. Phowa can purify negative karma and is most helpful at the time of death. Those who have strong negative karma such as having committed the five serious offences who would normally be reborn in the lower realms upon death can even be reborn in the upper realms. —Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche
Amitabha is one of the five Wisdom Buddhas and is usually depicted as red and is known particularly for overcoming the klesha of desire or attachment with discriminating awareness wisdom. The practice of Amitabha helps to create the conditions through which beings are born into the pure land of Dewachen. The essential practice in Pure Land Buddhism is the chanting of the name of Amitabha Buddha with one-pointed concentration, trusting that one will be reborn in his Pure Land. Amitabha's Pure Land is a place where it is much easier for a being to work towards enlightenment.
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Lodging is available at Vajra Vidya on a first come, first serve basis, as well as neighboring Airbnb's that can be booked through airbnb.com with a search on Crestone, CO.
For information and questions about registration, please contact Karma Chöying by emailing VajraVidyaCrestone@gmail.com or by calling (719) 256-5539.
To create the most benefit and blessings for this in-person retreat, full attendance is required for all days and sessions of the retreat.
