On behalf of H. E. Chhoje Rinpoche, we are delighted to announce Christina Monson will teach at PMC on Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29 on Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva.

This program will be live-streamed, links to access the live stream will be sent to registrants on the evening of  Thursday, September 26.

The great Indian master Shantideva (c.685-763) gifted the Buddhist tradition what may well be its most powerful teaching on how to make the spiritual path a personal experience in his famous treatise the Bodhicaryavatara, The Way of the Bodhisattva. Shantideva wrote this work for himself, based on what he actually saw and experienced in his own mind. His insights have proved timeless. The penetrating and inspiring verses of this, his master work, are as relevant today as ever before.  Beginning with an elucidation of bodhicitta – the heart of the Mahayana path – the Bodhicaryavatara invites us to uplift ourselves out of self-focused attitudes and embrace the true source of happiness: a motivation to awaken for the benefit of others. With this as the foundation, the teaching then takes us on a journey of developing the skills needed to engage this intention on a practical level, a discovery of what it means to be fully minded. Getting right down into the sneaky machinations of ego-fueled emotions, Santideva’s masterful verses leave no place for us to hold onto ordinary poverty-stricken thinking. Instead, the text, properly studied and contemplated, opens the door into the possibility of experiencing fully qualified meditation and an understanding of the true nature of all that appears to exist.

Over this three-day intensive retreat, we will focus on the end of Chapter Eight: Meditative Concentration and the beginning of Chapter Nine: Wisdom through close study, contemplation, experiential activities, and practice. Respecting the auspiciousness of the beginning of a new year, we will welcome forth aspirations for ourselves, for others, and for our world based upon our commitment to the bodhisattva path and the vision it unfolds. It may be helpful to have a copy of The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva with you to reference during the program.

Christina has been practicing and studying Buddhism since 1987. Her interest in the wisdom traditions of Asia began in high school and led her to devote her first two years of college to immersive study of the Zen and Chan Buddhist traditions of Japan and China. She first traveled to Nepal in 1989 and immediately met her root guru, Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche, under whose guidance she studied and practiced for the next twenty- seven years. Her practice has focused on the treasure lineage of Sera Khandro Dewai Dorje, the great Tibetan female mystic and treasure-revealer whose collected writings Christina continues to translate. Extensive periods of solitary retreat in the sacred land of Yolmo, Helambu, where Chatral Rinpoche bestowed his heart teachings, brought a deepening of experience in the richness of the pith instructions of his practice lineage.

Christina has also studied with Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Soktse Rinpoche, Katok Getse Rinpoche, Tengboche Rinpoche, Chhoje Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Sogan Rinpoche, Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche, Yatse Khenpo, Khenpo Yeshe Gyaltsen, Khenpo Choying Dorje, and Khenpo Tashi Tseten.

Times for Teaching Sessions:

There will be four sessions, Saturday and Sunday, each morning and afternoon.

Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Sunday: 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The requested offering is $30 per session, or $120. Everyone is welcome to attend any one session or combination of sessions.

If you have a copy of the book, The Way of the Bodhisattva (Shambhala Publications, 2006), please bring it with you. Also, bring a notebook to take notes if that would be helpful for you.

Members: please use the member discount coupon code when you check out to apply a 15% discount. If you do not have the discount code, please email treasurer@pmctr.org.

Join us online if you can’t make it to Denver! Please make a note in the comments section when you register that you will be attending the weekend remotely and we will send the links to you.

A retreat weekend with Brendan Kennedy

Friday – Sunday, October 26-28, 2018

Who are you? Are you just who you think you are? What are you when you are not thinking? Are you thinking twenty-four hours a day? Notice that you don’t have to think to perceive, feel, or experience.

So, what is present before thinking, after thinking, and also during thinking? It’s the awareness which is always present. So, the answer which we are looking for is also in the awareness. This is what we will explore with Brendan during the weekend.

Join us for the entire weekend or any combination of sessions that suits your schedule. Select the specific sessions you are interested in attending in your cart!

Friday, October 25: 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 26: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 27: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

PMC Members: use your discount code when checking out in the “APPLY COUPON” section.

Everyone:  be sure to select “LOCAL PICKUP” once you choose your sessions in order to remove shipping costs.