Sowa Rigpa Online

JULY 20TH-27TH 2022 

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One of the most profound places of practice that we find in the Vajrayana tradition is the inclusion of the process of death and the bardo experience into the spiritual path. In this retreat we will journey together into this unique and powerful way of bringing insight and wisdom into our own eventual experience of death. We will also develop skills around caring for loved ones who may be entering into the death process, and hone skills for professional caregivers including chaplains, social workers and other clinicians who wish to go deeper into the intersection of Vajrayana spiritual formation and their respective caregiving modalities. This retreat is a wonderful way to deepen the relationship of dharma into caregiving and how we can understand caregiving to be a profound spiritual practice.

During our time together there will be daily teaching sessions which will offer practical instructions that have been time-tested through the clinical experiences had by Lama Justin in the following:

• Teachings and practical guidance on the inner processes that occur before physical death, during active dying and in the phases immediately after physical death 

• Teachings on the bardo process and a review of Bardo Practice

• Bringing difficult emotions into practice

• The use of Ati-yoga and Mahamudra as a way of training in open non-judgemental presence

• Instructions on Phowa Practice from the Yuthok Nyingthik Tradition as well as using Ati-Yoga and Mahamudra as an essential-phowa

• Supportive practice modalities including guided visualizations, group discussion to dive deeper into what is alive for each one of us in working with what death and dying brings us

• A deep exploration of Vajrayana spiritual practices that can be applied for those who are critically ill, dying or who are on their bardo journey

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9:00am to 12:00pm
Morning Teaching and Group Practice Session
(streamed)

2:30pm to 4:00pm
Mid-day Individual Practice Session
(solo)

4:30pm to 5:30pm
Afternoon Group Ati Yoga/Mahamudra Practice Session
(streaming)

7:00pm to 7:30pm 
Shanglon Mahakala Protector Group Practice
(solo)

 (All times in PST/ Los Angeles Time Zone)

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