6 – 10 november 2024
Institut Vajra Yogini, Marzens 81500
In English with traduction en français
information: 16attitudes@gmail.com
Cost : 250€ plus accommodation and meals at l’institut Vajra Yogini; Early bird offer avant Sept. 1 200€ and reduced rates available on demand.
Choden, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and Mabel Odessey will offer a 5 day retreat exploring compassion and how it can change our lives.
During the retreat they will offer skills and practices for tapping into the compassionate potential within us that is innate and waiting to be uncovered. In so doing, we will discover source of inner vitality and wellbeing that can support us when we are down and help us respond to the inevitable difficulties of life.
Choden will draw on the wealth of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, as well as insights from evolutionary psychology and neuroscience. In 2013, he co-authored a book with renowned British psychologist Paul Gilbert called Mindful Compassion (2013) which was a synthesis of psychology, science and Buddhism.
We will focus on the cultivation of self-compassion as an antidote to self-criticism and the cultivation of compassion for others by drawing on the Buddhist model of the 4 Limitless Contemplations (loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity). This will include the practice of tonglen or taking and sending.
Choden will also offer teachings on the principle of mandala which describes how the mind is a dynamic energy system with a centre and a periphery. Most of us are caught up on the periphery, tossed and turned by our conflicting emotions, but we can find the centre though practicing mindfulness and compassion. This allows us to find a place of stillness and peace whilst also learning to take care of the different parts of ourselves.
The 5 day retreat will involve teachings, guided practices, sitting meditation and periods of silence. There will also be the opportunity to share and discuss what arises through doing the practices.
