In our lives, though we long for freedom and peace, instead we seem to experience wave after wave of problems and suffering, continuously. Are we not tired of this relentless assault? Buddha taught where this suffering comes from and how we can finally put an end to it once and for all, through his teachings on the Four Noble Truths and selflessness, or emptiness.
Nirvana may sound like a foreign concept, far away from our everyday life and experience, but it is in fact universally applicable and accessible to each one of us. We each have the potential to achieve this in our lifetime, through putting Buddha’s teachings into practice in our daily lives.
In this retreat, we will meditate on Buddha’s Four Noble Truths and emptiness, to gain a special experience of these teachings in our heart. In this way we return to our everyday life with a new liberating perspective and experience. From there we can put these teachings into practice in our everyday life, moving consistently towards the state of nirvana while we engaged in our daily activities.
Resident Teacher Trina Gunther will give the introductory talk and guide the retreat sessions, using the meditations presented in Geshe Kelsang Gyato’s latest book Mirror of Dharma (With Additions).
The retreat starts on Friday evening, with an introductory talk on how to engage in retreat and why we need to spend some time mixing our mind with this important topic. With this preparation, we will be ready to immerse our mind in these life-changing meditations and gain a special experience.
"It is true that because living beings identify themselves mistakenly they develop mistaken appearances as hallucinations and, because of this, they experience suffering and problems continually in life after life until they attain the supreme permanent inner peace of nirvana."
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Mirror of Dharma
How to engage in retreat, and the importance of the Four Noble Truths & emptiness
If you choose to attend the retreat in-person, you can still view the Friday evening introductory talk from home. We will send the Intro Talk live-stream link to everyone.
Please note that our live-streamed (online) fees are slightly higher to offset the added live-stream technology and utility costs. We are a non-profit registered 501(c)3 organization; all our fees go to sustaining our ability to provide Kadampa Buddhist study programs and retreats.
Retreat meditations will be from Mirror of Dharma (With Additions), by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. This book is available for purchase in our bookstore, or you can download it from Tharpa Publications by clicking on the button below.
The preparatory practice in each session will be Prayers for Meditation. Center copies of this booklet are provided for use in our meditation room. If you are attending online, you might be interested in downloading the prayers from Tharpa Publications (button below).
Trina Gunther is a long-time practitioner of Modern Kadampa Buddhism. She has studied and practiced in Dharma centers under Gen-la Dekyong and Gen Rigpa, and she has worked as Education Program Coordinator at centers in Los Angeles and the UK. She is an inspiring example of a lay practitioner of Kadampa Buddhism, and brings with her a wealth of practical experience of putting Buddha's teachings into practice amidst a busy daily life.
Online Class Policy
149 W Harvard St, Suite 102, Fort Collins, CO 80525
info@meditateinfortcollins.org
