Calm-Abiding: Cultivating Tranquility and Working with the Primary Hindrances to Meditation Retreat

with

Lama Michael Gregory

February 24 - 26, 2023

Offered via Zoom

Mental Quiescence (Shamatha): A Description of the Upcoming Retreat and the Meditations Offered

How to Understand the Meditation Experiences of Calm-Abiding, Mahamudra and Dzogchen

The Five experiences (Tib. ཉམས་ལྔ་, nyam nga;) – these experiences accompany the development of shamatha (calm-abiding) meditation:

1. At the beginning thoughts will arrive one on top of another, uninterrupted, like a steep mountain waterfall. This is the experience of movement (གཡོ་བའི་ཉམས་, yo ba'i nyams).
2. Gradually, as you perfect meditation, thoughts become like the water in a deep, narrow gorge. This is the experience of attainment (ཐོབ་པའི་ཉམས་, thob pa'i nyams).
3. Then it becomes like a great river slowly winding its way down to the sea. This is the experience of familiarity (གོམས་པའི་ཉམས་, goms pa'i nyams).
4. The mind then becomes like a still and placid ocean, ruffled by only the occasional ripple or wave. This is the experience of stability (བརྟན་པའི་ཉམས་, brtan pa'i nyams).
5. The fifth experience is that of consummation (མཐར་ཕྱིན་པའི་ཉམས་, mthar phyin pa'i nyams) which is described as an oil lamp that is not blown by the wind, resting bright and clear, unmoved by anything.

Three further experiences

Three experiences (Tib. ཉམས་གསུམ་, nyam sum) — three types of 'positive' meditation experiences mentioned in the Dzogchen and Mahamudra traditions. They are:

1. Bliss (Tib. བདེ་བའི་ཉམས་, Wyl. bde ba'i nyams),
2. Clarity(Tib. གསལ་བའི་ཉམས་, Wyl. gsal ba'i nyams), and
3. Absence of thoughts (Tib. མི་རྟོག་པའི་ཉམས་, Wyl. mi rtog pa'i nyams).

As you continue to practice [meditation], you may have all kinds of experiences (Tib. nyam), both good and bad. Just as a room with many doors and windows allows the air to enter from many directions, in the same way, when your mind becomes open, it is natural that all kinds of experiences can come into it. You might experience states of bliss, clarity or absence of thoughts (non-conceptuality).

In one way these are very good experiences, and signs of progress in meditation.

• For when you experience bliss, it’s a sign that desire has temporarily dissolved.
• When you experience real clarity, it’s a sign that aggression has temporarily ceased.
• When you experience a state of absence of thought, it’s a sign that your ignorance has temporarily died.

By themselves they are good experiences, but if you get attached to them they become obstacles. Experiences are not realization in themselves; but if we remain free of attachment to them, they become what they really are, that is, materials for realization.

Furthermore, it is said that being attached to these kinds of experience causes the practitioner to be further reborn in samsara—in places devoid of any opportunity to practise the Dharma, respectively:

• Attachment to the experience of bliss can lead to a rebirth in one of the six heavens of the desire realm, or in the preta realm;
• Attachment to the experience of clarity can lead to a rebirth in the heavens of the form realm, and
• Attachment to the experience of absence of thought can lead to a rebirth in the heavens of the formless realm, or in the animal realm.

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Zoom and Retreat Recordings:

The retreat will be offered in our live, interactive online zoom classroom.

Recordings of teaching sessions will be posted within 24 hours after the end of the last session and will be available to all those who register for the retreat.

When:

This retreat takes place on zoom from Friday 24 - 26.

Schedule:
Starts Friday February 24th at 4 pm PT
Ends Sunday February 26th around noon PT

Where:

This retreat will also be offered online through our Virtual Classroom Zoom. Simply download the Free App on your Phone or Computer that allows you to fully interact with the retreat and teacher and attend from the comfort of your home.

Prerequisites:

This retreat is open to every level of meditation practitioner. Foundational in this case does not mean beginning. It is an excellent meditation and study retreat for all.

What Will Be Included?

• Live teaching, Q&A, and practice sessions with Lama Michael
• Guided meditation and teaching sessions with Lama Michael
• Access to supporting written material
• Access to retreat recordings on vimeo

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About the Teacher:

Lama Michael Gregory Biography

Lama Michael is a former Buddhist Monk, Teacher and Executive Director of Mindfulness Meditation Centers. Michael has shared that there can never be enough gratitude to repay the debt of kindness that others have shown [him], in particular the XIV Dalai Lama, the XVII Karmapa-Orgyen Trinley Dorje, Gyaltsab Rinpoche, Bokar Rinpoche, Thrangu Rinpoche, HH Dodrupchen Rinpoche and Penor Rinpoche who have offered the empowerment cycles of Rinchen Terzo and Dam Ngak Dzod.

For more than twenty-five years Lama Michael has joyfully instructed a continuous stream of educated and experienced practitioners of all levels and backgrounds in Thailand, India, Hong Kong, Europe and the United States. He has led hundreds of meditation retreats on almost every subject matter related to Buddhism, in addition to leading meditative pilgrimages throughout Thailand, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and India. Michael currently directs the practicing and teaching schedule at Mindfulness Meditation Centers and is the Three Year Retreat Master for our current retreat in Southern California. Lama Michael leads a vibrant local and international online and in person community of practitioners.

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For questions about this retreat, please contact the Mindfulness Meditation Centers' Retreat Coordinator at

retreatsupport@mindfulnessmeditationcenters.com

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Register:

To register please visit the new Dzogchen Teachings retreat calendar:

https://dzogchenteaching.com/retreat-calender