Shamatha retreat

3-11 October 20008
Shamatha retreat and
teaching on
Seven Point Mind Training
[Details and registration information...]

Shamatha is the Tibetan term for single pointed meditation. This can involve concentrating on one thing such as one's breath, a picture of a deity, or a blue flower. The purpose is to increase our ability to concentrate and focus. Without this ability, we cannot deepen our practice or gain the deepest understanding of key Buddhist teachings.

The Shamatha retreat is all about rejuvenation. We are very fortunate that Khenpo is running it again, as many people have benefited from the experience in the past. Being eight days long, this retreat gives time to establish spiritual foundations strong enough to benefit us for the rest of the year, indeed the rest of our lives.

Khenpo will thoroughly explain how meditation can help in everyday life and also improve your practice, whatever that may be. You will have time to talk to your teacher and ask questions. By the end of the retreat you will be refreshed and stress free. It is a rare opportunity and a great gift to yourself to sit in such a beautiful place to just study and meditate with your teacher. Khenpo welcomes everyone, from beginners to advanced practitioners.

Shamatha enables me to sort out my priorities, to learn to be a more generous, open loving and respectful human being. What better “raison d'etre” than this! The direct result of a Shamatha retreat is I can go back to my ordinary life with renewed focus, energy and tolerance. If I am calmer and more mindful there is less chance of harming others. As Shantideva stated: “For as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain, may I too remain and dispel the miseries of the world.”
Liz L.

Seven point mind training

This year's Shamatha retreat combines Shamatha with one of the most relevant and practically useful of all Buddhist texts, the Seven Points of Mind Training, which is at the heart of the Mahayana tradition. It shows us the seven skilful means of practice, and how to actualise the benefits in everyday life.

Our practice does not have real significance without mind training and in the course of the retreat we will receive profound advice which will definitely deepen our practice.

Such training is essential for any practitioner, since it ensures the removal of obstacles along the path and reveals the illusory nature of attachment to samsaric things.

I found my mind was very busy when I first arrived at the Shamatha retreat – thinking about lots of different things at the same time. But after a few days, the routine of concentrating on practice or teachings nearly every minute of the day, seems to somehow slow down the thoughts. I get to a stiller place and feel relieved to have only one direction in which to focus. The benefits are not only during the retreat, because I find I still reflect on the teachings Khenpo-la gave over this period and I find myself going back to them in widely varying situations throughout the year.
Maija R.

Accomodation at Drogmi is basic. You can stay in a shared dormitory, bring your own tent, or make your own arrangements to stay in motel accommodation nearby.