Ruling Your World: The Path of Compassion Winter Dathün Meditation Retreat with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche presiding, and Richard Reoch: Week 2

Deepen your connection to your practice and open your heart in this weeklong meditation intensive.

The practice of group meditation offers powerful support for each individual's path. The collective energy facilitates inner cultivation and provides a rich training ground for the creation of compassionate society. This weeklong retreat or weekthün, is part of our monthlong retreat known as dathün. It provides an extraordinary opportunity to practice together under the overall guidance of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the lineage holder of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition. The program will include sitting and walking meditation, private interviews with qualified meditation instructors, periods of silence, and talks. The retreat will also include Chi Kung, meditation inside The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, Zen-style oryoki meals and work shifts--all to create an integrated meditative experience which we can then carry forward into our daily lives.

This weekthün will be an opportunity to contemplate and put into practice key insights presented in the Sakyong's most recent book, Ruling Your World, with a particular emphasis on the practice of compassion. This begins with compassion toward ourselves: "The most loving environment we can create is on the meditation seat." From that ground, we are then able to radiate that intimate feeling of compassion out to all beings.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is one of Tibet’s highest and most respected incarnate lamas. The son and dharma heir of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founder of Shambhala Mountain, he is the head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage and spiritual director of Shambhala, a global network of meditation and retreat centers. He is the author of the national bestsellers Turning the Mind Into an Ally and Ruling Your World.

Richard Reoch is the president of Shambhala. A lifelong Buddhist, he has devoted his working life to defending human rights, protecting the environment and promoting peace.

Payment and Cancellation Policies: Please review this information carefully as it differs from the general policies for most other programs. Final payment is due on November 15, 2006. If you make your deposit with a credit card, the balance due will be charged to your card on November 15. For cancellations made prior to November 15: You will be refunded all amounts paid less $50. Cancellations made November 15 – November 30: You will be refunded half of your payments less $50. The balance of what you paid will be refunded as program credit available for use for one year, not as a cash refund. Cancellations made after November 30: You will forfeit all amounts paid. No program credit or cash refund will be given. If you cancel your attendance, you CANNOT transfer your registration to another individual. Registrations cannot be transferred from one weekthün to another. If you wish to change your weekthün registration you will need to cancel your initial registration and re-register for the preferred dates. Due to the fact that weekthün attendance for this retreat is limited, we cannot guarantee that space will be available. A cancellation fee may apply.

If you are registering online, you must submit a separate registration for each weekthün you plan to attend (except for weekthüns 3 and 4 which can be registered for together). Please note in the “comments” section of your registrations that you will be registering for more than one weekthün. You must attend one of the first three weekthüns to attend weekthün 4.

Preference for “upgraded” housing (all options other than the seasonal dormitories) will be given to those registering for the full dathün. Prices below include tuition, lodging and meals. A mandatory laundry fee ($15 if attending two weeks, $30 for three weeks, and $45 for full dathun attendees) will be added for participants registering for two or more weeks.

STUDENT DISCOUNT: A discount of 10% off the dormitory price is available for all full-time students.

Please note that if you book dormitory accommodations, you may be sleeping on a foam mattress on the shrineroom floor.

Volunteer Staff Application

Extend Your Stay. We are offering a 25% housing discount for additional nights. Come early and relax before your program starts or stay an extra day or more after this program to savor your retreat experience.

Please arrive between 2 and 5pm on Saturday, December 23. Program ends with lunch at 12:30pm on Saturday, December 30. View Detailed Program Information.