Summer Seminar I: Discovering the Path of Liberation
June 7–July 6, 2019
Buddhist Meditation Retreats, Immersive Meditation Retreats, Learn to Meditate, Meditation & Mindfulness, Scholarship Available Programs, Shambhala
The single focus of the Buddha’s teachings was showing humanity the path to ending suffering and reconnecting with our natural state of freedom. The profundity and sophistication with which the Buddha expressed a path of liberation has given his teachings a timeless relevance, making them as practical today as ever.
Over the course of this month-long retreat we will live with the intention of mixing our minds with the teachings and directly experiencing our inherent wisdom. We’ll spend this time practicing the disciplines of the complete path taught by the Buddha: Shila, practicing the 5 traditional precepts daily in a commitment to refrain from taking life, taking what is not offered, sexual misconduct, false speech, and intoxicants, Samadhi, spending mornings practicing meditation, and Prajna, studying and discussing of the philosophical and psychological frameworks described by the Buddha in the afternoons. The subjects of study will include topics like the Life of the Buddha, the 4 Noble Truths, Karma and Causation, Calm-Abiding Meditation, the practice and study of the Refuge Vow.
We will co-create a community that balances rigor with simplicity, warmth and openness through our body, speech and mind discipline. This environment will support your journey in deepening your understanding of the Buddha’s teachings, developing your meditation practice, and relaxing the speed and habitual patterns that characterize so many of our daily lives.
One element of this retreat which may be new to some participants is that we will have the option and opportunity to work with the Five Householder Precepts which have been practiced since the time of the Buddha and introduced to the Shambhala community by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Their intention is one of kindness and compassion to ourselves and others, helping us maintain healthy conduct or discipline (shila) which is conducive to harmony, to not causing harm, to liberation, and which supports our cultivation of meditation (samadhi) and wisdom (prajna).
This retreat is appropriate for beginning to advanced meditation practitioners, including those on the teaching path. Limited to 45 participants.
Click here to learn more about Financial Assistance and Scholarships.
If you would like a scholarship, please first fill out the Summer Seminar Questionnaire below. Once you have been confirmed, please apply for a scholarship.
Registration Process:
We require that each participant fills out the Summer Seminar Questionnaire before their registration is considered complete. The purpose of the questionnaire is to ensure the suitability of the retreat for each participant and to help the teaching team tailor the program to participant needs.
You will be contacted within two weeks of submitting your questionnaire with confirmation that your registration for the Summer Seminar retreat is complete.
Lodging Recommendation:
We recommend selecting lodging in the Red Feather Cabins or Tent options as these are closest to the program which will be held on the Red Feather Campus.
Tentative Daily Schedule:
7:00 – 8:00 am Morning Chants, Meditation, and Movement
8:00 – 9:00 am Breakfast
9:00 – 11:30 am Meditation
11:30 – 12:30 pm Tea and Study
12:30 – 1:30 pm Contemplative Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 pm Work Period and Rest
3:00 – 4:30 pm Teachings
4:30 – 5:00 pm Break
5:00 – 6:30 pm Small Group Study
6:30 – 7:30 pm Dinner
7:30 – 9:00 pm Evening Meditation
Retreat Faculty
Holly Gayley
Holly Gayley is a scholar and translator of contemporary Buddhist literature in Tibet and associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research areas include gender and sexuality in Buddhist tantra, ethical reform in contemporary Tibet, and theorizing translation, both literary and cultural, in the transmission of Buddhist teachings to North America. She is […]
Loden Nyima
Gelong Loden Nyima is a fully ordained Buddhist monk. He lived at Gampo Abbey from 2009 – 2017 where he practiced intensively, completed a cycle of advanced studies (Shedra), and served in various roles including as a senior teacher. He then lived at Drala Mountain Center from 2017 – 2023 where he served as Resident […]