Taraloka Retreat Centre
Taraloka Retreat Centre

Tonglen Retreat: Tuesday

By saddhanandi on Tue, 25 Mar, 2014 - 06:54

Tonglen Retreat: Tuesday

By saddhanandi on Tue, 25 Mar, 2014 - 06:54The sky is heavy and grey with cloud, which is interesting as we’re in the middle phase of the retreat and it can be a time when people can hit more resistance, so it’s as if the sky is reflecting that back to us after the bright clear skies of yesterday.

The thankha of four-armed Avalokitesvara, hanging above the shrine, is reflecting back a different perspective and Ratnavandana drew this out in the readings in last night’s puja.

...
Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Tonglen Retreat Day 3 - Self-Tonglen Led Meditation

By Centre Team on Mon, 24 Mar, 2014 - 17:17
A led meditation from Day Three of the 2014 Spring Tonglen Retreat at Taraloka.

Self-tonglen: First turning towards your own experience, then towards the unsatisfactory aspects and later to the joyful aspects. You end by simply being in a space of open awareness.

This meditation can also be downloaded at Free Buddhist Audio
Taraloka Retreat Centre
Taraloka Retreat Centre

Tonglen retreat, day 3: self-tonglen

By Yashobodhi on Mon, 24 Mar, 2014 - 14:42
On day three of the tonglen retreat here at Taraloka, self-tonglen takes centre stage.

At the start of her talk Saddhanandi refers to one of the seven point mind training slogans: ‘begin the sequence of sending and taking with yourself’. We start by turning towards what’s going on in our experience right now.

Here’s a link to download the talk on Free Buddhist Audio: http://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/audio/details?num=LOC1952

And to download the guided practice Saddhanandi led...
Taraloka Retreat Centre
Taraloka Retreat Centre

Tonglen Retreat: Monday

By saddhanandi on Mon, 24 Mar, 2014 - 08:55

Tonglen Retreat: Monday

By saddhanandi on Mon, 24 Mar, 2014 - 08:55A bright hard frost this morning, after a clear starry night. The wind has dropped and it’s absolutely still.

At 11am, I’ll be presenting Tonglen in relation to ‘self’. I’ve been remembering a period of time when I was quite new to meditation, and how I had to face certain uncomfortable truths about myself: five hard years of going on retreat acknowledging what was really happening! But the work that I did on myself during those years has become...
Buddhist Centre Features
Buddhist Centre Features

Tonglen Retreat Day 2 - Led Meditation

By Centre Team on Sun, 23 Mar, 2014 - 17:37
Saddhanandi leads us into a heart space of open awareness in this led meditation from Day Two of the 2014 Spring Tonglen Retreat at Taraloka.

The led meditation can also be downloaded on Free Buddhist Audio.
Taraloka Retreat Centre
Taraloka Retreat Centre

Tonglen Retreat Day 2 - "Creating a Bigger Container" by Saddhanandi

By Yashobodhi on Sun, 23 Mar, 2014 - 14:49
Earlier today Saddhanandi talked about creating a bigger container to engage with the suffering in the world. She mentioned the support of spacious, open awareness, connecting with your heart-wish and your relationship with the Buddha. Saddhanandi speaks about how to create a broader perspective, to give us the capacity to turn towards whatever is happening.

Click to download the talk from Free Buddhist Audio: http://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/audio/details?num=LOC1949

You can also download the meditation she led afterwards...
Taraloka Retreat Centre
Taraloka Retreat Centre

bodhicitta wish

By Yashobodhi on Sun, 23 Mar, 2014 - 14:19
“Whatever joy there is in the world
Arises from wishing for others’ happiness.
Whatever suffering there is in the world
Arises from wishing for your own happiness.”
Shantideva
Taraloka Retreat Centre
Taraloka Retreat Centre

Tonglen: personal connection, history and overview

By Yashobodhi on Sat, 22 Mar, 2014 - 14:48
In her first presentation on the Tonglen retreat, Saddhanandi tells us about her personal connection to the practice. She also goes into some history of the practice, places it in the context of the seven point mind training and gives an overview.

You can also download this talk on Free Buddhist Audio: http://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/audio/details?num=LOC1947
Taraloka Retreat Centre
Taraloka Retreat Centre

Introduction to Tonglen retreat

By Yashobodhi on Sat, 22 Mar, 2014 - 14:35
Yesterday evening Saddhanandi introduced her vision for the retreat that will be held here at Taraloka over the next week. The topic is a meditation practice called tonglen, which is a Tibetan word for receiving and sending. In this practice the breath is used to connect to one’s heart wish for the happiness of all beings.

Some highlights: Saddhanandi tells us what happened after she had been reading Doris Lessing’s novel ‘The Marriages between zones three, four and five’...
Taraloka Retreat Centre
Taraloka Retreat Centre

Tonglen Retreat: Saturday

By saddhanandi on Sat, 22 Mar, 2014 - 06:54

Tonglen Retreat: Saturday

By saddhanandi on Sat, 22 Mar, 2014 - 06:54After more than a week of unseasonably warm weather, the temperature in the western region of the UK is beginning to drop again, with rain and wind, and even flakes of snow falling right now! Meanwhile, the landscape is showing the full signs of spring, with bright yellow daffodils and dark blue hyacinths scattering their colour – fabulous! It’s like a yearly miracle!

Today is the first day of the retreat and this is often a more complex...

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