Pathgate Winter Retreat 2010-11

The Pathgate Winter Retreat 2010-11 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England was preceded by a three-day Pathgate sangha festive get together over the Christmas period. The UK sangha were joined by students from Singapore, China, Japan, Russia, Serbia, Poland, Israel, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland. As always, it was a relaxed joyful period full of examples of living Dharma brought to life by our beloved teacher, Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje. The main subject of the 2010 Pathgate Winter Retreat was Classical Chan Ding Internal Arts Foundation Study with Puja practices, Dharma teachings, meditation and Classical Chan Ding Internal Arts practices being held throughout the day.

During the retreat, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje gave a series of vibrant demonstrations to illustrate the reason why Buddhadharma is the foundation of authentic classical internal arts practice. He also highlighted the impact Buddhadharma has in bringing harmony to every facet of our daily lives. Through endless vivid examples, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje repeatedly remind the students that true learning cannot even begin until we have completely renounced our reliance on personal logic which is the product of individual habit and preferences, and has nothing in common with the primordial wisdom of discriminative awareness, which is the result of successful Chan Ding practice through firm faith and devotion in taking refuge in the guidance of a qualified teacher.

So what exactly is Chan Ding? Chan Ding is a state of quiet and relaxed mind which sees all things clearly as they are. It is an effective learning tool with which we can accomplish without stress all that we wish to achieve. For when we approach any learning without adding our share of conceptualised view, we become a true reflection of the instruction we have received and thus avoid the habit of contaminating all that we see and hear through the intellect of a speculated mind.

For those who wish to participate in the study of Chan Ding Meditative Practice, please visit Teaching Schedule.

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