Why do you ask for donations?
Putting on an event such as our winter retreat involves considerable costs including plane fares, translator fees, donations to the lama food and so forth. At Gar Drolma we try hard to make our special events affordable for everyone. That is why we have a sliding scale. Our intention is not to make money on retreats, but to at least break even at the end of each year!
Is it ok for me to attend even though I do not have much experience with Buddhism?
Absolutely! At every event such as our Winter Retreat there are a good number of people who are listening to teachings and receiving empowerments for the first time.
Should I bring my own cushion?
If you have your own meditation cushion and it is convenient for you to bring it along, please do so!
Are there also chairs available at your center?
We have several pews at the back of the temple. There are also chairs for those who want them.
Please join in the teachings of VAJRAKILAYA, Milarepa & more...
You’re invited to join in a special program of teachings by the internationally beloved Tibetan Buddhist master and spiritual director of Gar Drolma, His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche. Please help us celebrate his return in a week of teachings that range from an introductory public talk to the profound practice of Vajrakilaya and songs of realization by Milarepa. Whether you are a beginning student or experienced practitioner, your participation is welcome in all or part of the teachings.
*Please note on December 19th Garchen Rinpoche announced that he will give Vajrakilaya empowerment, teachings and practice rather than Red Tara empowerment and Milarepa empowerment. We will still have Milarepa teachings on the weekend. This email reflects the new schedule.
| SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY | JAN 20
THURSDAY | JAN 21
FRIDAY | JAN 22
Saturday | Jan 23
SUNDAY | Jan 24
MONDAY | JAN 25
|
ADDITIONAL RETREAT INFORMATION
EVENTS DESCRIPTION
All of our retreat events are open to everyone. In fact, we always have a wide range of visitors at our retreats ranging from people who are just curious about Buddhism to experienced practitioners. In addition, you are welcome to attend a part of the retreat or the entire four days as your schedule permits.
On Wednesday evening before the retreat begins, we will practice the Guru Yoga Sadhana Called "Light Amassment of Blessings”. Read more about this precious sadhana composed by Garchen Rinpoche himself.
On Thursday and Friday we will receive Vajrakilaya Empowerment, Teachings & Practice. Vajrakilaya is a wrathful deity practice, stemming from the Eight Heruka sadhanas of the ancient translations of Tibet. Vajrakilaya embodies the enlightened activity of all the Buddhas, manifesting in an intensly wrathful yet compassionate form in order to subjugate the delusions and negativity that can arise as obstacles to the practice of Dharma. Guru Rinpoche brought this practice from India and passed it on to his 25 disciples. It has passed on through many lineages and is presently practiced by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, even though the Tantras and lineages of Vajrakilaya had their origins solely in the Nyingma tradition. ... "The practice of Vajrakilaya blazes at the very heart of the ancient Vajrayana traditions of Tibet. The wrathful heruka Vajrakilaya is a yidam deity who embodies the enlightened activity of all the buddhas, manifesting in an intensly wrathful yet compassionate form in order to subjugate the delusion and negativity that can arise as obstacles to the practice of Dharma. In fact, the practice of Vajrakilaya is famous in Tibetan Buddhism as an exceptionally powerful method to remove obstacles, destroy the forces hostile to compassion, and purify the spiritual pollution so prevalent in this age". -Sogyal Rinpoche
On Friday evening we will receive teachings from Rinpoche on The Benefits of Love and Bodhicitta at the Oakwood United Methodist Church. Pastor Brian Thie and his congregation have kindly extended this invitation to Rinpoche and our sangha. We first met Pastor Thie nearly a year ago when he offered a blessing at our shrine consecration. Now we are delighted to be able to visit his spiritual home.
On Saturday and Sunday we will receive teachings from Rinpoche on the Songs of Milarepa. Jetsun Milarepa is the central figure of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a saint, a yogi, a sorceror, a trickster, a wanderer, and a poet. The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, an extensive collection of stories and poetry from the life of Milarepa, is a central text of Tibetan Buddhism. During this visit Rinpoche will teach creation and completion stage practices, and the view from the context of this text.
On Sunday, Garchen Rinpoche will offer a REFUGE CEREMONY. The refuge ceremony is an opportunity to participate in the ritual of committment to the Buddhist path. During the refuge ceremony we formally take shelter in the protection and guidance of the Three Jewels: the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. You can find further information about taking refuge here. If you have questions about taking refuge, please feel free to contact us - either in person or on email. (937) 252-2220 events@gardrolma.org
On Sunday afternoon we will conclude our retreat with a Tsok practice. Tsok practice Tsok means gathering or accumulation. We gather together the things we're offering, and we ourselves gather together. In the tsok practice we make food offerings, imagining that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come and accept our offerings. This offering is very important for renewing commitments and averting obstacles. Our wealth, merit, and great bliss will increase through this practice. Tsok is a time of spiritual celebration. Children and families are welcome to join us!
During this visit we have made time for personal interviews with Garchen Rinpoche on Wednesday, January 20th and Monday, Jan 25th. There will be no other time available during the teachings for interviews. We are encouraging all of our local sangha members to take advantage of this precious opportunity. In addition, depending on time availability, it may be possible for others to have an interview with Rinpoche as well. Interviews will be scheduled on a first-come first-serve basis. Each interview will be approximately 10 minutes long. Please email us to inquire about an interview slot at: events@gardrolma.org
ABOUT GARCHEN RINPOCHE: His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche is the founder and spiritual director of Gar Drolma Buddhist Center. Rinpoche is a Drikung Kagyu lama who was known in the thirteenth century as the Siddha Gar Chodingpa, a heart disciple of Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon, founder of the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. In ancient India, he had incarnated as Mahasiddha Aryadeva, the lotus-born disciple of the great Nagarjuna and in the seventh century, he was known as Lonpo Gar, the minister of the Tibetan Dharma King Songsten Gampo. In this incarnation Garchen Rinpoche is deeply beloved by Buddhist practitioners around the world. In this age of strife, he has taken upon himself the responsibility of the pure transmission of lovingkindness, compassion and wisdom.
FEE INFORMATION: We make every effort to make our retreats affordable for all individuals. Therefore, we present our fees as a sliding scale. The minimum fee is what we must collect in order to cover our costs. You may be able to offer a bit more. If some people pay more than the minimum, we are better able to keep the base fee low for everyone.
regular fees
$35–$75 per day
$140–$300 for the entire retreat
student fees:
If you are a full-time student you are eligible for student rate. Please present your student ID card at the door.
Entire Retreat: $90–$180 sliding scale
monastic fees:
Our policy is that if you are a full-time ordained sangha member without an outside job, then you are entitled to come to any of our events free fo charge. If you are an ordained sangha member with an outside job, then we recommend the following rates:
Entire Retreat: $90–$180 sliding scale
financial need:
If you are currently receiving public assistance, such as Ohio Direct, OWF or SSD, we will waive your entrance fees. Please contact events@gardrolma.org if you are eligible and wish to make a waiver request. You must contact us in advance in order to qualify for this waiver.
If you are in financial need but do not qualify for a waiver, we would like to invite you consider working in ou rservice program called Gar Bucks. The Gar Bucks Program is a way for individuals to work for GDC and earn internally recognized $ that can be applied toward the cost of teaching events and membership. No person should fail to attend for lack of the requested fees. However, it is important that you contact us ahead if you need to make financial arrangements.
SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES: There are many opportunities to help out during events such as these– and we really encourage everyone to participate in this way! Most of our service opportunities are organized through the Gar Bucks Program. Please check out this exciting program to see the ways in which you might be able to help!
REGISTRATION: There will be no pre-registration for this retreat. All registration will be at the event itself– in the basement of the temple. Retreatants are welcome to stop by the temple on Wednesday evening to register and choose their seat at that time. Please note that we have about 35 cushions– but you should bring your own cushion if possible. Registration will be set up in the basement.ince there will be many people coming to this retreat - be sure to come early in order to facilitate the process. Please note the following registration times:
Wednesday, January 20 | 6–9pm
{Guru Yoga practice will be taking place at this time as well.}
Thursday, January 21 | 8–10am & 1–2pm
Friday, January 22 | 9–10am & 1–2pm
Saturday, January 23 | 9–10am & 1–2pm
Sunday, January 24 | 9–10am
ELEMENTS OF A LAMA VISIT: Click here to download more information on various aspects of a lama visit including: Taking Empowerments, Taking Refuge, The Katta Offering Ceremony
PLEASE DONATE TO OUR FOOD DRIVE: Throughout this retreat we will be collecting food to donate to the Catholic Social Service Food Pantry. The CSS pantry is the largest in Montgomery County servicing over 10,000 families; with a large number residing in our own zip code! We have heard that the food pantry is in dire need of donations at this time. We will have a barrel set up during the retreat and ask all participants to consider making a donation. Also, during the tsok offering we ask that you bring a donation for the food barrel in addition to your offering. Food Pantry Immediate Needs-download pdf
LOCATION & DIRECTIONS: All of our events will be held at our temple in Dayton. The address is 1329 Creighton Avenue, Dayton Ohio 45420. The temple is located in Belmont, just off of Wayne Avenue. For directions click here.
CHILDREN: Children are welcome at these events if accompanied by an adult.
PARKING: Gar Drolma is located in a quiet, old city neighborhood with narrow streets. There is no parking lot. It may be necessary for individuals to park down the street or around the block. We do want to be good neighbors, so please allow room for the people in front and back of you to get out when you park. We are able to provide 3 parking spaces in the front of the building for less able attendees. Please tell us in advance if you need a special parking space. (events@gardrolma.org) If you are able to fold your side mirror in - we suggest you do so.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR OUT OF TOWN GUESTS: We are not able to provide housing for out of town guests– and our temple is not equipped to handle overnight campers. There are several motel options available near Gar Drolma Buddhist Center. Click here for motel options.
AIRPORTS: Dayton International Airport (DAY) is the nearest airport; it is approximately 30 minutes from the center. The Columbus airport (CMH) is about 1.5 hours from Gar Drolma. The Cincinnati airport (CVG) is actually located in Kentucky - just over the river. The Cincinnati airport is also about 1.5 hours from the center. All three of these airports are international airports. When making your travel plans, please keep in mind that the weather is quite unpredictable in Ohio in late December.
MEALS: We are not able to provide hot meals at the temple.
Retreatants are welcome to bring their own food if they wish and eat downstairs in the basement of the temple. There is a refrigerator and a microwave in the basement which are now for retreatant use. There are a few basic kitchen rules for retreatants to follow:
1.
Do not use the stove or oven.
2. Clean up your dishes and cups after yourself.
3. Mark your food with your name.
4. Take all of your food with you when you leave retreat.
Anything left behind will be thrown away.
Otherwise, we recommend local restaurants. To download a list of local restaurants click here.
FLOWERS: You are always welcome to bring flowers as an offering if you care to.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please email us at: events@gardrolma.org or phone (937) 252-2220. We are not in the office every day, so please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible. We are always happy to answer your questions!