Friday

Precious Silence – The Gift of Retreat

A Message from the Director and Team at Gampo Abbey and the April 2024 Gampo Abbey Newsletter

As I write this we are in the final days of the Yarne retreat – a 45-day traditional monastic retreat that has been fulfilled since the time of the Buddha’s first sangha.

For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, we were able to invite guests, both monastics and laypeople, to join our community for this retreat, which is an essential element of a monastic community.

Ani Pema has been here teaching Mind Training in Eight Verses by Langri Tangpa. It’s a pithy instruction on softening into the path of the Bodhisattva, training in recognizing life’s difficult moments as our best teachers, and cherishing the troublemakers in our lives.

The retreat started with high winds, very cold temperatures and lots of snow – but boy did it end with a thrilling experience. A full solar eclipse – how lucky can we get?

This year I was struck even more than usual by the power of silence in retreat. It’s an essential ingredient to be able to tune into one’s inner experience, a precious thing in our day-to-day lives. It’s something worth carving out even if just for a day. No talking, no listening to music, no entertainment online. I highly recommend it. In a group retreat like Yarne, we consider silence a gift that we offer each other.

-Trinkar Ötso, Director

Pema Chödrön: Live Q&A – April 14, 2024

Pema Chödrön has guided many in befriending their emotions and navigating difficult times with more ease. On Sunday, April 14th at 1:00 p.m. (EDT), she’s offering a unique opportunity to learn from her directly as she shares fresh insights and wisdom with our community in a live Q&A format.

According to Buddhist wisdom, there are five afflictive emotions at the root of our suffering: craving, aggression, ignorance, pride, and jealousy. In this call, Ani Pema will be speaking directly to the wisdom of these difficult emotions, sharing insights on how to work with them skillfully, and answering questions from community members on this universal topic. 

Registration is open for a limited time to join this call. Click here to save your spot today! 

An Auspicious and Unusual Ending for Yarne

Not only did we have an outstanding final day of the Yarne retreat with a traditional Tibetan Lhasang ritual and good smokey fire, but it auspiciously coincided with a full solar eclipse.

See some great photos and read more about the Lhasang ritual here. 

See some great photos and read more about the Lhasang ritual here.

Ripening Karma in Group Retreat

If you’ve ever wondered about the value of group practice here is a glimpse of what a few of our Yarne participants have to say about how this 45-day retreat has impacted their outlook.

They have some interesting comments about what they are taking away from this experience into their lives beyond the Abbey.

Read the Interviews here.

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To continue reading the full April 2024 Gampo Abbey Newsletter please click here.