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| Lam Rim Retreat: Meditations on the Great Path to Enlightenment |
Lam Rim Retreat: Meditations on the
Great Path to Enlightenment
Led by Professor David Gardiner
March 10-12, 2006
Summit Dharma Center Retreat Center, Fairplay
(3 p.m. Friday -2 p.m. Sunday)
Cost: $150 - (Please pay at signup, non-refundable)
Please call John or Mike at 719-836-3843,
Or email retreats@summitdharmacenter.org
Or use signup sheets at local classes to sign up!
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Dr. David Gardiner has taught Buddhism and related subjects in the Religion Department of Colorado College in Colorado Springs since 1998. He began learning Buddhism in the late 1970's at Amherst College with Robert Thurman, under the guidance of Tibetan lamas who lived with Dr. Thurman. This was followed by time spent in India and Nepal working under Gelugpa teachers. He then went to the University of Virginia for his M.A. degree, where he studied Madhyamaka philosophy with Jeffrey Hopkins. Dr. Gardiner completed his Ph.D. in 1995 at Stanford University in East Asian Religions. Alongside his work in teaching and research, he gives talks on Buddhism throughout Colorado, and maintains a practice based on Tibetan traditions. His publications are mainly in the area of early Japanese Tantric Buddhism, and he is currently completing a book on Kukai, the founder of the Japanese Shingon school.
The Lam Rim or "Stages on the Great Path to Enlightenment" was transmitted into Tibet by the Indian scholar & saint Atisa. Early Buddhism in Tibet had suffered greatly from oppression by powerful non-Buddhist kings. During this dark period of Buddhism in Tibet, one of the few remaining lesser kings still devoted to the Dharma heard about Atisha and invited him to Tibet. Upon arrival in Tibet, Atisha's pious conduct soon drew a following of devoted Tibetan students who ardently sought the pure Dharma. They begged him to compose a text which would summarize the whole path for them. Atisha then laid out a step by step work called "Lamp on the Stages of the Path." When a copy of this found its way back to India, elders there were astounded at its clarity and depth.
"The Lam Rim is a most excellent teaching, for it incorporates all the instructions given by Buddha, including those of both the Sutrayana and Vajrayana. Containing basic as well as high teachings, it can be practiced by people of all levels of intelligence and development." - His Holiness the Dalai Lama
In the weekend retreat we will divide our time between teachings on the stages of the path and contemplative meditation focused on these teachings. Put simply, these activities are the causes for one's future enlightenment. This is a retreat well suited for beginning to intermediate practicioners while being helpful to longer-term students as a reminder of their reasons for practicing.
Mangalam: May all be auspicious for you as you travel the path!
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