Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land Retreat
Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th January see the timetable below
All sessions will be held in the Meditation Room at Uma Kadampa Meditation Centre.
This retreat will be lightly guided by Gen Kelsang Lhachog using instructions for correct meditation practice in the book The Mirror of Dharma with Additions, it is a free event
ABOUT THE PRACTICE
The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land According to Highest Yoga Tantra sadhana, or ritual prayer for spiritual attainments, was composed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche and extracted from the Ganden Emanation Scripture. Through engaging in this practice of Guru yoga – a special way of relying upon our Spiritual Guide – we can quickly receive the blessings of all the Buddhas. It is also a perfect way of preparing our mind to engage successfully in the special Mahamudra meditations of the Ganden Oral Lineage, which will enable us to attain full enlightenment in this life.
We can deepen our understanding of and faith in this precious practice through sincerely studying its commentary in the book The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra, available from Tharpa Publications.
The month of January is a special month in the Kadampa calendar during which we emphasise the practices of Heruka and Vajrayogini, the principal Highest Yoga Tantra Deities of modern Kadampa Buddhism. These sublime practices were bestowed on us by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche and were his heart practices.
Heruka is Buddha’s mind of compassion manifested as form.
In the special prayer, Request to the Lord of All Lineages, it says:
The principal of Akanishta Pure Land, Vajradhara Heruka,
Now appears in this world as an emanation of Heruka
In the form of my root Guru
Who has led me inside the great mandala of the body of Heruka
And granted me the four empowerments to ripen my mental continuum.
Thus I have become a great fortunate one who has the opportunity to accomplish in this life
The Union of Heruka by accomplishing No More Learning, the state of enlightenment.
Kadampa centres around the world celebrate this great good fortune with special pujas, prayers and other events on January 25, which is Heruka Day. For this reason we will engage in Offering To The Spiritual Guide Puja after the Saturday retreat.
We will be using the ritual prayer booklet ‘The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land according to Highest Yoga Tantra’ and although we have copies here that you may use, if you wish to purchase your own please visit Tharpa Publishers UK
See the timetable below
