Retreats for Rigpa Mandala Students

Three Month Group Ngöndro Retreat with options for one and two months. The retreat is open to Rigpa students who are familiar with the practice of Ngöndro.

Some Information on the Retreat

If you are longing to go more deeply into your practice, to advance your Ngöndro accumulations, and to wholeheartedly bring the teachings and your practice into your daily life, then you may like to consider spending some time in retreat.

What is Retreat?

In retreat, we create the circumstances to be able to immerse ourselves in practice and the teachings. For a while, we leave our comfort zones and usual distractions of work, families, friends, internet and daily routines, and go to a secluded place where we can spend some time in silence and turn inwards.

With a vast motivation, we enter into the right environment, practice in formal sessions, and then integrate during the breaks – ‘informal practice’. Practicing in
this way gives us the framework for our retreat to bring great benefit, and supports us to continue to bring the practice into our daily lives when we leave the retreat.

What is a Three Month Group Ngöndro Retreat Like?

The retreat takes place in our beautiful long-term retreat building – Longchen – which has single spacious rooms, each with glorious sweeping views over the
ocean.

Retreatants follow a daily schedule that has a mix of group and individual practice, and periods of silence. The day starts at 4.30am with group Ngöndro practice, and concludes with a brief group Tendrel Nyesel practice in the evening. Retreatants also come together for an hour at mid-day to watch a short evocative teaching, to sit, and to do some compassion practice.

The rest of the day is devoted to individual practice, where retreatants can focus on whichever practice they are accumulating, such as Refuge, Bodhichitta, or Vajrasattva. There is also time for other practices, such as exploring meditation practice, Loving Kindness, and deepening the contemplation of the Four Thoughts using chégom – analytical meditation, and jok gom – settling or resting meditation.

In such an environment, it is possible to not only enter very deeply into practice, but also to see some of the patterns, habits, blind spots, emotions and feelings that we often suppress and avoid. And in the safe environment of retreat, we have the time, the space and the support to open to them and gently work with them.

Reconciliation Practice

This process is supported by a practice of Confession and Reconciliation that retreatants do together on tsok days. Buddhist communities, particularly monastic
communities, long ago recognised that tensions within a spiritual community due to miscommunication can block the work of the group and the spiritual progress of the individuals concerned, and developed a tradition of how to work skilfully with such situations through the practice of confession. This confession and reconciliation practice is closely modelled on those used in Buddhist monasteries, and developed through research into similar practices used in centres run by Chagdud Tulku, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Amaravati, a Theravadin monastery in the UK.

Support During Your Retreat

During the three year retreat Rinpoche gave a lot of advice about how to support people in retreat. So there are monthly check-ins with the Retreat Manager to see how things are going for you, and to offer a space where you can talk about what is going on. Sometimes a particular teaching can be recommended that directly talks about the emotion, blockage or resistance that you are going through.

Concluding Your Retreat Well

The last day of the retreat is celebrated with a generous tsok, and a full dedication to dedicate all the merit of your retreat. After that, there is a period of four to five days to come out of retreat slowly and gradually, before returning back home.

What’s the Next Step?

If you would like to find out more about the retreat, the next step is to talk to Ann Alford, the retreat manager. It can be a very general chat, just to ask questions and explore options.

If you decide that you would like to do the retreat, as part of the application process you can share your aspirations for the retreat, your current practice focus, whether you have yet had any experience of retreat, etc. We then ask for a divination on your behalf, and also talk to an Instructor who knows you – these two steps are to check that this is a good time for you to do retreat.

Terton Sogyal Foundation Study and Practice Grants

If you have a heartfelt wish to do one of these retreats but face financial challenges, you can avail of flexible payment options or apply for a Study and Practice grant towards your retreat contribution.

To contact Ann Alford, email retreats@dzogchenbeara.org

Yang Nying Pudri Nyenpa
5 September 2023 to 26 January 2024
with options to enter the retreat for one, two or three months.

Yang Nying Pudri is a cycle of Vajrakilaya practices revealed as a terma by Tertön Sogyal. It is the main yidam practice of the Rigpa sangha, and this is a unique opportunity to do this extraordinary practice with the inspiration and support of a secluded group retreat.

For further information, email: retreats@dzogchenbeara.org

Terton Sogyal Foundation Study and Practice Grants

If you have a heartfelt wish to do one of these retreats but face financial challenges, you can avail of flexible payment options or apply for a Study and Practice grant towards your retreat contribution.

To register your interest and receive information write to retreats@dzogchenbeara.org

Terton Sogyal Foundation Study and Practice Grants

If you have a heartfelt wish to do one of these retreats but face financial challenges, you can avail of flexible payment options or apply for a Study and Practice grant towards your retreat contribution.

Personal Retreats are an opportunity to go much deeper into practice away from the busyness of our daily lives, whether we are accumulating Ngondro, practicing meditation or loving kindness, or wish to deepen our study.

In retreat we benefit from the three components which support us in integrating the benefit of our practice into daily life – right environment, practice in formal sessions, and integrating during the breaks.

Your retreat can be a short as a few days or up to several months and your schedule will be worked out to suit you.

You will have a single room in a reserved retreat area with glorious views out over the Atlantic Ocean. Rigpa students have been doing retreat in these rooms for over 20 years, and fruition of their practice is tangible – you can feel the blessings in the peaceful and settled atmosphere.

There is silence in the retreat area until 1pm, and again from 8pm onwards.

You are welcome to join the local sangha for daily group practices and to participate in daily guided meditation and loving kindness sessions.

Cost
The cost of only €50 a day includes access to an extensive library of books and teachings and instructor support as well as full catering and a laundry service, so you can devote your entire day to undistracted practice.

Travel

Further Information

Catering
All meals are vegetarian and we can offer a gluten and dairy free special diet if needed.

“Dzogchen Beara is a place where all thoughts and emotions find space to come to rest by themselves. The open sky with the sun, the wind, the sea, the fog, the rain and the weather´s constant change make you experience the constant change of everything. You wake up and you can´t see anything because it´s so foggy, after one hour of practice you look up and suddenly there is the sea and the waves, one hour later the sky wears the most beautiful blue dress and the seagulls glide through the sky, 30 minutes later rain. No chance to hold on a single experience as lasting. This very direct experience of change is safely held in an atmosphere of practice and love and care. I could open up completely. I got in touch with all kinds of feelings and emotions and had the space to let them go again and see their impermanent nature. At the same time I got in touch with something bigger that hosts all these risings. Clarity took place. I found space in myself and I carry Dzogchen Beara in my heart wherever I go to keep me in touch with my true nature.”
– A Ngondro student who did three weeks personal retreat

We now offer the opportunity for Ngondro/Sadhana students to come and be on retreat at Dzogchen Beara, for no charge, in exchange for five hours work a day, five days a week.

Positions on this Work-Retreat Programme are available for periods of one month up to three months, and depend on the skills of the retreatant matching the needs of the tasks that Dzogchen Beara needs to be done.

Work-Retreat Programme retreatants have a single room in the personal retreat area, with glorious views out over the Atlantic Ocean., They follow a daily schedule of personal practice, and keep all the retreat guidelines and boundaries.

Benefits
You will have access to an extensive library of books and teachings and instructor support as well as full catering and a laundry service, and,outside the five hours work a day, will be able to focus undistractedly on practice

Travel

For further information email: retreats@dzogchenbeara.org