You could have fooled Me- Saturday nite dharma@ Losang Dragpa Kadampa Buddhist Centre April 1st 2023 The 1st of April is April fools day, however this is not the only day of the year that we can be fooled. Every day we are fooled by our own mind, from seeing a spider where there is ... Read more
This special fasting and purification retreat is performed in conjunction with the meditation practice of Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara. Engaging in this retreat is very powerful for purifying negative karma of body, speech and mind and for pacifying strong delusions such as desirous attachment and hatred. It is also a special method for receiving the blessings of ... Read more
We dedicate most of our time and energy trying to avoid problems by making changes to the external world. However, the main cause of our unhappiness and difficulties cannot be found in external conditions. The main cause of our unhappiness and difficulties is the negative karma we have created in the past through performing harmful ... Read more
Death & impermanence • 7-day silent retreat • 14-20 July Meditation on death is the doorway to pure and powerful spiritual practice. It shatters our spiritual complacency, liberates us from the worries and concerns of this life and inspires us to make the most of every moment of our life in a meaningful way. For those ... Read more
Take a day out to immerse yourself in meditation and Buddhist teachings. Explore a specific topic in more detail at one of our monthly one-day meditation courses at held at our Centre or various locations throughout Newcastle
Day courses offer practical solutions to everyday problems of modern living and are suitable for everyone!
Courses consist of teachings and guided meditations. Refreshments are served between sessions.
In our busy modern life we lack the calm and stillness conducive to maintaining a happy and peaceful state of mind. To regain a balance people are drawn to peaceful and quiet places where they can withdraw for a short time and renew their energy – in short, they go on retreat. On retreat we devote our time to meditation and contemplation – it is a time to acquaint our minds with positive and meaningful thoughts.
“On retreat we stop all forms of business and extraneous activities so as to emphasize a particular spiritual practice. There are three kinds of retreat: physical, verbal and mental. We engage in physical retreat when with a spiritual motivation we isolate ourself from other people, activities and noise, and disengage from extraneous and meaningless actions. We engage in verbal retreat when with a spiritual motivation we refrain from meaningless talk and periodically keep silence. We engage in mental retreat by preventing distractions and strong delusions such as attachment, anger, jealousy and strong self-grasping from arising, and by maintaining mindfulness and conscientiousness.
If we remain in physical and verbal retreat but fail to observe mental retreat, our retreat will have little power. Such a retreat may be relaxing, but if we do not prevent strong delusions from arising, our mind will not be at peace, even on retreat. However, keeping physical and verbal retreat will help us to keep mental retreat, and for this reason Shantideva, in Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, praises the first two kinds of retreat.”
Excerpt From: The New Guide to Dakini Land – Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
