Vajrapani Institute
P.O. Box 2130
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
(831) 338-6654 

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Heruka Chakrasamvara
with Ven. Rene
November 28-December 21

This three-week retreat will concentrate on the practice of Heruka Body Mandala.  The empowerment of Heruka Body Mandala (which was given at Vajrapani Institute by Choden Rinpoche last May) is required for this retreat.  When you register, please indicate when, where and from whom you have recieved this empowerment.

The retreat will focus on the generation stage practice of Heruka Body Mandala, with special emphasis on transforming the experience of death, intermediate state, and rebirth into the Three Buddha’s Bodies.   Retreaters will also familiarize themselves with the tantric yoga methods of seeing themselves and others as deities, the environment as a celestial mansion or Buddha paradise, the feelings/sensations as bliss and emptiness and to their own actions as Buddha’s activities.  



REQUIREMENTS
Attendants must have the follow prerequisites:

- Heruka Body Mandala empowerment from a qualified lama
- Daily practice of Six Session Guru Yoga and the commitments received in the Heruka Body Mandala empowerment
-In depth familiarization with the meditations on the Stage of the Path (Lam Rim)

Your registration for the retreat will be checked and approved by Venerable René Feusi and will be confirmed by email or phone.


Venerable René was born in Switzerland in 1959. He first encountered Buddhism at the age of 20, when he attended the annual November course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. When he was 26 he took getsul (novice) ordination in Dharamsala, India and took (gelong) full ordination the following year.

Venerable René Feusi, has been trained in the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in the experiential lineage of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

He has been sharing this experiential approach for the past 23 years. He helps students get an intuition of their own inner potential and inspires them to become meditators themselves.

Venerable René’s fascination for how the mind works and how it can be positively transformed is infectious:  

“Life is exciting. The spiritual journey is about becoming a better human being and give our lives far reaching meaning. The whole spiritual work is challenging, it’s creative and it’s fun.”

Some comments from his students:

"Venerable René has been the source of profound happiness and contentment in my life. He has deeply changed it for the better. May he live long."

"What goes on is phenomenal. He takes me by the hand and gently shows me how to get a sense, a feeling, a glimpse of how things really are. Then alone I know how to find that place again and cultivate it."

"Venerable Rene has helped me to advance my meditation practice to places I've never gone before."

More information about Ven. Rene


Heruka Chakrasamvara Retreat with Venerable Rene

Nov 28- Dec 21

There are two ways to do this Heruka Body Mandala Retreat:

Option 1:
Do the Approximation Retreat, where one has to recite the required number of mantras and finish with a Fire Puja. For those planning to do the retreat in this way, bring your own cushion in case you don’t finish the recitation of the mantra, you can finish at home after the group retreat (as it is necessary to complete the number on the same cushion)
Option 2:
The second way to do this retreat is for those that do not wish to complete the mantra recitations.   These individuals may simply attend the three weeks without further commitments. This option doesn’t require individuals to bring their own meditation cushion.
The retreat for them will focus on learning to do the Heruka Body Mandala Sadhana, not to finish the mantra recitations. The attendants shouldn’t push themselves to try to finish the mantras during these three weeks. It is recommended to enjoy the practice. “It is a beautiful practice; it is amazing,” says Venerable Rene.

Retreaters can also rent a cabin at Vajrapani Institute after the retreat to complete the mantra recitations.  It usually takes about five to six weeks to complete the mantra recitations.
In both cases the retreat will end with a Fire Puja on the last day of the retreat. (21th December)

Those who wish to complete the recitations of the mantra at home, must continue to do the long sadhana daily until they do the final fire puja.  This final fire puja will mark the completion of the Approximation Retreat.
It is necessary for individuals to do another fire puja after completion of the mantra recitations.  As a way to help attendants in their practice, Vajrapani Institute will offer a fire puja about a month after the retreat for those not able to do the fire puja on their own. This month will allow the retreaters to finish the mantra recitations at home.

The practitioners that correctly complete the whole retreat can do self initiations of the deity. Pabonkha Rinpoche explains that each self initiation has the same purification power of 100,000 Vajrasattva mantras well recited.

All attendees must arrive on the first day. People are allowed to leave earlier, but they cannot come back to the retreat.  This serves as a way to keep the energy for the rest of the retreaters.

The sadhanas will be distributed at the beginning of the retreat. 
It is required for retreaters to order the book “Heruka Body Mandala Sadhana and Tsog and Commentary by Lati Rinpoche” from the website http://www.thubtenchodron.org/Publications/HerukaBodyMandala/index.html. This commentary can be read as a preparation for the retreat and will used by Venerable Rene as a part of the instructions. 

Vajrapani Institute is very pleased to offer this retreat at a reduced rate in order to enable more students to participate in this wonderful opportunity. We have lowered our standard daily rate by 30%. Please rejoice with us. If you have the good fortune not to have financial constraints, please consider helping us towards the sponsorship of this retreat.

Fees for Chakrasamvara Retreat (includes accomodation, meals, & retreat fees)
   
 
Non-Member
Member
   
10% off
Camping n/a n/a
Main Dormitory $1,690.00 $1,521.00
Semi Private Dormitory $1,770.00 $1,593.00
   
Private Room (single) $2,310.00 $2,079.00
Privat Room (double) $2,080.00 $1,872.00
Cabin (single) $2,615.00 $2,353.50
Cabin (double) $2,230.00 $2,007.00

SCHEDULE
November 28: 
3:00pm-5:00pm                Registration
6:00pm                             Dinner
7:30pm                             Introduction session.

November 29 to December 21:
                                               
6:00am-8:00am                 First session (Six Session Guru Yoga and long sadhana)
8:00am-9:30am                Breakfast break               
9:30am-12:00pm              Second session (Study of the sadhana and practice of the sadhana with a tea break in the middle)
12:00pm-3:00pm              Lunch break
3:00pm-6:00pm                Third session (Study of the sadhana and practice of thesadhana with a tea break in the middle)                 
6:00pm-7:30pm                Dinner break     
7:30pm-9:30pm                Fourth session (Sadhana practice)

The retreat will end on December 21th with lunch.


                               
WHAT TO BRING
- Bell, dorje, damaru (small two-headed drum)
- Meditation cushion (if doing approximation retreat)
- Inner offering (Venerable Rene will provide an inner offering for people that need it)

No one will be turned away for lack of funds

Click here for details regarding financial aid

Click Here for Course and Registration General Info

Cancellation Policy 

A position for Course Manager Scholarship is no longer available for this course. Click here for more information about the Course Manager position.