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Psychology of Tantra - with Rob Preece
Title:
Psychology of Tantra - with Rob Preece
When:
October 05, 2012 - October 08, 2012 
Category:
Upcoming Events

Description

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Category: Retreat

Level: All Levels

Level of silence: Full

 

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Retreat Overview

Eastern tradition and Western psyche

The Tantric tradition is extraordinary and profound, but we cannot automatically assume that we will be able to absorb it into our western psyche. Even when we practice we may do so in a way that does not immediately address our Western psychological process. Performing lengthy rituals and sadhanas may give us a blessing but we may not deeply change unless we can truly connect to what is happening. To do so may require that we bridge our understanding to make the Tantric tradition accessible to our western mind and experience. Lama Yeshe said we must 'taste the practice' and to enable this he was willing to approach practice in a more creative way. His example was a of willingness to experiment, to be creative and to use our western psychological background to make the tantric tradition accessible.

During this retreat we will look at the way in which the Tantric tradition works, using particularly the understanding of C.G Jung as a bridge.  In this process we will explore the following themes: the basic psychological ground, upon which Tantra is based and useful maps of the psyche; the nature of the energy body; the alchemical principle of tantra and the archetypal nature of deity practice; the guru disciple relationship.

 

This retreat will be primarily in silence and there will be guided meditation practices throughout. Rob Preece will also open up the space for discussion around these themes so that we can address people’s questions. This is an opportunity to investigate deeply the way in which tantra can be integrated into our western experience and emerge as the creative process as Lama Yeshe always wished it would be.

 

This retreat will be useful for both those who are relatively new to the Tantric tradition as well as those with experience. Some meditation experience would be helpful.

 

Teacher Bio

rob_preece_smallRob Preece has been a practicing Tibetan Buddhist for the past 40 years. He was a founding member of Manjushri Institute in the UK and lived there until 1980 when he went into retreat above Daramsala on the guidance of Lama Yeshe and Zopa Rinpoche. He remained there for the next five years primarily in retreat but with the opportunity to study with a number of eminent lamas including Song Rinpoche, Lati Rinpoche, Gomo Rinpoche and H.H. Dalai Lama.

Returning to the west in 1985 he began to train as a Psychotherapist at the Centre for Transpersonal Psychology in London, a Jungian based psychotherapy. Since that time he has had a busy Psychotherapy practice and has taught many workshops on comparative Jungian and Buddhist Psychology. More recently his work has shifted from psychotherapy to spiritual mentoring.

Over the past 25 years Rob has also lead many meditation retreats introducing the practices of the Tantric tradition with a wish to honor Lama Yeshe's profound and creative approach to practice.  Many of these retreats bring together the combination of meditation and movement guided by his wife Anna. In 2005 Rob was initiated as a Granicero or 'weather worker' within the Nahual tradition of Central Mexico something that informs his work with the land and weather within which he lives in the UK. He brings together the Tantric tradition with this shamanic background as a means to help Tantric practice become grounded in relation to the land and the elements of the natural world. Rob is an experienced Thangka painter and keen gardener and is the father of two boys. He is the author of The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra, The wisdom of imperfection, The Courage to Feel and Preparing for Tantra.

 

Schedule

The full schedule is still to be decided, but see below for starting and ending times.

 

First day:

 

3-5pm

Registration

5:15-6pm

Working Meditation Training

7pm

Orientation session

7:30pm

Opening Session

 

 

Last day:

The retreat will end at 2:30pm

 

Fees

To ensure maximum convenience and that  most of your money goes to Vajrapani Institute,  we encourage payment of deposits by CC and balance payments via Check or Cash on arrival. Small third-party processing fee’s apply for CC transactions.

 

Psychology of Tantra

October 5-8

 

 

Nights:

3

 

 

 

Fees (inclusive of accommodation, meals, retreat fees)

Non-Member

Member

10%

Camping

$258.55

$232.70

Main Dormitory

$318.55

$286.70

Semi-Private Dormitory

$363.55

$327.20

 

 

Private Room

$513.55

$462.20

Private Room SHARE OPTION

$300.00

$270.00

Cabin

$573.55

$516.20

Preview Accommodations

Financial Aid is Available!

See our FAQ for full Registration Policies.

Recomended Reading

 

PsyBudTan_rob_preecesmall

The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra

                          ---     by Rob Preece

This book masterfully succeeds in clarifying the nature of tantric practice. In contrast to the approaches of conventional religion, tantra does not attempt to soothe the turmoil of existence with consoling promises of heaven and salvation. The tantric practitioner chooses to confront the bewildering and chaotic forces of fear, aggression, desire, and pride, and to work with them in such a way that they are channeled into creative expression, loving relationships, and wisely engaged forms of life.

In order to make the processes of tantra psychologically intelligible for a contemporary reader, Rob Preece makes judicious use of the work of modern psychotherapy, forging a compelling link between a Western tradition that hearkens back to the alchemical traditions of our own past and the comparably "alchemical" strategies of Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices. In keeping with the pragmatic and therapeutic aims of both psychotherapy and Buddhist meditation, The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra never loses sight of the central importance of applying these ideas to the concrete realities of day-to-day life.

By illuminating the richly symbolic language of tantra through the intermediate language of psychology, The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra points to the transformative nature of tantric practices.

 

 

intro_tantra_lamayeshe_sIntroduction to Tantra

      ---   by Lama Yeshe

"When Lama Yeshe's Introduction to Tantra first appeared, it was like an illumination, a vision both brilliant and generous, for which many people had spent years waiting and preparing. Even rereading it now, I am thrilled by the clarity and directness of Lama Yeshe's thought. His descriptions of foundation practices and subsequent stages are both essential and complete. I know of no work on tantra that has improved on this."--Philip Glass, from the foreword

"Many people hold misconceptions about tantra. Lama Yeshe's lucid and precise explanation, resulting from years of study and his personal practice, dispels all of these. Demystifying this ancient tradition, he related it to modern life and shows how tantric practice, correctly done, can transform dissatisfaction and clinging into blissful, compassionate wisdom."--Thubten Chodron, author of Buddhism for Beginners

Explains how to use desire skilfully to break down our distorted and deeply entrenched way of seeing things. By learning to use pleasure correctly, we awaken our powerful inner potential. He explains tantric meditation methods and outlines the entire tantric path. "No one has summarized the essence of tantra as well."--Religious Studies Review

"Introduction to Tantra, with its foreword by Philip Glass, deserves to be widely distributed -- it will be very helpful to lots of people."-- Prof. Robert Thurman, Jey Tsong Khapa Chair in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University

"The best introductory work on Tibetan Buddhist tantra available."--Janet Gyatso, Hershey Chair of Buddhist Studies, Harvard Divinity School