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Category: Retreat Level: All Levels Level of silence: Full
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Retreat OverviewEastern 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
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.
ScheduleThe full schedule is still to be decided, but see below for starting and ending times.
First day:
Last day: The retreat will end at 2:30pm
FeesTo 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.
Recomended Reading
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.
--- 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
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Rob 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.
Introduction to Tantra 