1 – 29 April | Led by Vessantara + team
Concentrating on the insubstantiality of things, one enters into the śūnyatā samādhi and ‘sees’ the bodhisattva Mañjughoṣa. He is golden yellow in colour and wears the jewels and silks of a prince. Concentrating on the unsatisfactoriness of things, one enters into the wishless (apraṇihita) samādhi and ‘sees’ the figure of Avalokiteśvara, pure white in colour. Concentrating on the impermanence of things, one enters into the signless (animitta) samādhi and ‘sees’ Vajrapāṇi. He is dark blue in colour, like indigo or lapis lazuli. Concentrating on the repulsiveness of conditioned things, one enters into the samādhi of pure beauty, and ‘sees’ Green Tārā, who has the colour of emeralds or jade. All four bodhisattvas are young and beautiful and radiate light. Meeting them, one, in a sense, meets the Buddha, for they are all embodiments of this or that aspect of the Buddha’s enlightened nature.
— Green Tara and the Fourth Laksana, Sangharakshita, 2017
Four weeks. Four laksanas. Four vimokṣas. Four samadhis. Four bodhisattvas to meet. An invitation to enter the Gateways to Freedom.
Held mostly in silence, this retreat for Order members will include periods of teaching and guidance as well as extended periods of no input so you can follow your own thread of practice.
Image: Vasudhara-Tara, Sumtsek Temple, 11th Century CE. Image courtesy of Peter Van Ham.