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Working with Your Enemies: Finding Freedom from Hostility and Fear
Sharon Salzberg & Robert Thurman
September 23-25, 2011

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An enemy, whether within (in the shape of a habitual, painful mind state) or without (as someone for whom we steadily feel antipathy or fear) marks the edge between limited lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity and the potential boundlessness of these qualities.

In exoteric Buddhism, “the enemy” is personified by “Mara” the devil, whom Buddha overcomes through the skillful application of wisdom and compassion.  In this workshop we will consider how Mara is dealt with in the Holy Teachings of Vimalakirti as well as how Mara is viewed in other Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings. We will explore inner and outer enemies, look at the fear, anger, and anguish generated by being stuck in a mode of "us" and "them", and focus on the liberation we are capable of. There will be periods of dialogue, discourse, question and answer, and meditation practice.

Sharon Salzberg is cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. She is one of America's leading spiritual teachers and authors, and has been a student of Buddhism since 1971, leading meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Sharon's latest book is The Force of Kindness, published by Sounds True. She is also the author of Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, published by Riverhead Books; Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness and A Heart as Wide as the World, both published by Shambhala Publications; and co-author with Joseph Goldstein of Insight Meditation: A Step-by-Step Course on How to Meditate (audio), from Sounds True. For more information about Sharon, please visit: www.sharonsalzberg.com

Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Studies at Columbia University, President of Tibet House U.S., a popular lecturer on Tibetan Buddhism, the translator of many philosophical treatises and sutras, and author of numerous books including the national bestseller, Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness; Anger, the fifth book from a series on the Seven Deadly Sins, offered by The New York Public Library and Oxford University Press. His most recent book is titled Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World, published by Atria Books/Beyond Words.


Tuition – $290 (per person);  $261 (THUS members)

Accommodations - please refer to the tab below for options and pricing.

Limited Partial Scholarships Available for Those in Need - please call Michael Burbank at the number above.

Cancellation Policy

- If you cancel two weeks prior to the program, you will receive a 100% refund, minus a $35 processing fee.

- If you cancel one full day to two weeks prior to the program, you will receive full credit, minus a $35 processing fee, which can be applied to any other Tibet House sponsored program at Menla. This credit is valid for one year.

- If you cancel the day of the program or do not show up for any reason, no refund or credit will be given.

Tibet House US/Menla Mountain Retreat reserves the right to cancel any program at any time for low enrollment or circumstances beyond our control. Should this happen, a full refund will be offered.