Event Details

Who

Tibetan Monks from Sera Monastery 

What

Weeklong Event 

Where

Menla Mountain Retreat, Phoenicia, NY (Catskills) 

When

Sunday, July 24, 2011 At 05:00 PM  

How

If you have questions or would like to register, please email menla@menla.org or call 845-688-6897 ext.7513. 

Details

This is not a seven day retreat. Local residents can sign up in advance for attendance per day or per session. If you live too far away to commute, you can secure housing at Menla for any number of days Thursday through Sunday only if you register at least three days in advance. After Sunday, you would need to book a room at a local lodging facility and register as a commuter. 

About the Event

 

Chenrezig Sand Mandala Creation and Special Events with Monks from Sera Monastery
July 22 - 27, 2011

From the Sera Monastery in exile in India, the 2011 World Peace Tour is coming to Menla Mountain Retreat.  For 6 days, from July 23-27, the public will be invited to watch the creating of the Chenrezig Sand Mandala, the Mandala of Compassion. For Tibetan Buddhists, compassion is sensitivity to the suffering of others and the attempts to relieve suffering.  It is the realization that we (human beings, animals, and the earth itself) are all interconnected.  Chenrizig (Avalokiteshvara) is the Buddhist diety who personifies the ideal of compassion. 

The building of the Mandala, a traditional, sacred diagram, is a method of bringing peace and harmony into our world. After the Mandala is created, it will be ceremonially dismantled and the sands thrown into a mountain stream running through Menla,. The building and destruction of the Mandala is to remind us of the impermanence of the world. The offering of the sands to the water also serves to eliminate untimely death, disease, famine, etc. Merit is then generated for world peace and true happiness for all sentient beings.

Daily events include:  White Tara Initiation, daily viewing of the Mandala construction, opening and closing ceremonies, Traditional Tibetan Astrology talk, 'Prayers and Offerings for the Earth', Rab-ne (dedication of the new Mahasukha Spa), Choed or Trusol RabNe (washing/bathing ritual), and individual and small group divinations and individual remedies.

Vegetarian lunches and dinners will be available Friday through Sunday only and must be reserved by July 16. Local restaurants in Phoenicia within 3 miles for those not able to reserve on-site meals by the 16th. 


Ven. Tritual Jampa Kalden, recognized as the 6th incarnate of Gaden Tripa Ngawang Choekyi, will be giving the White Tara Initiation and the Blessings and Rituals.

Ven. Geshe Tenzin Choephel  is the chanting mater for the SERA MONKS WORLD PEACE TOUR 2011 and will lead the Sand Mandala creation.

Geshe Tenzin is the monastery's spiritual leader for the upcoming World Peace Tour .

Ven. Tenzin Thinlay is  translator and head of assistance for the 2011 World Peace Tour.


You may also sign up for the following small group or individual consultations and traditional remedies with Ven. Tritul Jampa Kalden Rinpoche by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

1.  Jhabtrue:  Purification of body, speech and mind. Performed individually or in groups. On the basis of Vajravidharan.

2.  Jhed-drol:  Release from occult effects. Individually.
3.  Jhangwa:  Purification for deceased. On the basis of medicine Buddha. Performed collectively or individually.
4. Tibetan Astrology Consultation


Costs

- Lunches:  $18/each (per person)
- Dinners:  $25/each (per person)
- Attendance:  Suggested Donation of $10-$30 per day (but no one turned away). Children are free!

Schedule of Events

Friday July 22
1:30                        Individual Remedies (by prior appointment) – 15 min each
5-6                          Opening Ceremony and Mandala Creation Begins
6 – 7pm                  Optional Dinner (must register by 7/16/11)
7:30pm                   White Tara Initiation

Saturday, July 23
8-9 am                   Breakfast (not open to public)
10am-12 pm          Sand Mandala Creation Begins
12:30-1:30 pm       Optional Lunch (must register by 7/16/11)
1:30 pm                 Chanting and Mahasukha Spa Blessing (Rab-ne)
3-5 pm                   Mandala Creation
5-6 pm                   Public Prayer and Offering for the Earth-  Grandmother Barbara
                              Threecrow with monks)
6-7 pm                   Optional Dinner (must register by 7/16/11)
7:30 pm                  Individual Remedies (by prior appointment) – 15 min each

Sunday, July 24
8-9 am                  Breakfast (not open to public)
10am-12pm          Mandala Creation
12:30-1:30pm       Optional Lunch (must register by 7/16/11)
2-5 pm                  Mandala Creation
5-6 pm                  Individual Remedies (by prior appointment) – 15 min each
6-7 pm                  Optional Dinner (must register by 7/16/11)
7:30 pm                Tonal Chanting (with Tibetan Instruments) and Tibetan Astrology Talk

Monday, July 25
8-9 am                  Breakfast (not open to public)
10am-12pm          Mandala Creation
2-5 pm                  Mandala Creation
5-6 pm                  Individual Remedies (by prior appointment) – 15 min each

Tuesday, July 26
10am-12pm          Mandala Creation
2-5 pm                  Mandala Creation
5-6 pm                  Individual Remedies (by prior appointment) – 15 min each
7:30 pm                Trusol  Rabne or Choed, , Question & Answer (open to public)
                               (Chanting prior to talk)

Wednesday, July 27
10am-12pm          Mandala Creation
2-5 pm                  Mandala construction and Closing Ceremony by stream

About the Presenter