Loading Events

« All Events

Hybrid Hybrid Event
  • This event has passed.

Awakening the Heart by Transforming Resistance – A Tonglen Retreat

August 12, 2022 - August 13, 2022

Hybrid Hybrid Event

Teacher: Lama Liza Baer and Tim Campbell

Register Now!

Tonglen, or taking-and-sending practice, invites us to welcome what is challenging in our daily lives and to share what brings us joy and well-being. It gives us a method to work with whatever we encounter—the sweetness of a cup of tea or the difficulty of a challenging co-worker—to train our minds and hearts to be relaxed, open, clear, and able to be skillful in any situation.

One of the powerful aspects of tonglen practice is that it brings us into contact with our habituated patterns that try to protect us by closing our hearts, turning away, or becoming rigid or overwhelmed. By being present with these patterns and breathing with them, they gradually dissolve and we discover a natural clarity and resourcefulness in our own being. We come to know an innate capacity to be at peace and of benefit in all manner of circumstances.

Please join us as we spend two days exploring the practice of tonglen. We begin by preparing the ground with refuge and bodhicitta, the four thoughts that turn the mind, and the four immeasurables. We learn calm abiding to discover how to rest our attention and remain present, and guru yoga to connect us with the lineage and teachings. We will do several sessions of tonglen, learning the full formal practice and also practices that we can carry with us in daily life.

Tonglen is a simple but powerful practice to train our minds and hearts to be skillful and beneficial in our lives. It gives us a practice to do in uncomfortable situations, and also a way to share our good fortune with others. This is a practice that helps us train as bodhisattvas in this ailing world.

Schedule Each Day
9:00am-12:00pm with breaks
Brown Bag Lunch
1:30pm-4:30pm with breaks

Suggested Readings
No required readings. Suggestions to further understanding:

  • Practice of Lojong by Traleg Rinpoche
  • Training Your Mind by Trungpa Rinpoche
  • Tonglen by Pema Chödrön
  • Buddhism With An Attitude by B. Alan Wallace

Cost

$170 – Your generous contribution allows us to offer these events to those who could not otherwise attend.
$120 – Suggested donation. Your donations make these events possible.
$80 – Reduced level
$50 – Reduced level
$30 – Reduced level
$0 – Donate online (https://staging2.kcc.org/) as you are able (indicate it’s for this retreat in the comment section). No one will be turned away for lack of funds.


Retreat Leaders
Lama Liza Baer completed a traditional three-year retreat at KCC’s retreat center in 2018. She is now an Associate Lama at Kagyu Sukha Chöling in Ashland, OR. Lama Liza teaches classes and meditations on the bodhisattva path, and leads a weekly meditation on YouTube titled Tonglen for Climate Change. Her background is in botany and ecology, as well as structural bodywork, yoga, and Hakomi therapy.

Tim Campbell has been a student of the Dharma for 30 years. First introduced to Buddhist practices by Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, HH The Dalai Lama, and Venerable Thubten Chodron, he has been a sangha member at KCC since 2009. During that time, Tim has served as a member of the Board, Board President, and member of the Program Council. He has led the Mind Training Study Group since 2012 and has assisted in teaching Mind Training retreats at KCC since 2018.

Lama Liza

Details

Start:
August 12, 2022
End:
August 13, 2022
Event Categories:
, ,

Venue

KCC Portland Center
4936 NE Skidmore Street
Portland, OR 97218 United States
+ Google Map