Information about accomodation & other practical matters if this is your first retreat at Jamyang-
Jamyang is a Buddhist centre located in the heart of London. It belongs to the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and is affiliated with the FPMT, a worldwide network of Buddhist centres. Since the mid 1990s Jamyang has been located at the Old Courthouse in Kennington. This is a Victorian building that, as its name suggests, used to function as a courthouse. The conversion of the building was done in such a way as to keep many of the original features. We use four of the original cells as rooms that we rent out, though we don't lock you in anymore! There is a courtyard garden and a cafe (this may be closed during retreats) as well as a well stocked library. Nearby is the Peace Garden which was opened by His Holiness the Dalai Lama over ten years ago.
As a Buddhist centre, we expect
visitors to abide by five main rules:
* No killing (including insects)
* No stealing
* No lying
* No alcohol or drugs
* No sexual activity
We serve vegetarian food cooked on the premises. If you have any special dietary requirements please let the Office know in advance we will see if we can help.
Jamyang is not a dedicated Retreat Centre but we endeavour to make it as comfortable as possible for people staying. We usually convert two rooms into dormitories, one for men and one for women. Of necessity the facilities are somewhat basic. We provide the room, heating and a mattress, together with the bathrooms and meals. You will need to provide the rest. So please bring a sleeping bag, towel, pillow and your own wash kit.
Whilst on retreat feel free to talk to any of the staff at Jamyang about any concerns you may have. The Office is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm.
We hope you have a very happy and rewarding stay at Jamyang
Gradual Path (Lam Rim) Summer Retreat with Geshe Tashi Tsering
Suitable for all – but especially for those who have followed the gradual path course over the Wednesday evenings in the summer programme or those who need to fulfill their lam.rim retreat commitment as part of their commitment to the FPMT Discovering Buddhism course.
Saturday 31 July to Sunday 8 August First day 9am – 6m (with no Mahayana precepts), last day 8am – 1pm (with no Mahayana precepts), all other days 8am – 6pm (with Mahayana precepts)
Suggested donation: Living out £200, Living in dorm £290, Living in single cell £370 (all including lunch)
The Gradual path to enlightenment meditations guide practitioners through a series of step by step practices designed to bring them closer to full enlightenment. In Lama Tsongkhapa’s tradition there are four phases to spiritual growth:
• Stopping petty concern and small mindedness;
• Working to fully enlighten yourself;
• Working to fully enlighten others in bliss; and
• Seeing the dynamic of reality just as it is free of veiling superstition.
Over these eight days Geshe Tashi will lead participants in reviewing these stages using a mixture of talks and meditation to enable people to get a better feel for the kinds of attitude and understanding necessary to become truly beneficial for oneself and others.
Recommended Reading: The Path to Enlightenment by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This book published by Snow Lion Press and available from Wisdom Books in London contains His Holiness’ teachings on the Essence of Refined Gold Lamrim Text by the Great Fifth Dalai Lama. The fifth Dalai Lama’s texts is considered one of the seven greatest Lam Rim texts and a seminal work on the gradual path style of meditation.
Vajrasattva Retreat with Jason Upton and Deniz Csernoklavek
Suitable for all
Wednesday 11 – Sunday 15 August 8am – 6pm daily (with Mahayana precepts and kriya tantra dietary restrictions)
Suggested donation: Living out £125 (includes lunch); Living in dorm £175 (includes lunch); Living in single cell £225 (includes lunch)
Jason and Deniz will lead a short intensive five day retreat focusing on Vajrasattva the deity of purification and combining that practice with holding the eight Mahayana vows and following the dietary restrictions set out in the Buddhist Kriya tantras.
The practice of Vajrasattva comes from the Tantric style of Buddhist practice. This retreat will focus on Vajrasattva as a single white male deity embodying the purification power of all the enlightened beings and take people through the four powers that make purification practice string and effective: the power of reliance, the power of regret, the power of remedial action and the power of promise. For those with kriya and Highest Yoga Tantra initiations Deniz and Jason will explain how to adjust the visualisation to suit their needs. For those with no tantra initiation Jason and Deniz will explain how to meditate on purification using white light imagery.
The eight Mahayana precepts are taken for a period of 24 hours with a motivation to become fully enlightened in order to best help others be free of suffering. The vows are: not to kill, not to take that which is not freely given, no sexual activity, no false or deceitful words, no drinking alcohol, no eating of food or thick drinks after noon, no engaging in activities that increase pride, no engaging in activities that increase attachment.
The dietary restrictions of kriya tantra require not eating ‘dark/ heavy’ foods such as meat, fish, fowl, alcohol, onions, radish, garlic which over excite the subtle energies in the body and permit the eating of ‘white/ refined foods such as milk, butter, cheese, refined sugar, polished rice, refined flour etc.
Jason and Deniz are established Buddhist practitioners and have been practising together for many years. They have studied and practiced in a number of different Buddhist schools and traditions and are known for the clarity of their explanations and visualisations, the purity and sincerity of their practice and the mindful way they keep behavioural and dietary vows and restrictions.
Goddess Meditation Retreat on Mother Tara with Geshe Tashi Tsering
Suitable for all
Weekend of Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October 8am – 6pm
Suggested donation: Live out £20, Live in dorm £50 (Includes two nights – Friday and Saturday - with breakfast and lunch), Live in single room £70 (includes two nights – as above - with breakfast and lunch)
The Emerald Green Goddess Tara the liberator is the embodiment of all the compassionate active helping energy of the female and male Buddhas. She is the embodiment of active engaged confident female energy. Meditating on her energizes us to rid ourselves of suffering and get actively and practically involved in relieving the suffering of others. for
Compassion Meditation Retreat on Chenrezig with Geshe Tashi Tsering
Suitable for all
Weekend of Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 November 8am – 6pm (with Mahayana precepts)
Suggested donation: Live out £20, Live in dorm £50 Includes two nights with lunch), Live in single room £70 (includes two nights with lunch)
The crystal white deity of Chenresig the greatly compassionate one is the epitome of the unlimited unbiased compassion of the enlightened ones. His soft and gentle kind energy inspires us to soothe away our own personal pain and the miseries of the world. Meditating on him inspires us to work gently with everyone we meet to set us all free from unhappiness.
Purifying Anger Akshobhya Retreat with Geshe Tashi
Suitable for all
Weekend of Saturday 11 and 12 December 8am – 6pm (with
Mahayana precepts)
Suggested donation:
Live out £20,
Live in dorm £50 Includes two nights with lunch), Live in single room £70
(includes two nights with lunch)
The deep blue deity Akshobhya is the epitome of
all the
energy of the male and female Buddhas’ energy that purifies deep rooted
anger
and resentment and clears the mind and body of harsh thoughts and
actions. His
deep spacious nature naturally dissolves all tight anger and hatred in
the
space like vastness of pristine awareness. Meditating on him helps us
to be free
from the constraining and restricting effects of anger in the heart.
Chenresig
Nyung Nay Fasting Practice –with Jason Upton
Sunday
19 to Friday 24 December
Suitable
for all, but especially for those with initiation into or ritual
permission to
do the deity practice of Chenresig.
Living
in only. Arrive Sunday 19 December 5pm for 7pm start. Leave Friday 24
December 9am.
Suggested
donation: Living in Dorm (£80 for 5 nights), Living in Cell (£130 for 5
nights)
The
fasting practice of Nyung Nay (doing with less) comes from the kriya
tantras
and is traditionally combined with any one of three different deity
practices,
Chrenresig, Amitayus and Akshobhya. The fasting practice of Nyung Nay
combined
with Chenresig the deity of compassion is a practice particularly
stressed by
Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche for students in the FPMT and has been a regular
feature of
the annual calendar of events at Jamyang over the years. Chenresig
Nyung Nay
is a very effective method to purify bad karma and to move on from that
to grow
spiritually, and this year we are very fortunate that Jason Upton has
offered
to lead a series of two consecutive Chenresig Nyung Nays just before
Christmas.
The
main practice involves meditating on the epitome of the compassionate
care of all
the enlightened ones as it manifests in the deity Chenresig with a
thousand
hands and eyes in order to generate extraordinary uncontrived
spontaneous great
compassion in the mind of the meditator. This done by following the
meditative
chants, riutual guestures and visualisations of the sadhana (practice
text)
combined with many ecstatic prostrations while praising aloud the
qualities of
great compassion. And this is then repeated three or four times a day.
This
is combined with the Nyung Nay practice. This involves taking the eight
Mahayana precepts on the first of two days and then taking fasting vows
to
totally refrain from speaking (except chanting), eating and drinking for
a
period of a day and night on the morning of the second day . The eight Mahayana precepts are taken
for a period of 24
hours with a motivation to become fully enlightened in order to best
help
others be free of suffering. The vows are: not to kill, not to take
that
which is not freely given, no sexual activity, no false or deceitful
words, no
drinking alcohol, no eating of food or thick viscous drinks after noon,
no
engaging in activities that increase pride, no engaging in activities
that
increase attachment.
Combined with the practice of Nyung Nay practice are the dietary
restrictions of kriya tantra that come with the practice of the
Chenrezig
meditations. These require not eating ‘dark/ heavy’ foods such as
meat, fish, fowl, alcohol, onions, radish, garlic which over excite the
subtle
energies in the body and they encourage the eating of ‘white/ refined
foods such as milk, butter, cheese, refined sugar, polished rice,
refined flour
etc.
Jason Upton is an established Buddhist practitioner and has been
practising for many years. He has studied and practised in a number of
different Buddhist schools and traditions and he is widely respected and
well
known for the clarity of his explanations, visualisations and
realizations, the
purity and sincerity of his practice and the mindful way he carries out
the
ritual gestures and keeps behavioural and dietary vows and restrictions
of the
kriya tantras.
As
the practice days start very early, around 3.30am, it is only possible
to do
this retreat of two consecutive Nyung Nays while living on site. Please
also
note that as the practice requires total fasting on alternate days if
you have
any pre-existing medical condition that might be exacerbated by fasting
that
you check with your doctor that such a dietary regime would be okay and
you
sign the waiver form on arrival at Jamyang.
SPRING PROGRAMME 2011
Three retreats in January 2011 with Geshe Tashi Tsering
First two retreats suitable for all
Third Retreat (Vajrayogini) restricted to those who have taken the initiation of Vajrayogini Naro Khacho
Monday 3 to Sunday 30 January
Suggested donation for all 28 days:
Living out £420 (includes lunch and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well);
Living in dorm £700 (includes lunch, on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well),
Living in single cell £840 for people paid up in the Friends Scheme and £980 for people not in the Friends Scheme (includes lunch, on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well).
The suggested donation course fee element in these prices is £5 a day, the rest is for accommodation and food. Please note there will be two ‘changeover’ days on Wednesday 12 and Friday 21 January with only one session in the morning to allow people to leave and join the various retreats and for those doing the whole thing to catch up on clothes washing etc.
Priority for accommodation on the Kennington site during the retreat, when booking opens on 1st of June, will be given to people booking for the whole 28 day retreat period. Next in priority will be people booking for two out of the three retreats.
Individual retreat descriptions
Shamata Retreat with Geshe Tashi Tsering
Suitable for all
Monday 3 to Wednesday 12 January (10 nights). First day 9am – 6pm. Last day 8am to 10am, all other days 8am – 6pm. (Mahayana precepts on some days).
For those arriving to stay in accommodation on the Kennington site please arrive by 6pm on the night of Sunday 2 January 2010 and vacate your room or dorm space by 11 am on Wednesday 12 January. Thank you.
Suggested donation:
Living out £150 (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well),
Living in dorm £250 (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well),
Living in single cell £300 for those paid up in the Friends Scheme and £350 for people not in the Friends Scheme (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well).
Bodhicitta and Emptiness Retreat with Geshe Tashi Tsering
Suitable for all
Thursday 13 to Friday 21January (9 nights). First day 9am – 6pm. Last day 8am to 10am, all other days 8am – 6pm. (Mahayana precepts on some days).
For those arriving to stay in accommodation on the Kennington site please arrive by 6pm on the evening of Wednesday 12 January and vacate your room or dorm space by 11am on Friday 21 January. Thank you.
Suggested donation:
Living Out £135 (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well);
Living in Dorm £225 (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well);
Living in Cell £270 for those paid up in the Friends Scheme and £315 for those not in the Friends Scheme (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well).
Vajrayogini Retreat with Geshe Tashi Tsering
Restricted to people who have taken the Vajrayogini initiation in the form of the Naro Khacho from a recognised master and able to take the discipline of a retreat.
If you want to do this retreat please email us saying where, when and with which presiding initiation master/ mistress you attended the initiation. All applicant names for this retreat will be checked with Geshe Tashi Tsering before the booking is confirmed.
Saturday 22 to Sunday 30 January (9 nights). First day 9am – 6pm. Last day 8am to 10am, all other days 8am – 6pm. (Mahayana precepts on some days).
For those arriving to stay in accommodation on the Kennington site please arrive by 6pm on the evening of the night before and vacate your room or dorm space on Sunday 30 January by 12 noon. Thank you
Suggested donation:
Living out £135 (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well),
Living in dorm £225 (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well),
Living in single cell £270 for those paid up in the Friends Scheme and £315 for people not in the Friends Scheme (includes lunch, and on Mahayana precept free days includes breakfast and supper as well).
The Naro Khacho form of the Vajrayogini is highly effective and the practice lineage carries great blessings. We will be using the generation stage sadhana published by the FPMT in the first of the volumes on Vajrayogini practice and students are expected to bring their own copy.
