Bodhicitta, Mind Training and Mahamudra
with Venerable René Feusi
Tuesdays, 12–1:45pm EDT ONLINE
Note: Last class will be Aug 15 2023 and will resume in the Fall. Fall starting date TBA.
The class began on May 9, 2023 and will be once a week on Tuesdays. Teachings will go on for a few months. The class will last about 90 minutes, followed by Q&A for 15 minutes.
This is a rare opportunity to attend teachings with Venerable René who will lead guided meditations on guru yoga using the text, The Hundreds Deities of the Land of Joy. This meditation practice offers methods to help clear negative habits and to develop the positive qualities of compassion and wisdom. These practices are a perfect preparation for the Mahamudra practices that will follow. Mahamudra has been described as the path to realizing the “mind as it is” based mostly on the Gelug Kagyu Tradition. These guided practices will help to deepen our Bodhicitta and increase our focus on Mind Training. This class is open to students of all levels.
In order to create a group atmosphere, we are kindly asking you to leave your camera on during the class, except for those who have technical difficulties.
There will be audio recordings available for those who would like to listen to the missed classes and the Facebook “Lamrim Mahamudra” page for those who would like to communicate with each other about the class.
Important Note
This is an online-only event that is administered using Zoom.
This course is being offered in conjunction with a number of FPMT centers globally, thus the registration method will be different from Shantideva Center’s usual process.
*Zoom is an interactive video-conferencing tool that allows participants to see one another and ask questions. You will need a computer, a tablet or a smartphone with the Zoom application to attend. If you are using Zoom for the first time, please login earlier to allow any necessary installations on your device.
Registration
Please use this Registration link to be added to the roster. If you are unable to access the roster link, here is another option. The roster of all registered participants will be used for class reminders and to distribute any materials that Venerable René provides. Reminders and materials will be sent to the email that you registered with.
Each week before the session, all the participants on the roster will receive a link to register on Zoom. After registering on Zoom, participants will receive a confirmation email with the actual Zoom link. FPMT Centers are using this two-step Zoom registration process to reduce the probability of Zoom bombing when Zoom links are openly available to anyone.
NOTE: To receive the weekly Zoom link, please make sure you sign up to be added to the roster using the Registration link.
For any questions please contact: LamrimMahamudra@gmail.com
Additional Materials
Recordings
Audio recordings in downloadable format are available here.
Dana for the Teacher
Through the generosity of Venerable René, this program is offered freely to the FPMT community. To support Venerable René (Losang Tensin) directly, you may offer dana by using this donate button.
About the Teacher
Venerable René Feusi was born in Switzerland in 1959. He trained as a florist for the purpose of taking over the family business of flower shops in Geneva, as he first encountered Buddhism at the age of 20. He attended the annual November course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. There he met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who were to become his main teachers. When he was 26, he took getsul (novice) ordination in Dharamsala, India and the full ordination (gelong) the following year.
After two years of study and retreats in India and Nepal, Venerable René entered the Nalanda Monastery in France, where he studied under Khensur Rinpoche Geshe Tegchok. After completing his studies and the traditional nine preliminary practices, he entered a two-and-a-half-year solitary retreat at O Sel Ling Retreat Center in Spain.
Since then, he has spent his time teaching and leading retreats in Dharma centers around Europe and the United States and doing solitary retreats. Venerable René was the resident teacher at Vajrapani Institute in the Santa Cruz mountains from 2001 to 2007. Presently he lives in Tonasket, Washington and splits his time between teaching and personal retreat. Venerable René is the author of The Beautiful Way of Life: A Meditation on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva Path.
Those who have had the pleasure and good fortune to attend Venerable René’s teachings, immediately realize that his knowledge is deeply experiential, based on profound meditative insights. He helps his students gain an intuition of their own inner potential and inspires and guides them to become meditators themselves.
