Urban Retreat:
Awakening in the Modern World
with Venerable Losang Gendun
Sat Sep 28, 9:30am–7pm EDT
Sun Sep 29, 10:30am–5pm EDT
IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Note: Registration will be available soon.
After the Buddha’s passing, subsequent generations of his followers gradually became more despondent about the possibility of becoming enlightened. Like most older generations, they thought that the world was becoming increasingly degenerate. Our times are no different. Great lay disciples of the Buddha, like Anathapindika, a billionaire in his time, offer us a different perspective: a caring motivation and our mind’s innate qualities of awakening can transform the challenges of our times into freedom of mind and boundlessness of heart.
Discover how we can flourish and persevere for the welfare of the web of life on which we depend. This weekend retreat of grounded vipassana (or, insight meditation) will explore the awakening factors, embedded in the caring and courageous attitude of the bodhisattva. Good food, excellent company, and plenty of space for Q&A are included. We will end the retreat with an opportunity to take or renew Refuge and Bodhisattva vows. To learn more about Refuge and Bodhisattva vows, please click here.
Important Note
This is an in-person and online event. Please review our latest Covid-19 policy if you are attending in person. For online, the events will be administered using Zoom*.
After registering, the system automatically sends a confirmation and/or a receipt email that contains the Zoom meeting link and/or other instructions. If you don’t immediately receive the system email(s) or you have any other questions, please contact us at registration@shantidevanyc.org.
*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 / Schedule
Suggested: $20 per session
Other offering options: free, $5, $10, $30
The suggested amount helps support teacher offerings and expenses, direct costs and rent. Shantideva member benefits will apply automatically if you have a membership in MindBody.
Schedule
Schedule for Sat Sep 28:
Morning Session: 9:30am-12:00pm (In-Depth Meditation Training) To learn more about IDMT, please click here.
Lunch Break: 12:00-2:00pm (Potluck)
Afternoon Session: 2:00-4:00pm
Tea/Snack Break: 4:00-5:30pm
Evening Session: 5:30-7:00pm
Schedule for Sun Sep 29:
Morning Session: 10:30am-12:30pm
Lunch Break: 12:30-2:30pm
Afternoon Session: 2:30-5:00pm
Shantideva Center may publish recorded sessions in the public domain (e.g., on YouTube). By registering for this event, you are agreeing to give your consent to this process. To protect your privacy, we recommend being conscious about any personal information you share during the sessions. To further enhance anonymity, you may want to consider turning off video or naming yourself using abbreviations.
Time zone: US Eastern Daylight Time (GMT/UTC-4)
For questions regarding registration, please email registration@shantidevanyc.org for assistance.
Recordings
Available soon.
Sponsorship
“According to the Tengyur, Buddha said:
For any sentient being, who during the period of my teachings
Makes charity well (even if the material is the size of hair),
For 80,000 eons will experience the great result of great enjoyment;”
– Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Due to Ven. Gendun’s extended stay, our costs for hosting will be higher than normal – anticipated to be around $5,000 for housing, transportation, and food (plus additional for teacher offerings).
We welcome your support to enable these precious teachings to happen. Any amount is greatly appreciated and very karmically beneficial! Here is a teaching by Lama Zopa Rinpoche about the immense benefits of offering to the Sangha.
You can sponsor using PayPal or any card by clicking the donate button or this link. Please remember to select “New York Visit 2024”.
Cook a Meal
In observance of the Vinaya (the monastic code of discipline), Ven. Gendun generally does not prepare his own meals and welcomes food offerings.
If you are inspired to cook a meal for him, please contact cookameal@shantidevanyc.org to coordinate details. Otherwise, you can contribute to sponsorship, which will be a wonderful offering!
Dana for the Teacher
About the Teacher
Venerable Losang Gendun has practiced Buddhism for nearly four decades and has been a Bhikshu (Buddhist monk) in the Tibetan tradition for the past 18 years. Until his ordination he worked in diverse areas such as palliative care, tech, refugee organizations, and commercial management. He studied Buddhist philosophy and practice for 10 years in monasteries in France, India, Nepal and Myanmar, before spending over four years in retreat, training in Tibetan sutra and tantra, as well as in the Burmese Theravada Forest Tradition. For the past 15 years, Ven. Gendun has been teaching Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and meditation across the world. He is a member of Mind & Life Europe, a multidisciplinary laboratory of researchers and contemplative practitioners for investigating the nature of experience. He is the interreligious canon of the Peace Cathedral in Tbilisi Georgia and is at home in a Mevlavi Sufi Dergah in Istabul. In 2023 Ven. Gendun founded The Buddha Project for the long-term guidance of Buddhist meditators, scientific research, art projects and intercontemplative social engagement.
