In the coming year Rinpoche has shared that he plans to continue presenting introductory teachings, along with the cycles of mahayana, and vajrayana teachings requested by his students this past year, and continue to respond to supplications for in-person and online teachings.
Continuing the Foundations of Dharma Cycle
The Foundations of Dharma teaching cycle will continue as the Sakyong guides both newer and more experienced students through progressive stages of the path. This will include two new Mahayana courses titled “Foundations of Emptiness” and “Foundations of Lojong”. Newer students who are ready to take refuge with the Sakyong are welcome to join these courses, as refuge vows will be offered at the beginning of each one. More experienced students are encouraged to attend as a means of deepening their understanding of core elements of the path. For students interested in entering the vajrayana path with the Sakyong, these courses will serve as a path for doing so in the future.
Continuing Online Vajrayana Teachings
Rinpoche will continue to support his vajrayana students through a series of monthly online teachings called “Devotion and Realization” as well as seasonal online retreats. These teachings will support the practices presented in the Great Mandala of Blessings through monthly feast and teaching gatherings with the Sakyong and the Sakyong Wangmo. The intention is to support the practices of purification, gathering merit and raising windhorse introduced in 2021, and lay the foundation for future abhishekas in 2023. For vajrayana students who wish to renew their samaya with the Sakyong but have not done so, the Sakyong will be offering opportunities to renew samaya throughout the year.
Continuing Opportunities for New Students
Inspired by the success of this summer’s Path of Meditation weekend retreat, the Sakyong has agreed to continue to teach introductory events for new students. Titled Lineage and the Path of Meditation, these events will introduce students to the Supplication to the Shambhala Lineage and provide initial meditation instruction from the Sakyong. These events are ideal opportunities for newer students to experience the Sakyong’s teachings, learn to meditate, and prepare them to take refuge and enter the Foundations of Dharma Mahayana teaching series.
Spring Pilgrimage to Nepal: Vajrayana and Mahayana Gatherings
This Spring the Sakyong and the Ripa Monastery, Rigon Tashi Choling, plan to host two pilgrimages to Nepal beginning in mid-March. These are currently planned to include a mahayana retreat for students who have been attending the Foundations of Dharma series followed by a Vajrayana retreat where the Sakyong will bestow the Amitayus abhisheka and sadhana.
In-Person Vajrayana Gatherings: the Amitayus Abhisheka
The Sakyong has shared that he will continue to respond to supplications from vajrayana students to gather in person, using those opportunities to bestow the Amitayus abhisheka and offer an Amitayus sadhana. This sadhana is a long-life practice written by the Sakyong in 2015. This practice is a complementary “branch practice” similar to Kurukulla and Red Jambhala. The Amitayus teachings will include instruction on death and the bardo. Students who wish to receive the Amitayus sadhana are welcome to join the Nepal pilgrimage, or self-organize with fellow students to invite the Sakyong to present teachings in-person.
In-Person Mahayana Gatherings: Planting the Seed of Bodhicitta
The Sakyong has also shared his willingness to offer in-person teaching events to Mahayana students, focusing on his new mahayana sadhana titled Planting the Seeds of Bodhicitta. Mahayana students who wish to join the Sakyong in an in-person retreat are welcome to join the Nepal pilgrimage, or self-organize with fellow students to invite the Sakyong to present teachings in-person.
