19th Annual Summer Retreat at Crystal Mountain Society

Learning to Distinguish between Awareness and Pristine Awareness, Practicing Loving-kindness and Great Love

Dates: July 6th to August 4, 2019

Location: Crystal Mountain Society Retreat and Namgyal Choling Gompa, Galiano Island, B.C. Canada

Contact: For more information and registration, contact Susan van Asselt: vanasselt.susan@gmail.com

Crystal Mountain Society is very pleased to announce that for the 19th year Lama Mark Webber will be teaching, leading meditation and guiding practitioners at the Crystal Mountain Summer Retreat.

Schedule and Topics:

Week 1:

An Introduction to the practice of Buddha Dharma. Teachings focused on but not exclusive to Thogme Zangpo’s (13th cent.) famous text called The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas.^[1] Learning to practice like a bodhisattva is a speedy means to liberation for one’s self and all other beings. This profound and brief text takes us through all the essential practices of Dharma to realize wisdom and compassion inseparable. Lama Mark will give the most practical of meditations and contemplations to unfold the extraordinary human qualities inherent within us all—learning to think, feel and do like a being of great love and wisdom.

An Empowerment at the end of the 1st week: Buddha Aksobhya. Bringing forth mirror like wisdom for all beings. A yoga renowned for overcoming anger and hatred.

Week 2 & 3:

The meditation of Guru Padmasattva (The Skull Garlanded Lord). Within the treasure cycle of the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Dzogchen transmissions there is an ati-yoga practice called Guru Padmasattva. The root text was revealed in the 16th century by Terton Rinchen Phuntsog and recently composed for practice by H.E. Bongtrul Rinpoche. This is a very accessible essence practice to discover the awake body, speech and mind of all gurus and our essential nature. Lama Mark will give a reading transmission, guidance and lead group practices of this wonderful yoga.

For those who have not previously received it, there will be a reading transmission of the Drikung Gongpo Yangzab Preliminary Liberating Instructions.

Teachings from the works of Jigten Sumgon, the founder of the Drikung Kagyu lineage: bringing a balance to our Buddhist practice: 1) ethics-virtue, 2) meditative concentration and recollections and 3) wisdom-Insight. And 4) view, 5) meditation 6) conduct.

Week 4:

Lama Mark will bestow both the Longevity and Three Roots empowerments from the Drikung Dzogchen lineage.In addition there will be instructions on these meditative practices.

The retreat will end with a purification smoke offering, empowerment and community feast (Tsog).

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Lama Mark Webber (Lama Yongdu Chokyi Gyaltsen) has been studying and teaching Buddha-dharma for over forty years. For thirty years his main root teacher was the great Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche who taught all three cycles of the Buddha’s teachings, including Abhidhamma,Vipassana in the lineage of Mahāsi Sayādaw, generation and completion stage practices of the Tantrayana and Mahamudra/Dzogchen of many lineages, especially of the Karma Kagyu and Sakya. More recently under the guidance and request of Drikung Lho Ontul Rinpoche, Lama la has been teaching principally the richness of the Drikung Mahamudra and Drikung Yangzab Dzogchen traditions.

Lama Mark has a deep and long term interest and collaboration in a number of scientific fields and the arts which he integrates with the teaching of Buddhism.

His compassionate activities demonstrate a profound commitment to freeing beings from innumerable suffering states. Lama Mark’s emphasis with practitioners and students is on uncovering pure Dharma to reveal its extraordinary benefits and share the great joy of its deep study, meditative practices and integration into all aspects of our lives.