General Spiritual Director
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Jul 19, 2024
The Stillness Within - retreats for Everyone
As January begins, centers across the globe are offering both long and short retreats for those seeking spiritual nourishment. Some fortunate Kadampas have the opportunity to travel to International Kadampa Retreat Centers and large residential centers, where they can immerse themselves in peaceful surroundings and experience the incomparable joy that arises from cultivating pure states of mind. For those living in urban areas, city Temples are offering shorter retreats, and some individuals are undertaking personal retreats. Regardless of location, people are placing emphasis on refreshing and uplifting their minds, and enriching their spiritual lives.
This month we will be sharing news from retreats at Kadampa Centers, rejoicing in all the people enjoying inner peace.
What is Retreat?
"On retreat we stop all forms of business and extraneous activities so as to emphasize a particular spiritual practice. There are three kinds of retreat: physical, verbal and mental. We engage in physical retreat when, with a spiritual motivation, we isolate ourself from other people, activities and noise, and disengage from extraneous and meaningless actions. We engage in verbal retreat when, with a spiritual motivation, we refrain from meaningless talk and periodically keep silence. We engage in mental retreat by preventing distractions and strong delusions such as attachment, anger, jealousy and strong self-grasping from arising, and by maintaining mindfulness and conscientiousness...
From Heart Jewel by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
More books to Inspire you
Many Kadampa books have sections explaining more about retreat and our objects of meditation. Inspire yourself during this retreat month by reading and contemplating one of Venerable Geshe-la's books.
When in this way, you have correctly realized the essential points
Of the three principal aspects of the path,
Dear One, withdraw into solitary retreat, generate and maintain strong effort
And quickly accomplish the final goal.The Three Principal Aspects of the Path to Enlightenment by Je Tsongkhapa
