Kalachakra Dark Retreat (3 Isolations / Wensum)
RETREAT SESSIONS
You can choose any combination of weeks.
WEEK 1: 25th September – 2nd October (Sunday to Sunday)
WEEK 2: 2nd October – 9th October
WEEK 3: 9th October – 16th October
WEEK 4: 16th October – 23th October
We are grateful to be able to offer the Three Isolations (Wensum) Retreat at the beautiful Kalachakra Kalapa Retreat Center in the Austrian mountains. This dark retreat is a rare opportunity to practice in a similar way to how aspiring yogis practice during a traditional 3-year retreat. The retreat will support the participants to cultivate the Three Isolations of Body, Speech and Mind as a solid ground for entering into the Kalachakra Completion Stage of the Six Vajra Yogas.
Online Teaching and Personal Meditation Guidance from Khentrul Rinpoche
The retreat will have 4 weeks in total. Participants are welcome to take part in all of them or the weeks of your choosing. Khentrul Rinpoche will give 1 teaching per week and personal meditation interviews via zoom, in order to discuss meditation progress and help alleviate obstacles to the practice. We will organize it and provide all the necessary devices.
REQUIREMENTS
All participants must have received the Four Higher Empowerments of Kalachakra with instructions for the Three Isolations from Shar Khentrul Rinpoche. Everyone who has already taken these Higher Empowerments is automatically approved for participation. If you have not received them yet and have the aspiration to do so, fulfill the request here.
(Note: the Four Higher Empowerments of Kalachakra are not the same Kalachakra Empowerments which Rinpoche gave in Hong Kong in 2020 and in other places as in Vienna in 2019, which are called “The 7 Empowerments of a Growing Child”. If you are not sure that you have received the Four Higher Empowerments, write to us before starting your registration.)
Rinpoche informed that his new concise sadhana “Secret Dakini Treasure” may be included in the daily schedule as well. You need to participate in his oral transmission and commentary for the new Sadhana that will be given in September. See dzokden.org/events for details.
Retreat Infos and Guidelines
This is a strict retreat. The retreat will be closed and in silence. No visitors, no computers, no mobile phones. Participants are expected to follow the retreat guidelines respectfully, not only for their own practice’s success, but for avoiding disturbing others as well. Participation in the group sessions is obligatory, unless important health conditions do not allow it. If this is the case, this should be discussed in advance with the retreat leader and if necessary with Rinpoche as well. Personal phones and other electronic devices (laptops etc.) will be stored in the office. If someone needs to contact you in case of emergency, they can write an e-mail to [email protected] and call at +43 676 395 8898. Both e-mailbox and phone will be checked once a day during lunch time.
HOW TO REGISTER FOR MULTIPLE WEEKS
Please add all the weeks you want to your cart and check out. You can book each week 1 by 1.
Check-in: 2 PM – 5 PM / check-out: 12 AM – 2 PM Please email [email protected] in advance if you need a financial scholarship.
Payment Options
Suchandra Institut – Verein zur Förderung von Frieden und Harmonie
Branch: Raiffeisenbank Zirbenland, Im Dorf 16, 8763 Möderbrugg
Account: AT76 3836 8000 0201 1344
BIC: RZSTAT2G368
SWIFT: RZBAATWWXXX
Materials
Bring your “Profound Path of Vajra Book” with its commentary “The Hidden Treasure” and the Higher Empowerments Booklet as a reference for your practice. Other reading materials not directly related to the wensum practice are not allowed.
Volunteer Opportunities
If you are considering this opportunity, please write as soon as possible to [email protected], so that we can arrange a video call in order to plan your participation. It is not necessary to volunteer for the whole retreat. You can offer as much as possible according to your possibilities.
Food and Accomodation
The Residential Retreat fee includes three vegetarian meals and shared accommodation at the beautiful Kalachakra Kalapa Retreat Center. Please inform us ([email protected]) in advance about allergies and food intolerances and other important health and mental conditions.
If you absolutely need an individual bedroom, please mention this when writing. As space is limited, we can not guarantee that this will be possible.
Covid Requirements
Getting to Kalapa
Nearest airport is in Graz, Austria.
How to get to us:
By train:
Starting point is Graz main train station. From there, take the S6 or S61 S-Bahn in the direction of Wies-Eibiswald, about an hour to the Schwanberg station (timetable information)
From the Bad Schwanberg train station to the retreat center, it is possible to take a taxi service supported by the government (for more information: Regio Mobil) directly to the Kalachakra Kalapa Center (the spot is called by the taxi service as “Buddhistisches Zentrum”). The taxi must be ordered at least one hour in advance, but it is recommended to do that earlier. For journeys on Sundays and public holidays, order by 5 p.m. the day before!
To order: +43 (0)50 16 17 18
Tariffs:
for one passenger: €6.00
for two passengers: €10.00 (total)
for three passengers: €15.00 (total)
for four passengers: €20.00 (total)
For multiple orders for the same time they sent a taxi for the trip together
By car:
From the Graz-West motorway junction (A2/A9) on the A2 in the direction of Klagenfurt/Italy to the Lieboch exit. Continue on federal road 76 in the direction of Eibiswald. After approx. 30 km you will reach Schwanberg. At the end of the main square in Schwanberg, turn left in the direction of Garanas, after the bridge, turn right in the direction of Garanas and follow the signs “Kalachakra Kalapa Center”, uphill for approx. 8 km, to the center.
Offerings to Rinpoche
Khentrul Rinpoche has kindly agreed to give teaching sessions, interviews and to support the retreat leader which will guide the practice sessions. If you wish to show your generosity to Rinpoche’s precious teachings and to his immense efforts, you can offer Dana for Rinpoche on the Dzokden website here.
Speaker
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Khentrul RinpocheKhentrul Rinpoché Jamphel Lodrö is the founder and spiritual director of Dzokden. Rinpoche is the author of Unveiling Your Sacred Truth, The Great Middle Way: Clarifying the Jonang View of Other-Emptiness, A Happier Life, and The Hidden Treasure of the Profound Path.
Rinpoche spent the first 20 years of his life herding yak and chanting mantras on the plateaus of Tibet. Inspired by the bodhisattvas, he left his family to study in a variety of monasteries under the guidance of over twenty-five masters in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Due to his non-sectarian approach, he earned himself the title of Rimé (unbiased) Master and was identified as the reincarnation of the famous Kalachakra Master Ngawang Chözin Gyatso. While at the core of his teachings is the recognition that there is great value in the diversity of all spiritual traditions found in this world; he focuses on the Jonang-Shambhala tradition. Kalachakra (wheel of time) teachings contain profound methods to harmonize our external environment with the inner world of body and mind, ultimately bringing about the golden age of peace and harmony (dzokden).