The Courage to Awaken: Meeting the New Year (Residential Retreat)

This is the RESIDENTIAL component of the retreat. If you’d like to register for the ONLINE component, please click here.

Daily movement and meditation guidance offered by Katie Fabac

The beginning of a new year offers a precious opportunity to pause, reconnect with our heartfelt aspirations, and deepen our engagement with the path of awakening. Gathering in spiritual friendship and guided by Yogi Acharya Lama Gursam, we will explore how the timeless teachings of the Buddha can help us draw upon our innate capacity for wisdom and compassion, meeting life’s joys and challenges with greater openness, courage, and ease.

What does it mean to take refuge in an uncertain world? How can we respond to suffering with an open heart rather than turning away? And how might our deepest aspirations become living commitments, expressed through our relationships with one another and the world around us?

Please join us to:

• Begin the New Year with spiritual community and auspicious blessings.
• Deepen your practice through meditation, Dharma teachings, and guided movement.
• Participate in NDF’s annual Refuge, Bodhisattva, and Ecosattva Vow Ceremony.
• Explore refuge, bodhicitta, and the courage of compassion.

Through meditation, Dharma teachings, and contemplation, Yogi Lama Gursam will guide us in exploring the foundational Buddhist teachings on refuge and bodhicitta—the aspiration to awaken for the benefit of all beings. Drawing on the teachings of Patrul Rinpoche, Gampopa, and the Seven-Point Mind Training (Lojong), including Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s commentary, Enlightened Courage, we will explore how to draw upon the deep well of compassion and wisdom within us, transform difficulties into opportunities for awakening, and bring the teachings into our daily lives. Through practice, we will investigate how cultivating the awakened heart can help us respond to suffering with loving-kindness and offer genuine support to others.

Daily guided movement sessions with Katie Fabac will offer opportunities to integrate the teachings through embodied awareness and practice. (Please bring comfortable clothing suitable for yoga and movement practice, or have it available if joining online). Participants, both onsite and online, will also have the opportunity to participate in a practice interview with Lama Gursam.

A central part of the retreat will be NDF’s annual Refuge, Bodhisattva, and Ecosattva Vow Ceremony on Sunday morning, offering an opportunity to take or renew these commitments in the presence of the sangha. Taking vows is entirely optional, and retreatants are welcome to attend the ceremony without taking vows or to spend this time in personal practice. The ceremony will also be open to members of the broader community who are not participating in the full retreat.

The retreat will conclude with a special ceremony, Summoning Good Fortune, excerpted from The White Zhambala, led by Yogi Lama Gursam to invoke auspicious blessings for the year ahead.

Whether you are new to Buddhist practice or have been practicing for many years, we invite you to begin the New Year rooted in the wisdom of authentic Buddhist lineage, finding refuge in practice and community as we deepen our capacity to meet the world with an open, courageous, and compassionate heart.

This retreat is open to everyone, including beginners.

Recommended Readings

To support and deepen engagement with the retreat’s teachings, Lama Gursam recommends the following readings:

• Patrul Rinpoche, Words of My Perfect Teacher — Sections on Refuge and Bodhicitta.
• Gampopa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation — Sections on Refuge and Bodhicitta.
• The Seven-Point Mind Training (Lojong) — Root text transmitted through Atisha and compiled by Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, together with Enlightened Courage, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche‘s commentary on these teachings.

These readings are encouraged but not required, and all are welcome to participate in the retreat regardless of their familiarity with these texts.

Noble Silence and Device Use

Retreat offers a rare opportunity to step away from the distractions of daily life and give ourselves fully to practice. To support this, we encourage residential participants to turn in their phones and other smart devices for the duration of the retreat. While turning in your devices is voluntary, we invite you to embrace this opportunity to unplug, rest deeply, and be fully present with yourself, the teachings, and the natural world.

Typical Retreat Schedule

(All times are Eastern time zone)

First Day — Orientation at 6:45 pm. Opening session begins around 7:00 pm.

Full-Day Schedule — Morning meditation 7:00 am; Breakfast break 8:00-9:30 am; Lunch break 12:00-2:00 pm; Dinner break 5:30-7:00 pm. Evening session 7:00-8:30 pm

Last Day —The closing session end at 12:00 pm, followed by a light lunch. Please depart by 2:00 pm.

These times are just for reference. The expanded retreat schedule will be posted at Wonderwell when you arrive.

Important Health Information

COVID-19 testing is no longer required. Masks are optional and encouraged if you are at higher risk. We encourage you to stay at home if you are symptomatic to protect others.

Scholarships

Cancellation Policy

We understand that personal circumstances may require you to cancel your registration. In these cases, please contact us right away at register@naturaldharma.org. Cancellations affect our ability to offer rooms to others and create additional work for our staff, therefore we charge the following fees to help mitigate these costs.

For cancellations (based on program start date):

• > 45 days: 100% refund minus a $75 admin. fee.
• 31-45 days: 50% refund of the required deposit; or 75% refund if registration paid in full.
• 21-30 days: 50% refund of total registration cost
• < 21 days: nonrefundable

If you must cancel due to an emergency or extenuating circumstances, please contact us at register@naturaldharma.org.

Access to Recordings

NDF offers unlimited access to recordings, which are accessed in your user dashboard (more information about user accounts provided in a pre-retreat letter). If you have a user account, please register with the same email you use to log into your dashboard. If not, an account will be created for you using your registration address.

Availability will vary depending on the type of event and the backlog for our precious resource volunteers. Thank you for your patience.

Natural Dharma Fellowship Full Calendar