Marici Empowerment & Retreat with Khentrul Rinpoche
For online only registration please register at Dzokden:
https://dzokden.org/events/online-in-person-marici-empowerment-retreat-with-khentrul-rinpoche/
Marichi is the life-long personal protector from Khentrul Rinpoche. She is also considered the proteress of the Sublime Realm of Shambhala. Our retreat center Kalapa is the name of the center of Shambhala. Rinpoche will bestow her Empowerment and transmit a Marichi sadhana written by him which is based on his own visionary experience with this buddhist goddess.
THE BUDDHIST PROTECTRESS MARICHI
In some lineages of the Vajrayana Buddhism, Marichi is considered to be one manifestation of Tara, appearing for example as the 21st Tara. There are other forms from her found also in other spiritual systems. She is the colour of the sunset, a wondrous, glowing orange. She comes with the sun and, as the sun, her blessings pervade everywhere.
Beyond the empowerment and oral transmission of the Marichi Sadhana, Rinpoche will also give an introductory teaching on her and will join us in a Q&A session during the retreat. The practice sessions will be guided by senior students and will be transmitted online as well.
RINPOCHE’S PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH MARICHI
Marichi (also known as Marīcī and Özer Chenma) came to Rinpoche’s life when he was a young boy herding yak cattles in Tibet. Without fences, it was quite difficult to take care of them. Some yaks hide themselves from the boy Rinpoche under rocks, and so used to spend the night in danger of being attacked by wolves. To help protect them, his family shared with him the Marichi mantra and the faith in her when he was still very young.
“I do not know exactly why, perhaps because of having no doubt when doing this or because of a special connection, when I recited her mantra and did the ritual according to the traditional manner of protecting the yaks, I have 100% guarantee that the yaks would be safe during the night. I never had problems with yaks being killed by the wolves since then, really never. So I kept that in mind and I recited innumerable mantras, many times, when I took care of them. So, afterwards, anytime when we had an obstacle I always relied on her.”
“So this is why Tibetan says that praying for Marichi helps. But, of course, it does not help everyone individually, as it depends for example on the individual connection and on the level of faith. You must have no doubt at all. I have indestructible faith in Marichi since my childhood, so this helped me to develop many connections with her during my life.”
WHO IS THIS FOR or HOW TO PREPARE MYSELF?
There are no prerequisites at all. It is suitable for all levels of practitioners. Previous Buddhist study and practice are helpful but not mandatory. If you want to prepare yourself, you can do the online course for the “21 Taras Practice Retreat” available at our learning center.
In-Person Confirmed SCHEDULE
The infos in italics are relevant ONLY for those attending in-person.
FRIDAY 24th June
14:00 to 16:30 – Check-in at Kalachakra Kalapa Retreat Center. Relax and enjoy the Austrian mountains.
17:00 – Meeting at the Yoga Room: Guidelines and Retreat Center Tour
18:00 – Dinner
19:30 – 21:00 – Public Teaching: Marichi and the Realm of Shambhala with RINPOCHE
SATURDAY 25th June
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – Preliminary Practice for the Empowerment (“Practice for Connecting with the Sublime Realm of Shambhala” of the Rimé Prayer Book)
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 – Marichi EMPOWERMENT & Marichi Sadhana ORAL TRANSMISSION (only live)
3:00 – Lunch and Break
15.00 – 16.30 – Marichi Practice Session 1
17.00 – 18.00 – Free time for dharma discussions, self-study and practice
18.00 – Dinner
19.30 – 21.00 – Marichi Practice Session 2
SUNDAY 26th June
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – Marichi Practice Session 1 in the Kalachakra Temple
(alternative program for in-person attendance: Yoga Class in the Yoga Room)
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 – Marichi Practice Session 2
13:00 – Lunch and Break
15.00 – 16.30 – Marichi Q&A with RINPOCHE
17.00 – 18.00 – Free time for dharma discussions, self-study and practice
18.00 – Dinner
19.30 – 21.00 – Marichi Practice Session 3
MONDAY 27th June and TUESDAY 28th June (no live translations are guaranteed for these days)
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – Marichi Practice Session 1 in the Kalachakra Temple
(alternative program for in-person attendance: Yoga Class in the Yoga Room)
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 – Marichi Practice Session 2
13:00 – Lunch and Break
15.00 – 16:30 – Marichi Practice Session 3
17.00 – 18.00 – Free time for dharma discussions, self-study and practice
18.00 – Dinner
19.30 – 21.00 – Marichi Practice Session 4
WEDNESDAY 28th June
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – Marichi Practice Session 1 in the Kalachakra Temple
(alternative program for in-person attendance: Yoga Class in the Yoga Room)
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 – Check Out & Departure
Translations Offered for the Teaching
If you are an in-person participant and need live translation, you must provide your own internet connection and bring earphones to listen to the teachings through your mobile or tablet in the gompa. Space for notebooks are not possible. Unfortunately we can not share our WLAN or WIFI for participants because the translators need it as well.
if you are a translator who is joining the retreat also in-person, please let us know in advance so that we can reserve a space for you to translate during the teachings. Space is limited to circa 4 translators in total. You will not be able to be in the temple while translating.
FAQ
All the teachings and the practice retreat will be recorded and can be accessed afterwards in our online learning center. We encourage you to take part in as many live sessions as possible, but, if your time zone is not compatible, you can listen to them later. As usual, empowerment and oral transmission must be attended live and are not recorded.
Food and Accomodation Options
The food is provided 3x a day and is vegetarian. If you have any medical food allergies that we should be aware of please email [email protected] to let us know.
On-Site Accomodations
The Residential Retreat fee includes three vegetarian meals and accommodation at the wonderful Kalachakra Kalapa Center on the Austrian mountains. We are able to offer different male and female dormitory spaces from 3 to 8 participants in each room. It is also possible to camp in the region around the stupa inside the Retreat Center. As we wish to host as many students as possible and offer everyone the opportunity to meet Rinpoche in-person, for this retreat it is not possible to reserve an individual room inside the retreat center.
For those who wish to enjoy the wooded nature, to camp on site, please bring your own tent. You can reserve a camping spot in the check out. All accomodations include 3 meals a day.
Please note: Parking in the area of Kalapa is very limited. If you are staying with us for the whole retreat, we encourage you to drop off then find a space to park at a distance to help day travellers reach the site.
Off-Site Accomodations
If you need an individual room for you, there are many options of sleeping places in the near of the retreat center, in the Garanas region, as well as in the town Bad Schwanberg which offer different levels of accomodation which you can search for and book it yourself. We can help you find a place in case you do not speak German (write to [email protected])
For those attending in-person, we will also offer optional supplementary practice guided by Rinpoches’ students who are qualified yoga teachers.
Covid Requirements
Getting to Kalapa
Garanas 41
8541 Bad Schwanberg
Nearest airport is in Graz, Austria.
How to get to us:
By train:
Starting point is Graz main train station (IC and EC 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 shared taxi (for more information: Regio Mobil ) directly to the Kalachakra Kalapa Center (stop Buddhist Center). The taxi must be ordered in advance. For journeys on weekends and public holidays, order by 5 p.m. the day before!
To order: +43 (0)50 16 17 18
Tarif: €6.00
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
Beyond the empowerments, Khentrul Rinpoche has kindly agreed to give teaching sessions and to support the retreat leaders 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 do it in-person at the end of the retreat or, if you are attending online, offer Dana for Rinpoche on the Dzokden website here.