Description

Friday-Sunday

March 7 – 9 

April 25-27

May 9 – 11 

Basic: $200 full weekend  | Friday only $40 |  Weekend only $175 | Supporter: $500 full weekend | Hybrid 

Weekly Schedule:

Fri  7-9pm 

Sat  10am-1pm 

Sat 2pm-5pm Afternoon teaching

Sat 7-9pm Evening Kirtan 

Sun or 10am-1pm

This series of weekend retreats is offered in service of uplifting and celebrating the power and the glory of the divine feminine already here now, within and all around us every minute all the time hosted by Tibet House US,  the cultural home of H. H. the Dalai Lama. Chandra Easton, as in her new book, Embodying Tara, will open our eyes to see how the myriad Taras as Great Mother, Loving Friend, Intuitive Guide, and even Fierce Goddess never tire of saving us from the ocean of confusion and suffering we sink into by not knowing how miraculous life here and now actually is. Nina Rao will instruct and lead us in singing our joyous grateful devotion, chanting together the ancient Indian mantras of all the many forms of Divine love and power. Bob Thurman will introduce Tibetan meditative arts that stir our confidence in our own intuitive wisdom that cuts through clouds of confusion to find the inner sense of enlightenment about what’s real and joyfully loving and compassionate about enlivening it in ourselves and our world. 

The Indian and Tibetan Buddhist vision of reality sees us as held in grace in every moment by innumerable divine buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other deities who guide us, each on our own spiritual path. The female Buddha of Compassion, the Noble, Friendly Tara, appears with many names in many different traditions, her Indian origin being how countless eons ago, she was a brilliantly intelligent princess turned bodhisattva enlightening hero who defiantly vowed to attain supreme buddhahood as a woman rather than as a male. In the soul-technologies of Tantra, she is invited and approached as a supremely competent saving buddha, even as the Mother of All Buddhas and the Gracious Lover of All Beings! 

Tara is called the “Savioress” because she is known for saving beings from the ocean of samsara (pointless suffering). Her name also means “star,” as she is as infinitely myriad  as the stars in the sky. Ultimately, she represents the essential nature of your own mind, your buddha nature; in this way, she can manifest in each of us in myriad ways. The twenty-one aspects of Tara appear in the 11th-century tantric text called the Twenty-One Praises to Tara, a devotional hymn popular in Tibetan Buddhism, from which Chandra Easton’s book, Embodying Tara, draws its teachings and practices. You will learn meditations and mantras for many of the twenty-one Taras and hear stories of real-life women who embody their qualities. They will inspire you to bring these aspects of Tara alive in yourself, bringing your body, mind, and soul into alignment with your enlightened nature. 

We will also explore the rich and fascinating intersection of the Hindu vision of Goddesses from within the ten Great Wisdom Mothers, Mahāvidyās, demonstrating how seeing her from all perspectives enriches one’s sense of closeness and inspiration from her in one’s life and beyond denominationalism. 

We will chant the mantras of the 21 Taras and other chants to the Goddess with Nina, Chandra, and friends. Each weekend will focus on specific key emanations of the twenty-one Taras and ten Mahavidyas, goddesses from the Devi Mahatmyam, and others, celebrating the diversity yet reveling in the similarities between these spiritual traditions. We will invite the Goddesses’ awakened energy to come alive in ourselves through

• Insight into the diverse and dynamic visions of both Buddhist & Hindu Goddesses
• Mantra recitation and chanting kirtan;
• Guided Tara meditations;
• Exploration of the lives of real women and movements that embody Tara’s enlightened activities.
• Vajra Yoga sessions, with THUS’ head Vajra Yoga (™) teachers.

Open to EVERYONE.