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Although this concept of four-posture meditation is very old, the system of sessional and post-sessional practice relegated lying down and standing as inappropriate, while walking may have been included as a form of post-meditational recreation. Hence only sitting was formalised as a meditation posture. In this first such retreat, Lama Choedak will teach how to use these four postures as forms of calm abiding meditation.

Book early as space for this is limited. Bring light walking-shoes, small pillow, and light mat to lie down on.

Relax and nurture yourself in beautiful, green, tranquil surroundings at a dedicated place of healing in the Snowy River Country of East Gippsland.

During the five days the following will be on offer -

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Massage
• Reiki
  
• Reflexology
• Meditative Painting
• Chinese Medicine
• Nutritional Medicine

This residential retreat offers a choice of workshops, seminars and individual consultations with alternative health care professionals. There will also be daily classes in the Buddhist art of healing meditation as well as yoga sessions.

Gain from the knowledge and expertise of experienced health care practitioners. Revitalise your mind and body with clean air and healthy vegetarian food in a friendly and peaceful Buddhist community.

Daily Schedule

Throughout the retreat there will also be selected practitioners offering private consultations in their respective fields.

The retreat cost includes attendance to all workshops, yoga classes and meditation sessions as scheduled above. In addition to this, you receive a single free one-hour private consultation with any one of the health practitioners. Additional consultations may be booked at the rate of $55 per one-hour session.

As well as giving training in Vajrayana practices and rituals, it helps purify our negative thoughts and strengthen our confidence. It provides an opportunity for new students to receive instructions, and for experienced students to progress. At this residential retreat Rinpoche will give the initiation, transmission and comprehensive teachings on all the key practices which include: refuge and prostrations; developing bodhicitta; Vajrasattva purification; offering mandala; and guru yoga.

Calm Abiding meditation is a joyful practice which enables us to be calm and to gain insight into the nature of the mind. It reveals the causes which lead to suffering when all we ever want is to be happy. As Lama Choedak Rinpoche says, "if our perception is out of focus, then everything we see will be distorted." Such realisation enables us to live life from our source. It frees us from the habitual tracks of thinking which lock us into limited ways of seeing and experiencing ourselves and the world.

Lama Choedak Rinpoche will explain all aspects of meditation from correct posture to dealing with obstacles such as drowsiness to excitation. With years of experience in teaching, Lama Choedak Rinpoche will impart to us the best methods of entering the state of calm abiding.

Lama Choedak Rinpoche will also share Buddhist wisdom with us and its application in everyday life. This knowledge will help us to put situations into context, reducing the need to blame others and ourselves. This leads to self awareness and eventually, inner freedom. The teachings are precious as they allow us to live in harmony and add dignity to everything we do.

Tai Chi is a system based on training the mind, body and spirit. Its gentle yet powerful movements cultivate and stimulate the qi (essential energy). The essence of Tai Chi is Qigong, that is, the cultivation of energy. During the retreat, you will energise yourself the Wudang Taoist Qigong of Ba Duan Jin (Eight Section Brocade). It is so named because of the silk like quality it brings to the body and its energy. These exercises help to open and strengthen the joints and sinews of the body. They have a beneficial effect on major organs of the body - heart, lungs, kidneys, spleen and stomach. Practising this medical Qigong helps the body to adjust internally and regulate excess heat or cold. Thus, balance is restored. The Eight Section Brocade will gently loosen the body and revitalise your energy.

Tai Chi is presented and taught by masters Brett Wagland and Fontaine Ip. They are founders of Tai Chi Academy in Canberra and have had a long association with Lama Choedak Rinpoche.

This retreat is designed to give you a balance between sitting and moving states of meditation, maintaining the sense of deep relaxation, peace and calm experienced by both practices. This is a rare opportunity to gain insight into the body-mind and to use it as a tool to experience a taste of your true nature.

Everyone is welcome, beginner or advanced.

Over the nine days we will investigate contemporary meditative practices that further engage with themes developed by Tarchin in the teaching to be given in Melbourne prior to this retreat, around the theme of The Social Ecology of Awakening

• Living at ease in the fullness and flow of what is presently occurring, with our natural aliveness open to all creative possibilities
• Encouraging healing in the very midst of our long learned patterns of preference, aversion and indifference; learning to recognize these patterns as a fertile ground for the arising of fresh understandings that can further life
• Nurturing and embodying the rich talents and abilities that have developed over the course of both our own individual lives, and the evolutionary journey of all of nature unfolding
• Deepening our understanding of all forms and expressions of life on this planet, as an uninterrupted creative flow of interdependence and interbeingness.

During the retreat these themes will be blended and merged with aspects of the Ngon Dro - the foundation practices of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Everyone is welcome whether or not you have attended the Melbourne teaching.

The practice of Nyung-ne is a fundamental traditional Buddhist practice that combines discipline and meditation to help us purify our negativities and develop wise compassion. In the Buddhist context, compassion is a positive response based on a deep understanding of suffering and the causes of suffering.

The basic aim of the practice is to purify negative karma by abstaining from (1) killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual activity, (4) telling lies and (5) drinking or taking any intoxicants. These are the five precepts. In addition to these five, one also abstains from (6) eating meat and eating after midday, (7) singing, dancing, playing music, wearing perfumes and (8) sitting on high seats. Noble silence is also observed even though it is not one of the precepts.

Mahayana stresses the importance of dedicating one's fasting and prayer for the benefit of all sentient beings. When Vajrayanists observe the eight precepts for two days, together with the meditation of Avalokiteshvara practice, they call it 'Nyung-ne'.

In skilfully combining devotional practices with the eight precepts, Nyung-ne accentuates the effective restoration of wholesome qualities and purification of unwholesome deeds. One takes the precepts in combination with twelve or more hours of devotional practices of prostrations, meditation and chanting of Dharanis of Avalokiteshvara. In terms of the three remedies taught by the Buddha, observing the eight precepts is the discipline component; meditating in the form of Avalokiteshvara is the meditation component; and coming to understand the merit in following these practices is the wisdom component.

This retreat will involve eight sets of the Nyung Ne practice, each one consisting of two days practice. In the Tibetan culture it is traditionally done over the auspicious Saga Dawa period as a meritorious method to honour the Buddhas enlightenment. Lama Choedak Rinpoche will preside over the first three days including giving the necessary empowerment of 1,000 Armed Chenrezig. It is possible to attend the first weekend part of this retreat or all of it.

Please book early, and notify us in advance if you will need transport from Canberra/airport.

Sickness is a common suffering of all living beings.  However, according to Tibetan medicine, most illnesses are psychosomatic.  Ill health that is generated by one's unwholesome attitude cannot be cured by conventional medicine alone.

This residential retreat will help you understand how certain mind states can contribute to ill health, and to learn how to apply the appropriate antidotes.  Discover the connection between thoughts, behaviour and speech, and the positive and negative effects they have on your health.

At this workshop Lama Choedak Rinpoche will give the empowerment of Medicine Buddha's meditation and impart the transmission of the healing mantra passed down through an unbroken lineage since the time of the Buddha.

This weekend provides a complete training  in practical as well as theoritical session on how to do the Healing Buddha's meditation.  You will also learn how to use it to assist friends and relatives who may be ill or dying.  This profound meditation technique will compliment any form of medical treatment.  This practice can reduce the side effects and increase the effectiveness of any medication.  It is especially recommended for health professionals and those who are interested in learning self-healing.

Meditation has a proven record in its ability to improve health, awaken happiness and give a clear perspective on life. To learn to meditate you need an experienced teacher and a well defined path.Calm Abiding Meditation can help you become relaxed, focussed and peaceful. It enables you to identify the real causes of unhappiness and recover from stress, anxiety and tension.

Lama Choedak Rinpoche has dedicated much effort and committed his focus over many years on the fundamental authentic Buddhist practices that are most effective and relevant to the eager westerners that he teaches. The practice of Calm Abiding meditation has been one of the most popular meditation techniques and Rinpoche has taught this technique to thousands of people. Drawing on the traditional scriptural teachings Rinpoche has developed a retreat programme that is unique in its depth and lucidity. This retreat is more than just Calm Abiding meditation but an introduction to Buddhism itself. Principles such as Refuge and prostrations are included as well as the practicing Right Thought of Bodicitta and learning to cherish others.

Newcomers to meditation find the instruction clear and meaningful while experienced practitioners discover tools for engaging with their meditation that they did not have before.

Lama Choedak Rinpoche will give the empowerment of Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion and impart the instruction on this daily sadhana practice and the recitiation of the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM.

Meditation is a tool to help change undesirable habits, improve self-confidence and to add a touch of dignity and sacredness to your life. You will be able to integrate a sense of calmness into everyday activities, and transform negative situations into something positive.

Come and enjoy learning a time-proven skill that will bring you lifelong happiness.