2022 Spring Retreat: The Nine Winds: Exploring the Union of Breath and Awareness
with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
March 31 - April 3, 2022
The Nine Winds: Exploring the union of breath and awareness
The winds (lung, prana or chi) are the essential energy underlying all of existence. In the chapter of the Bön Mother Tantra, “The Unceasing Sphere of Light,” nine winds describe the movements of the layers of consciousness from gross to subtle. These winds move not only within us, but also collectively, through our families, communities and our whole world-system. Everything, from the subtlest reality of the nature of mind to the grossest physical forces, moves according to the forces of these winds.
In this retreat we will engage in practices of breath and awareness that support the transformation of suffering due to four of the nine winds: blockages causing disease, karmic patterns held in our body and energetic field, emotional wounds, and obscurations of the conceptual mind that impede self-realization. As we open, we enhance pathways that support positive expression, transforming our perception of self and other, bringing benefit to the health of our body, our relations, and our world.
Real-time translations will be available in Portuguese, Spanish, French, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, and Slovak.
Suggested reading ahead of this retreat: Awakening the Sacred Body by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
COVID Safety: Please know that all of us at Serenity Ridge take the health and well-being of our sangha very seriously, and to that end we will be observing all protocols requested by the Virginia Department of Health, which include:
- Proof of full COVID-19 vaccination at check-in
- A COVID-19 test conducted by an authorized professional not more than 24 hours, or upon arrival, if they prefer. Guests are responsible to provide their own test kit to have it self-administered onsite, and a space will be provided for a mandatory 15-minute result waiting period. All guests testing positive for COVID-19 will be asked to absent themselves from the Serenity Ridge campus
- All guests are expected to observe at least six feet of social distancing at all possible times
- Wearing of masks at all times indoors except when seated for in place for consuming meals.
- Any guest(s) failing to comply with these policies will be requested to leave the Serenity Ridge campus immediately, without a whole or partial refund for retreat registration or accommodation payment
Rinpoche has been advised of these protocols and explicitly fully supports them.
Additionally, Serenity Ridge has:
- Installed ‘air scrubbers’ in the HVAC systems of the Garuda House, Kunzang Khang lower level gathering space and dining room, and gompa
- Added sanitation stations throughout the property
- Set up outdoor heat lamps on the dining terrace for outdoor dining
To support the smooth running of the retreat, each attendee will be asked for one hour of service each day in one of the areas of kitchen, housekeeping, groundskeeping and bookstore. You may use any credit hours you have accrued from participating in service retreats over the past year. Unfortunately, because of the additional expenses necessary to host this retreat, we cannot offer work-exchange discounts.
Please note that due to our ongoing efforts to maintain Serenity Ridge as a safe gathering environment, our in-person Spring Retreat will be restricted to a limited number of overnight retreatants and commuter (day event) attendees. Serenity Ridge can not allow drop-in visitors or those seeking to register onsite.
Serenity Ridge also offers our Spring Retreat as an online event for those wishing to convene from the safety of their own home through EventBrite, which you can find by clicking here.
About the Teacher
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, is one of only a few masters of the Bön Dzogchen tradition presently living in the West. An accomplished scholar in the Bön Buddhist textual traditions of philosophy, exegesis, and debate, Tenzin Rinpoche completed a rigorous11-year course of traditional studies at the Bönpo Monastic […]
Learn more about Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche