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Mirror of Light: Rushen Retreat


  • Pure Land Farms 3265 Santa Maria Road Topanga, CA, 90290 United States (map)

Seven day guided group retreat with Lama Justin Von Bujdoss

April 17th - 23th, 2022

This is retreat is only open to participants of the Mirror of Light One Year Dharma Immersion

Cost of In-Person Retreat:

$900 - $1200 (Includes retreat registration, all meals, and onsite accommodation)

Limited to 14 People

In order to attend the retreat at Pure Land Farms proof of Covid-19 vaccination and negative test within 48 hours of retreat is required to attend this program.
View Pure Land Farms current Covid guidelines HERE

Registration for in-person retreat will be provided after filling in the brief form at the bottom of this page.

Cost of Streaming Option:

$175 (Includes one session per day/ 9 - 11am PST)


Traditionally, practicing meditation in a retreat setting is an important way to deepen and stabilize our meditation experience. These in-person retreats serve as a way of supporting students in having the ability to delve more deeply into the practice of Ati Yoga at two crucial points - the first being the special Ati Yoga preliminary practice of rushen the other in helping to foster a solid ground in the experience of trekchö. 

These retreats are supplements to the 2022 year-long intensive introduction of Dr. Nida Chenagtsang’s book, Mirror of Light: A Commentary on Yuthok’s Ati Yoga. Volume One focused on helping to foster a closer relationship to Ati Yoga practice as well as to aid in holding students so that they can carve away some useful time for retreat.


About Rushen Practice

This Rushen retreat will focus on the practice known as the inner distinguishing practice or purifying of the six locations. This Dzogchen preliminary practice aides in the exhaustion of the inner causes of illusory perception thereby leading to greater purification of Body, Speech and Mind. This practice specifically helps us to eliminate the habitual attachments to what often feels like an almost automatic samsaric arising as beings trapped within the six realms. The practice of Rushen is a powerful way of creating the auspicious circumstances that aide in liberating the way in which the three gates (body, speech, and mind) and the three bodies (Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya) are experienced.

Schedule

In the morning of each day there will be an initial daily teaching session accompanied by a brief group practice session. The rest of the day will be divided into two practice sessions in which participants will practice individually, having access to practice in the temple, outside at various locations on the grounds of Pure Land Farms, or in your yurt/room.

There will be time for one 1:1 interview with Lama Justin for each in-person participant if desired.

9:00am to 11:00am
Morning Teaching and Group Practice Session
(Morning practice session will be streamed online for students who
cannot join the retreat at Pure Land Farms)

2:00pm to 4:00pm
Mid-day Individual Practice Session

4:30pm to 5:30pm
Afternoon Individual Practice Session

7:00pm to 7:30pm
Shanglon Mahakala Protector Practice

(All times in PST/ Los Angeles Time Zone)


If you would like to attend the retreat in-person at Pure Land Farms, kindly fill out this brief form.
After filling out the form you will be sent a link to register for the retreat.


Streaming Option:

To support those who may not be able to join us in person because they are unable to travel for whatever reason there is an online component to this retreat. For those who wish to join us for an online retreat through which you can keep the same retreat schedule (see below) at home or another suitable location for you we will share access to streamed morning teaching/group practice sessions.

Participants in the online meditation retreat component will receive a 20% discount on a clinic session with Lama Justin following the retreat. For on-line participants: in the event that a pressing situation arises in which speaking with Lama Justin is needed during the retreat this can be arranged by contacting info@purelandfarms.com.


Lama Justin von Bujdoss is an American Vajrayana Buddhist teacher, writer, and the is a co-founder of Bhumisparsha an experimental Buddhist sangha along with Lama Rod Owens. He is the author of Modern Tantric Buddhism: Authenticity and Embodiment in Dharma Practice published by North Atlantic Books, and contributor to Buddhism and Whiteness: Critical Reflections published by Lexington Books. Justin serves as the Executive Director of Chaplaincy and Staff Wellness for NYC Department of Correction where he also serves as Staff Chaplain supervising over 30 chaplains and guides wellness programming for staff. Justin professional experience in home hospice and hospital settings as a pastoral caregiver.

Justin was ordained as a repa, a lay tantric yogin in the tradition of Milarepa, by His Eminence Gyaltsab Rinpoche. Lama Justin has presented on Buddhist practice at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, University of Chicago, Wellesley, Columbia University, has been a visiting instructor at Union Theological Seminary and has led retreats at a variety of dharma centers. Justin is passionate about helping to create the conditions for authentic embodied tantric Buddhist spiritual practice in the West.

You can purchase Modern Tantric Buddhism here.

More of his work can be seen at: justinvonbujdoss.com and https://bhumisparsha.org