Daylong Retreat, in-person/hybrid at the Florence Civic Center

The Power of Our Original Goodness

with Lama John Makransky

Sunday, October 15, 2023; 9:30am-5:00pm
This offering is in-person/hybrid.

Suggested donation: $35-$65 registration + teacher donation* (we encourage you to consider giving teacher dana equal to or greater than what you gave for registration)*

Description: In this day-long retreat, we will explore ways of accessing the love and wisdom of our primordial goodness, our buddha nature, through practices adapted from Tibetan Buddhism (Dzogchen tradition). Teachings and practices will help us become receptive to the unconditioned openness, clarity, simplicity, and compassionate power of our Buddha nature, first by participating in an empowering field of loving spiritual connection. Because parts of us may unconsciously prevent us from opening fully to our innate qualities of awakening, we will learn how to access the naturally compassionate and healing powers of our deep nature to relax, restore, and re-awaken those parts to their innate wholeness. As a result, our Buddha-nature can increasingly manifest by itself, unfolding its powers of wise discernment and loving responsiveness.

This retreat is both for practitioners who identify as Buddhists and for people of other faiths who seek to cultivate unconditional love and wisdom for action. Guided meditations, explanation of key principles, Q&A, and small group discussion will inform our collective practice.

Teaching/practice 9:30am to 12:30 (with breaks)

Lunch 12:30 to 2:00

Teaching/practice 2:00 to 5:00 (with breaks)

IN-PERSON LOCATION: Florence Civic Center; 90 Park St, Florence, MA

Chairs available; if you prefer to sit on zabuton/cushion, please bring your own.

Please bring your own covered water bottle.

The Flo Civ Ctr has a large covered porch and a lawn; we'll bring coolers, electric tea kettle, tea bags, paper hot cups.

There are restaurants within walking distance.

COVID Protocols (if the protocols change for Oct 15, IWM will inform all registrants):

• Vaccination required

• Masks optional

• If you have COVID concerns (new symptoms or think you've been exposed), please stay home and join us via Zoom.

• Field Control Trio Plus portable air purifier will be running (H13 HEPA with an ultraviolet light component)

• There are windows we can open to provide fresh air.

See Zoom link below.

John Makransky, PhD, is Associate Professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology at Boston College, senior advisor for Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s Centre of Buddhist Studies in Nepal and developer of the Sustainable Compassion Training model for accessing innate capacities of compassion and awareness. John's academic writings have focused on connections between practices of wisdom, compassion and devotion in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, on adapting Buddhist practices for contemporary minds, and on interfaith learning.

In 2000, John was ordained as a Lama, a meditation teacher of innate compassion and wisdom, within the Nyingma Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. As a meditation teacher, John is known for guiding participants in their discovery of underlying powers of love and wisdom. For the past twelve years, John has taught meditations of innate compassion and wisdom, adapted from Tibetan Buddhism, for modern Buddhists, those in other spiritual traditions, and for people in caring roles and professions.

*In keeping with the Buddhist tradition of dana (generosity), the suggested registration amounts for our classes and retreats do not include any payment for the teacher. The teachers are paid entirely out of the students' generosity. Please consider giving a donation to the teacher in order to support their ability to continue to share the dharma. We encourage you to consider teacher dana equal to or greater than the amount you gave for registration. You may give a donation at the time of registration and/or give later donations through our teacher dana link or in-person at the course/retreat. Everyone is welcome to all of our offerings regardless of ability to donate.

You can give online, in-person, or send checks to Insight Western Mass, 116 Pleasant Street, Suite 242, Easthampton, MA 01027. FYI: we check for mail once per week.

Zoom Link
Password: 242. 

Dial in by phone for audio only: Call (646) 558-8656. Meeting ID: 943 156 1684. Password: 242