Transforming our Lives with Compassion - with Choden

Choden, a South African born Buddhist monk and author, will lead a weekend retreat on the power of compassion and how it can transform our lives. He will draw on the ancient Lojong (mind training) teachings from 11^th century Tibet.

The essence of these teachings is that we are trapped in a default setting of ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘mine’ and do whatever we can to carve out a small piece of security and happiness for ourselves and then build a fence around it to keep threatening things out. Instead of bringing us the happiness this is the root cause of inner poverty and isolation.

In contrast, the sacred mystery of life is to focus more on others than oneself. The mystics of the past discovered that this was a source of a deep and enduring happiness. As part of this process we learn how to turn adversity into the path of waking up. Blocks, issues and obstacles become the raw material for the growth of compassion and understanding.

This is expressed in the practice of tonglen – taking and sending. Instead of resisting the pain and difficulty of life, we actively draw it into ourselves and recycle it into the energy of vitality, clarity and kindness that we offer out to others.

At the heart of this practice is the tantric perspective that all of our emotional experience, both positive and negative, is inherently pure and endowed with wisdom. This is expressed by the principle of mandala which describes how the mind is a dynamic energy system with a centre and a periphery. Most of us are caught up on the periphery, tossed and turned by our conflicting emotions, but we find the centre though cultivating mindfulness and compassion. From this perspective we can find a place of stillness and peace and learn to take care of the different parts of ourselves whilst appreciating their value and usefulness.

Dates: Friday 6 January 2023, starting from supper. Ending Monday 9 January after lunch. The 3 night – 3.5 day retreat will involve teachings, guided practices, sitting meditation, periods of silence and opportunities to explore the surrounding nature. There will also be the opportunity to share and discuss what arises through doing the practices.

Costs of retreat is for three nights, all meals inclusive. 

         

Choden resplendent in Samye Ling shrine hall. Scotland.

CHODEN

A monk within the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Choden (aka Sean Mc Govern) completed a three-year, three-month retreat in 1997 and has been a practicing Buddhist since 1985. He is originally from South Africa where he trained as a lawyer and learned meditation under the guidance of Rob Nairn, an internationally renowned Buddhist teacher. He is now involved in developing secular mindfulness and compassion programmes drawing upon the wisdom and methods of the Buddhist tradition, as well as contemporary insights from psychology and neuroscience. He is an honorary fellow of the University of Aberdeen and teaches on their Postgraduate Study Programme in Mindfulness (MSc) that is the first of its kind to include compassion in its curriculum. He co-wrote a book with Paul Gilbert in 2013, entitled Mindful Compassion that explores the interface between Buddhist and Evolutionary approaches to compassion training. He is also the co-author of two other books: Mindfulness Based Living Course (2018) and From Mindfulness to Insight (2019). In 2016 he completed a one-year retreat focused on the foundation practices of Tibetan Buddhism.