2019 Teachings in Queenstown, New Zealand

By Lama Mark Webber

February 1 to February 25, 2019 (3 weeks)

Unfolding Confidence in Profound Intent

Introduction to the classes and retreats:

Lama Mark Webber (Lama Yongdu Gyaltsen) brings over forty years of classically grounded study, practice and teaching—in Buddhism and science, using diverse methods—that helps people understand both the cause of suffering states and their cessation, a path of freedom, compassion and innate happiness. Always, often with humour, he illuminates the most essential points of all Buddhist teachings and meditations. No matter what kind of state—positive or negative, confused, emotionally upset, anxious or happy, dull, joyous, sick or angry —the very basis of all our experience is unobstructed, luminous and pervaded with great love.

The meditations and contemplations Lama Mark introduces help us recognize both that our minds are naturally free of all fabrications and that the ground of all our experience, called Buddha-nature, Dzogchen, Mahamudra, etc., is an all pervasive compassionate awakeness known as bodhicitta. Unfolding and clarifying profound intent—bodhicitta—is integral to all the meditations, study and paths we take.

Sustainable happiness and deep compassion will not be found by chasing and grasping after outer objects, people, places and things. So too, no matter how fascinating and intelligent our thoughts and ideas are, they mask the pervasive continuum of awake mind. Learning to be naturally at ease in our own skin, vividly awake, abiding in our mind’s basis—inclusive of all experience—is the meditation. Whether day or night, daily life, retreat or no-retreat, generating bodhicitta (profound intent, the mind of enlightenment) blended into all we do, feel, think and sense is a great gift to all beings.

Lama Mark builds confidence in bodhicitta, and opens up a love of Dharma by mentoring others to develop a high level of capacity or strength—through listening, study, reflection and meditation—to approach and become familiar with luminous awareness. Instructions to cut-through to reveal this fundamental essence are central to Lama Mark’s way of teaching Buddha Dharma. With enough capacity, founded on a profound intent of awake compassion, we will know for sure that this natural pervasiveness is the meditation and conduct in every facet of our life. This describes the heart of Lama Mark’s guidance and teachings.

Unfolding Confidence in Profound Intent

Friday Feb. 1, 7:00 pm. What is Buddhist Meditation? Lama Mark distills the Buddha’s teachings and meditations into four topics— 1) mental intent, 2) profound intent, 3) liberating the Mind from afflictive states and 4) boundless compassion and innate awakeness.
Saturday Feb. 2 and Sunday Feb. 3. Bodhicitta: Generating the Enlightened Mind of Profound Intent. 4 classes at 10:00am -12:00pm & 2:30 – 4:30 pm. Many great texts say that the heartfelt wish and activity to awaken for one’s self and all other beings is essential for the bodhisattva stages and complete Awakening. This is the search and discovery of primordial wakefulness, called Bodhicitta—the enlightenment mind. With step by step explanations, this weekend’s teachings are about how to generate relative and ultimate Bodhicitta. Reading transmission to be announced. Lama Mark will supplement teachings from his study guide called A Rainfall of Great Love: On Generating Bodhicitta, some mahāmudrā and dzogchen perspectives^[1].
Tuesday February 5. 7:00pm. Empowerment of Longevity and Deathlessness: The Padmasambhava Amitayus practice in the lineage of Drikung Gongpo Yangzab.
Wednesday February 6. 9:00am and 7:00 pm sessions. Morning and evening practice sessions of Amitayus yab-yum longevity and deathlessness.
Friday Feb. 8, 7:00 pm. Mindfulness Meditation and Profound Intent: history, the classic trainings and suggestions for evolving directions in our practices. In addition, Lama Mark will give out some practical instructions on how to blend mindfulness into an expression of profound intent (bodhicitta) and awakeness. In addition, he will explain and utilize the 37 Factors of Enlightenment to enhance our meditations and contemplations.
Saturday February 9 & Sunday February 10. 4 classes at 10:00am -12:00 pm & 2:30 – 4:30 pm. Meditations and Contemplations, the Unity of Emptiness and Compassion: Nagarjuna’s text of the Bodhicittavivarana — A commentary on the Awakening Mind. Transmission and explanations.
Tuesday Feb 12. 7:00 pm. Torma Empowerment of the Three Roots. An important authorization for the practice of the Yangzab cycle of Dzogchen instructions and meditations. The great practice of receiving and giving the gifts of Dharma realization to all sentient beings in all six realms of experience.
Wednesday Feb 13, 9:00am and 7:00 pm: Practice sessions of the Three Roots.
Friday Feb. 15, 7:00 pm. Opening the Treasury of the Profound Intent: the importance of Dedication and Aspiration: A detailed commentary of Nuden Dorje’s profound Dedication and Aspiration prayers that are found in the Yangzab Dzogchen Preliminary Liberating Instructions.
Saturday February 16th, The Mahamudra: Penetrative Insight into Mind’s Nature. Start of an Eight Day Urban Retreat. The Saturday classes are open to the public.
An Introduction and essence instructions on The Mahamudra. A reading transmission and explanations of Gampopa’s short and pithy text, The Path of the Single Cut. 2 classes: 10:00am -12:00pm & 2:30 – 4:30 pm.
Sunday February 17th to Saturday February 23, Mahamudra Urban Retreat.
Step by step instruction and meditations on the Mahamudra. The text used will be Lho Trinle Namgyal’s Mahamudra Meditation, Words of Vajradhara Dharmakirti: A Record of Instructions on Five-Fold Mahamudra. Morning class followed by interviews with the Lama. Evening group meditation sessions and or classes. 9:00 am and 7:00pm
Sunday February 24th: Empowerment of Namgyal.
Followed by a community feast (Tsok). Sunday 4:00pm to 6:30 pm.
Monday February 25th, 7:00pm. Namgyal Guru Yoga Practice.
Practice instructions and commentary.

We are now taking registrations.

Please review accommodation options with regard to the retreat.

Lama Mark Webber (Lama Yongdu Chokyi Gyaltsen) has been studying and teaching Buddha-dharma for over forty years. For thirty years his main root teacher was the great Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche who taught all three cycles of the Buddha’s teachings, including Abhidhamma, and Vipassana in the lineage of Mahāsi Sayādaw, generation and completion stage practices of the Tantrayana and Mahamudra/Dzogchen of many lineages, especially of the Karma Kagyu and Sakya. More recently under the guidance and request of Drikung Lho Ontul Rinpoche, Lama Mark has been principally teaching the richness of the Drikung Mahamudra and Drikung Yangzab Dzogchen traditions.

Lama Mark has a deep and long term interest and collaboration in a number of scientific fields and the arts which he integrates with the teaching of Buddhism.

His compassionate activities demonstrate a profound commitment to freeing beings from innumerable suffering states. Through clarity, joy and humour Lama Mark’s emphasis with practitioners and students is on uncovering pure Dharma to reveal its extraordinary benefits and share the great love of its deep study, meditative practices and integration into all aspects of our lives.

For more information about Lama Mark, see:

http://www.markwebber.org
www.facebook.com/lamamarkwebber/
http://crystalmountain.org
www.facebook.com/NamgyalYangzab/
^[1] Available at the Teachings.
^[2] Available at the Teachings