From a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, our buddha nature is the basic space of our being that is undivided from vast capacities of awareness, warmth, love, compassion, and wisdom. These capacities are always available below our surface consciousness, but often hidden by our conditioned habits of thought and reaction. In this retreat, we will learn three modes of practice from Tibetan Buddhism that empower each other as they open us to those innate capacities. The receptive mode generates a field of care that helps us find immediate access to unconditional qualities of love and wisdom from the depth of our awareness (our buddha nature). In the deepening mode, we let those qualities help the mind settle into their source—the non-conceptual openness, simplicity, clarity, and compassionate warmth of our buddha nature. In the inclusive mode we come from that depth of being to recognize others in their depth, and to include them in those unconditional qualities of openness and compassion. This contemplative process also empowers our ability to discern the empty, constructed nature of our experiences, freeing the mind for further access to its innate awakening capacities.
In this weekend retreat, we will adapt this pattern of practice from Tibetan Buddhism, with some assistance from modern psychology, to make it accessible both for Buddhist practitioners and for people of all faiths who have previous contemplative experience and seek an accessible way to cultivate unconditional love and wisdom. The weekend will include guided meditations, Q&A, and discussion.
Readings
Before the retreat, please read John's book Awakening Through Love (2007), or as much of it as possible. Also recommended: How Compassion Works: A Step by Step Guide (2025) by Makransky and Condon.
