Great Treasury of Merit
Annual Guru Yoga & Mandala Offerings Retreat
with Gen Kelsang Thekchen & others
For those who wish for a deep inner transformation, this annual meditation retreat offers an opportunity to familiarize ourselves with two in-depth Buddhist practices: Guru Yoga and Mandala Offerings. Both practices are powerful ways to fill our mind with merit, or good fortune, and to receive profound and transformative blessings. They are indispensable for those who are serious about attaining authentic spiritual realizations, in particular the state of full enlightenment.
The practice of Guru Yoga is a special way of relying upon our Spiritual Guide with faith and correct imagination, in order to receive his or her blessings. The practice of Mandala Offerings is an offering of the entire universe visualized as a Pure Land, with all its inhabitants as pure beings.
Even though this retreat is part of the commitments of the Teacher Training Programme, it is suitable for everyone. Each session will emphasize a different aspect of these two practices, using clear instructions from the book, Great Teasury of Merit, by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche. Although each session will build up on the previous one, they are all self-contained and can be attended individually.
The first session every day will be guided by our Resident Teacher, Gen Kelsang Thekchen. All other sessions will be guided by Teachers currently studying on the Teacher Training Programme (TTP) at KMC Canada. Everyone is welcome!
** Accommodation is available for this event. Please visit the Accommodation page for more information and to submit a request. **
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This event is taking place at:
Kadampa Meditation Centre Canada
631 Crawford St. Toronto ON M6G 3K1 -
Monday, May 1st
Introduction & Session 1: 8:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. - guided by Gen Thekchen
Session 2: 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - guided by another Teacher
Session 3: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - guided by another TeacherTuesday, May 2nd
Session 1: 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - guided by Gen Thekchen
Session 2: 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - guided by another Teacher
Session 3: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - guided by another TeacherWednesday, May 3rd
Session 1: 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - guided by Gen Thekchen
Session 2: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - guided by another Teacher
Session 3: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - guided by another TeacherThursday, May 4th
Session 1: 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - guided by Gen Thekchen
Session 2: 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - guided by another Teacher
Session 3: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - guided by another TeacherFriday, May 5th
Session 1: 8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - guided by Gen Thekchen
Session 2: 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - guided by another Teacher
Session 3: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - guided by another Teacher
Session 4: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - guided by another Teacher -
The main Teacher for this retreat is our Resident Teacher, Gen Kelsang Thekchen. He will be guiding the first session every day. All other sessions will be guided by Teachers currently studying on the Teacher Training Programme (TTP) at KMC Canada.
About Gen Kelsang Thekchen
Gen Kelsang Thekchen is a senior Teacher in the New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU). He began practising Kadam Dharma in Toronto in 1995 and has been a Kadampa monk and Teacher under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche for 24 years.
He has been the Resident Teacher at Kuluta Buddhist Centre in Kingston, at Kadampa Meditation Centre Canada as the National Spiritual Director, at Kadampa Meditation Centre Vancouver as well as Madhyamaka KMC and Bodhisattva KMC in the UK. He is well known for his ability to present Buddha’s teachings in a simple, practical and often humorous way, making them easy to put into practice in everyday life.
At Kadampa Meditation Centre Canada, Gen Thekchen usually teaches the Sunday and Wednesday morning, and Tuesday evening classes. He also teaches at special events, courses and workshops as well as our two in-depth study programs, the Foundation Program and the Teacher Training Program.
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Regular: $10 / person / session
Class Pass Holders: $5 / person / session
(click here for more information about the monthly class pass)
Teacher Training Programme Students: IncludedHow to book: You can book in advance via our website or simply drop in and register upon arrival. Pre-registration is encouraged to allow a smoother registration process and decrease your wait time at the door. Doors will open 30 minutes before the start of the event.
To book in advance, click on the booking button below and fill out the booking form. At the end of the booking process, you will receive an email confirming your booking.
Promo code: If you are a class pass holder, you may enter your promo code at the top of the booking form to get your discount.
Your promo code has been given to you when you first signed up to become a class pass holder.
It is the letters in the first part of your email address (before the @), excluding dots ( . ), hyphens ( - ) or underscore ( _ ) and with a maximum of 16 digits.
Payment methods: For pre-registration via our website, we accept credit cards. For registration on site upon arrival, we accept cash, debit and credit cards.
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Some items might be useful during this retreat.
- Mandala Kit: Mandala offerings can be done either mentally, through imagination, or mentally and physically, by using a traditional mandala kit and some rice.
- Prayer booklets: We will be using the sets of prayers: Offering to the Spiritual Guide and Request to the Holy Spiritual Guide Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche from his Faithful Disciples.
- Books: This retreat will be mainly based on the instructions in the book: Great Treasury of Merit, by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, but we will also study a few extracts from the books, The New Guide to Dakini Land and Joyful Path of Good Fortune, also by the same author.
All suggested prayer booklets and books, as well as mandala kits and precious stones are available at the Kadampa Meditation Centre Canada Bookstore & Giftshop.
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Accommodation is available for this retreat. For more information and to submit a request, please click here.
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If you have any questions or booking inquiries, please email: [email protected]