Talk
When the sufferings and calamities of the world feel like they are too much for us to bear, and threaten to overwhelm us, we need a powerful method to help us transform these adversities into the compassionate agency and selfless mind that form the very lifeblood of the path to awakening.
One of the great living masters who embodies this ideal in our time is H. E. Garchen Rinpoche. During his more than 20 years in a Communist concentration camp he learned and practiced a special form of giving and taking (tonglen) meditation that enabled him to transform his long prison sentence into an extended meditation retreat from which he emerged as a changed man.
On Saturday, September 12, Timo Pieters introduced and led a guided meditation based on Garchen Rinpoche’s pith instructions for tonglen practice, emphasizing both the compassion aspect of exchanging self and others, and the wisdom aspect of recognizing that all our sufferings have the same nature and all our minds have the same ground. Timo has studied and practiced at the Garchen Institute.
Additional Resources:
About Timo Pieters
Timo Pieters encountered Buddhism as a teenager, and was fortunate enough to pursue both academic religious studies (BA & MA) and 15 years of Buddhist practice under the guidance of many mentors, including Rob Preece, Dr. B. Alan Wallace, and Garchen Rinpoche. Timo is the founder of Integral Wellbeing, where he teaches practices for cultivating physical, psychological, social, and systemic wellbeing, drawing on both modern science and the world’s wisdom traditions. You can connect further with Timo via his website, LinkedIn, and his YouTube channel.
What is Ghatika Monthly?
Ghatika Monthly is an in-person and virtual gathering held on the 2nd Saturday of every month, in which CCR expert teachers offer accessible guidance in foundational yet transformative contemplative practices. Ghatika is the Sanskrit term for one 24-minute meditation session, which is a recommended length for beginning meditators. While most of the CCR’s expert teachers come from a Buddhist background, these sessions are designed to be secular, informative, and welcoming to beginning and advanced practitioners alike. At Ghatika Monthly, we hope to offer a taste of the contemplative technology that our full-time contemplatives cultivate for 8–12 hours per day at Miyo Samten Ling Hermitage in Crestone. Sign up for our Ghatika Monthly email list to never miss a session!
