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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drubchen
preparing now for the drubchen coming up starting next weekend for eight days. we have 36" square space to sit in 17 hours a day for the practice with only toilet and meal breaks. we cannot speak nor ever see the sun for the duration. we can only brush our teeth and wash our face and that is all. they block out the sun and we sleep in only 5 hour shifts.
one must commit that under NO circumstances (in tibet they don't even remove you if you die) must you leave the temple. you are invited and must procure two vouchers from sangha members who believe you will stay in it.
so i have my tart cherry for pain and inflammation because you can imagine the energetic intensity of it! and oregano oil which is a powerful anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, cayenne for circulation and digestion, cell food which is very oxygenating and green food so that i get nutrition but not by eating so much food.
i also have organic green tea powder so that i stay warm and stimulated if necessary. i will purchase a meditation belt that is critical for keeping in the posture. let's see, i guess that's it except four changes of loose fitting comfy pants, and i have these round cotton pads soaked with witch hazel and tea tree oil which i depend on for cleaning my face.
i will be incomunicado from the 14th through the 22.
i am staying on for losar the tibetan new year celebration which will be catered and quite an event in that it is the garchen institutes 10th anniversary and also a long life celebration for h. e. garchen rinpoche.
if you are in los angeles or pheonix or any nearby places i highly recommend getting some friends together and coming out for losar. you must rsvp because it is a catered event.
www.garchen.net/schedule.h...al-schedule
if you have any suggestions or advise i welcome it. this will be the first i've done this.
may we all be benefitted!
preparing now for the drubchen coming up starting next weekend for eight days. we have 36" square space to sit in 17 hours a day for the practice with only toilet and meal breaks. we cannot speak nor ever see the sun for the duration. we can only brush our teeth and wash our face and that is all. they block out the sun and we sleep in only 5 hour shifts.
one must commit that under NO circumstances (in tibet they don't even remove you if you die) must you leave the temple. you are invited and must procure two vouchers from sangha members who believe you will stay in it.
so i have my tart cherry for pain and inflammation because you can imagine the energetic intensity of it! and oregano oil which is a powerful anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, cayenne for circulation and digestion, cell food which is very oxygenating and green food so that i get nutrition but not by eating so much food.
i also have organic green tea powder so that i stay warm and stimulated if necessary. i will purchase a meditation belt that is critical for keeping in the posture. let's see, i guess that's it except four changes of loose fitting comfy pants, and i have these round cotton pads soaked with witch hazel and tea tree oil which i depend on for cleaning my face.
i will be incomunicado from the 14th through the 22.
i am staying on for losar the tibetan new year celebration which will be catered and quite an event in that it is the garchen institutes 10th anniversary and also a long life celebration for h. e. garchen rinpoche.
if you are in los angeles or pheonix or any nearby places i highly recommend getting some friends together and coming out for losar. you must rsvp because it is a catered event.
www.garchen.net/schedule.h...al-schedule
if you have any suggestions or advise i welcome it. this will be the first i've done this.
may we all be benefitted!
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Sun, February 8, 2009 - 8:42 PMHow very Auspicious! -
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Sun, February 8, 2009 - 11:15 PMindeed! truly a great blessing and because there is so much benefit for so many i hope to be prepared very well and not distracted by the physical manifestations of poor planning! lol
for example, what sort of cushion would you recommend?
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Mon, February 9, 2009 - 8:59 AMAh, Now that is an excellent question!
Get something firm, hard even. And something
that keeps your hips above your knees. Zafus
squish down and aren't great for serious meditators.
Far better to invest in a Gomden or a kneeling bench
of appropriate height relative to your legs. I will add that
there's nothing holy about sitting on the floor. A chair works
just fine assuming it is comfortable and solid enough to
not collapse your posture. And a TV tray works just fine as
a puja table.
Those of us with middle-aged bodies, even if we are young,
need to make accommodations to accomplish long retreats.
It's not about sitting through pain, it's about sitting awake and
aware though the practice and being comfortable with whatever
might happen to arise. -
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Gomden - good!
Mon, February 9, 2009 - 4:03 PMMy aging body has done well with a gomden (they are available from Samadhi Cushions) on top of the supporting zabuton... A little firmer and a little higher up. Less tension/strain in the hips and knees. More openess!
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Tue, February 10, 2009 - 4:38 AMyou know, i was in a chair with a tray at the vajrakalaya drubchen and it suited me fine. of course, i could get up out of it whenever i felt a little uncomfortable! and i did. in this case, though, you cannot set the chair aside because there are so many in this drubchen and your spot is where you sleep as well and the only place to go (aside from the toilet and meals). i did pick up the gomden though not the more flexible seed filled type. my husband also brought a fold open floor seat with a back. i suppose i will leave this array of possibilities behind the dining room and be trying things out for a few days exchanging one for the other and so on until i settle with the least agonizing solution! lol my concern here is not with my own discomfort so much as lessening it so that my attention can be directed away from myself.
much gratitude to you for your support and very helpful advise! -
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Tue, February 10, 2009 - 10:17 AMYea, that's the thing. We can't completely avoid discomfort.
We're in samsara afterall (or maybe some are not.) But
for most of us, it simply a matter of finding what's the most
workable so that we can be as comfortable as possible--
and that way wahatever discomforts arise are not seized
upon by mind as huge obstacles! Of course, there's not actual
objective order of size where obstacles are concerned !
They are big or small depending on what we think they are.
I hope you can also do the Guru Rinpoche Drupchen. These
intensive practices are of inconceivable benefit. Please complete
as many as you can. Every day of drupchen is equal to one year
of regular retreat, so never miss an opportunity.
I rejoice in the merit.
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Thu, February 26, 2009 - 6:13 AMfunny thing, i sat the entire time on one of the chinese style zafu pillows with no ill effects. not once did i use the gomden i had purchased for the purpose.
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Thu, February 26, 2009 - 8:39 AMHow wonderful that you have happier joints
than both Cliff and I ! May it continue to be
the case for you. Please continue to do
these long retreats as often as possible
wile it is still easy for you! :-) -
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Thu, February 26, 2009 - 8:14 PMthank you mark. it was a bit unexpected that i would sit up on only that little thing. my mind on the other hand! lol plus another sudden and unexpected source of excruciating bleeding from the eyes kind of pain for three days and two nights! lol very good practice!
and yes, i decided to do this drubchen every year.
perhaps i will see you there!
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Mon, March 2, 2009 - 8:03 PMHow do I sign up for drubchen? -
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Mon, March 2, 2009 - 11:28 PMHi Sarah,
There are a couple of questions then:
Who is your Root Lama?
(which indicates which lineage you follow)
Where do you reside?
The Drupchen we have been discussing was run by
Garchen Rinpoche in Chino Valley, Arizona. The Yidam
was Yamantaka. They will be holding two more Drupchens
in the near future: Chenrezig from April 23-27 &
Padmasambhava from May 21-25. Garchen Rinpoche
is a Drikung Kagyu Lineage holder.
There are Drupchens in Los Angeles run by a Chagdud Gonpa
Lama following various Nyingma cycles of practice and every
Summer there is a Drupchen based on Dudjom Rinpoche's
Seven Treasures in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.
There may be other Drupchens being offered, but I don't know
about them. This is mainly a practice of the Nyingma, but some
Kagyupas perform retreats on a Drupchen model.
Drupchens are closed retreats that maintain continuous 24 hour
practice rather than four to six sessions with breaks. If someone is
eating or sleeping another is chanting and meditating. Such rotation
guarantees unbroken continuity of practice. Nobody crosses the
retreat boundary of the mandala during that period. -
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Re: preparing for the drubchen
Wed, March 4, 2009 - 1:44 PMHey Mark,
I'm nyingmapa. The teacher I have been following is Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche; root guru is a different matter. Looks like I might be able to do a summer based drupchen in Santa Cruz. Thanks for the info!
Sarah
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