Vajra Yogini Retreat
The practice of Vajra Yogini is part of the Unsurpassable Yoga (Anuyoga) class, a higher tantra that requires a full initiation of this particular tantra class. Its practitioner must observe the bodhisattva vows and samayas corresponding to this class of tantras.
The 11 progressive yogas that characterize this practice of the Mother Tantras are intended to be beneficial in helping us transform ordinary perceptions, especially those influenced by desire, and in bringing us closer to the pure form of this deity in action and meditation.
The steps of the common path – in particular the aspiration to attain the enlightenment of a Buddha in order to be perfectly beneficial to beings and the right view of emptiness – remain indispensable foundations to receive the full effects of tantric practices.
Guide for retreat
Jhampa Shaneman was one of the first western Buddhist monks with Lama Yeshe and FPMT. In his first 10 years in India he studied, interspersing this with meditation retreat. By 1980 he had completed 6 years of study of the sutras and tantras and 4 years of short retreats, the four preliminaries and deities. In the fall of 1980 Jhampa entered the traditional great retreat of Yamantaka and spent the next 3.5 years in isolation on the mountains above Dharmsala, India. Khabje Ling Rinpoche guided Jhampa during this time.
Jhampa is no longer a monk. He has been translating and teaching for 40 years in Canada, the United States and Mexico. His presentations are full of interesting antidotes from life in both India and the Western World.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave Jhampa permission to teach Tantra in 1988 and since then he has given numerous initiations, lead retreats and given commentaries on Vajra Yogini and other deities.
Conditions for retreat
- To have received the initiation of Vajra Yogini
- Commit to the entire retreat and attend all sessions
