🇬🇧 Hello friends of the Düntsam retreat and people who consider joining us this year! We hope that this announcement meets you in good health: the registration for the 2018 Düntsam retreat is now open.

Sabchu Rinpoché wrote a message sharing some thoughts regarding our main practice, the Mandala offering. We are including it below, hoping that the combination of these three sources will help you get a sound basis for deciding on your retreat participation. If you have questions or if you face technical difficulties, feel free to write to us at: movingduntsam@gmail.com.

Thank you, enjoy the read, and have a wonderful day!

The Team

Dear Dharma friends,

As a preparation for the upcoming retreat, I would like to share with you some thoughts on the topic of karma and the purpose
of Mandala offering practice.

Having merit, or virtuous karma or lack thereof plays an instrumental role in one’s development of dharma practice,
and generally, in life in all our lifetimes. As it says in the Karmavibhaṅga Sūtra, „Beings evolve through karma, take birth because
of karma, enjoy and function through karma.“ We continue on, studying and practising, with the ultimate goal to achieve wisdom, the Buddhahood, but note that merit and wisdom go hand in hand. As Gampopa (1079-1153 CE) said, „Great wisdom will not take birth in you if you have earned little merit.“ Mandala offering practice, in this regard, is considered the most excellent form
of practice for gaining merit.

From the biographical literature, we can see that the Indian teacher Atīśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna (ca. 982-1054 CE), an erudite scholar, an accomplished teacher, who revived Buddhism in Tibet – always carried his mandala set with him wherever he traveled, so that he never misses an opportunity to practice mandala offering, accumulating merit. Among the very few possessions he had when he travelled to Tibet, his mandala set was one of them. Therefore, though there are many forms of practices for accumulating merit, the practice of mandala offering is regarded as the best for this purpose.

Sabchu Rinpoché