Meditation Retreat One: Concentration Practices of Tibetan Bön Dzogchen

Overview

The Tibetan Bön model of Dzogchen presented in this retreat extends on the practices presented in the Online Preliminary Practices Course and introduces students, who have developed the essential aspects of preparing the mind, to concentration or “Staying-calming” meditation. Meditation, in this sense, is not a form of relaxation as it has come to be understood in the west, rather it is a means to explore the full potential of the human mind.

Building upon the foundations cultivated through the Bön Atri preliminary practices (ngöndro), this seven-day intensive retreat offers an immersive exploration of the nine stages of staying in Bön.  Due to translation difficulties we draw on the translations of Assanga’s Elephant Path (Nine Stages of Staying) as a means of elaborating the skills. The Elephant Path is a time-tested map of training concentration and deepening insight into the nature of mind used for hundreds of years across various Tibetan teachings. Through progressive training in relaxation, stability and clarity, this retreat will integrate frameworks and practices from Bön Atri Dzogchen and Mahamudra lineages, preparing the practitioner for the stable realisation of natural mind, and advanced yogic practices.

As with our other offerings, we will explain the purpose of each of the stages from a Western psychological perspective.  In keeping with H.H 33rd Menri Trinzin wishes we will contextualise these ancient practices into a form that honours this great tradition, but also provides a Western insight into how the brain changes as we develop skills and how that affects features such as perception and awareness. This approach is also in respect to the work of Dr. Daniel P. Brown who worked tirelessly for decades to make these skills accessible and relevant to Western science without reducing them to anything less than the sacred opportunity that they are. In this retreat, participants will not only have an experience of how to train attention, but from a psychological perspective will better understand what attention is and some of the impacts attentional issues have on psychological wellbeing.

Structure of the Retreat

Facilitated by Geshe Sonam Gurung, and supported by Nigel Denning, MA, MPsych and Mark Overton M.D., the first evening will be an overview of the Atri system and how concentration fits within the broader view of the path and Dzogchen practice. As the retreat begins, the first half day will serve as a recap of the Atri Preliminary Practices, ensuring that all participants have a solid foundation in the essential preparatory practices. These foundational practices cultivate the necessary conditions of safety, trust, and genuine interest in the tradition and the meditative process, creating an optimal ground for the experiential journey that follows.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday, students will be guided through the first three stages of the Elephant Path. These are the beginning phases of concentration practice that start with directing the attention to the object of meditation, staying with the object, and deepening that stability in progressive stages. 

Starting from Monday, we will be going deeper into stabilising the mind in increasingly subtle ways, balancing the body and mind, and clarifying the perception and understanding of the processes of the mind.

Skilfully integrating Mahamudra, the 8th stage of Bön and Dzogchen, the 9th stage, perspectives, these teachings will emphasise the interplay between effort and effortlessness, balancing discipline with natural awareness. The path is not about forcefully quieting the mind but learning how to engage with attention in a way that is relaxed, stable, clear, and free from grasping.

Those with a history of trauma or diagnosed psychiatric condition/s should consult with a teacher before engaging in intensive meditation practice. Concentration meditation can bring latent material to the surface, and it is essential that practitioners have the appropriate resources and support to navigate such experiences skillfully. If you have any doubts about your suitability for this retreat, please contact us to enquire further.

What you will learn:

• What attention is and the benefits of training attention

• The importance of attention for mental and emotional wellbeing

• Recognising the interplay between distraction and mindfulness

• Developing stability of attention through progressive stages

• Utilising support objects for concentration and transitioning to objectless concentration practice

• Working skillfully with agitation, dullness, and other obstacles to concentration

• Cultivating equanimity towards arising thoughts and sensations

Throughout the retreat, the emphasis will be on experiential practice rather than solely conceptual understanding. Rather than being strictly silent like other immersive retreats, the practice sessions will be interspersed with collaborative discussion, allowing students to ground their experience in a supportive group container and work through any difficulties that may arise.  This is a continuation of Dan Brown’s version of Pointing Out instruction: students are given clear instructions, have the opportunity to practise and then have the space to provide feedback and receive correction if necessary from the teacher.

By the end of the retreat, students will have developed a deep familiarity with the 9 stages of calm abiding, enabling them to sustain their practice with greater stability and insight. This retreat serves as a crucial preparation for engaging with more advanced teachings in Bön Atri Dzogchen, paving the way for deeper realisation of the mind’s natural state.

This retreat shares a complete set of teachings from the A Krid (pronounced “Atri”) Lineage of Tibetan Bön Dzogchen; a one-thousand-year-old compendium of the middle path to liberation in Bön. This text is the gateway to a series of expanded texts that refine the skills that ultimately lead to full awareness of mind.

Chapters 5-7 are covered from the text: ‘The Pith Instructions for the Stages of the Practice Sessions of the A-Tri (A Khrid) System of Bön Dzogchen Meditation’.

This text is available for purchase here and will be available for pick up at the beginning of the retreat.