Weekend Meditation Retreat
Understanding the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
Saturday, May 11 – Sunday, May 12, 2024
10:00am–4:30pm PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)
in person and online
We are using the Zoom video conferencing system for this event.
Please register below to receive your online access information.
By registering for this event, you understand that the
sessions may be recorded and published in the public
domain (such as YouTube), and consent to this process.
Join us for a transformative weekend with Venerable René Feusi as we explore the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination — a fundamental Buddhist teaching that delves into the interconnectedness of life and the cyclical nature of existence in samsara.
Retreat Overview
The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination illustrate a chain
of causes and effects, beginning with ignorance, which leads
to mental formation and consciousness, and progresses through
name and form, the six senses, contact, feeling, craving,
grasping, becoming, birth, and finally aging and death. This
retreat offers a unique opportunity to understand these links
and how contemplation of them can provide a pathway to
liberation from the cycle of suffering.
Venerable René will guide participants through a series of
meditations, each building upon the last, to foster a deeper
understanding of each link and its implications for our lives.
This retreat welcomes everyone, whether you are new to
Buddhism or looking to deepen your practice. Join us for a
weekend of insight.
Retreat Schedule
- Morning Session: 10:00am – 12:30pm
- Lunch Break: 12:30pm – 2:00pm
(A vegetarian lunch will be provided at the center) - Afternoon Session: 2:00pm – 4:30pm
Note: If you wish to contribute to the retreat by sponsoring a lunch, please select the ‘In-Person Lunch Sponsorship’ option during registration.
Recommended Reading
To enhance your retreat experience, we recommend the following texts:
- Personalizing the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
by Ven. Tenzin Gache - The Wheel of Life
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, translated by Jeffrey Hopkins, with a foreword by Richard Gere
Venerable René Feusi was born in
Switzerland in 1959. He trained as a florist for the purpose
of taking over the family business of flower shops in
Geneva, as he first encountered Buddhism at the age of
20. He attended the annual November course at Kopan
Monastery in Nepal. There he met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa
Rinpoche, who were to become his main teachers. When he was
26, he took getsul (novice) ordination in Dharamsala, India
and the full ordination (gelong) the following year.
After two years of study and retreats in India and Nepal,
Venerable René entered the Nalanda Monastery in France,
where he studied under Khensur Rinpoche Geshe Tegchok. After
completing his studies and the traditional nine preliminary
practices, he entered a two-and-a-half-year solitary retreat
at O Sel Ling Retreat Center in Spain.
Since then, he has spent his time teaching and leading
retreats in Dharma centers around Europe and the United
States and doing solitary retreats. Venerable René was the
resident teacher at Vajrapani Institute in the Santa Cruz
mountains from 2001 to 2007. Presently he lives in Tonasket,
Washington and splits his time between teaching and personal
retreat. Venerable René is the author
of The
Beautiful Way of Life: A Meditation on Shantideva's
Bodhisattva Path.
Those who have had the pleasure and good fortune to attend
Venerable René’s teachings, immediately realize that his
knowledge is deeply experiential, based on profound
meditative insights. He helps his students gain an
intuition of their own inner potential and inspires and
guides them to become meditators themselves.
Support
Our ability to continue offering these teachings is dependent on the generosity of donors. If you find this online content useful and you are not already attending the teachings in person, any donation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your kind support.
Video Recordings
Registration
Suggested Donation: $100 for the entire weekend or $25 for a single session.
Your generous donations are essential for the continuation of programs like this. No one turned away due to lack of funds.