Part 1: Three Weekend Urban Retreat Series

SCHEDULE

April 25th - April 27th

FRIDAY 

7:00pm-9:00pm EST 

Bob Thurman, Nina Rao, & Chandra Easton (Chandra will present via Zoom)

SATURDAY 

10:00am - 1:00pm EST

Bob Thurman & Chandra Easton (Chandra will present via Zoom)

2:00pm - 5:00pm EST 

Nina Rao, Chandra Easton (Chandra will present via Zoom) & John Campbell (Yoga) 

7:00pm - 9:00pm EST 

Evening Kirtan with Nina Rao 

SUNDAY 

10:00am-1:00pm EST

Bob Thurman, Nina Rao, & Chandra Easton (Chandra will present via Zoom)

(No yoga on Sunday)

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 Full Weekend $200 | Friday Only $40 |  Saturday & Sunday Only $175 | Evening Kirtan $20

Sponsorship | $500 full weekend 

Hybrid (Online/in-Person)

Join us for three monthly gatherings/weekend retreats with teachings by Bob Thurman, Lopon Chandra Easton and Kirtan by Nina Rao. Each weekend will consist of teachings, guided Tara mediations, chanting kirtan, and Vajrayoga. 

Schedule of specific elements TBD, however, each Friday evening will begin with an introduction by Bob Thurman in dialogue with Chandra Easton and Nina Rao. Saturdays consist of morning Vajrayoga and teaching sessions with Bob, Chandra, and Nina, concluding the day with a kirtan with Nina and friends in April and June. Sunday consists of a morning yoga session. The retreat concludes at lunchtime on Sunday.

Chandra will be present online for the first and third weekends (April 25th-27th and June 6th-8th) and in person for the second weekend (May 9th-11th). Please check here for schedule updates.

The Buddhist pantheon consists of innumerable buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other deities who guide practitioners on their spiritual paths. The female Buddha of Compassion, Arya Tara,  appears in many different Buddhist traditions, sometimes born from one of Avalokiteshvara's tears, sometimes as a princess turned bodhisattva who defiantly vowed to attain buddhahood in female form rather than as a man, and finally in Buddhist Tantra where she has been elevated to a supreme buddha in her own right and nothing less than the Mother of All Buddhas, likened to Yum Chenmo, the Great Mother, in some contexts. Within Tibetan Buddhism, Arya Tara is the most beloved manifestation of the divine feminine, often called the Mother of Tibet. 

Tara is called the "Savioress" because she is known for saving beings from the ocean of samsara (suffering). Her name also means "star," as she is as infinite as the stars in the sky. Ultimately, she represents the essential nature of your own mind, your buddha nature, and in this way, she can manifest in each of us in a myriad of different ways. The twenty-one aspects of Tara appear in the 11th-century tantric text called the Twenty-One Praises to Tara, a devotional hymn popular in Tibetan Buddhism, from which Chandra Easton's book, Embodying Tara, draws its teachings and practices. 

You will learn meditations and mantras for many of the twenty-one Taras and hear stories of real-life women who embody their qualities. They will inspire you to bring these aspects of Tara alive in yourself, bringing your body, mind, and soul into alignment with your enlightened nature. We will also explore the rich and fascinating intersection of the Hindu vision of Goddesses from within the ten Great Wisdom Mothers, Mahāvidyās, and others, demonstrating how seeing her from all perspectives enriches one's sense of closeness and inspiration from her in one's life and beyond denominationalism. 

• Insight into the diverse and dynamic visions of both Buddhist & Hindu Goddesses
• Mantra recitation and chanting kirtan;
• Guided Tara meditations;
• Exploration of the lives of real women and movements that embody Tara’s enlightened activities.
• Vajra Yoga sessions, with THUS’ head Vajra Yoga (™) teachers.

Open to all. 

Sponsor tickets help provide scholarships for attendees in need at Tibet House US. Please consider donating and helping our community. 

Scholarships and financial aid are available for all who request it.  Kindly email Beata@thus.org for further information.