Pure Lands, Hidden Lands, Sacred Lands: Spiritual Pilgrimage for Dark Times

Note: This retreat was recorded via Zoom in April of 2022. All videos from this session are included here.

• Have you been meditating for a long time, but aren’t sure you’re ever going to reach enlightenment?
• When you consider reincarnation, and you look at the trajectory the world is on, have you thought, “I am not so sure I want to be born back here”?
• Does the concept of heaven sometimes seem a lot more appealing?
• Do you long to discover sacred places for spiritual rejuvenation, both inner and outer?
• Do you wish that Buddhism didn’t seem so lonely, and require you to work so hard to become enlightened?

Discover the profound connection between the Pure Land principle, as a form of Buddhism, and the sacred hidden places that exist in the physical world, and within each one of us.

Learn what it takes to be reborn in a Pure Land, and how, in this life, you can merge landscape with mindscape, discovering the nonduality of inner and outer.

Pure Land Buddhism is the most widely practiced form of Buddhism in the world. From its origins in India, Pure Land doctrine spread to China, Japan, Vietnam, and Korea, where it is the principle form of Buddhism. There are over 100,000,000 Pure Land disciples worldwide. You may have studied and practiced Buddhism for a long time, and yet not realize there’s a form of Buddhism that is largely based on faith.

Pure Land Buddhists revere the Buddha Amitabha Buddha (Amida in Asia), the “Buddha of Infinite Light,” a gentle and all-accepting Buddha. Faith in this Buddha allows adherents to be reborn in his Pure Land, where enlightenment comes swiftly. From a Pure Land perspective, one doesn’t have to attain superlative spiritual achievements before being accepted.

This program will guide you on a discovery of Tibetan mystical traditions where hidden places, both inner and outer, become adventures for the mind. Through lecture, Q and A, daily meditations we explore outer, inner, and secret pilgrimage; how the elements of the mind, the body, and the outer landscape interconnect; and the importance of making pilgrimage.