Stages of The Path (Lamrim)  Retreat

Information and advice for attendees

The information on this page is offered in support of practitioners attending a Stages of The Path (Lamrim) Retreat. Below you will find information about:

  • the Stages of The Path
  • the content of the sessions and prayers being used for the retreat
  • the schedule
  • links to materials
  • a selection of related links to NKT articles and podcats
  • links to videos of Venerable Geshe-la teaching about the Stages of The Path

Please be aware that this website page is not available to members of the general public and should not be shared outside of the centre’s community.

Next Stages of the Path Retreat

The next Stages of The Path Retreat retreat at KMC Plymouth is on the weekend of Friday 3rd (7pm) to Sunday 5th Janaury 2025 August.

  • Retreat Sessions Content, Mediations and Prayers

    The session times are given below and will last for 1hour 15minutes each. Hence the breaks will be a minimum of 45 minutes each – please ensure you return to the meditation room ready to start each session on time.

    Prayers will be “Essence of Good Fortune” and we have plenty of copies available but if you wish to buy a copy you can do so through Tharpa (see the “Reading” section below). Audio copies of the prayers are also available on the website.

    In the retreat sessions there will be a teaching by Gen Dragden after The Liberating Prayer, followed by the remaining prayers through Prayer of The Stages of The Path, where there will be a guided meditation.

    After the meditation, prayers will conclude following the sadhana with the usual exception of The Nine-line Migstema Prayer which will only be made in the final session each day.

    Gen Dragden is kindly guiding these sessions and advises we will be covering a range of Lamrim topics rather than a particular Scope.

    Thanks to our kind Sangha the coffee bar will be open during the retreat.

    Please note that there will be no offerings made for Heart Jewel on the Saturday but there will be offerings for Wish Fulfilling Jewel on the Sunday morning.

  • Retreat Schedule

    Attend all or any of the sessions over the weekend. Full details below:

    Friday 3rd January
    Introduction: 7-8.15pm

    Saturday 4th January
    Session 1: 9am with guided meditation
    Session 2: 11am with guided meditation
    Session 3: 2pm with guided meditation
    Session 4: 4pm Heart Jewel – no offerings

    Sunday 5th january
    Session 1: 10am WFJ with offerings
    Session 2: 12noon with guided meditation
    Session 3: 2.30pm with guided meditation

  • Booking

    Whilst you do not need to book, we would appreciate you doing so as it really helps us plan for the weekend. You can book on the links below. You can of course, just turn up!

  • Questions

    If you have any questions about this event or practices please email Matt, your EPC, HERE

  • Next Retreat Event After This

    Mahamudra Retreat: Friday 10th (7pm) to Sunday 12th January 2025 – Various Times.

    Full Details can be found HERE.

  • Learn More About The Stages of The Path

1. Fulfilling Our Potential Through Lamrim Practice

2. Achieving the Pure Land Through Lamrim – Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Integrating Lamrim Into Our Daily Lives

The Benefits of Lamrim

Faith In Lamrim

Essence of Good Fortune Prayers (Sadhana)

The New Meditation Handbook

Joyful Path of Good Fortune

Extract from The New Kadampa Tradition website

The original article is available here: https://kadampa.org/buddhism/stages-of-the-path

LAMRIM – THE STAGES OF THE PATH

The stages of the path to enlightenment, or Lamrim in Tibetan, is the backbone of Kadampa Buddhism.

Lamrim is a special set of instructions that includes all the essential teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni arranged in such a way that all his Hinayana and Mahayana teachings can be put into practice in a single meditation session.

It was compiled by the great Indian Buddhist Master Atisha, who was invited to Tibet by King Jangchub Ö in AD 1042, and who spent the rest of his life there spreading pure Dharma.

UNBROKEN LINEAGE

There is a completely pure and unbroken lineage of these Lamrim instructions from Buddha Shakyamuni up to our present day Spiritual Guides.

Many great Kadampa Teachers have said that it is far more important to gain experience of Lamrim than it is to attain clairvoyance, miracle powers, or high social status.

This is true because in previous lives we have often possessed clairvoyance and potent miracle powers, and many times in the past we have been in the highest positions in the human and god realms, but despite this we continue to experience uncontrolled rebirth and physical and mental suffering caused by anger, attachment, jealousy, and confusion.

FREEDOM FROM ALL SUFFERING

If we gain deep experience of Lamrim there will be no basis for these problems; we shall be completely free of all of them.

First we must understand the value of Lamrim. Then by joyfully and patiently doing the meditations we shall gradually experience the fruits of Lamrim practice.

Eventually we shall attain freedom from all suffering and the unchanging peace and happiness of enlightenment.

TWENTY-ONE MEDITATIONS

There are 21 Lamrim meditations, which are usually practiced in a three-week cycle as a daily meditation practice:

  1. Our precious human life
  2. Death and impermanence
  3. The danger of lower rebirth
  4. Refuge practice
  5. Actions and their effects
  6. Developing renunciation for samsara
  7. Developing equanimity
  8. Recognizing that all living beings are our mothers
  9. Remembering the kindness of living beings
  10. Equalizing self and others
  11. The disadvantages of self-cherishing
  12. The advantages of cherishing others
  13. Exchanging self with others
  14. Great compassion
  15. Taking
  16. Wishing love
  17. Giving
  18. Bodhichitta
  19. Tranquil abiding
  20. Superior seeing
  21. Relying upon a Spiritual Guide

These meditations, along with instructions on how to practice them and essential background material, can be found in The New Meditation Handbook.

An extensive presentation of Lamrim can be found in Geshe Kelsang’s book Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

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