WHEN
The retreat will be held Friday through Sunday, June 10-12, 2005. It starts at 7 p.m. Friday and continues through Sunday afternoon. Teachings begin Friday night at 7:30 and on Saturday and Sunday at 10 AM. Each teaching lasts approximately a couple of hours.

SUGGESTED DONATION

Please note there is a slight increase this year; tuition now includes breakfast and lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday.

You may pay with check or cash at the retreat or in advance. You may also pay in advance at our website via Paypal (credit card or bank draft). Upon arrival, please check in first at the registration table at the Sangha House and register before teachings begin.

MEMBER DISCOUNT
Please note that the member discount at all PBC retreats worldwide applies to those who have committed to monthly or yearly membership at any of PBC centers. Suggested membership is a minimum of $25 per month individual or $40 per month family. We encourage all to join as members to support the growth of the Buddha Dharma, the local sangha, and our teachers' work. Membership forms are available in the FILES section of our e-group site (see below) or at sangha meetings.

WHAT IS PROVIDED
Padma Gochen Ling is consecrated land, crowned with a temple. Our new Sangha House with dharma bookstore, kitchen and dining hall will be used, but the kitchen will still be somewhat makeshift. Stove available; limited refrigerator space. Rustic camping conditions: private outdoor shower with running water and outhouses. Sorry, no hook-ups are available.

WHAT TO BRING
Meditation cushion and a blanket or mat for sitting on a hardwood floor. (Some chairs available.) Food for your own meals plus one food offering for the tsog (ritual tantric feast). Drinks, snacks, and a cooler with ice if needed. Please bring bottled water; drinking water on-site is limited. Lawn chair or blanket for sitting on the ground for fire puja; chiggers are prevalent. Flashlight, insect repellent. If camping, bring tent, sleeping bag, towel, shower gear, etc. Flower offerings for the shrine are welcome.

DRESS
This is a rural retreat, so casual, comfortable clothes are recommended. Nights can be cool, days can be hot. Rain gear recommended. Please help us maintain a meditative atmosphere by wearing modest clothing conducive to non-distraction. If wearing shorts, ladies please bring a cloth to cover legs while sitting. For the comfort of others, please refrain from strong fragrances.

REFUGE CEREMONY
Refuge will be offered on Sunday immediately after the teaching. Refuge is the point of officially setting foot on the path, according to all traditions of Buddhism. One is ready to take refuge when they have confidence in the Buddha, dharma and sangha as the means to liberation. During refuge, one receives the oral transmission of refuge vows and lineage blessings which stretch back over 2500 years directly to Buddha. One also receives a dharma name and may request a beginning practice in Ngondro, which is the foundational practice in our lineage.

Refuge is open to all. If you would like to take refuge, please go to the bookstore soon after your arrival and sign up. The lamas need a count so as to make a calligraphy of your dharma name. For more information on Refuge and Ngondro, visit the FILES section at our e-group site for downloadable teachings by the Khenpos.

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
(May be adjusted slightly during retreat.)

FRIDAY
Noon-          Retreat Center opens. Arrive any time.
     Work Scholarship: Check in with Debbie Thomas   upon arrival
3:00 pm -    Registration opens at Sangha House. (Please register before evening teachings if possible)
6:00 pm -    Welcome and review of retreat guidelines in the dining room of the Sangha House.     
7:00 pm -    Gather in shrine room/ Announcements
7:30 pm -    Teaching
10:00 pm -  Lights out / silence on the grounds

SATURDAY
7-8 am - Morning Practice
8:00 am - Set up tsok
8:15 am Breakfast (provided)
9:15 am - Welcome and review of retreat guidelines in the dining room of the Sangha House.
10 am-12:30 - Empowerment* and Tsok
Afternoon - Free time: hike, meditate, visit bookstore
12:30 pm - Lunch (provided)
4:30 pm - Fire Puja
6:30 pm - Dinner(on your own)
7:30 pm - Evening Practice
10:00 pm - Lights out / silence on the grounds

SUNDAY
7-8 am - Morning Practice
8:00 am - Set up tsok
8:15 - Breakfast (provided)
10 am-12:30 - Teaching: Pith Instructions on the practice, transmission*, and Tsok
After - Refuge Ceremony
& clean-up

* The Saturday and Sunday sessions are both necessary in order to receive the full permission to pracice, including empowerment, oral transmission, and pith instructions.

Please make plans to attend the entire retreat if possible. Although Friday night is not mandatory, it is very helpful.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Email David Hinton or call him at 615-512-9071.
or Dolly Carlisle, Coordinator

For all the latest announcements year-round, plus downloadable teachings and more, join our announcement e-group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pbc-tn

FOR A DOWNLOADABLE RETREAT BROCHURE AND REGISTRATION FORM, CLICK HERE (1 MEG Download).

WORK DAY
We will have workdays on the two Saturdays before retreat, May 28 and June 4, 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Construction will finish at the Sangha House the week before retreat, so all volunteers are needed and greatly appreciated. Bring a sack lunch and any favorite tools you’d like to use. Please join us for this special blessing if you can; the retreat is only able to occur by virtue of our group joyful effort.

COMMUNITY WORK  
At our teachers’ monastery in New York state, Padma Samye Ling, all attendees participate daily in community work, whether in the kitchen, temple, grounds or dormitory. This helps the center run smoothly without too much work on any one person, and it builds merit so as to better realize the teachings.

We would like to begin this discipline– not only to better accomplish the retreat, but also to demonstrate that our community can support longer and more frequent retreats in the future. A sign-up list will be posted in the dining room; we appreciate your participation and joyful effort.

PROTOCOL
Please arrive early so as not to keep the Rinpoches waiting. The room will be full; please arrange cushions close together. If you have physical disabilities and require assistance, please arrive early and make arrangements. Remove shoes before entering the shrineroom.

Before the teaching or practice begins, enter early and make three prostrations toward the shrine before sitting down to meditate. Please maintain silence and respect for the shrine at all times. "Functional talking" is permissible.

Please keep the dharma texts off the floor. This can be done by the use of a scarf or any object distinct from the floor. Do not sit on, step on or walk over any dharma texts.

PRACTICE BOOKS
Some shrine room practice books will be available for general use. For all retreats with the Ven. Khenpos across the U.S., the following texts from Dharma Samudra (the PBC publishing arm) are recommended. If you have them, please bring them, or you may purchase them at retreat at the bookstore. They are very handy year-round.

• Buddha Sadhana - The text for morning practice. It contains the Heart Sutra for evening practice as well. $8.
  
• Mountain of Burnt Offerings - Fire puja.
  
• Offering Prayers to the Dharma Protectors - Dharmapala.
  
• A Small Treasury of Prayers of Supplication and Dedication
  

REGISTRATION
Upon arrival, please check in and register on the porch of the temple. Everyone on the property must be registered in order to comply with legal liability regulations. You may pre-register by using this form, but it is not required. If you send registration in advance, please check in upon arrival so we know you're present.

TOPIC
Retreat 2005 will offer a rare opportunity to receive the teacings and empowerment on Vajra guru Pema thodtreng tsal. For more information, click here.

AREA LODGING

You are welcome to camp or bring a sleeping bag and sleep on the floor of the shrineroom. There is no A/C there, but the nights have been cool enough. If you wish to stay in nearby lodging, the closest is in Monterey off Exit 300, a bed and breakfast:

The Garden Inn at Bee Rock, 931-839-1400.

More reasonable accommodations are available in Cookeville, 20-30 minutes away:

Exit 290
Alpine Lodge & Suites, 931-526-3333, 2021 East Spring St (Exit 290), Cookeville.

Exit 287
Hampton Inn, 931-520-1117, 340 Interstate Drive (Exit 287), Cookeville.

Days Inn, 931-528-1511, 800-325-2525, 1298 Bunker Hill Rd (Exit 287), Cookeville.

Econo Lodge, 931-528-1040, 100 S Jefferson Ave (Exit 287), Cookeville.

Comfort Inn Suites, 931-372-1881, 1035 Interstate Drive (Exit 287), Cookeville.

Ramada Limited Suites, 931-372-0086, 1045 Interstate Drive (Exit 287), Cookeville.

Note: Padma Gochen Ling is consecrated to the dharma. We encourage you to maintain a peaceful, harmonious state according to life in ancient Buddhist monasteries. The following are not permitted anywhere on the land: intoxicants of any kind, smoking, loud music, littering, pets.

No taping, please.

PBC INTERNATIONAL
See our teachers’ website for their full schedule of teachings at Padma Samye Ling, our monastery and retreat center in upstate New York, including summer Dzogchen retreats in July. www.padmasambhava.org.