The Four Generosities Practice
We started the Four Generosity teachings and had just completed the Sang teachings. Then the pandemic happened, and it was thought best to hold on the teaching.
Now, we would like to resume this special teaching of the Four Generosities beginning in March.
The Four Generosities Practice
The Four Generosities Practice (jin pa cha zhi) is a powerful practice for cleansing, awakening your inner spirituality, and releasing attachments.
Through these practices, we connect with the Protectors, Yidams, Khadros and Lamas. Doing these practices on a regulary basis gives a deep connection with four classes of sentient beings, including beings that are circling in this karmic world, through making offerings and releasing attachments. These practices are especially powerful if done while you are in a personal retreat.
The Jinpa Cha Zhi – Four Generosities include:
Sang (Smoke Offering). This practice is done early in the morning. It cleanses negative karma, opens blockages of internal energy and uplifts life force chi.
Chutor (Water Offering). This practice is done in the mid-morning. This practice removes karmic impurities, and releases and speeds healing from physical and mental illness that may have been caused by karma.
Sur Chöd (Burnt Food Offering). This practice is done in the evening. We dedicate this practice to all sentient beings – to pay off karmic debts, to free us from the suffering and emotional obscuration, and to awaken our inner awareness.
Chöd (Personal Offering). This practice is done at night. We imagine offering our own bodies to those to whom we owe karmic debts, providing benefit for ourselves as well as others. This practice helps us overcome our emotional attachments.
Geshe Tenzin Gelek will be teaching the Four Generosities Practice in a series of classes at Yeru Bön Center. This is a very detailed course. It will include a deep learning of:
- Prayers and Zab or Nyenpas (mantras) in detail, with correct pronunciation and rhythm;
- Learning about each of the deities involved;
- Learning the different tormas – peaceful or wrathful and when to use which torma offering;
- Making the needed tormas for the practices;
- Learning to use the required ceremonial instruments the Silnye (a unique Bönpo bell), Chöd Dar (chöd drum), and the Rollmo (Tibetan cymbal); and
- Learning the Sidpe Gyalmo masked dance.
This course will bring a wealth of knowledge to all Bön practitioners. It is especially suited for students who want to take their practice to a higher level, to learn how to properly recite prayers and Zab or Nyenpas (mantras) and correctly carry out their own practices at their own altar.
There will be four different parts of the course. Some of the parts are broken into multiple weekends. The course will be offered via live stream or if you are able to join in person at Yeru Bön Center in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The final culminating event will be held at Yeru Retreat Center in Emily, Minnesota.
The course sessions will be live streamed for students who are not able to attend in person. It is highly recommended, (but not required), for students attend the final retreat in person, where all of the teachings will come together.
March 20th – 21st, 2021
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Via Zoom
Review of the First and Second Generosity:
Sang Chöd ~ Smoke Offering
And
Chutor ~ Water Offering
This teaching has already been done, but you would have access to the recordings on registration and prior to this review weekend.
Geshe Ten Gelek will review the theory and importance of the Sang Chod ~ Smoke Offering, and the Chutor ~ Water Offering.
Students will review the proper way to recite the prayers and mantras and to include drums.
Students will learn how to present the offerings for the Sang Chod and the Chutor practice.
You will learn which torma is required for the Sang offering and how to make the proper torma. You will have time with GesheLa to ask questions, and then you will be asked to practice the prayers and mantras for the next live stream teaching.
April 10th , 2021
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Zoom Live Stream
Third Generosity: Sur Chöd ~Burnt Food Offerings
This practice is done in the evening. We dedicate this practice to all sentient beings to pay off karmic debts, to free us from the suffering, and emotional obscuration, and to awaken our inner awareness.
GesheLa will introduce us to the practice of the Chutor – We will learn the prayers and mantras with proper pronunciations. GesheLa will show us how to remove karmic debts and to remove emotional obscurations and how we can awaken our inner awareness through this practice of the Sur Chöd.
April 11th, May 15th – 16th, 2021
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Zoom Live Stream
Fourth Generosity: Chöd ~ Body Offering – Teaching and Additional Prayers
Chod (Personal Offering). This practice is done at night. We imagine offering our own bodies to those to whom we owe karmic debts, providing benefit for ourselves as well as others. This practice helps us overcome our emotional attachments.
GesheLa will teach us the correct recitation of the Chöd and the proper way to use the Chöd drum. He will discuss and teach us why the Chöd practice is important in helping us to remove our karmic debts and providing benefit for ourselves as well as others. This practice is powerful in helping us to cut from our emotional attachments.
May 24th-28th, 2021
Via Zoom or at the Yeru Retreat Center – Emily, MN
The Four Generosity Practices
Review and Completion of Teaching
Putting it all together. This retreat will culminate what we have learned, the Sang, Chutor, Sur and the Chöd. Putting them together, learning more from GesheLa about the prayers, mantras and the invocations of the deities. There will be guided meditations and hands-on review with Geshe Ten Gelek. By the end of this series, you will be strongly proficient in the prayers, mantras, deities, musical instruments and each of the Four Generosity practices.
During this retreat, GesheLa will also be teaching the attending students how to perform the sacred Sidpe Gyalmo Dance.
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By the end of this Four Generosity series, we will understand the importance of self-transformation through the removal of karmic debts, obscurations and more. This practice is performed at the Bon Monasteries on a regular basis and Yeru Bon Center will be performing it daily during our retreats. You will be able to perform this practice at your home.
You will feel the healing of this practice but more important, what you will learn, the prayers, mantras, tormas and musical instruments, you will be able to use for other Bon practices but with a deeper knowledge and meaning in all of your Bon practices.
Each of the Four Generosity practices contains prayers, invocations of the deities, and self-transformation. The retreat session will focus on the specific practices but will also be a culmination of the Four Generosity teaching. Reviews and work with Geshe Ten Gelek.
Many students have practiced parts of these practices for years. This is the opportunity to receive the teachings of the full practice from a superbly qualified teacher.
This teaching is a serious teaching. It is not to be taken lightly. It will be taught in the style of sMenri tradition. Students will be expected to study, practice and take examinations on what they have learned.
We will have a link for students to purchase the musical instruments if you so wish to purchase them.
Each teaching will be recorded, and students will have access to the recordings to help them review and to study for the next teaching in this series. So, if you are not able to attend any of the teachings, you will have the recordings for you to learn from and to be on the same learning level with the other students.
Geshe Ten Gelek would like to encourage all students to participate live, if possible, at the 5 day retreat.
Housing is available at the Yeru Retreat Center, you are encouraged to arrive the day before and stay until mid-day the day after the teaching ends.
Venue:
The Retreats will be held at the Yeru Retreat Center, Emily Minnesota
Airport –
- Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Approximately 2.5-3 hours to Retreat Center
- Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport 40 minute drive to Retreat Center
- Duluth International Airport – Approximately 2 hours to Retreat Center
We will arrange a Facebook page to communicate who needs help with traveling to the Retreat Center from Minneapolis, Duluth and Brainerd.
Meals:
Yeru Bon Center will not be charging for housing and meals: Because of the pandemic and keeping students safe, there will be no sharing of cabins, huts and Bon cabins.
Reservation of housing is done as registrations come in.
Housing Options: All rooms have beds, bedding. Altar and Thangkas of your choice.
Cabin with bathrooms and shower/tub
Yeru Huts – Outhouse/showers
Bon Cabins –
Tents
About Geshe Tenzin Gelek
Geshe Tenzin Gelek received his Geshe degree at sMenri Monastery in Dolanji, India in 1996. He served as Umzed for sMenri Monastery for three years. He is well suited to teach students the authentic sMenri Order. He currently lives in Chicago.
Register