Details:
Date: Friday 9th to Friday 23rd August
Retreat: Guzin A Yener.
Requirements: In order to attend this retreat you must have taken the Kurukullā empowerment.
Cost: Generosity Model – Donation only (via the donation form at the bottom of the page; no suggested amount).
Format: Onsite at Land of Joy
Accommodation: Land of Joy wishes for everyone who visits the centre to feel welcome, accepted, safe and secure. Our accommodation options are very limited, with mostly single-sex shared accommodation and only one single room (which is sometimes needed by volunteers). This means single accommodation can only be offered to those who need it the most, but still won’t always be available. Camping can be an option at certain times of year if you have your own tent but space is very limited. Please read the relevant sections of the booking form carefully.
About the Retreat
This will be an approximation/nearing retreat with a daily sadhana practice based on the sadhana Meditation on Kurukulla, composed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, with mantra recitation. The mantra will be recited during the retreat but it is up to you whether it is counted or not. Choosing between common and uncommon requirements is up to the practitioner, and their meaning and context will be explained.’ For those who complete the mala count of, 100,000, there will be a Dorje Khandro offering on the last day.
The aim of the retreat is to co-support practitioners in gaining confidence and experience on their path to actualising Kurukullā as a yidam. There will be shared discussions and Q&A’s in an open and inclusive way to provide a safe space to strengthen our individual practice.
You will need to bring;
- Two Malas; One is your retreat mala (preferably red), which should have its own small bag and be left in the Gompa throughout the whole retreat; The other is for doing your other practices.
- Dorje and Bell are needed, but the Damaru is optional.
- Your inner offering (or bring a small jar with alcohol so that we can add an inner offering pill into it).
- Black sesame seeds – optional for Dorje Khandro offering on the last day
About Kurukullā
Kurukullā (Skt. kurukullā, Tib. ku ru ku lle or rig byed ma) is a female meditational deity in Tibetan Buddhism traditionally associated with subjugation, enchantment, and exerting power over others (Skt.vaśīkaraṇa, Tib. dbang), concepts that are popularly subsumed under the term magnetising in Western Buddhism.
Kurukullā is referred to as the Buddhist Deity of love and enchantment due to her connection with transforming amorous desire. The Kurukullā subjugation practices are categorised as one of The Four Enlightened Activities (Skt. caturkarman, Tib. phrin las rnam bzhi).
The other activities include pacifying, enriching, and destroying. Güzin will be presenting Kurukullā’s iconography and historical roots to contextualise her practice, provide information on the root tantra and its main lineages and provide a detailed commentary on the stages of the sadhana practice.
About the Teacher
Güzin is a psychotherapist and a fully ordained sngags ma in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition. She worked as a psychotherapist and mental healthcare expert in Turkey, India, Egypt, and the UK, collaborating with government and NGO projects.
Living in different regions of India for more than a decade, Güzin’s interest deepened in the experiential aspects of Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist yogic traditions and their philosophical and ritual practices. After attending a Tibetan Translator Training programme in Dharamsala, Güzin collaborated on translation projects with Dr Alexander Berzin, becoming a translator for the Turkish section of his online Buddhist archives. She continued to live in Dharamsala, HP, India, and then in Bir, HP, where she concentrated on studying Tibetan Buddhist meditation and ritual. Having stayed and received training in a Gelug nunnery, she received teachings and studied under Gelug lineage masters such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche, Jhado Rinpoche, and Thomthok Rinpoche, as well as with Denma Locho Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and Khandro la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme). She had the fortunate circumstances to receive instructions and empowerments from different lineage masters in a true rimé (Tib. ris med) background and also studied further under the guidance of Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche whom she received robes, vows and commitments; and with Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, Neten Chökling Rinpoche, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, Lama Gödi whom she also received robes, vows and commitments, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, His Holiness Karmapa and His Holiness Sakya Trizin, focusing primarily on Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages.
In 2014-2015 Güzin pursued an MSt degree in Oriental Studies (Tibetan Studies) at the University of Oxford, focusing on the early historical roots of the Tibetan State Oracle tradition and its protector deity Pehar. She is currently reading for her DPhil in Tibetan Buddhism (Theology and Religion) at the Lady Margaret Hall, concentrating on the ritual practices of the Buddhist Tantric female deities Lotus Dakini and Kurukullā associated with transforming desire, enchantment, and subjugation practices also known as magnetising.
Güzin leads a weekly university-wide session on the methods of Mindfulness and Tibetan Buddhist meditation at the Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford University.
A full list of Güzin’s psychotherapy training and qualifications and a complete list of the Tibetan Buddhist Lamas and lineage holders from whom she received training and Samaya can be shared upon request.