Online Course: Kalacakra and the New Civilisation: a spiritual approach to ecological, social and personal transformation
PRACTICAL DATA
Modality: Zoom On line.
Schedule:
-Wednesday 30/12: 16h30 to 19h30
-Thursday 31/12 to Tuesday 05/01: 10h to 13h & 16h30 to 19h30
-Wednesday 06/01: 10h to 13h
(More details below)
Imparted by: Andy Wistreich and Shan Tate
Donation: 110-140€ (According to your possibilities)
This online retreat is designed for the times we are living through. It is based on the ancient buddhist tradition of Kalacakra, the Wheel of Time, which understands the rise and fall of individual life, universes and civilisations to be cyclical and interconnected.
As part of a project to create a Kalacakra tradition for the 21st century, this retreat explores our current crisis and how we as individuals might participate in the creation of a new civilisation. It is open to everyone interested in these issues.
It will be taught in English with translation into Spanish. It will include discussion, meditation and talks. Sessions will be 3 hours both morning and afternoon, with a half hour break in the middle of each session.
We will delve into this experience with Andy Wistreich and Shan Tate, an English couple who have led retreats all over the world together, including Oseling. Andy is a FPMT Registered Teacher, and is authorized to teach courses and lead Kalachakra retreats. They are the coordinators of the Saraswati study group in England.
VIDEO RECOMMENDATION
We recommend to watch this videos from six session online programme called «Kalacakra and the New Civilisation» with Shantideva Study Group, Israel, earlier this year:
READING RECOMMENDATION
For those planning to attend this retreat, we recommend the following book:
–English: How Everything Can Collapse by Servigne and Stevens 2020
–French (original): Comment tout peut s’effondrer: Petit manuel de collapsologie à l’usage des générations présentes 2015
Programación horaria
Wednesday 30th December
- Introductory meeting -
- 16h30 - 19h30
Thursday 31th December
- Seeing through and beyond the barbarian dharma -
- 10h - 13h / 16h30 - 19h30
- The Kalacakratantra speaks of the barbarian dharma as the doctrine or ideology of those who, like sociopaths, utilise violence and cruelty in pursuit of their materialistic goals. We can see this doctrine manifestly operating in many parts of the world today. We begin by exploring the roots of this harmful ideology, and then consider the radical positive way to see through and beyond it: the pure Dharma of wisdom and compassion, whose seed lies in the heart of every living being. These are seeds of positive ecological, social and personal transformation.
Friday 1st January
- The process of societal collapse and how to respond positively -
- 10h - 13h / 16h30 - 19h30
- Our global civilisation that promotes greed, selfishness and aggressive competition is breaking down. It has brought species extinction, social, economic, agricultural, and political collapse already to many parts of the world. Global political and economic structures lack the commitment to stop this, perhaps because they are thoroughly invested in the old order. Huge numbers of living beings face threats to life, wellbeing, community cohesion and environment. How should we, as seed-carriers of the pure Dharma of wisdom and compassion, relate positively to this process? By rejecting greed, embracing the universal responsibility that cares for all beings unconditionally, and by participating in embryonic peaceful, ecologically harmonious cultures.
Saturday 2nd January
- Deep adaptation -
- 10h - 13h / 16h30 - 19h30
- Recognising the likelihood of pending collapse, a movement for deep adaptation is emerging all over the world. Based on personal inner work, and mindful of the needs to develop new societal processes and forms, this movement works to develop inner and outer resilience, relinquishment of what we don’t need, restoration of abandoned wholesome cultural forms, and reconciliation with spiritual transcendence. The inner aspect of deep adaptation is the path to non-dual enlightenment. These times of crisis make this path much more powerful and rapid than it was in former times of inertia and stagnation.
Sunday 3rd January
- Harmonising the elements -
- 10h - 13h / 16h30 - 19h30
- Traditional cultures recognise the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space. These elements are intimately connected to consciousness, so that when consciousness is badly disturbed, the elements become chaotically disharmonious. This can cause natural, ecological catastrophes, as well as severe damage to the health and wellbeing of individuals and populations. Methods that reharmonise the elements within the individual, not only benefit that person, but have a wider impact on society and the environment. Such practices can restore the inner and outer stability and balance of elemental harmony.
Monday 4th January
- Beyond patriarchy -
- 10h - 13h / 16h30 - 19h30
- One of the root causes of our harmful civilisation is patriarchy, which for thousands of years has dominated most human cultures. It generates brutal exploitation of mother nature, imperialism and colonialism, slavery, and racism. It has led to the extreme social inequalities we witness in the world today. Unless and until we collectively emerge from the era of patriarchy, these oppressions will continue. Overcoming patriarchy begins within the individual, female or male, who has innately absorbed millennia of cultural conditioning. When we harmonise our feminine and masculine aspects, we can move ahead and eventually attain non-dualistic inner harmony. This will be a powerful resource for others and help to transform the entire culture.
Tuesday 5th January
- The new civilisation -
- 10h - 13h / 16h30 - 19h30
- The Kalacakratantra speaks of a new civilisation that emerges from the dissolution of the barbarian dharma. This civilisation is non-oppressive, beyond patriarchy, and based on harmony of the inner and outer elements. Even as the old civilisation collapses, there are many signs across the world, of this emerging new civilisation taking root. To contribute towards its creation, we purify ourselves through wisdom and compassion, transforming our selfishness into universal responsibility. How we engage practically in the outer process depends on our situation, our capacity and our predisposition. Opportunities for positive practical engagement are everywhere to be found, as the old system gradually loses its grip.
Wednesday 6th January
- Conclusion and wrap-up -
- 10h - 13h
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