The Bliss of Mahamudra
Winter Retreat 2025
with Gen Samten Kelsang
January 10 – February 20, 2025
The Winter Retreats at KMC New York consists of six stand-alone retreats based on The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche. Please scroll down to find out more about this text and each week of retreat.
Registration Opens September 2024
January 10 – 16 | Developing Renunciation
January 17 – 23 | Training the Mind
January 24 – 30 | Tranquil Abiding
January 31 – February 6 | Superior Seeing
February 7 – 13 | The Uncommon Yoga of Inconceivability*
February 14 – 20 | Channels, Winds, and Drops*
*Must have Highest Yoga Tantra Empowerments in order to attend
Note: To fully benefit from these retreats, an understanding of basic Buddhist beliefs and practices is helpful. Suggested reading: How to Transform Your Life and part 1 of Modern Buddhism. Both texts are written by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the author of The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra.
The Oral Instructions
There are many benefits to setting aside the time and space to engage in retreat. During Winter Retreats, we immerse ourself in the tranquil and very blessed environment of KMC New York, away from the distractions of daily life, allowing for a deepening of meditation practice. Through guidance and teachings, we cultivate mindfulness, compassion and wisdom, nurturing a profound sense of inner peace.
These retreats provide a perfect space to explore the potential of our mind, and to promote clarity and insight into the nature of reality. By engaging in meditation sessions, we can purify our minds, reduce stress, and develop a more profound connection with our true nature.
This immersive experience empowers us to carry the transformative benefits of meditation into our daily lives, promoting harmony, inner strength, and a deeper understanding of ourself and our world.
The Winter Retreats are based on the book The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, and offer an opportunity to learn and gain an experiential understanding of the practices that lead to the actual realization of Mahamudra. We are very fortunate to be able to meditate on these instructions which have guided (and are guiding) countless fortunate practitioners to the state of enlightenment within one life.
The purpose of these retreats is cultivate deep experience of these Mahamudra meditations, or to deepen our existing experience and take it up to the next level. We learn key tips and approaches to make our meditation practice effective in shifting outmoded mental structures, and gaining insight. A key focus of these retreats will be the sustainability of our meditation practice – to create a structure of Mahamudra meditation that we can take away with us after the retreat and transpose within our daily life.
Gen Samten Kelsang
Gen Samten Kelsang is the Resident Teacher at KMC New York and will lead the Oral Instructions of Mahamudra Retreat. With 40 years of study and practice of Buddha’s teachings, he presents Buddha’s most profound teachings in a practical and accessible way. As one of Venerable Geshe-la’s senior disciples, Gen Samten has had the unique opportunity to engage in a three-year retreat and carries with him a wealth of experience in skillfully guiding sincere practitioners to profound meditative insights on retreat.
In silence, we engage with the meditation object in a more intimate way. We stop ‘chatting’ about the Dharma from our mouth and start listening to the Dharma from deep within our heart which gives us a special inner experience of the teachings we receive. Penetrating insights arise and since we are able to hold onto them with firm mindfulness we find Dharma experience pervades and nourishes our heart at a very deep level.
BLESSED BY OUR GURU
Over the years, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche has visited KMC New York three times, blessing the entire property and the Temple—providing one of the necessary conditions for a qualified place of retreat.
Retreat Fees & Important Registration Information
General registration goes live Wednesday, September 18 at 2:00pm (EDT)*
*Please note, we are offering pre-application from August 28-September 11 for those who wish to attend and stay onsite for at least four consecutive weeks of retreat, but we will prioritize those who wish to stay for the full six weeks of retreat.
Retreat Costs
Weekend (Friday – Sunday): $50
Weekly (Friday – Thursday): $100
Please note: a 20% discount on retreat fees is applied to two or more consecutive full weeks of retreats.
Due to the nature of these retreats, we do not offer drop-ins for days or individual sessions.
Accommodations
IMPORTANT: We are offering pre-application from August 28-September 11 for those who wish to attend and stay onsite for at least four consecutive weeks of retreat, and we will prioritize those who wish to stay for the full six weeks of retreat.
Please use the chart below to see accommodation options and prices. Please note for accommodations (not including meals) booked for 2 consecutive weeks, a 20% discount is applied; for 3 consecutive weeks, a 30% discount is applied; and for 4 consecutive weeks or more, a 40% discount is applied.
Onsite Meals
Vegetarian, vegan and/or wheat-free lunches and dinners are available each day for $8 each. Breakfast is available for those staying offsite but must be pre-booked. It is included in the onsite accommodation fees. All of our meals are home-cooked. We use fresh and local produce where possible.
Registration Notes:
- The nature of our retreats requires a harmonious and supportive environment for all participants. Our primary concern is ensuring the well-being and safety of all participants. Because of this, we will check all references before confirming someone’s retreat.
- The Heruka Close Retreat is a set price of $150 regardless of the number of weeks/days the person stays. More information about the Close Retreat can be found here.
- Each guided retreat in the Bliss of Mahamudra Retreat starts Friday evening and ends Thursday at lunchtime (6 nights).
For accommodations (not including meals) booked for 2 consecutive weeks, a 20% discount is applied; 3 consecutive weeks, a 30% discount is applied; and for 4 consecutive weeks or more, a 40% discount is applied.
A 20% discount is applied to the retreat fee for the second to sixth consecutive week of retreat. - Private rooms (deluxe, single, twin, doubles) and en-suite triples must be booked for 6-night blocks from Friday to Thursday (i.e. the full week of retreat). Partial bookings are not available for private rooms or en-suite triples, i.e. someone would not be able to book for a weekend, for 10 nights or 23 nights but could book for 6 nights, 13 nights, 20 nights, etc.
Dorm and shared room accommodations are available for partial bookings with a 2-night minimum for most of the retreat except for the weeks on Tranquil Abiding (Jan 24-30) and the Uncommon Yoga of Inconceivability (Feb 7-13). For these two weeks of retreat (Jan 24-30 and Feb 7-13), dorm and shared room accommodations must be booked for 6 nights from Friday to Thursday (i.e. the full week of retreat). - Those wishing to book for a private room or shared/dorm accommodations for at least four consecutive weeks up to the full six weeks of retreat can apply from August 28-September 11 to inquire about availability. We will prioritize those who wish to stay for the full six weeks of retreat. General registration opens on September 18 at 2pm EDT. At this time, if there are private rooms or en-suite triples still available, these will be open to 6-night minimum stays. For these partial bookings, Due to the importance of attending the introduction and start of retreat, these must be booked starting Friday night.
- Week-long and weekend retreat bookings are available for those staying offsite. Due to the importance of attending the introduction and start of retreat, these must be booked starting Friday night.
Contact Us
Phone
(845) 856-9000
9am-5pm Monday - Friday
Location
47 Sweeney Rd
Glen Spey, NY 12737