From the Calm Seat to the Hot Seat – Cultivating a Meditation Practice Which Spans Both Worlds

~ The Twelfth Annual WMC Retreat~
Practitioners of All Levels, including a Separate Vajrayana Track
And with Special Guest Judy Lief
At the Garrison Institute, February 7-14, 2025

Meditation is meant to transform our experience but not just when we are on the cushion, but throughout our entire life, encompassing the difficulties of the so-called real world. To do this, we cultivate an attitude of acceptance and imperturbability which is flexible and open, not tight and fixated. This year we will focus on finetuning our practice to sustain us in all aspects of our experience, not just on the cushion. Please join us in this effort to cultivate warmth and openness in a world increasingly in need of those qualities.

Both new and experienced practitioners are welcome. An immersive retreat is a powerful way to settle one’s mind, deepen one’s practice, attune to one’s innate well-being, and open one’s heart. Surrounded by natural beauty and far from the clamor of our busy lives, Garrison Institute offers the ideal environment for contemplative practice.

The retreat will be jointly led by Judy Lief, senior teacher in the tradition of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and master editor of his works, and the senior teachers of the Westchester Meditation Center (WMC) – Derek and Jane Kolleeny, and Gene Bobker.

This mostly silent retreat will be primarily focused on sitting meditation, but the daily schedule will also include walking meditation, talks, guided meditations, yoga, and free time, with two individual meetings with a meditation instructor and discussion groups on two evenings.

The separate vajrayana track will include talks on the wonderful and pithy Song of Mahamudra by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, and will feature separate shrine rooms for prostrations, other ngondro and sadhana practitioners.

ABOUT US

 For more information about WMC please visit, westchestermeditationcenter.org and for more information about Judy Lief, please visit https://judylief.com/.

SCHOLARSHIPS

We are committed to making our programs affordable to everyone. Various scholarships are available for this program, each targeted to specific circumstances. If the cost of the retreat is a challenge and you would like to request financial support, please fill out and submit the Scholarship form HERE by December 31^st.

TEACHERS

Judy Lief, Senior Teacher in the tradition of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche is a Buddhist teacher who trained under the Tibetan meditation master, Ven. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. She has been a teacher and practitioner for over 35 years, and she continues to teach throughout the world. Judy is known for offering insights and practices stemming from the Buddhist tradition as a support for ordinary people facing the difficulties and challenges of modern life. Judy leads retreats and workshops as well as presenting online teachings. In her teaching, Judy prefers questions to answers, humor to earnestness, delight to solemnity. Judy teaches with clarity and empathy, with deep respect for the wisdom of the Buddhist teachings and the power of Buddhist practice. She especially enjoys sharing insights drawn from her Buddhist training with people simply looking for a way to develop more mindfulness and kindness in their lives. Judy’s teaching is marked by gentleness, humility, and an occasional poke of insight.

Jane Kolleeny, Westchester Meditation Center Senior Teacher has been studying and practicing Buddhism since the early seventies when her teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche arrived in Boulder, Colorado. A native Coloradan, she moved to New York in 1990 and taught classes at the New York Shambhala Center for many years, organizing and teaching at the Tuesday dharma gatherings for nine years. She serves as volunteer retreats and business development director at Garrison Institute.

Gene Bobker, Westchester Meditation Center Senior Teacher met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche as a student at University of Colorado the summer of 1971. She attended the 1974 Seminary and became a meditation instructor in 1976. In the late seventies she became a teacher at the New York Shambhala Center and also served as director of the center from 1977 to 1982. In 1982 she staffed the Bedford Springs Seminary, and later served as Practice Department coordinator in New York. She has been teaching at Westchester Meditation Center for ten years. Genie is an educator in the Westchester public school system. She has led mindfulness/awareness training for educators in school and camps, and has taught meditation to students in classroom settings. Genie is a mother and grandmother.

Derek Kolleeny, Westchester Meditation Center Senior Teacher began the practice and study of Buddhism with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1976. In 1982 He earned a B.A. from Harvard College in the Comparative Study of World Religions, focused on Buddhism, including study of Sanskrit and Tibetan languages. From 1999-2004 he served as head of practice and study of Shambhala Center of NY. In 2004 he created Rime Shedra NYC to provide practitioners access to the core classical texts of the Buddhist tradition and in 2009 he co-founded WMC (initially called WBC). He teaches a wide range of weekly courses and programs on Buddhist meditation and philosophy with insight, joy and humor.

Please email events@garrisoninstitute.org with any questions.

COVID-19

The health and safety of our guests and staff is a top priority for the Garrison Institute. To attend a retreat or event all guests, teachers, and staff are required to self-test (at home antigen test is acceptable) within the 48-hour window prior to arriving for a retreat on site, and to bring a 2nd self-test kit when coming on site. We encourage everyone to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and other illnesses before your visit. If you experience symptoms or have a positive diagnosis, please notify us immediately at events@garrisoninstitute.org We will continue to follow any COVID-19 guidelines set forth by our local officials, New York State and the CDC.