Join a Virtual Nyung Nä Practice Retreat During Saka Dawa

Thousand-arm Avalokiteshvara, Choe Khor Sum Ling Facebook.

Choe Khor Sum Ling, a Dharma center in Bangalore, Karnataka State, India, is organizing a virtual Nyung Na purification retreat from May 31 until June 6, 2020. Everyone is welcome to join.

The retreat will be led by American monk Venerable Tenzin Gache with support from other sangha members who are also in Maratika, Nepal.

The Choe Khor Sum Ling website has the details:

Virtual Retreat on the Powerful 'Nyung Nä' Practice During Saka Dawa

"Nyung Nä is an intensive purification practice taught by the Buddha of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara, to Bhiksuni Lakshminkara in medieval India. Of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas, those most famous great yogi practitioners of ancient India, only four were women. Gelongma Palmo (Lakshminkara) was one of those four. 

"The practice was refined and systematized by His Holiness Kelsang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama. Nyung Nä involves visualization, chanting, prostrations, and mantra recitation of Avalokiteshvara, as well as fasting. The full practice involves complete abstaining from food, drink, and speech on the second day.

"The benefits of Nyung Nä include gaining an experiential taste of deep purification in a short time, and making a strong positive connection with Avalokiteshvara, the essence of great compassion. Based on these two days of practice, participants may then choose subsequently to attempt the full practice, or be inspired to engage in other purification practices. This practice contains great blessings and is highly praised by Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a supreme method for transforming the mind. Doing even one Nyung Nä for just two days is said to be as effective as three months of other purification practices and is extremely powerful for healing illness, purifying negative karma, and opening the heart to compassion.

"The virtual retreat will be led by Venerable Tenzin Gache who is an experienced Nyung Nä practitioner and who is currently pursuing Geshe studies (a 20 year study programme in Buddhist philosophy) at Sera Jey Monastic University in Bylakuppe (Karnataka). Due to lockdown conditions, he is temporarily residing at Maratika Monastery in Halesi, Nepal, and will lead the retreat from there. Venerable Gache will be supported by Venerable Tenzin Namjong and other FPMT Sangha also currently in Maratika.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Four-armed Avalokiteshvara, www.rainews.it.

"IMPORTANT REMINDER: We are exceptionally fortunate that His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be bestowing the full two-day empowerment of 1,000 Armed Avalokiteshvara on the mornings of May 29th and 30th (https://www.dalailama.com/live—available in various languages–9 am to 10:30 am Indian Time). This empowerment enables you to participate fully in the retreat. Those of you who are unable to view this empowerment, and who have not previously received such an empowerment, are still welcome to participate, but during the self-generation as Avalokiteshvara should instead visualize the deity at your crown."

Read all of the the retreat details on the Choe Khor Sum Ling website.

Watch the Introduction to the Nyung Nä Retreat -- Talk 1 on the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube channel.