(credits)Minam Rinpoche is planning to hold a Vajrasattva Retreat towards the last quarter of the year (October 2009).
As we all know, to break the samayas of the Vajrayana is a great fault. The tantric samayas are subtle, numerous and difficult to keep. It would be wrong for us to suppose that we are keeping them faithfully.
The aim of this retreat is to enable us to stay undistracted and do not mix your recitation with ordinary speech. To say the hundred syllable mantra without interruption will undoubtedly purify your negative actions and obscurations, and the violations and breaches of vows and samayas
The main obstacles that prevent all the extraordinary experiences and realizations of the profound path from arising are negative actions, obscurations and habitual tendencies. Just as it is important to clean the surface of the mirror if forms are to be reflected in it, so too it is important to eliminate our obscurations so that realizations can appear like a reflection in the mirror.
There is no harmful act that cannot be purified by confession. As the great teachers of ancient times affirmed :
There is nothing good about negative actions - except that they can be purified through confession.
However, purification only takes place when you confess sincerely in the right way, using the four powers as antidotes. The purification process will never work if your eyes and mouth are otherwise occupied, or if you are just mouthing the words, "I admit ...... I confess ....." while your mind is busy pursuing other thoughts. And to think, "In future, even if I do wrong it won't matter because I can just confess afterwards," will stop the purification from working at all, even if you do confess.It is absolutely fundamental that any confession should include as antidotes of all the 4 powers.
The four powers are the power of support, the power of regretting having done wrong, the power of resolution and the power of action as an antidote.
Please drop us a line if you are keen to join us in this retreat and we shall get back to you with more information once everything is finalised. Only limited places available.
(Tentative Venue : Cameron Highlands or in Petaling Jaya)
