A 3-Day Virtual Retreat

With Andrew Holecek

In April of 2022, Andrew presented a program called “Pure Lands, Hidden Lands, Sacred Lands: Spiritual Pilgrimage for Dark Times.”  It was one of his most well-attended programs of the year.  Many alumni of that program have since asked for a follow-up program on the Pure Lands.

We are now pleased to offer
“Pure Lands, Hidden Lands, Sacred Lands Part II.”

About the Pure Land Teachings

Pure Land Buddhists revere the Buddha known as Amitabha, a gentle and all-accepting Buddha. Faith in this Buddha allows adherents to be reborn in his Pure Land, where enlightenment comes swiftly. From a Pure Land perspective, one doesn’t have to attain superlative spiritual achievements before being accepted into the Pure Land of sukhavati.

You may have studied and practiced Buddhism for a long time and yet not realize there’s a form of Buddhism primarily based on faith. Pure Land Buddhism is the world’s most widely practiced form of Buddhism. There are over 100,000,000 Pure Land disciples worldwide.

Why Offer a Second Program on the Pure Lands?

In addition to popular demand from the alumni of the first program, the Pure Lands teachings offer an abundance of material. Although the teachings on the first weekend were comprehensive, there is much more to explore.

What if I did not attend the first Pure Lands program?

It is a Suggested Prerequisite.

Pure Lands I is available as an online course as presented by Andrew last April.  It is available for an additional $149.  DETAILS AND REGISTRATION HERE. You can take this course and come back and register here for Pure Lands II.  We look forward to your participation!

Purchasing Part I and viewing it before Part II will satisfy this suggested prerequisite. This is only a suggested prerequisite, however topics as presented in Part I will not be re-visited in Part II.

Listed below are the topics covered in each program so that you may decide what option is best for you:

April 2022 Pure Lands I Program

Topics Covered:

• The intimate relationship between mind and matter
• Where does Shambhala fit in?
• Self-power vs. Other-power
• The role of faith and devotion
• The importance of merit and the power of transferring merit
• The causes for rebirth into a Pure Land
• The difference between sutra and tantra Pure Lands
• Who is Amitabha, and how did he create Sukhavati?
• How is a Pure Land different from heaven?
• Is Amitabha different from God?
• Where exactly are these Hidden Lands, and how do they accelerate awakening?
• The maps for getting to a Hidden Land
• Nature dharma (ri-cho)and symbolic guru
• The relation between Hidden Lands and terma (treasure texts)
• How does the Garden of Eden connect to the Hidden Lands?
• The role of meditation in removing veils of perception
• How does opening your mind open a beyul?
• How does the “fourth moment” lead you immediately into a Hidden Land?
• Pilgrimage as a journey into pure perception
• How to use landscape to awaken mindscape
• The role of “golden gates” and “secret gates” to enter paradise now
• Replacing materialism with idealism
• Physical fulcrums of perception

October 2022 Pure Lands II Program

In this program, Andrew will dive into the Tantric-level Pure Land teachings and practices, which are more nuanced, esoteric, and immediate. The Pure Land practices not only apply to death but also show you how to use the purity principle to take rebirth into the Pure Land of the present moment. You don’t have to wait till you die to go to a Pure Land. Purify your mind, and you will purify the land right before you.

We will deepen our knowledge of the practices that help you develop the faith and devotion required for the journey into the pure lands, including the powerful vehicle of mantra. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition posits that for most of us, the Pure Land practices represent our greatest opportunity for spiritual progress after death. The more you understand them, the more likely you will use them at the end of your life. Amitabha will not let you into his Pure Land if you don’t ask him to!

During the first weekend, you were introduced to the teaching that you can be reborn into his Pure Land if you develop devotion to this wonderfully compassionate buddha. That sounds amazing! But how do we know the Pure Lands are real? Part II of the Pure Lands will challenge you to stretch your mind to grasp the “ontology matrix” that addresses the problem of proof. Ontology is the study of being, or existence. To grasp and thus fully aspire to the Pure Land principle, we must expand our notions of what is real. The ontology matrix is a way to bring credibility to different dimensions of reality and different dimensions of being.

We will also explore the notion of Jiriki ­(self-power) vs. Tariki ­(other-power). There are Pure Land schools that embrace the idea: “I’m going to do this on my own,” which is a more Zen-like approach. While other schools emphasize our need for outside help and reliance on the power of Amitabha to get us to his Pure Land.

This program is for those wanting to get to the core of the Pure Land tradition, as viewed from a Tibetan Buddhist lens. Through lectures, guided meditations, and group Q & A, we will bring the ancient wisdom of the Pure Land tradition into modern life.

Topics Covered:

• The power of mantra
• Outer, inner, and secret pilgrimage
• Jiriki ­(self-power) & Tariki ­(other-power)
• Faith and devotion as visas to the Pure Lands
• Mappo ­– the end of the dharma
• How to enter the “Pure Land of the present moment.”
• How we constantly evict ourselves from the Pure Lands
• Finding purity in impurity
• The ontology matrix: How real are these places?
• Amitabha: Buddha of Infinite Light and the role of light
• Spiritual solar power and mystical photosynthesis
• How to meet Amitabha in daily life
• The union of sutra and tantra Pure Lands
• Emptiness: the essence of purification
• Purification in Yogachara and Dzogchen
• Pure Land principles to empower ecological activism
• Beyul: How to get there?
• Sacred Lands: Why go there?