Skymind - Machig Labdrön and Open Awareness - Online Course

Skymind is an invitation into the lived experience of the Nature of Mind – the vast, potent and radiant nature of reality. Though ultimately beyond words or concept, this ground of being is immanently accessible to us, given that it is our very own nature.

Since there is no path to traverse,
Rest in the basic ground, noble child.

Guided by pith teachings from the 11th century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön, we explore ways to access this ground and make it count in our daily lives. You’ll receive a variety of attention and awareness practices, as well as a Skymind Meditation. As a path of awakened compassion, Skymind applies Buddhist psychology to the nuances of emotional and mental states, and offers various techniques to meet whatever arises in our personal and shared human experience.

From the realm of phenomena’s great expanse of clarity
any thoughts and memories whatsoever may arise.

When we awaken to our sky-like nature, we recognize that we can – and must – include everything in the totality of our being. We can meet every moment with a heart of unending compassion and a mind as vast as space. 

What Will I Learn?

• Practice and apply Machig’s pith trainings that point directly to mind’s true nature.
• Experience Open Awareness meditation in which you recognize and stabilize the wakeful mind – clear, vast and brilliant.
• Gain a set of nuanced techniques and mind training tools that can be integrated into daily life and applied to the emotional and mental challenges that arise in everyday modern life.
• Engage with a deep experiential dive into the heart of Machig’s teachings as a path of awakened compassion.

Who Is This Course For?

• This online course supports both the experienced practitioner and the beginning meditator in accessing the radiance of open awareness.
• Individuals who desire to expand their practice of “nature of mind” into their daily experience.
• This Open Awareness meditation training will complement and strengthen the deepening of your existing practices. 
• This course is included as a recommended but not required retreat within the Magyu Program.
• For those who attended the course last year, this year’s course will offer a deepening with teachings on verses not covered previously. 

Each week’s live session will include:

• Teachings by Pieter & Lopön Charlotte on:
  • A series of Machig Labdrön’s verses, drawn from source texts. We will progress through a variety of teachings over the course of 8 weeks, ranging from more absolute nature of mind teachings, to instructions for working with attention and awareness, to guidance on integrating vast view into everyday life. 
• Exploration of Buddhist psychology and ways of navigating difficult emotions and challenging states of mind with compassionate awareness. 
• Mind training techniques for heightening and honing attention, and cultivating awareness. These techniques will progressively build on each other over the duration of the course. 
• Training in Open Awareness Meditation.
• Q & A and opportunities for participant reflections and group discussions. 
• Online discussion forum to continue sharing reflections between live meetings. 

Program Schedule 

The live webcasts will be held on:
Sundays, 11:00am to 1:00pm; October 2, 2022- November 20, 2022 
All times are posted in Mountain Time. Click here to see how this converts to your time zone.
Access to the recordings will be available for one year. 

Recommended Reading Materials:

You will be able to access all essential content through the course web portal. However, if you would like to deepen your studies we highly recommend the following:

• Chöd: The Sacred Teachings on Severance. Compiled by Jamgön Kongtrul; Translated by Sarah Harding. Boulder: Shambhala Publications, 2016.
• Machik’s Complete Explanation: Clarifying the Meaning of Chöd. Translated by Sarah Harding. Boulder: Shambhala Publications, 2013.
• Machig Labdrön and the Foundations of Chöd, by Jerome Edou. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1996.
• Women of Wisdom, by Lama Tsultrim Allione. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.

Tiered-Prices

Tara Mandala is working to expand opportunities for access to Buddhist teachings and practices while offering an equity-informed fee structure when possible. With our new tiered pricing, we strive to make the Dharma more accessible to all while furthering the important conversations that must happen around current structures that inhibit equal access to underprivileged communities. We encourage you to select the registration tier at the highest level within your capacity to assist Tara Mandala in covering the costs of offering these wonderful teachings while also benefiting from access to the recordings of the teachings. We thank you in advance for your support and your practice!

$515 – Tier 1 
Registration at this level covers the basic costs for this course and allows Tara Mandala to maintain sustainability.

$618 – Tier 2 
Registration at this level covers the program costs for this course and provides additional support for the year-round work of Tara Mandala.

$335 – Access Level 
Registration at this level is offered at 35% below the cost of holding this course to assist participants with financial limitations and encourage the exploration and practice of dharma.

Offering dana to the teacher: The practice of offering dana, which means “generosity,” is the traditional offering the student makes to the teacher as a symbol of appreciation, gratitude, and reciprocity for receiving the precious teachings. Information on offering dana to the teacher will be provided during the online program. To learn more about dana and suggested dana ranges, please click here. 

Payment Plans and Financial Assistance
Tara Mandala offers two types of financial assistance: Deferred Payment Plans and Scholarships. You may apply for one or both of these types of assistance. Read the terms carefully as outlined on the financial aid application. Please see this page for further information.

Sustaining Sangha:
If you are currently a member of our Sustaining Sangha, you may apply your Online Course discount to this course.

Click Here for Our Cancellation and Refund Policy

Access to the recordings will be available for one year.