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Nine Vajrayana Empowerments
December 25, 2022 - December 30, 2022
Nine Vajrayana Empowerments
Dec 25-30th, 2022In Vajrayana Buddhism, initiations, empowerments or wongkur (Tib. དབང་, wang) are considered the spring from which all blessings flow. Join us for a tantric deep dive into nine precious and rare vajrayana empowerments. These wongkur are scheduled at the end of the Sixteen Buddha Body Practice retreat at Clear Sky Centre, and can be attended separate to that retreat.
Tantric Deep Dive
Nine Vajrayana Empowerments
Nine precious vajrayana empowerments will be bestowed by Qapel and Sensei at the end of the 16 Buddha Body Retreat. Qapel anticipates that this will be the last time he gives initiation into many of these deities, this lifetime.
These empowerments give you an energetic blessing, and access to practice mantra and visualisation of different transcendental archetypes from the Himalayan schools of Buddhism.
Following the empowerments, we invite you to stay a few days longer to usher in the new year with us.
These empowerments will be given in-person only, and held at Clear Sky, a 21st-century model for innovative awakening, situated in the beautiful B.C. Rocky Mountains.
Tantric Deep Dive
Nine Empowerments
December 25-30, 2022
What are Vajrayana Empowerments (aka Wongkur)?
Namgyal Rinpoche, our lineage root guru, put it best:
In the depth of the psyche lie all possibilities in a state of unrealized potential. In every being there exists the possibility of experiencing transcendental consciousness, which when the student is ready, the Teacher(s) can make accessible to him or her via empowerment, initiation, or wongkur.
One should regard Wongkur as an event in which the Lama sows the seed of transcendental consciousness in the depth of the student. The seed will lie in the unconscious until the student brings it to realization in the practice of meditation.
What Nine Tantric Deity Empowerments Will Be Given*?
| Kalachakra | White Manjushri | White Mahakala |
| Mahamaya | Four Armed Mahakala | Vajrakilaya |
| Namgyalma | Sixteen Armed Hevajra | Great White Umbrella Mother |
*Please note: Attendance at a few of the wongkurs listed will be given at the Lamas discretion, as they require a certain level meditation experience.
Other Reading: What is Wongkur? (Vajrayana Empowerments)
Initiations, empowerments, or wongkur (Tib. དབང་, wang) are considered the spring from which all blessings flow. More literally, these are ritual celebrations in which a specific teaching is transmitted from Teacher to student that enables the student to practice a new form of “Arising Yoga” or “Deity Practice”.
For more information about wongkur, we recommend reading ‘What is Wongkur’, which includes ‘A Western Psychological Orientation to Deity Yoga’ by the Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche and ‘A Traditional Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist View’ by His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin. It is extensive article, published by Wesley Knapp. Visit and support his archival work at the Sakya Namgyal Archive.
The Location: Clear Sky Center
- Located in the BC rocky mountains, Clear Sky offers over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature. Founded by Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat, the centre is home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world.
- How to get there, what to bring and other FAQ about Clear Sky
- Booking a flight? Airport pickups can be booked when you register for the retreat. In the event that this retreat is cancelled, we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance.
Empowerments Schedule and Attendance Options
There are three options for registration:
- Attend a single wongkur/empowerment only (no accomodation or meals)
- Attend a single empowerment and the lunch or dinner that follows (no accomodation)
- Stay at Clear Sky Centre as a residential retreatant for all empowerments (5 nights)
Register for the full five day empowerment retreat – Registration opens Dec 2nd: Register for all empowerments (retreat)
Or, register for individual retreats (not staying on-site):
- December 25th, pm*: Kalachakra
- December 26th, am: Hevajra, 16-armed
- December 26th, pm: Mahamaya
- December 27th, am: Vajrakilaya (by permission)
- December 27th, pm: Mahakala, 4-armed (by permission)
- December 29th, am: White Manjushri
- December 29th, pm: White Mahakala (by permission)
- December 30th, am: Great White Umbrella Mother
- December 30th, pm: Namgyalma
*the exact time of the wongkurs will be announced after registration.
Meet the Teachers
Catherine Pawasarat
Doug Duncan (Qapel)
Doug Qapel Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei are Dharma and meditation teachers who founded Clear Sky Meditation Centre, BC, Canada. Achariya Doug Duncan received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. Known for his direct, humourous and compassionate engagement with students, Doug embraces various traditions, contemporary psychology, and science, to mentor all beings to a more awakened state. Catherine Pawasarat has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies.
What Do Previous Retreatants Say?
Through the power of long dedication, deep meditation, and wise guidance, life can definitely be transformed. If you get a chance to study with Doug-sensei and Catherine, don’t miss it. This kind of spiritual guidance and down to earth work have deeply shifted many people’s lives and led to deep awakenings.
Doug and Catherine Sensei are living examples of the dharma teachings. In their presence, they have the ability to put me at ease and their teachings (somewhat mysteriously) become alive and intimate. I trust in their one-pointed focus on whatever it takes to speed their students unrealized potential.
It is one thing to hear or read the Dharma and understand it intellectually. This retreat went so much further than that, as I found myself receiving realizations of the teachings on a visceral basis, going far beyond simply understanding.
Course Details
Fees and Dāna
These empowerments are offered by Doug and Catherine Sensei through the ancient principle of generosity, or Dāna. It is customary to offer Dana in the form of cash, offered in an envelope to each teacher during each empowerment ceremony.
Clear Sky retreat center where this event is held, requests $15 per empowerment to cover sadhana printing and other wongkur expenses. For those staying on site the centre charges additional fees to cover your meals and accommodation.
Register Here:
Questions? Please phone Clear Sky Centre at 250-429-3929. Or, email: [email protected]
Empowerments Schedule and Attendance Options
There are three options for registration:
- Attend a single wongkur/empowerment only (no accomodation or meals)
- Attend a single empowerment and the lunch or dinner that follows (no accomodation)
- Stay at Clear Sky Centre as a residential retreatant for all empowerments (5 nights), with the option to stay for additional nights.
Register for the full five day empowerment retreat – Registration opens Dec 2nd: Register for full retreat.
Or, register for individual retreats (not staying on-site):
- December 25th, pm*: Kalachakra
- December 26th, am: Hevajra, 16-armed
- December 26th, pm: Mahamaya
- December 27th, am: Vajrakilaya (by permission)
- December 27th, pm: Mahakala, 4-armed (by permission)
- December 29th, am: White Manjushri
- December 29th, pm: White Mahakala (by permission)
- December 30th, am: Great White Umbrella Mother
- December 30th, pm: Namgyalma
*the exact time of the wongkurs will be announced after registration.
