Date: April 21st-22nd, 2012.
Location: TBA
Contact: secretary@tsegyalagar.org or 313-369-4153
Website: www.tsegyalgar.org
Birth, Life and Death with Dr. Malcolm Smith
DATES: April 21-22, 2012
10am to Noon and 2-4pm both days
COST: $120/$80 students & seniors
Free to students with valid ID
LOCATION: Amherst College: 217 Webster
Yantra Yoga with Naomi Zeitz 4-5:30pm
The Birth, Life and Death workshop lead by Dr. Malcolm Smith integrates Tibetan medicine & the teachings of Dzogchen based on the book, Birth Life and Death by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu. The workshop begins by introducing the principles of Tibetan medicine and explaining the functions and relationship between three humors & the human body. The Birth section covers such topics as the causes of conception, the process of fetal development and emphasizes the importance of the pregnant woman's behavior during this crucial time. The second section, Life, begins with an explanation of the three doors i.e. body, voice and mind. This section of the workshop presents the causes of imbalances which lead to illness and the principles of diet and behavior, including spiritual practice, that are essential for maintaining physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. The section on Death deals with the nature of death and our attitude toward it, including an explanation of the post-death experience called "The Bardo" and practices connected with the post-death experience such as the appearance of the mandala of the peaceful and wrathful deities from the famed "Tibetan Book of the Dead" and so on.
This workshop will be of interest to all persons who wish to have a deeper understanding the relationship between health and spiritual practice.
Participants will be introduced to Yantra Yoga in the afternoons with certified Yantra Yoga Instructor, Naomi Zeitz and presented with a demonstration of Kunye massage on Saturday evening.
Malcolm Smith is a graduate of the first class of Shang Shung Institute's School of Tibetan Medicine (2009) and has been a student of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu since 1992. He is a veteran of a traditional three -year solitary Tibetan Buddhist retreat, a published translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts (in Treasures of the Sakya Lineage, Shambhala, 2008) and was awarded the Acharya degree by the Sakya Institute in 2004. He is uniquely qualified to lead this workshop based on his 20 years of experience as a practitioner and scholar of Tibetan Buddhism and Dzogchen, his skill as a translator of Buddhist and Medical texts, and his in-depth knowledge of Traditional Tibetan Medicine which he has studied and practiced for the past eight years. In addition he is a licensed massage therapist and has cross-trained in Ayurvedic bodywork at Kripalu's School of Ayurveda.