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The Quest of Milarepa and the Yogis of Lapchi: A Trek in the Buddhist Himalayas

Dates: 22 October - 1 November 2024

Duration: 11 Days

Fee: £2,000

Description:

In this walking retreat we bring together: pilgrimage, hiking; informal meditation; awareness and mindfulness formal meditation; Listening and contemplating the life story of Milarepa; reciting the songs of Milarepa; Learning basic Buddhist philosophical principles; and applying insights gained in our relationship with ourselves and others.

 

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Lapchi is located in east Nepal in Dolakha district near the border with Tibet. This retreat to Lapchi offers an opportunity to trek in a remote area that is not visited very often. This area is an important pilgrimage with many sacred sites for Himalayan Buddhists.

 

This journey is a rich and one of a kind experience weaving together a pilgrimage to several Buddhist yogi masters’ caves, inspiring us to take on a meditative practice. In this retreat brings together formal and informal meditation sessions, immersing into the wonderful life story of Milarepa, his teachings and inspiring poems and his time in Lapchi. Through hiking, meditating, listening to teachings, being together and just being, we can experience ourselves in a new way, sowing seeds for self-transformation. We also rejoice at the rare opportunity to make a pilgrimage to sacred sites.

 

This retreat gives us a taste of the simplicity and rustic lifestyle Milarepa and contemporary yogis choose by way of renouncing worldly things and focusing on meditative practice to progress on the path to liberation; enlightenment. Due to the remote location and nature of Lapchi being yogis retreat area, the accommodation is rustic and the food is basic- wandering yogi style. The experience though is one in a lifetime - rich, memorable and transformative!

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Itinerary

Arrive in Kathmandu

A day in Kathmandu

Day 1: Kathmandu – Lamabagar (2077m)

Day 2: Lamabagar – Lumnang Village (2900 m )

Day 3: Lumnang to Lapchi Village (3030 m)

Day 4, 5, 6, 7, 8: Lapchi. Hike to various caves and Sephuk, Milarepa’s cave (4600m)

Day 9: Lapchi Gonpa to Lumnang

Day 10: Lumnang to Lamabagar

Day 11: Lamabagar to Kathmandu

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The Song Of Perfect Assurance (To The Demons)

Obeisance to the perfect Marpa.

By Milarepa

I am the Yogi who perceives the Ultimate Truth.
In the Origin of the Unborn, I first gain assurance;
On the Path of Non-extinction, slowly
    I perfect my pwer;
With meainingful symbols and words
Flowing from my great compassion,
I now sing this song
From the absolute realm of Dharma Essence.

Because your sinful Karma has created
Dense blindness and impenetrable obstruction,
You cannot understand the meaning
Of Ultimate Truth.
Listen, therefore, to the Expedient Truth.

In their spotless, ancient Sutras,
All the Buddhas in the past, repeatedly
Admonished with the eternal Truth of Karma —
That every sentient being is one's kinsman.
This is eternal Truth which never fails.
Listen closely to the teaching of Compassion.

I, the Yogi who developed by his practices,
Know that outer hindrances are but a shadow-show,
And the phantasmal world
A magic play of mind unborn.

By looking inward into the mind is seen
Mind-nature — without substance, intrinsically void.
Through meditation in solitude, the grace
Of the Succession Gurus and the teaching
Of the great Naropa are attained.
The inner truth of the Buddha
Should be the object of meditation.

By the gracious instruction of my Guru,
Is the abstruse inner meaning of Tantra understood.
Through the practice of Arising and
    Perfecting Yoga,
Is the Vital Power engendered
And the inner reason for the microcosm realized.
Thus in the outer world I do not fear
The illusory obstacles.

To the Great Divine Lineage I belong,
With innumberable yogis great as all Space.

When in one's own mind one ponders
On the original state of Mind,
Illusory thoughts of themselves dissolve
Into the Realm of Dharmadhatu.
Neither afflicter nor afflicted can be seen.
Exhaustive study of the Sutras
Teaches us no more than this.

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Included in the Fee

​​​

  • Meditation programme teacher

  • Buddhist Philosophy teacher

  • Storyteller

  • Trekking guide licensed by the Government of Nepal

  • Transport: Local bus or local sharing jeep transportation to/from Lamabager from/to Kathmandu.

  • Meals: Breakfasts, Lunches and Dinners during the trek.

  • Accommodation: Teahouse/home stay accommodation during the trek. An experienced trekking guide.

  • Porters for carrying camping gear and luggage. 

  • Guide and porters fee and all their expenses during the trek. 

  • Governmental procedure and documentation charges. 

  • Necessary Lapchi Village permits.

Excluded in the Fee

  • Internet, data, phone call

  • Travel insurance including rescue charges 

  • Accommodation, meals and transfers in Kathmandu.

  • International flight, Nepal visa fee, emergency evacuation, rescue insurance

  • Guided sightseeing and monuments entrance fees in Kathmandu. 

  • Bar drinks, beverages, such as, soft drinks or juice

  • Personal trekking gear / clothing, camera, binoculars etc, 

  • Extra costs arising from unforeseen cause the control of Wilderness Excursion.

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