Retreat with Jack Petranker in Neu Plaue Retreat Center Germany October 11 – 16 ’22
The self has a strong impulse toward the therapeutic,
Love of Knowledge, Ch. 27
toward making knowledge into something
that can benefit the self.
We live in a world shaped by the stories we tell about it – stories centered on the self. Using a logic that starts with the existence of the self, we turn knowledge into a tool that we use to uphold our own limits.
In this retreat, we will question this commitment to the self and the therapeutic mindset it puts in place. Focusing strongly on practice, we will learn how to activate the radical immediacy available within our ordinary experience, if only we know how to look for it. We will learn what it means to say “yes” to experience, to discover freedom within the patterns of the ordinary and bring it into every moment.
This retreat builds on themes explored in the seminar The Self in Question, offered online in March 2022.
However, anyone can benefit from participating, no matter what their background.
All you need is an interest in inquiry and the intention to come more fully alive.
Instructor

Jack Petranker
is Director of Mangalam Research Center, and former Dean of the Tibetan Nyingma Institute in Berkeley. A direct student of Tarthang Tulku since 1980, Jack holds degrees from Stanford, Yale, and University of California, Berkeley. He is author of When It Rains, Does Space Get Wet? and the editor of many books in the TSK series.
This retreat is a co-production of Nyingma Centrum Nederland, Nyingma Zentrum Deutschland and Center for Creative Inquiry, Berkeley, California.
Tuesday, October 11 – Sunday, October 16, 2022
at Neu Plaue Retreat Center, Germany
The retreat will be conducted in English.
Location
The retreat will take place in Neu Plaue, near the city of Brandenburg, west of Berlin.
It is about 20 minutes by car from the local train station, and there is a shuttle to take people back and forth.
The center is on 20,000 sq. meters (5 acres) of land.
In addition to the shared rooms, there is lots of space for camping, though October may already be chilly.
Additional accommodations are available nearby, and the price will change accordingly.
The center has a garden, meadows, fields, ponds, and a lake for swimming.
The facility is brand new and spacious, with a large meditation room and large patio.

Costs and registration
The fee for the retreat is:
- € 495,- including on-site lodging in shared rooms with shared bathrooms (12 places available);
- € 595,- including lodging in single rooms in guesthouses nearby, and shared transportation to and from the retreat facility.
Prices include all meals.


Say Yes to Experience program
Among the exercises we may draw on in our inquiry:
Going without Going | TSK Ex. 23 |
A Marriage of Sound and Breath | TSK Ex. 24 |
Moments between Moments | LOK Ex.14 |
Conducting the Vision | DTS Ex. 1 |
Time of Thinking DTS | DTS Ex. 2 |
Body-Mind-Thought Interplay | TSK Ex. 7 |
Layers of Mind | LOK Ex. 2 |
Sound within Sound | LOK Ex. 28 (and 30) |
Observing without Owning | LOK Ex. 23 (22) |
Commanding Time | DTS Ex. 13A |
Field of Awareness | LOK Ex. 17 |
Embodied Energy | LOK Ex. 38 |
Alternatives to Mind | LOK Ex. 46 |
Retreat schedule (CEST)
Tuesday, October 11
16:00 – 18:00 hrs | Check-in and Register |
18:00 – 19:00 hrs | Welcome dinner |
19:30 – 21:00 hrs | Opening Session |
Wednesday, October 12, until Saturday, October 15
07:00 – 07:45 hrs | Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga (optional) |
08:00 – 09:00 hrs | Breakfast and clean-up |
10:00 -11:30 hrs | Morning session one |
11.30 -12.00 hrs | Tea break |
12.00 – 13.00 hrs | Morning session two |
13.00 – 14.00 hrs | Lunch and clean-up |
14.00 – 16.30 hrs | Private practice or free time |
16.30 – 17.45 hrs | Afternoon session |
18.00 – 19.00 hrs | Dinner and clean-up |
19.30 – 21.00 hrs | Evening session |
Sunday, October 16
07:00 – 07:45 hrs | Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga (optional) |
08.00 – 09.00 hrs | Breakfast and clean-up |
10.00 – 11.45 hrs | Closing session |
12.00 – 13.00 hrs | Closing lunch |
Should you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to let us know.