Sacred Buddhist Dance of Nepal Retreat:
Transforming the Body & Awakening the Mind
with Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya
Four Day Retreat
(Or Weekend Only Option)
SEPTEMBER 9 - 13
IN-PERSON AT PURE LAND FARMS TOPANGA, CALIFORNIA
This retreat presents foundational training in Charya Nritya Dance, a unique Newari Buddhist tradition from Nepal dating back over a thousand years that uses the physical body as a vehicle for liberating the mind. By uniting movement, visualization, and awareness, one learns to emulate and then fully embody the qualities of diverse Buddhist deities — male and female, peaceful and wrathful — and to genuinely express those enlightened qualities through one’s own body, speech, mind, and activities.
REGISTRATION:
Weekend Only Workshop:
Introductory Talk Friday September 9th, 7:30 - 9pm
Saturday & Sunday September 10th & 11th, 10am - 4pm
$295 (Non-Residential)
For weekend only accommodations inquiries please write to info@purelandfarms.com
Full Four Day Retreat:
Friday September 9th (6pm) - Tuesday 13th (2pm)
See detailed schedule below
$600 Non-Residential
$800 - $1000 Residential
PROGRAM DETAILS
FRIDAY:
INTRODUCTION TO SACRED BUDDHIST DANCE OF NEPAL
SATURDAY & SUNDAY:
FOUNDATIONS OF CHARYA NRITYA DANCE OF NEPAL
During the weekend portion of this retreat, Prajwal will provide the groundwork for all continued studies in the tradition of Charya Nritya Dance of Nepal. We will learn the history of this ancient practice, and train our bodies in the movements, exercises, hand and foot mudras, and techniques that form the foundational training in this tradition. We will learn and practice both the Refuge and the 16 Offering Goddesses.
MONDAY & TUESDAY:
DEITY DANCE OF TARA
For those who wish to continue on for the full duration of the retreat we will learn the dance of Tara, the female Buddha of Liberating Activities. Over the course of these two days we will be guided in the practice of embodying and expressing her all-pervasive enlightened qualities through body, energy, and mind, through dance, mudra, and meditation. You will leave the retreat with a complete deity dance that you can continue to practice at home and integrate into your daily meditation practice.
This retreat is open to all, no prior experience in dance is required.
Read Buddhist Global Door article about about Prajwal Vajracharya and the Nepali Charya Nritya Dance tradition by author and dance journalist, Karen Greenspan here:
DETAILED SCHEDULE
Friday September 9
3:00-6:00pm Residential Guests Check in
6:00-7:30pm Dinner
7:30-9:00pm Introductory Talk (Open to all)
Saturday September 10th - Monday September 12th
8:00-9:00am Meditation
9:00-10:00am Breakfast
10:00-12:00pm Teaching Session
12:00-2:00pm Lunch & Break
2:00-4:00 Teaching Session
4:00-6:00 Personal Study & Practice
6:00-7:30 Dinner & Break
7:30-8:30 Evening Meditation
Tuesday September 13th
8:00-9:00am Meditation
9:00-10:00am Breakfast
10:00-12:00pm Teaching Session
12:00-2:00pm Lunch
2:00-3:00 Check out
ABOUT YOUR TEACHER
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya is a 35th generation Tantric Buddhist priest from Nepal and ritual master of the Charya Nritya dance tradition and other ritual forms. Prajwal began his training in Charya Nritya, the dance aspect of Newar Buddhism, from the age of eight, receiving formal instruction from his father, the Buddhist scholar and ritual master Ratna Kaji Vajracharya. Prajwal Vajracharya is now the foremost teacher, practitioner, and performer of the tradition. He is a veteran of several world tours. He teaches beginning and advanced students around the globe. He founded Dance Mandal in 1996, and the Foundation for Sacred Buddhist Arts of Nepal to preserve and expand this rare ancient form of Buddhism and its related traditions.
INSIDE THE MANDALA: A SHORT FILM WITH PRAJWAL VAJRACHARYA