In the Bigger Picture of Things

24 March 2011

A question I am occasionally asked is, “what kind of a retreat centre is Samye Dechen Shing, and where does it fit in to the whole spectrum or structure of Buddhism?”

Firstly, it is a men’s’ long-term retreat centre. That means that this is where men come to do a cloistered retreat in excess of a year. More specifically, as this is a Tibetan Buddhist centre, they come here to do a traditional four-year Tibetan Buddhist retreat. The original Tibetan Buddhist long-term retreat is actually three years, three months, (three weeks,) and three days, but in this particular instance it has been ‘upgraded’ to include some additional practices, making up the total of four months.

Buddhism consists of three main schools (Theravada/Hinayãna, Mahayãna, and Vajrayãna or Tibetan), with different sects, orders, or lineages within each school. Within Tibetan Buddhism there are four main lineages, among which the Karma Kagyu is one of those. Thus Samye Dechen Shing is part of the Karma Kagyu lineage, falling under the guidance and structure of the Samye Ling Tibetan Monastery near Lockerbie http://www.samyeling.org/, of which Akong Tulku Rinpoche is one of the founders, and current spiritual head, with Lama Yeshe being the abbot and meditation master.

In addition to the Samye Ling and Samye Dechen Shing, there is also still Holy Isle, a world heritage site which you will find being mentioned quite often. Holy Isle http://www.holyisland.org/ has a centre for general self-development courses, as well as the women’s long-term retreat centre.

On the face of things most people are just aware of Buddhism, without ever realising that there are different forms of Buddhism. One may very well wonder and ask what the difference is. If one considers that the Buddha never taught Buddhism, but a way of life, then things can become a bit clearer. Essentially all the different forms of Buddhism have the same roots or origin, but they mainly differ in terms of interpretation of teachings, and more specifically in terms of practise. And to that end the predominant differences are usually cultural more than anything else.

The retreat centre consists of a cloistered section, in which there are currently 19 men doing a four year retreat. It is a structured retreat, and the only contact they have is via handwritten letters once per month. While in retreat there is no access to TV, radio, newspapers, email, internet, telephone, or visitors. Even the contact with the caretakers is greatly limited, and reserved for essential matters relevant to the running and functioning of their retreat. Idle chatter and news updates are not indulged. The main purpose is to not cause a potential distraction for them, but to allow them to fully and completely focus on their practise.

Surrounding the cloistered part is the remaining property on which there are a few small buildings serving as accommodation and office for the caretakers, or which there are three full-time, and then there is also a small workshop. The caretakers consist of a manager, responsible for the main admin work, accounts, ordering of supplies and stocks, a main caretaker as such, responsible for the running of the place, as well as construction and maintenance, and the all-important cook, moi. 

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