Maitri Space Awareness: Workshop & Retreat
Maitri Space Awareness Led by Elaine Yuen, PhD and Amelia Hall
Buddha Pada, December 10-15, 2024
The Maitri Space Awareness practice was developed by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939-1987). The word “Maitri” can be translated as “friendship” from Sanskrit, known as “metta” in Pali. This practice encourages us to develop a friendly relationship with our experiences by contemplating our personal and environmental spaces. These inner and outer spaces are explained through the principles of the Five Buddha Families found in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Buddha families are traditionally depicted as a mandala of the five tathagatas, which aims to help meditators understand how different aspects of existence function together as a unified whole. Each Buddha in the mandala represents one of the five different aspects of enlightenment. However, these aspects can manifest not only as enlightened energies but also as neurotic states of mind.
Maitri Space Awareness is a practical tool based on trusting in our fundamental human sanity. It helps us experience confused and sane energies within ourselves and others, such as fear, anger, desire, and pride, as awake qualities containing intelligence, vigor, and heart. Maitri Space Awareness allows recognition and ‘being with’ different emotional and environmental states.
It is a foundational practice at Naropa University, taught in the MA Contemplative Counseling and Master of Divinity programs. It will be part of a 6-day workshop where each Buddha family will be presented along with the practice, deeper context from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and times for discussion and integration.
References:
Maitri Space Awareness in a Buddhist Therapeutic Community. In The Sanity We Are Born with, Chogyam Trungpa, Shambhala, 2005, pp 165-175.
Transforming Psychology by Judith Lief. In Recalling Chogyam Trungpa, Shambhala, 2005, pp 273-287.
About the Facilitators—
. Dr. Elaine Yuen, Upadhyaya
Elaine Yuen is an educator, chaplain and researcher. Her root teacher was Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, and she has been a student and teacher in the Shambhala community since the early 1970’s. As Professor at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, she taught courses on pastoral caregiving, contemplative arts, and Buddhist studies. Elaine is deeply interested in how we shape our social interactions with caring and authentic presence, and the interfaces between Buddhism, meditation, creativity, and contemplative care-giving. Presently living in Philadelphia, United States, she continues to teach and be involved in chaplaincy research and training.
Dr. Amelia Hall
Amelia is an Associate Professor of Buddhism and Department Chair of Wisdom Traditions at Naropa University. She earned her Tibetan and Himalayan Studies doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2012. Before joining Naropa University, she taught Buddhism at Central Michigan University and Antioch University as part of the Buddhist Studies Abroad Program. Amelia teaches in several degree programs, including the BA in Religious Studies, MA in Yoga Studies, MA in Contemplative Religions, and Master of Divinity. Apart from her teaching responsibilities at Naropa, she conducts workshops and courses globally at universities and retreat centers, primarily in North America and Asia.
Open to all. No Fees, by donation. An interest in Buddhist practices will be appreciated.
To register, please email info@buddhapada.in