The Bodhisattva’s Way
Buddhism & Psychotherapy in Action
Course Description:
In the great healing traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and psychotherapy, there is a powerful appreciation for the wish to feel well, to recover from all forms of suffering, and live a full and peaceful life. In this workshop, Dr. Pilar Jennings, a psychoanalyst and author of To Heal a Wounded Heart, and the Venerable Khenpo Pema Wangdak, a Tibetan Buddhist monk and founding teacher of the Vikramasila Foundation, will explore the roadmap for healing in the Bodhisattva’s Way. Together we will learn about these sacred Buddhist teachings and apply them to spiritual and psychological healing.
Through meditation, discussions, and guided exercises you will discover methods for increasing self-compassion, addressing trauma, and releasing beliefs that limit happiness and the capacity to connect meaningfully with yourself and others.
This retreat is open to beginning and experienced meditators, as well as clinicians who want to apply the healing arts of Buddhist spirituality in clinical work.
Dr. Pilar Jennings Bio:
Dr. Pilar Jennings is a psychoanalyst based in New York City with a focus on the clinical applications of Buddhist meditation practice. She has been working with patients and their families in private practice and through the Harlem Family Institute since 2000. Dr. Jennings is a long-term practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism. She is a Visiting Lecturer at Union Theological Seminary; Columbia University; and a Faculty Member of the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science. Her publications have included “East of Ego: The Intersection of Narcissism and Buddhist Meditation Practice,” “I’ve Been Waiting for you: Reflections on Analytic Pain,” “Imagery and Trauma: The Psyche’s Push for Healing,” and Mixing Minds: The Power of Relationship in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism released through Wisdom Publications. Her most recent book: To Heal a Wounded Heart: On the Transformative Power of Buddhism & Psychotherapy in Action, was released in December 2017.
Khenpo Pema Wangdak bio:
In 1982 Khenpo Pema Wangdak was sent to the West by His Holiness the Sakya Trizin, as the first of the younger generation of Tibetan teachers in America from the Sakya lineage. In 1989 Lama Pema founded the Vikramasila Foundation. The Foundation encompasses the Palden Sakya Centers in New York City, Woodstock, NY, Philmont, NY, Englewood, NJ, Springfield, VT, Portland, ME, and Dayton OH. The Palden Sakya Centers offer courses in Tibetan Buddhist studies and meditation. Lama Pema is the creator of “Bur Yig”–Tibetan Braille, and the founder of Pema Ts’al (English for Lotus Grove) Schools in Mundgod, India (for Tibetan lay children); Pokara, Nepal (monastic schools for boys); and Pema Ts’al School in New York City, with a curriculum modeled on that of Sakya College, India. Khenpo Pema was recognized with the title of “Khenpo” by His Holiness Sakya Trizin in 2007. He received the distinguished “Ellis Island Medal of Honor” award by the National Ethical Coalition of Organizations in May, 2009 at Ellis Island for his humanitarian work around the world. Khenpo Pema is the first Tibetan ever to have received such an award. Khenpo Pema has been guiding Western students for 35 years, and he continues to travel and teach extensively to Dharma centers around the world.
