HT. Thích Tuệ Uy Translated by Ven. Thích Trừng Sỹ
Vietnamese American United Buddhist Congregation-Canada
The 10th North American Dharma Studies Retreat, Southern California 2023
Namo The Original Master Shakyamuni Buddhaya
Dear the Most Venerable Elders, Senior, Venerable Monks and Nuns,
Dear lay Devotees near and far,
After three years all activities are interrupted due to COVID 19, for the benefit of all sentient beings, the 10th NORTH AMERICAN DHARMA STUDIES RETREAT in 2023 will be solemnly held in Southern California with the following specific characteristics:
A. Short-term ordination – Vow to become Monastics for a short time
B. Take ordination under the guidance of the Great Sangha
C. Listen to Dharma talks from Dharma Teachers with lots of experience in propagating the Dharma in many different States all over the United States & Canada.
D. There are Buddha Dharma English for children going together with their families.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION OF THE RETREAT
1. Location: The LODGE at Big Bear Lake, a Holiday Inn Resort
40650 Village Drive, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 ~ Tel. (909) 866-3121
2. Time: From Monday, July 31, to Thursday, August 3, 2023 (4 days 3 nights), start check in at 01:00 pm on Monday and check out at 11:00 am on Thursday.
The cost of hotels is very high at Big Bear tourist street, so in order to make it easier for students to attend, the Retreat must be held on weekdays to get a good price.
3. Fee: $400/person
Please send the check at the same time as the registration form because the organizing committee has to make a partial deposit to the hotel each month. Families that have many people jointly express their good hearts to attend the Retreat, the latter will pay $300 each.
4. Registration: Please fill out the Registration Form to attend and enclose the check by mail to the following address:
Padmasambhava Monastery, PO Box 2864, Big Bear City, CA 92314
(Note: Correspondence mails only contact via the correct PO BOX address above, to avoid bounces)
Please write on the check with title: Tu Viện Hộ Pháp (Dharma Protector Monastery), Memo: Khóa Tu Bắc Mỹ lần thứ 10 (The 10th North American Retreat)
For more information, please contact: The Most Venerable Thích Tuệ Uy: (626) 377-1103
Dharma Sister Pháp Tạng (714) 443-1210, lay devotee Tú Anh (858) 201-9859
Email: [email protected]
The Most Venerable Thích Tuệ Uy
Head of the Organizing Committee of the 10th North American Dharma studies Retreat
Abbot of Padmasambhava Monastery in Big Bear city
Director General, the General Department of Buddhist Education
The Road to Padmasambhava Monastery, Big Bear City, California
Padmasambhava Monastery
45564 4th Street, Big Bear City, CA 92314
The Road to Big Bear City/Big Bear Lake is very easy as follows: From Los Angeles/Orange County:
1. Take Freeways 10 East, 60 East or 91 East (about 30 minutes)
2. Transfer to Freeway 15 North Barstow (30 minutes away)
3. Exit 147 Bear Valley, turn right going about 12 miles.
4. Change to Highway 18, go 12 miles, turn right at “Duc Trong” fork (Big Bear Lake)
Continue driving more for another 7 miles to the foot of the mountain pass the “Ha Tien” Cement factory on the right, and start driving up Bong Lai pass, go 7 miles to the 4th street, and turn right uphill 108m to see the Dark Blue Padmasambhava Monastery of Medicine Buddha (Only 3 turns RIGHT to the Monastery, easy to remember)
There are total 5 highways from different directions leading up to Big Bear – Padmasambhava Monastery, including highways: CA 18, 38, 330, 138 & 173, each with its own scenic beauty.
Only Highway 18 is the easiest, non-dizzy, and safest, even in winter snow, and is a short cut that shortens 1/7 of the pass road.
Padmasambhava Monastery has picturesque natural scenes (mountain view/a million-dollar view), and it is amazing, hard to find any other temple in Southern California.
Big Bear City – Da Lat Vietnam, where there are Padmasambhava Monastery (Tu Viện Liên Hoa Sanh), a famous scenic spot of Southern California with many beautiful natural mountains and cool weather.
Padmasambhava Monastery is fortunately located at an altitude of 7000 feet, which means it is located 7000 feet near Amitabha Buddha’s Ultimate Bliss. Here, the energy is very strong, so it is very good for cultivation practice.
Not long ago on October 10, 2021, there was a professional architect who brought professional tools to Đại Hùng Sơn mountain, where the campus of Padmasambhava Monastery to study and want to measure the ability to test how the induction energy is in the monastery grounds.
After taking the measuring tool, the architect respectfully declared in front of everyone, and congratulated Padmasambhava Monastery for having a very high induced energy index surprisingly, with a measurement of 17,000 R.I.A.F.R. The highest index on this globe that can be measured is 20,000; while at Kim Sơn Monastery measured 10,000, and Thiên Long Sơn Temple measured 11,000, the architect said so.
In the hilly land on Đại Hùng Sơn mountain, Padmasambhava Monastery was officially established on August 1, 2018 in a very sacred and sublime condition, relying on the WITNESS of Lord Milarepa coming to teach and give blessings.
Thanks to the blessings of the Three Jewels, Lord Padmasambhava embodies the Buddha into the land, Most Venerable Thích Tuệ Uy and his disciple Sister Thích Nữ Pháp Tạng opened up the mountain to create a perfect, dignified, and pure monastery, anyone who visits it is impressed and admirable.
The purpose of creating Padmasambhava Monastery is that the Great Assembly here have diligently practiced a lifetime of liberation and enlightenment; at the same time, opening the door of Padmasambhava Monastery widely to the public, and Buddhist practitioners from all directions to have a place to practice, along with many other Dharma activities for the benefit of sentient beings and local people in the vicinity.
Most Venerable Thích Tuệ Uy, Head of Padmasambhava Monastery, his disciple Sister Thích Nữ Pháp Tạng is the Abbot of Padmasambhava Monastery. After exactly 3 years of arduous and challenging training at Padmasambhava Monastery, Sister Pháp Tạng was officially appointed the Abbot by her Master, and the ceremony of appointing the new Abbot of Padmasambhava Monastery was solemnly organized under the witness of a large number of Monks, Nuns, and lay devotees from different areas gathered to attend on August 1, 2021 to celebrate the third anniversary of the “birthday” of the Monastery’s establishment on Big Bear Mountain City.
Padmasambhava Monastery on Đại Hùng Sơn mountain, Big Bear City, where there are 4 distinct seasons: Spring, hundreds of flowers bloom all over the mountain pass, Summer is warm and sunny, Fall, leaves are yellow, and Winter, watching snow falls
Big Bear Mountain- A place for winter skiingand summer resort, where a famous natural tourist City of California, U.S.A.
High mountain town of Big Bear City is the lung of Southern California, where the air environment is very clean, above all fresh. You can “eat” clean air, drink clean water, and clean food, where you cannot find such an ideal place to live in smog and polluted Southern California. Clean air seems like you can use it to store it and bring it to the street and open it up and to breathe those fresh airflows.
Drinking water is the best, so there is Arrowhead brand of purified water that supplies the world. Particularly at Padmasambhava Monastery, the well water is used deep under the mountain rocks, so the drinking water is very delicious. Therefore, before going down the mountain to leave the monastery, Buddhist pilgrims do not forget to drink a full stomach to return home, the drinking water of the heavenly Guru Mountain region of Padmasambhava Monastery, where the spiritual life of practice is excellent.
Magnetic energy is very good and convenient for cultivation. Those have not yet entered the monastery are fine, but once they have a good chance to pilgrim to Padmasambhava Monastery, or practice noble silence in the Monastery, they will have the interesting inspiration to return to the monastery many other times.
If there are good conditions, tantric practitioners should create conditions for Đại Hùng mountain, Nghinh Phong peak to meditate and practice the Dharma in places with good blessing energy such as: Padmasambhava mountain cave, Milarepa mountain cave, Dakini mountain cave, etc.
In addition, activities of daily life is very convenient. There is Vons market, Starter Bros, there are 2 Starbucks coffee shops.
There is walking meditation street “Walking” The Village is very crowded with tourists walking on weekends, as the main street, small but it is very pretty, making visitors from all over the world wants to visit to ride a horse-drawn carriage to admire the scenery and see flowers, shop 2 shops for Vajrayana Dharma objects of Tibetan Buddhism, souvenirs and enjoy delicious food.
There are many restaurants with delicious vegetarian dishes of different culinary cultures such as: Indian, Tibetan restaurant, Thai restaurant, Japanese restaurant, Italian restaurant, etc. Only Vietnamese noodle shop is missing.
Here, there are beautiful natural mountains and Rocky Mountains for those who like to hike, explore nature at an altitude of 7000 – 9000 feet with old forests with thousands of years old juniper trees, and meditation sitting in quiet is wonderful. In particular, there are two professional areas for skiing. Ski Resort always opens from November to April each year.
There is Big Bear Lake (upper and lower Padmasambhava Lake) for those who like to cruise, surf, walk on water like walking on land, and go for a meditation walk around the lake to breath, etc.
Especially, this starry mountain town has the local Big Bear Airport right on the mountain in the valley of compassion, convenient for you to have a private plane that can fly to the Monastery to pay homage to Buddha, Dharma meditation tea, to watch the moon at the top of the mountain, meditation practice, then flying back the next day to go to work is very convenient.
There are many other interesting things, dearly invite you and your family to explore together. Even if you experience the Big Bear mountain town during 10 years, 52 times for every Sunday, you have not still finished still interesting discoveries yet, that is what the people living in this area have shared so.
Returning to Padmasambhava Monastery, breathing, Dharma talk, and practicing any Buddhist tradition, is a smart decision. Let us just go back.
May the secret dreams of far-flung travelers, will meet their good conditions come true, once they go to Đại Hùng Mountain to pilgrim and practice at Padmasambhava Monastery.
Namo Lotus-Born Upper Association of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
Acting Director General, the General Department of Buddhist Education
Vietnamese American United Buddhist Congregation-Canada
Head of Padmasambhava Monastery
The Most Venerable Thích Tuệ Uy
Khóa Tu Học Phật Pháp Bắc Mỹ lần thứ 10 năm 2023 tại Nam California
