VIBING VAJRASATTVA

"Cohort Incubation"

ROLLING REGISTRATION

ALL ARE WELCOME TO REGISTER FOR INCUBATION!

With vibraphonist Chris Dingman
Meditation instruction by Lama Mike Crowley & Doc Kelley

This is the rolling registration page for our Vibing Vajrasattva Cohort Incubation. All are welcome to register; however, registration for the weekend retreat ("Invocation") is separate and contingent upon the successful completion of the incubation.

Vibing Vajrasattva is a sonic-based approach to Buddhist sādhanā practice that features a four-six week incubation period of synchronous and asynchronous online cohort practice that culminates with an in-person weekend retreat—"invocation" of the deity— followed by online group and individual "integration."

This three-phase program of incubation, invocation, and integration we've dubbed our "Third Eye Approach" and is inspired by the Vajrayāna Buddhist Mahāsiddha model in ancient India and Tibet. These largely autonomous practitioners were remarkable for their diversity of composition (coming from all walks of life and occupations) and their tradition of periodically coming together as a sangha to hold space for the ganachakra, a sensory-rich invocation of the deity that is believed to have included antinomian behaviors.

The Third Eye Approach is also an evolution of Timothy Leary’s psychedelic protocol of “set and setting.” However, we believe a proper set (in this Buddhist context) requires an incubation of 1 month of daily practice.

This program is not intended to substitute the traditional Buddhist preliminary (ngöndro) practice of reciting 100,000 Vajrasattva mantras. There is no empowerment or refuge ceremony for this program, which is open to both Buddhists and non-Buddhists.

THE THIRD EYE APPROACH & TIMETABLE

Incubation Phase
Includes:
4 weekly group Zoom video meetings
Mondays @ 8 pm EST

Studio recorded audio tracks featuring guided Vajrasattva meditation and vibraphone music.

Invocation Phase
In-person weekend retreat (1 night)
Date TBD

Integration Phase
2+ Follow-up group and/or individual Zoom video meetings

SLIDING SCALE

Benefactor Tier
"I have savings and am happy to pay a little more to help others participate."

Gainfully Employed Tier
"I have a good job that allows me to spend money on things I value."

Dharma Bum Tier
"I have trouble paying my bills every month."

TUITION

Registration and payment proceed in three phases (incubation, invocation, and integration). Registration for INCUBATION is currently open.

All are welcome to register for the INCUBATION phase now.

Incubation
OPEN NOW
Dharma Bum $150
Gainfully Employed $500
Benefactor $800

Invocation
NOT OPEN
Dharma Bum $300
Gainfully Employed $500
Benefactor $1000

Integration
NOT OPEN
Dharma Bum $75
Gainfully Employed $150
Benefactor $300

ABOUT THE VIBRAPHONIST
Chris Dingman is a New York-based vibraphonist and composer. Chris Dingman is known for his distinctive approach to the instrument, which is at once sonically rich and conceptually expansive. In his captivating solo performances, he casts an enveloping atmosphere, creating layers of simultaneous sound that take listeners to a transcendent place. Chris has worked with the legendary artists Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter and many other of today’s jazz and world music luminaries. Based in NYC since 2002, Chris had been documenting his solo improvisations privately for many years. When his father entered hospice care in 2018, he created the 5-hour extended album Peace. This led to an ongoing evolution of his solo music and his critically acclaimed albums Journeys Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Chris actively tours and has performed worldwide. He has been profiled by NPR, the New York Times, AMNY, and many other publications. He has received fellowships and grants from Chamber Music America, New Music USA, South Arts, and the Thelonious Monk Institute.

The vibraphone is a percussion instrument that looks like a xylophone but has aluminum bars instead of wood. The vibraphone player uses one or two mallets (beaters) in each hand to strike the bars. Underneath each bar is a tube or “resonator” with an electric motor that helps create a unique resonance. In the hands of sonic shaman Chris Dingman, the vibes become a powerful tool for subtle bodywork that is incredibly intimate--but without physical touch.

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS
Doc Kelley is a scholar of Buddhism and a part-time professor in religious studies at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School University. He is also the co-founder of Psychedelic Sangha and lives in Brooklyn, NYC.

Doc received a Ph.D. in Religion from Columbia University, where he studied Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with Robert A. F. Thurman. Before attending graduate school, he was a “dharma bum” who traveled Asia and practiced Buddhism initially at Kopan Gompa in Kathmandu and later at Sermey Monastery in India. He did his first Heruka-Vajrasattva retreat at the FPMT Tushita Dharma Center in Dharamsala 1997.