Libertad 80, Centro, Pátzcuaro, Mich., México
October 3 - 5, 2025
About this Retreat
Marty Janowitz has been a student of mindfulness, awareness, and Buddhism since encountering his teacher Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche at the age of 20. Over the decades since he has held a variety of roles in service to Rinpoche, his son Mipham Rinpoche and the broader Kagyu-Nyingma-Shambhala lineages. These included as an Acharya (senior teacher - retired 2019), Kusung Dapön (leader of the personal guardian attendants), and as the Shambhala Warrior General guiding the international Council of Warriors. He has taught the full spectrum of dharma and Shambhala levels and practices as an instructor and guide at many intensive meditation and practice seminaries, retreats and programs in North, Central and South America, Europe and Asia and remotely around the world, always focusing on ways dharma can be grounded personally to ‘walk the talk’.
As a senior teacher within the Shambhala lineage he is committed to its vision of an integrated path of inner and societal transformation that expresses the heart of awareness. In his sanghas in both Boulder Colorado and Nova Scotia Canada, Marty served in an array of initiatives including the creation and 50+ year journey of Naropa University, development of the first comprehensive meditation instructor program and as a pioneering teacher of the Shambhala Training levels. He was an early member of the Boards of Vajradhatu and later Shambhala, and accompanied Trungpa, Rinpoche as his personal secretary and attendant during a number of his worldwide teaching tours.
Marty dedicated his social engagement to environmental organizations locally and internationally, including as the volunteer Chair of the Nova Scotia Roundtable on Environment, President of the Nova Scotia Nature Trust and as Chair of the Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) Institute. Over the past eight years, Marty and his wife Susanna transitioned to a new base in central Mexico (Ajijic, Jalisco) where he became the senior teacher at the Heart of Awareness Buddhist sangha, teaching and sharing dharma and meditation instruction. He has offered programs in Mexico City, Tepoztlan and Patzcuaro and many classes remotely. He has also pursued training, certification and practice as an executive and life coach, drawing on the intertwined dimensions of his life experience.
Details of this retreat
Meditation practice is a way of making friends with ourselves. Whether we are worthy or unworthy, that's not the point. It's developing a friendly attitude to ourselves, accepting the hidden neurosis coming through.” - Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
In this weekend retreat, we will explore the 2,500 year path that transforms everyday moments into profound wisdom in action. Buddhist study and practice is defined by 3 Jewels - meditation, teachings, and community (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha).
Together they awaken our minds and open our hearts so we can learn to embrace life as it is, with courage, kindness, and clarity. Whether you’re a new or experienced practitioner, this path invites us to face challenges with insight, cultivate compassion for yourself and others, and find genuine peace amid life’s chaos.
Together, we will deepen our connection with wakefullness through mindfulness-awareness practice, reflect on the ocean of dharma and especially the walkable path drawing on each other as a community of shared support.
Our intention is to steady our practice and discover the next steps for our personal and community journey, cracking the cocoon-like barriers of our egos which disconnect us from the present moment.
We will touch a few key elements of this journey – common obstacles to becoming true friends with ourselves (maitri), opening us to genuine compassion (karuna) and first glimpsing then embracing the space (sunyata) that has always been our nature. The mind is what we are working with. Serving others is what we are working for – at home, in our communities and beyond.
This retreat will be offered in English with Consecutive Interpreting in Spanish.
Tentative schedule:
Friday, October 3, 2025, 6 pm - 8 pm, Public talk
Saturday, October 4, 2025, 10 am - 7 pm, Group retreat (lunch and snack included)
Sunday, October 5, 2025, 10 am - 4 pm, Group retreat (lunch and snack included)
Full program tuition not including accommodations:
In-person retreat: $1,100 pesos/$60.00 USD, October 3, 2025
Online retreat: $930 pesos/$50.00 USD through September 15, 2025
Early bird discount: $10 USD Valid until September 15 for both online and in-person.
Please note that the Early Bird discount for online participants will be applied after registration
We are committed to including people of all income levels; scholarship and a sliding scale are available. If you need financial assistance, we encourage you to send us an email.
Pay-It-Forward program tuition not including accommodations: $3150 pesos/$168 USD.
We invite all who are able to do so to consider paying the Pay-It-Forward tuition rate. By doing so, you make it possible for us to offer scholarships to others, particularly our Mexico sangha, while also covering the direct cost of your stay here and contributing to our year-round operations. Please select Pay-It-Forward Tuition Add-On in Registration.
Travel arrangements: We recommend flights into Morelia airport (90 minutes away by car). We can help with travel arrangements, please inquire about options. Please visit our How to Get Here page for more info. All participant air travel will be offset by The Good Traveler carbon offset program.
If you have any questions regarding this program, please send us an email at: reservations@casawerma.org
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