Retreats
No one with a sincere desire to attend will be turned away from registration due to lack of funds. We have staff and workstudy positions, as well as scholarships available.
There are no prerequisites for this retreat.
"A common misunderstanding is that the meditative state of mind has to be captured and then nursed and cherished. That is definitely the wrong approach. If you try to domesticate your mind through meditation--try to possess it by holding on to the meditative state-- the clear result will be regression on the path, with a loss of freshness and spontaneity. If you try to hold on without lapse all the time, then maintaining your awareness will begin to become a domestic hassle It will become like painfully going through housework. There will be an underlying sense of resentment, and the practice of meditation will become confusing. You will begin to develop a love-hate relationship toward your practice, in which your concept of it seems good but, at the same time, the demand this rigid concept makes on you is too painful.
So the technique is based on touch and go You focus your attention on the object of awareness then, in the same moment, you disown that awareness and go on. What is needed here is some sense of confidence--confidence that you do not have to securely own your mind, but that you can tune into its process spontaneously."
The Quintessential Teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche series are a set of weekend retreats suitable for beginners and advanced students which engage the pith oral instructions of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In this retreat we will engage the fundamental instructions on Dzogchen and Mahamudra practice given by Trungpa Rinpoche to his direct students.
As beginners one often comes at practice with a mind conditioned by certain assumptions. Generally we attempt to sustain a fabricated concentratiion by focusing on a technique. But in this case one needs to develop a fundamental awareness which knows when you are present directly and then we let go of any attempt to hold on to a fabricated concentration. This is both the development and realization of "knowing the one" or "resolving the nature of mind." It is not about feeling "good" particularly or pushing away thoughts so that we can achieve a "thought-free state." It is realizing that this moment of knowing when we are present in a way which is not conditioned by our habitual reactions is the ultimate reference point -- the ultimate nature of our awareness.
The weekend will consist of talks by the resident teacher and the Practice of "mixing mind with space" the essential training of Dzogchen practice. There will be group discussion and individual meditation interviews.
Cost $195.00
Includes room and Board
Event Properties
| Event Date | 08-16-2024 |
| Event End Date | 08-18-2024 |
| Individual Price | $195.00 |
There are no prerequisites for this retreat.
"A common misunderstanding is that the meditative state of mind has to be captured and then nursed and cherished. That is definitely the wrong approach. If you try to domesticate your mind through meditation--try to possess it by holding on to the meditative state-- the clear result will be regression on the path, with a loss of freshness and spontaneity. If you try to hold on without lapse all the time, then maintaining your awareness will begin to become a domestic hassle It will become like painfully going through housework. There will be an underlying sense of resentment, and the practice of meditation will become confusing. You will begin to develop a love-hate relationship toward your practice, in which your concept of it seems good but, at the same time, the demand this rigid concept makes on you is too painful.
So the technique is based on touch and go You focus your attention on the object of awareness then, in the same moment, you disown that awareness and go on. What is needed here is some sense of confidence--confidence that you do not have to securely own your mind, but that you can tune into its process spontaneously."
The Quintessential Teachings of Trungpa Rinpoche series are a set of weekend retreats suitable for beginners and advanced students which engage the pith oral instructions of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In this retreat we will engage the fundamental instructions on Dzogchen and Mahamudra practice given by Trungpa Rinpoche to his direct students.
As beginners one often comes at practice with a mind conditioned by certain assumptions. Generally we attempt to sustain a fabricated concentratiion by focusing on a technique. But in this case one needs to develop a fundamental awareness which knows when you are present directly and then we let go of any attempt to hold on to a fabricated concentration. This is both the development and realization of "knowing the one" or "resolving the nature of mind." It is not about feeling "good" particularly or pushing away thoughts so that we can achieve a "thought-free state." It is realizing that this moment of knowing when we are present in a way which is not conditioned by our habitual reactions is the ultimate reference point -- the ultimate nature of our awareness.
The weekend will consist of talks by the resident teacher and the Practice of "mixing mind with space" the essential training of Dzogchen practice. There will be group discussion and individual meditation interviews.
Cost $195.00
Includes room and Board
Event Properties
| Event Date | 09-20-2024 |
| Event End Date | 09-22-2024 |
| Individual Price | $195.00 |
Three Month Residency
The three month residency at Dzogchen Meditation Center follows the same two week schedule and training regimen established at the main land centers of Vajradhatu-- Karme Choling and Rocky Mountain Dharma Center-- by the Vidyadhara Trungpa Rinpoche.
Every two weeks there is a day and a half off with no set schedule.
Daily Schedule:
6:30 Wake up
7:00 - 8:00 Dawn Dzogchen
8:00-8:30 Breakfast
9:00- 12:00 Opening Chants and "Touch and Go" meditation
12:00 Lunch
1-5 Work Practice
5-6 Tea
6-7 "Touch and Go" meditation and Protector's Chants
7-8 Dinner
8-9 "Touch and Go"
10 Lights Out
Cost: This is a work/study position. There is no financial cost but participants are expected to engage in all practice and training periods offered without any exceptions.
The Three Month Residency provides the correct basis for students to enter training in the Surmang Kagyu Order.
| Event Date | 11-01-2024 |
| Event End Date | 02-01-2025 |
Placing my head at the feet of the Dharma King, I offer homage: Bless me that I might see natural luminosity.
Hey, you of great fortune!
Sit without moving,
like a tent peg driven into hard earth!
Gaze with your eyes neither open nor closed,
like the eyes of a deity in a fresco!
And let your mind settle, loose and relaxed,
like a woollen blanket spread out on the ground…
At times like these, while resting in the utter brilliance that is the space beyond thought, which may be likened to a cloudless sky, you will experience unimpeded translucence like a faultless crystal.
This is none other than the view of the ultimate, the luminous Great Perfection. Resting in equipoise within the pure luminosity, vividly clear like the sky, dullness and agitation are naturally voided and do not arise anew – a faultless, brilliantly clear non-conceptual meditation. When thought arises, be it good or bad, it is recognized for what it is and will not disturb. Focus upon this method and view your genuine nature; effortless, it arises by relaxing into the expanse, and thoughts are pacified on their own ground.
When you are able to practice for longer periods, it can be like, for example, when muddy water is stirred up and then allowed to settle – the innate lucidity of the water becomes clearer. Similarly, when myriad appearances arise and are realized to be like reflections, they cause the natural clarity of mind itself to become ever clearer. This in turn leads to the effortless arising of various qualities, such as the various types of clairvoyance and so on.
Should even the Great Master of Oḍḍiyāna appear before you, he’d have nothing greater than this to say on the view of the Great Perfection.
Should even Longchen Rabjam appear before you, he’d have nothing greater to teach you on the practice of taking thought as the path.
Should even the twenty-five exalted disciples appear before you, they’d have nothing greater to say concerning this practice.
As for myself, a yogin, this is my practice, and I have no greater meditation instruction to offer you.
You may analyze meticulously, but when a wind blows it naturally disperses the clouds and the sky can be seen. Endeavour to see empty clarity, mind itself, in the same way – there is nothing greater than this understanding. If you don’t stir up the silt, the water will remain clear; as such, don’t analyze. Simply rest without contrivance and you will come to see the emptiness of mind itself. There is nothing greater to see than this!
There are many views, but that of the emptiness of mind itself, devoid of all grasping, is the unmistaken view of the Great Perfection. When death comes to yogis of this method they are able to seize the clear light of death.
Hearing about it is beneficial, but I pray the actual experience of clear light will become evident.
Written by the old ignoramus, Gangshar Wangpo. May it prove meaningful!
Translated by Sean Price, 2015
| Event Date | 12-02-2024 |
| Event End Date | 12-08-2024 |
| Individual Price | $525.00 |
Winter Dathun: Month-long Sesshin
This retreat was created by Trungpa Rinpoche in the 1970's. Since Tibetan Buddhism does not have a format for Group Shamatha Vipashyana training, Trungpa Rinpoch in consultation with Kobun Chino Roshi developed what we call "Vajradhatu Zen."
We sit 8-10 hours per day with oryoki meals and our "Vajradhatu Zen" Liturgy practice. This format is completely unique to our lineage and doesn't exist anywhere else!
| Event Date | 01-03-2025 |
| Event End Date | 01-31-2025 |
| Individual Price | $1,500.00 |