This event is available Online only.
Why This Course Is Being Offered Now
Khentrul Rinpoche has specifically requested that we offer this training again for the benefit of both new and existing students. This is because guru devotion is not a beginner topic that can be understood once and set aside. It is something that must be revisited, deepened, and clarified again and again. In Vajrayana Buddhism, everything depends on understanding the Guru correctly. Without this foundation, even sincere practitioners can remain uncertain or blocked in their progress. This course is being offered to establish a clear, stable, and authentic understanding of guru devotion—the root of all attainments—within the context of the Jonang Kalachakra tradition.
The Heart of Vajrayana
Let us go directly to the truth of Vajrayana practice:
The Heart of Devotion—the Guru is the Path.
This is not simply about finding a faster way to enlightenment. It is about understanding the core of Vajrayana itself. Without guru devotion, tantra does not function. With it, realization becomes possible. A highly respected scholar from Larung Monastery, deeply regarded by Khentrul Rinpoche, explains:
“Unconditional love is the highest form of desire.
Ultimate Bodhicitta is Buddha-nature, the Guru.
As we increase this Love and Bodhicitta, our awareness increases.
Devotion to this cause is devotion to the ultimate Guru, the ultimate love.
Devotion is simply keeping the view.”
This points to something essential. Devotion is not blind belief. It is the stability of the view—remaining connected to awakened awareness itself.
Guru Devotion as a Complete Path
Guru devotion is often misunderstood as a single idea or emotional attitude. In reality, it is a spectrum of practice that unfolds across the entire Vajrayana path.
At the beginning, it may arise as respect, inspiration, or a cautious openness to learning. At this stage, it is essential to examine carefully, develop discernment, and establish a grounded and healthy relationship with the teachings and the teacher.
As practice deepens, devotion becomes more integrated. It begins to shape how we practice, how we see the path, and how we relate to our own mind. It becomes an active method for transforming perception—not just something we think about, but something we rely on.
At the highest levels—within Highest Yoga Tantra and especially the completion stage practices—guru devotion is no longer separate from meditation. It becomes inseparable from the direct recognition of mind’s nature. The Guru is understood as the very display of awakened awareness, and devotion becomes the continuity of that recognition. The classical text The Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion, attributed to the great Indian master Ashvaghosha, presents working with a Guru in a precise and structured way. This training is designed to help students understand the full breadth of guru devotion—from its careful beginnings to its deepest realization—within the living context of the Jonang Kalachakra tradition.
How the Course Will Unfold
This is an 8-week course, meeting once per week, designed to build understanding and experience progressively.
Each session will include:
-Guided study of The Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion (Ashvaghosha)
-Explanation and practice of the 7 Limb Prayer
-Instruction and practice of the Jonang Kalachakra Guru Puja
-Practical integration of devotion into daily life and meditation
The structure is cumulative, allowing each week to deepen and expand upon the previous one.
Course Format:
-Weekly live sessions over 8 weeks
-All teachings are recorded and made available in the Dzokden Learning Center
-Recordings allow for ongoing review and deeper contemplation
Private Live Q&A:
-Each session concludes with 15 minutes of questions not included in the recording. This creates space for open, personal, and candid discussion. Often when this topic comes up people have questions they are nervous to ask and are best kept private or in a container that feels safe to explores worries, concerns, fears and aspirations.
Recommended Reading:
–Unveiling Your Sacred Truth, Book 2: The Internal Reality
-The Course will include the 50 verses as well as the Jonang Guru Puja text.
Schedule by Timezone
Central Europe
SATURDAYS
Session 1 – October 24, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 2 – October 31, 2026 / 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Session 3 – November 7, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 4 – November 14, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 5 – November 21, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 6 – November 28, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 7 – December 5, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 8 – December 12, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
This event is available both In-person and Online.
There is a reason why great spiritual teachers, from Rumi and Osho to many others throughout history, speak so much about love: the path to realization is the path of the heart. All of tantra is simple—it’s contained, from start to finish, in the path of devotion to the Guru. In modern times, we often want to know and understand everything, to elaborate and dive into details. For this, we have highly elaborate Tantras. But if you want to cut to the heart, to the essence, and follow the simplest and most direct path, then that is the path of Guru devotion. You can start with the Guru, but no matter what form of Tantra you choose to practice, and no matter where you begin, you are guaranteed to end up with the Guru.
All Vajrayana traditions may have significant doctrinal debates, but when it comes to the path of Guru devotion, there is absolute agreement. There is no debate between traditions because this path has been proven through centuries of experience.
A scholar who is currently the most respected and highly regarded at Larung Monastery, and whom Khentrul Rinpoche deeply respects, says:
“Unconditional love is the highest form of desire.
Ultimate Bodhicitta is Buddha-nature, the Guru.
As we increase this Love and Bodhicitta, our awareness increases.
Devotion to this cause is devotion to the ultimate Guru, the ultimate love.
Devotion is simply keeping the view.”
In Vajrayana, if you have the View, you have the key to everything. When you truly love your beloved, everything happens naturally and spontaneously. Does a mother need to think about whether she should try to save her dying child? No, she just acts out of love and attachment. This love and desire are incredibly powerful. If a mother can feel that love for her child, imagine how powerful that feeling could be if you have that same love for your Guru.
We all know that the most powerful force in the human mind is love, and there is no Buddhahood without ultimate love. Guru devotion means loving the Guru unconditionally and dedicating yourself to that path. In tantra, we integrate everything from our life experience into the spiritual path. We may not have direct life experiences with gods or Buddhas, but we can have direct experiences with the Guru. By doing so, we bring the path closer to us in our everyday lives through the human Guru. The most profound connection a human can have is the divine love for the Guru. Devotion is a process that helps uncover all of our limitations and self-cherishing, while also opening the door to a downpour of incomparable blessings.
This course will explore what it means to take devotion as the path.
Who is this for?
This course is for those who want to understand the heart essence of all tantra paths and the fastest way to accumulate merit. You do not need to have a current Guru to whom you are devoted. You don’t need to take the Guru as your path just yet. If you want to explore and understand the ultimate path of Vajrayana, this course offers a good introduction.
Topics to be covered include:
-Examining and understanding the three levels of Guru
-Guru devotion as a process: gaining clarity on the maximum and minimum
-Training your mind and heart through Guru yoga and Jonang Kalachakra Guru Puja
-Clearly understanding how all aspects of the Kalachakra tantra path are the Guru
-Approaching this path with honesty and clarity
-Discussing pure view and authentic versus inauthentic Gurus
Schedule by Timezone
Central Europe and South Africa
SATURDAY November 29, 2025
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM – Session 1
11:00 PM – 12:30 AM (Nov 30) – Session 2
SUNDAY November 30, 2025
1:00 AM – 2:30 AM – Session 3
Pre-recorded – Session 4
11:00 PM – 12:30 AM (Dec 1) – Session 5
MONDAY December 1, 2025
1:00 AM – 2:30 AM – Session 6
QUESTIONS?
Please email [email protected]
This event is available Online and in English, Spanish and French.
Are You Ready to Become Invincible?
It’s Time to Get Real About Being a Bodhisattva. Everyone focuses on the love and compassion part of the path.
Khentrul Rinpoche focuses on the courageous nature you need to cultivate.
Liking the idea of compassion isn’t enough. If you’re serious about becoming a Bodhisattva—a true warrior of love—you need to train. This path is not about escaping the world. It’s about turning toward its suffering with fearless clarity, patience, and action. That requires work, endurance, and transformation.
This course is a no-fluff immersion into the courageous Mahayana Bodhisattva path. You will be asked to practice, study, and show up—again and again. Because real peace isn’t passive. It’s earned. And it’s built on the capacity to face everything—especially your own karma—for the benefit of all beings.
What You’ll Work Towards Cultivating
-The unshakable courage to face challenge without collapse
-The mental and emotional resilience to transform adversity into compassion
-The skill to generate Bodhicitta and act from wisdom and altruism
-A living connection to the Bodhisattva Vows and the Shambhala Golden Age vision
-Deepened commitment through group practice, study, and meditative discipline
Topics Covered
-The Four Immeasurable Qualities (Love, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity)
-Aspiring & Engaged Bodhicitta, and Ultimate Bodhicitta
-The Six Perfections: From generosity to wisdom
-The Wheel of Sharp Weapons Sutra: Transforming karmic adversity
-Bodhisattva Vows (Bestowed by Khentrul Rinpoche)
-Shambhala Connection (Oral transmission offered)
-Practical training in Tonglen, Metta, and more
-The Five Paths & Ten Bhumis from the Mahayana Sutra tradition
-How to face the world with clarity instead of using the Dharma to escape it
How the Training Works
This is not a passive, one-way course. You’ll receive:
-Weekly 2-hour sessions (Live + recordings)
-Structured homework with readings and meditations
-A community space to connect, discuss, and practice in peer-led small groups
-Break weeks to integrate or catch up
-Sangha Circles every 3–4 weeks: collective meditation & sharing spaces
-Weekly go out in the world and put your teachings into practice.
„This is training for lifetimes. This is what builds unbreakable peace.“
Live Session Schedule
This event is happening in California, USA. Please find your local schedule below. If your location isn’t listed, use this time converter to find the correct time for your area:
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
Schedule by Timezone
Central Europe and South Africa
SUNDAYS
Session 1 – November 23, 2025 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 2 – November 30, 2025 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 3 – December 14, 2025 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 4 – December 21, 2025 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 5 – January 4, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 6 – January 18, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 7 – January 25, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 8 – February 1, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 9 – February 15, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 10 – February 22, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 11 – March 1, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 12 – March 15, 2026 / 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Session 13 – March 22, 2026 / 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Session 14 – March 29, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 15 – April 5, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 16 – April 19, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Session 17 – April 26, 2026 / 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Monthly Payments
Monthly payments are accepted on the learning center website:
https://learn.dzokden.org/courses/2025-golden-age-bodhisattva-training
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?
Please email [email protected]
