Chod Empowerment and Weekend Workshop

This event is available both In-person and Online.

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Chod Empowerment and Weekend Workshop:
A Sacred Gathering of Liberation Through Severance

-Saturday & Sunday
-4 Sessions across the Weekend
-Including Empowerment by Shar Khentrul Rinpoche

About This Event

The ancient practice of Chöd is one of the most extraordinary and rarely encountered paths in the entire Vajrayana tradition. Born from the fearless realisation of the 11th-century yogini Machig Labdrön, Chöd strikes at the very root of what binds us, the deeply held clinging to self that generates all suffering, fear, and confusion across our lives and countless lifetimes. We live in an age of extraordinary distraction, yet beneath the noise, the fundamental questions remain: What is the self we protect so fiercely? What would it mean to truly let go? Chöd does not offer a comfortable answer it offers a direct and embodied encounter with these questions, through sound, movement, ritual, and the living transmission of an unbroken lineage.This weekend retreat is a rare opportunity to step fully into that tradition. Over four immersive sessions across Saturday and Sunday, you will receive the Chöd lineage empowerment from Shar Khentrul Rinpoche, before moving progressively through instrument instruction, sadhana transmission, and culminating in a complete group Chöd practice, Q&A, and dedication of merit. Whether you come as a complete beginner or a seasoned practitioner, this weekend has the power to open something real.

What is Chöd?

Chöd (གཅོད་, pronounced ‘Chö’) means ‘to sever’ or ‘to cut’ and that single word points directly to its purpose: the complete severing of ego clinging and conceptual grasping at the very root of suffering. It is a practice unlike any other in the Vajrayana, originating with the great 11th-century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön, whose realisation was so radical, so complete, that she founded an entirely new lineage. Where most Dharma practices invite stillness, Chöd moves. The practitioner chants, drums, and wanders traditionally to wild and fearsome places, charnel grounds, mountain passes, cemeteries and there performs the ritual of offering the body itself to all sentient beings. It is an act of ultimate generosity and fearlessness, dissolving the illusion of a self. At the heart of this practice are the sacred instruments, the Chöd drum (damaru) and bell (drilbu). These are not accompaniments they are the voice and the heartbeat of Chöd itself, inseparable from the practice. To learn to play them is to begin to enter the transmission from the inside.

Program Highlights

-Chöd Empowerment bestowed by Shar Khentrul Rinpoche – opening the door to the full transmission
-Introduction to Chöd – history, lineage, and the living transmission from Machig Labdrön
-Learn the Chöd Drum (damaru) – proper technique, rhythms, and the inner meaning of the beat
-Learn the Bell (drilbu) & Kangling – how to hold, strike, and coordinate with drum and voice
-Sadhana transmission, guided practice, and teaching commentary
-Full Chöd practice session with Q&A and dedication of merit
-Opportunity to purchase authentic Chöd drums, bells, and kangling

Schedule by Timezone

Our Teachers

Shar Khentrul Rinpoche
Shar Khentrul Rinpoche has received the Chöd transmission across multiple great traditions Nyingma, Kagyu, Jonang, and Gelug and has himself completed Chöd retreat. He received the transmission of Taranatha’s Opening the Gates to the Sky empowerment from Kalka Jetsun Dhampa, considered a reincarnation of Taranatha himself and the spiritual head of Mongolia. This depth of lineage and cross-tradition mastery is rare in the modern world, and it flows directly into this weekend. Rinpoche carries the living flame of authentic Vajrayana transmission and is deeply committed to offering the full breadth of Tibetan Buddhist practice including the rarely taught Chöd to students in the modern world. His teaching is characterised by warmth, precision, and the fearless confidence of one who has walked the path himself.

Drungngur Tenzin Lamsang
Drungngur Tenzin Lamsang is a highly trained ritual master and holder of the authentic Chöd lineage transmission. With years of dedicated practice in the traditional Tibetan manner, Tenzin Lamsang brings rare expertise in the precise technique of Chöd drumming, bell work, and the melodic chant unique to this practice. Under his guidance, students will receive direct, hands-on instruction in the sacred instruments across both days of the weekend.

Sacred Instruments –  Rare Purchase Opportunity

Authentic Chöd instruments are rarely available outside of Tibet and specialist Dharma centres. Across both days, a carefully curated selection of genuine Chöd instruments will be available for purchase, sourced from traditional craftspeople. These are not decorative items, they are consecrated tools of practice, and their acquisition at such an event carries the blessing of the teaching context.

-Chöd Drum (Damaru) – The ritual drum central to the Chöd practice; traditionally made from two human skull caps joined together, now more commonly crafted from wood with authentic skull-shaped resonance chambers.-
-Bell (Drilbu) – The hand bell, representing the wisdom of emptiness; held in the left hand and rung in precise coordination with the drum and ritual movement.
-Kangling – The thigh bone trumpet, blown to call forth Dakinis and cut through conceptual mind. An iconic and powerful Chöd instrument, available in wood.

Who Should Attend?
This event warmly welcomes practitioners at all stages of their journey. No prior experience with Chöd or ritual instruments is required. All are welcome to come with an open heart and a willingness to engage.

-Complete beginners curious about Tibetan Buddhist ritual practice
-Students with some Vajrayana background wishing to encounter Chöd for the first time
-Established practitioners seeking to refine their drum and bell technique under expert guidance
-Anyone drawn to the fearless, embodied, and musically rich dimension of the Dharma