This is a FREE event and only available ONLINE.
In honor of Jetsun Taranatha’s Parinirvana, Khentrul Rinpoche will begin to give a commentary on one of Taranatha’s most precious texts, the Zhentong Nyingpo (The Essence of Zhentong). The commentary will then continue over the next several weekends and be accessible publicly in the learning center to those who sign up for free access.
Jetsun Taranatha is one of the most important Joanng lineage masters. He is revered not just by the Jonang but by my many lineages as he studied them in depth along with the Indian tantric systems. He was particularly well known for understanding the view of each system in an undistorted way from the philosophical perspective of that system. Most people, as they learn aspects of different philosophies, mix an underlying bias or view into their understanding of the system in which they either believe the most or are the most familiar. He did not do this and could argue from the perspective of the view he was holding.
The Zhentong Nyingpo is a very special text that explains the Zhentong (emptiness of other) view of the great middle way in relationship to other spiritual systems. This is an opportunity to examine and learn how the Zhentong view is similar and different from that of other views. Of course, for those who understand and believe the Buddhist perspective, this text shows the arguments of how the philosophical system of Zhentong is superior in relation to Rangtong (emptiness of self) and also other spiritual systems. This establishes Zhentong as the completion Dharma.
You don’t necessarily have to believe in the superiority of Zhentong to listen to and benefit from understanding this text. You can look at the text as a learning opportunity to understand the strengths, weaknesses, differences, and essence of various systems. This creates a philosophical mental map of how spiritual systems are in relation to each other.
This is a huge subject that Jetsun Taranatha has taken and compared in such a small text. Hence this text is considered to be the essence (nyingpo).
Commentaries are often hard for translators to translate in real-time if their root text has not been translated to their language. Therefore this event is scheduled to be in Engish, with translations only available at the discretion of the translation groups.
Schedule by Timezone and Zoom Links
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mongolia, Singapore and Taiwan
MONDAY May 06, 2024 – 5:00 PM Commentary on Jetsun Taranatha’s Zhentong Nyingpo with Khentrul Rinpoche
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87085894366?pwd=SEtKTE5XaytUNmxrVU90ZitDOFdOdz09
Webinar ID: 870 8589 4366 Passcode: 108108
SATURDAY May 11, 2024 – 5:00 PM Commentary on Jetsun Taranatha’s Zhentong Nyingpo with Khentrul Rinpoche
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82275590234?pwd=ckpjRXc5eVhlYzlITTk4bTF6YTEyQT09
Webinar ID: 822 7559 0234 Passcode: 108108
SATURDAY May 25, 2024 – 5:00 PM Commentary on Jetsun Taranatha’s Zhentong Nyingpo with Khentrul Rinpoche
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81269461887?pwd=N2ZvdXJGb1dJa2g1eWljdzdhSnN0dz09
Webinar ID: 812 6946 1887 Passcode: 108108
SATURDAY June 1, 2024 – 5:00 PM Commentary on Jetsun Taranatha’s Zhentong Nyingpo with Khentrul Rinpoche
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87083844445?pwd=ODR6dzFDR3ZwSmVZS1JWTHB6RWdjUT09
Webinar ID: 870 8384 4445 Passcode: 108108
Offer Dana to Rinpoche
Make an offering to support Khentrul Rinpoche and for this event . If anyone wishes to make their offering, you can do so here.
Questions?
Please email [email protected]
Join our global community in the recitation of Green Tara and Marichi mantra to remove all obstacles for Khentrul Rinpoche and the Global community. Jetsun Tara is the swiftest to respond to prayers for help.
Please submit your mantras on our mantra accumulation page here:
https://dzokden.org/mn/mantra-accumulation-mn/
We have schedule this event in advance of Khentrul Rinpoche’s birthday.
This practice will take place on the full moon and a lunar eclipse in March. During the time of the Lunar eclipse in your location, the merit of the offering is multiplied by 700,000 times. Please join us in our accumulation until then but especially anytime in our special 24 hour community organized practice. Members of our different communities in different countries will lead the mantras at different hours. All the mantras that are submitted to Green Tara and to Marichi will be dedicated on April 18th. May this lead to the flourishing of Dzokden and Rinpoche’s activities.
Schedule by Timezone
Central Europe and South Africa – MONDAY March 25, 2024 / 12:00 AM – 12:00 AM (TUESDAY March 26, 2024)
Melbourne, Australia – MONDAY March 25, 2024 / 10:00 AM – 09:59 AM (TUESDAY March 26, 2024)
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mongolia, Singapore and Taiwan – MONDAY March 25, 2024 / 7:00 AM – 7:00 AM (TUESDAY March 26, 2024)
São Paulo, Brazil – SUNDAY March 24, 2024 / 8:00 PM – 8:00 PM (MONDAY March 25, 2024)
East Coast USA, Toronto – SUNDAY March 24, 2024 / 7:00 PM – 7:00 PM (MONDAY March 25, 2024)
West Coast USA – SUNDAY March 24, 2024 / 4:00 PM – 4:00 PM (MONDAY March 25, 2024)
Zoom Information
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84041168224?pwd=eng5RDlFT1pxSEdEWkNaK2VPYmk5UT09
Meeting ID: 840 4116 8224
Passcode: 616652
Questions?
Please email [email protected]
This event is available ONLINE only + Pre-recorded course in English.
Two times are available for the Oral Transmission to accommodate more timezones.
The Commentary has been pre-recorded by Khentrul Rinpoche
*Restricted teaching, please see info below*
Important note:
If you are already enrolled in the Secret Dakini Commentary in the Dzokden Learning Center, you will gain automatic access to oral transmissions. The information has been added to your course.
Khentrul Rinpoche will bestow the oral transmission to the Secret Dakini Nogndro. This incredibly poetic practice text presents all the path until Enlightenment concisely. It focuses on the ultimate meaning of the different preliminary practices. Some sections that are extensive in the other Kalachakra Sadhanas are presented here very concisely, whereas others appear in a more comprehensive, non-traditional way.
The “Secret Dakini Treasure” is especially recommended for those practicing wensum (Three Isolations) and the First Vajra Yoga. For this reason, Rinpoche wishes that practitioners planning to attend the longer wensum or 1st Yoga retreat attend this transmission beforehand.
Schedule by Timezone
Two online sessions will be offered to accommodate more timezones. You may join either of the 2 online sessions available.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mongolia, Singapore and Taiwan
SUNDAY March 10, 2024
8:00 AM – USA Optimized Timezone Oral Transmission Secret Dakini Ngondro
4:00 PM – Asia / Vienna (Central Europe) Timezone Oral Transmission of Secret Dakini
Who can attend?
1) All who have received the Four Higher Empowerments with Rinpoche or, if not:
2) Any stable Dharma practitioner who has done the Ngöndro extensively in any tradition and has the aspiration to receive Higher Empowerment.
In both cases, they should know quite well the Kalachakra sadhanas “The Divine Ladder” and “Enlightening the Heart”. To get to know Rinpoche’s flexible approach to the Ngöndro, look at the chapter 14 of “Unveiling Your Sacred Truth — Book 2”. For online resources, visit: https://dzokden.org/getting-started
If you do not have the requirements yet, Rinpoche encourages you to prepare yourself as much as you can during the year in order to be able to attend.
Questions?
Please email [email protected]
Online and in-person in Austria at Dzokden Kalapa. In English with the potential of live translation in other languages (TBA).
This page is for Online registration only. If you would like to register to attend for the In-person event, please click here.
“Most followers of the Tibetan tantric Buddhist teachings are merely wearing an outer costume of tantra.” (Khentrul Rinpoché)
We are delighted to announce that Rinpoché accepted our request to present his exciting new tantra book, “The Tantric Path of Desire” in Europe. He will give related teachings, a blessing ceremony of the 6 Buddha Families, and address crucial questions of both new and veteran practitioners.
What is tantric practice really about? How to use our day-to-day ‘negative’ emotions as positive potential? How do the different levels of Buddhist paths relate to each other? How to use sexuality as part of the spiritual path according to the Buddha’s tantric teachings? Why does one need an authentic Guru to learn Tantra genuinely?
Preconceptions and misunderstandings about tantra have spread everywhere. Both in Western countries, as well as Asian countries where these teachings originated. Lost amidst extreme views and with a lack of proper clarification, it is difficult for practitioners to reach the essence of the tantric teachings. Rinpoché will teach about how the different levels of Buddhist teachings and their respective conduct of ethics support each other without contradiction. He will explain the varying degrees of tantric practice and what one should do to truly focus on tantra.
For Rinpoché, there is no doubt that different types of persons, including lay devotees, monastics, and non-religious ones, have the potential to learn the essence of tantric practice. This is because the tantric approach is closely aligned with our existing nature.
“In the tantric path, nothing that is naturally present in our mind needs to be eliminated. Instead, we learn means for putting these mental phenomena to work for us. When all these phenomena are subjugated by the brilliance of pure and true reality, they become our friends.” (Khentrul Rinpoché)
In the view of tantra, the pure aspects of our afflictive emotions are connected to specific Buddha Families. To strengthen this awareness and for the continued support of participants’ practice after the event, Rinpoché will bestow a Blessing Ceremony of the Six Buddha Families.
For the Q&A session, we thoroughly encourage you to gather all your questions that will clarify your understanding of tantra. Do not miss this precious opportunity.
Schedule by Timezone
This is a weekend of teachings with Khentrul Rinpoché, although he may decide to direct senior students to teach one of the sessions or lead group discussions in support of the participants’ learning process.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mongolia, Singapore and Taiwan
SATURDAY July 27, 2024
1:00 AM – 2:30 AM – Session 1: Free Public Teaching: Tantric Path of Desire — An Introduction
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM – Session 2
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM – Session 3
9:00 PM – 10:30 PM – Session 4
SUNDAY July 28, 2024
1:00 AM – 2:30 AM – Session 5
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM – Session 6 (includes Blessing Ceremony of the 6 Buddha Families) – THIS CEREMONY MUST BE ATTENDED LIVE
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM – Session 7
How to Prepare?
There are no prerequisites for these teachings. They are open to all, regardless of your background. Reading Rinpoché´s book, “The Tantric Path of Desire,” is suggested but not mandatory for participation. (It is currently available in English and can be purchased here).
Offer Dana for Khentrul Rinpoche
If you additionally wish to show your generosity to Rinpoché’s precious teachings and to his immense efforts, you can do it in-person at the end of the retreat or, if you are attending online you can offer Dana for Rinpoche here. This is completely voluntary.
Questions?
Please email [email protected] or [email protected]
in-person only
Register at Dzokden Kalapa
in-person only
This page is about the 1st VAJRA YOGA Practice Retreat Week(s).
WEEK 2: August 12th – 19th (7 nights)
WEEK 3: August 19th – August 26th (7 nights)
WEEK 4: August 26th – September 2nd (7 nights)
To register for the 1st VAJRA YOGA EMPOWERMENT, TEACHING, and RETREAT WEEK 1, you also need to additionally register here as well.
We are grateful to be able to offer a Practice Retreat on the 1st Vajra Yoga of Kalachakra at the Dzokden Kalapa Retreat Center in the Austrian mountains. This retreat is a rare opportunity to practice similarly to how aspiring yogis practice during the traditional three-year Kalachakra retreat, in a uniquely beautiful natural Summer setting. This group retreat will support the participants in establishing their 1st Vajra Yoga practice. By having a solid foundation for their own individual practice after the retreat, practitioners will be better able to complete the 1st Vajra Yoga and prepare for the next Vajra Yoga. You are welcome to take part in any of the weeks of your choosing (choose the weeks below when registering).
This is the first time we have the precious chance to offer such a long retreat on the 1st Vajra Yoga in Europe, so do not miss this precious opportunity!
[Note for those who have already received the 1st Vajra Yoga in Tibet in 2019: Rinpoché encourages you to first attend the 1st Vajra Yoga Empowerment, Teaching, and Retreat Week 1 first, rather than directly attending the Practice Retreat in Weeks 2, 3, and 4. However, if you absolutely cannot and only want to attend the practice retreat, first send us an email to [email protected] explaining your reasons before proceeding with the registration. We will contact you to confirm whether or not this is possible for you. Decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis.]
Online Meditation Guidance from Khentrul Rinpoche + In-person Retreat
Each participant can request a personal audience with Rinpoche (remotely via Zoom) to discuss their meditation progress and help alleviate any obstacles to their practice. Rinpoché may also join remotely to give a group teaching (upon participants’ request) if he feels that it is necessary. Rafa Lobsang Dorje will lead the practice retreat in-person with Rinpoche’s blessing. He received the 1st Vajra Yoga from Rinpoche in 2019 in Tibet and practiced it in group and solitary retreat settings.
REQUIREMENTS
All participants must have received the 1st Vajra Yoga of Kalachakra by Shar Khentrul Rinpoche. If you have not received them yet and have the aspiration to do so, there is the possibility (upon approval) of receiving them before this practice retreat. More infos and registration here.
How to Prepare and Materials
How to prepare for this retreat: In addition to the longer sadhanas “Divine Ladder” and “Enlightening the Heart”, you will need to know the sadhana “Secret Dakini Treasure”. We encourage you to study all the sadhanas as much as you can, including the transliterations and chantings, because there will be some sessions of chanting in Tibetan without a recording during the retreat.
During the retreat, Guru Puja and Kalachakra Tsok gatherings will also be held on special occasions. We strongly encourage you to additionally register for their two associated courses at our learning center to prepare yourself in advance so that you know the rituals very well beforehand. If you wish (not mandatory), bring your own vajra, bell, damaru, or other ritual instruments to use during the puja and tsok gatherings.
Materials: You can borrow printed texts of Guru Puja and Tsok from the temple to use during the event. Please bring your printed practice book “The Profound Path of Vajra Yoga”. You can also bring Rinpoche’s commentary “The Hidden Treasure,” “Unveiling Your Sacred Truth 3,” and the 1st Vajra Yoga Booklet as a reference for your practice (everything on paper, as tablets, phones, or computers are not allowed after the strict retreat begins.) Other reading materials not directly related to the 1st Vajra Yoga are not allowed during the retreat period. Bring your blindfold and your meditation belt.
Retreat Information and Guidelines
The retreat will be closed and in silence. Participants are not allowed to receive visitors or use computers, tablet devices, mobile phones, and so forth. We can store personal phones and other electronic devices in our office. If someone needs to contact you in case of emergency, they can email [email protected] or call +43 676 395 8898. Both e-mailbox and phone will be checked at least once each day. Rinpoche advises participants to follow the retreat guidelines respectfully, not only for the success of their own practice, but also to avoid disturbing others.
The daily schedule consists of four practice sessions and additional activities such as occasional pujas, watching Rinpoché’s recorded teachings, personal audiences and so forth. Participants are welcome to address their questions related to the practice in written form to the retreat leader. They can request personal audiences with Rinpoché (remotely via Zoom) as well. Participation in two daily group sessions is mandatory unless health conditions completely prevent you from taking part. The remaining two sessions can be practiced in your own room if you prefer. Practice sessions will be conducted in English and Tibetan. If you absolutely prefer, you can bring copies of the texts in your own language as well and read them silently while the group recites in English.
Check-in and Check out between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. (If you absolutely need to leave earlier, that is possible. Just inform us in advance of your plans.)
Registration
More Info and Registration at Dzokden Kalapa in Austria
The fee for the retreat includes three vegetarian meals and shared accommodations at the beautiful Dzokden Kalapa Retreat Center. Please inform us ([email protected]) in advance if you have allergies, food intolerances, or other important health or mental conditions that we need to consider. We cannot promise space for individual rooms for participants of this event. However, you can alternatively bring your own tent and sleep outside near the Kalachakra Stupa (see registration options below). Please note: Parking in the area of Kalapa is very limited. If you are staying withus for the whole retreat, we encourage you to drop off then find a space to park at a distance (in the city, if possible) to help other travellers reach the site.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer Opportunities
This is a strict retreat, and participants should avoid engaging in too much physical activity and interacting with others unnecessarily. We need at least one volunteer to cook breakfast, lunch, and a light dinner for the participants. The volunteer cook will be able to enjoy all the areas in the retreat center except for the Kalachakra Temple itself where the participants will practice. Unlike the participants, volunteers can access electronic devices, the internet, and so forth. This is an extraordinary opportunity to generate merit and create the causes to be able to engage in this practice yourself in the future. Rinpoche strongly encourages us to support our dharma brothers and sisters by volunteering. If you already received the 1st Vajra Yoga Teachings and wish to volunteer as a cook, you can attend the practice retreat for free if you so wish. Otherwise, during your stay, we can provide free access to an online course or recorded retreat at our digital learning center if you would like to support your practice and study while you are volunteering; additionally, you can also choose a dharma book of your choice in our Kalapa Shop that Kalapa will give you as a gift.
If you are considering this opportunity, please write as soon as possible to [email protected], so that we can arrange a video call to plan your participation. You can also volunteer for only a portion of the event rather than for the whole retreat; you can offer as much as possible according to your capability.
