Online 35-Day Padmasambhava Retreat

The Lotus-Born master gave methods for our times so people gain the biggest benefit in the shortest time. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche said that participating in a 35 day group retreat can help progress equal to a three-year retreat because this terma treasure has boundless blessings.

The retreat includes life-extension, the universal heart of compassion, and reconnecting with timeless enlightenment. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche taught the enormous benefits of visualizing the deity, chanting the mantras and placing awareness in samadhi. This method transforms the ordinary body, voice and mind, it loosens up negative karmic habits and creates tremendous merit. It stabilizes the ability to be in undistracted nondual and compassionate openness and forms a link for enlightened expression.

You will learn the practical application of tantra and how a tantric ritual corresponds to an inner meaning that frees awareness from habits. You learn how to use mantras and mudras in meditation as both reminders and as inner expressions of dignity and insight.

The Trinley Nyingpo is the basic text for the retreat. During the retreat, you gradually focus on each aspect of the practice, beginning with preliminaries and then each of the three kayas and activities. The great Khyentse and Chokgyur Lingpa revealed this entire practice. This treasure has a very short and flawless lineage through masters named Khyentse Rinpoche, Chokling Rinpoche and Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

Drupon Tenzin Sangpo leads the retreat and gives the instructions on how to do the practice and the rituals, and introduces each practice segment in a traditional way.

Erik Pema Kunsang explains the meaning of visualizing ourselves as a buddha, reciting the mantras, and training in structure-free meditation to transform and liberate awareness.

Empowerment
You should have an empowerment for Padmasambhava to register. If you don’t it is alright to join if you decide to obtain the empowerment as soon as you can. 

Online participation
When participating online it is best to participate in the full retreat, staying away from ordinary activities and social life while doing four sessions every day, exactly like at Gomde.

Alternatively, you can also join as a semi-retreat, committing to at least two complete sessions every day. In this way it will be alright to do a bit of work and necessary social or family activities. You should still consider the period a time for focused practice.

At least, follow the teachings everyday, and try to do minimum one session.
You don’t need to follow on the same dates. You can follow on recordings, and start later if you need to.

Practice sessions will be chanted either in Tibetan or English. All teachings will be in English. 

Learning Material
You will receive the text in pdf format or you can come and pick up a printed version at Gomde.

When you register, you get access to the archive of teachings on the Trinley Nyingpo sadhana by Drupon Lama Tenzin from the previous 35 day retreat. It is recommended to gain familiarity with the practice before beginning the retreat.

Daily program 

The program at Gomde is as follows. Please create your own schedule for your timezone with time to join some sessions online and do some sessions on your own. If we have many online participants, all sessions will be live-streamed but only the teaching will be recorded and uploaded to watch later.

4.00 Wake-up practice
4.30 – 7.00 Session 1
8.00 – 9.00 Teaching with Lama Tenzin or Erik Pema Kunsang (streamed)
9.30 – 12.00 Session 2: With Lama Tenzin in temple (streamed)
15.30 – 18.00 Session 3: Sadhana with feast with Lama Tenzin in the temple (streamed)
19.00 – 20.30 Session 4 

Participation fee

The fee to join the retreat from home is 400 euros. 

During registration you can add offerings to the teachers, gifts for feast practice etc. 

Artwork credit: Christopher Banigan
@chrisbanigan