The Dzinpa Rangdröl, a terma cycle focused around the Great Mother and Machig Labdrön from Do Kyentse, is being offered at Tara Mandala for the first time in the West. This retreat will have three concurrent streams.

Ngöndro: Foundational practices for the exceedingly secret, heart essence drop of the dakini.
Prerequisites: None.
This group will be led by Lama Tsultrim and Khenpo Ugyen Wangchuk for those who are currently progressing in, or wish to begin, the Dzinpa Rangdröl Ngöndro. Ngöndro consists of the accumulations of the following practices: refuge with prostrations, bodhicitta, mandala offerings, Vajrasattva purification, and Guru Yoga.

White Dakini - Prerequisites: For those who have finished Ngöndro requirements (either the whole Dzinpa Rangdröl Ngöndro or another Ngöndro plus 10% of the Dzinpa Rangdröl Ngöndro). Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche will be offering an in-depth explanation of the White Dakini practice.

Tsa Lung - Prerequisites: For those who have finished Ngöndro requirements for Dzinpa Rangdröl and the White Dakini Sadhana (six weeks of retreat). In these teachings, Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche will introduce Tsa Lung (Nadis and Prana Yoga).

Fees: Sliding scale fees allow participants to pay according to individual means. Your payment above the low end directly benefits our scholarship fund.
Double: $935 - $750
Queen Double: $1,035 - $805
Single: $1,395 - $950
Camping*: $675 - $525
Suggested Dana: $180 - $360

Accommodation descriptions can be found here.

*Be prepared for spring camping conditions, with potential for snow and temperatures below freezing.

Sustaining Sangha discounts range from 10%-20% based on your membership level and are calculated at registration.

Detailed information about retreats at Tara Mandala
Travel Information (booking flights, shuttles, hotels)
Download registration form (PDF)
Register securely online: 50% of course cost due at registration
Financial aid available

Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche, the sixth Gochen Tulku, is an incarnation of Gyalwa Chokyang, one of the close disciples of Padmasambhava. Recognized at the age of three, Rinpoche began learning religious rituals and liturgies, as well as traditional Tibetan medicine, at an early age. Rinpoche met his root guru, Tulku Orgyen Chemchok, in a Chinese prison where he was held for nine years. Upon release, Rinpoche met his other root teacher, H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, with whom he traveled, studied, and practiced intensively for fourteen years.

Lama Tsultrim Allione, author and international teacher, founded Tara Mandala in 1994. Inspired by the vision of a Western retreat center while living in the Himalayas in the 1970s, Lama Tsultrim founded Tara Mandala with her husband David Petit, where she is now the spiritual director and resident teacher.

Lama Tsultrim was one of the first American women to be ordained as a Tibetan nun in 1970 by the 16th Karmapa. At the age of 26, after four years as a nun, she returned her monastic vows, married, and raised a family of three. Lama Tsultrim earned a Master’s degree in Buddhist Studies and Women’s Studies from Antioch University. She is the author of Women of Wisdom, a groundbreaking book on the lives of great female Tibetan practitioners.

Lama Tsultrim also authored the recently published Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict, which connects the knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism with the modern psyche, addressing major cultural issues and the roots of our suffering. This National Bestseller is based on Lama Tsultrim’s pioneering technique using five steps to nurture the parts of ourselves we usually fight.

Lama Tsultrim has for many years focused her teachings on the lineage of Machig Labdrön, the 11th century Tibetan yogini who founded the Chöd lineage. In 2007, while leading a pilgrimage to Tibet, she was recognized as an emanation of Machig Labdrön by the resident Lama of Zangri Khangmar (Machig’s monastery in Tibet). In 2009 she was selected by an esteemed committee of scholars and practitioners to receive the international Outstanding Woman in Buddhism Award given in Bangkok, Thailand.

Lama Tsultrim’s teachings arise from the blessings of her many wonderful Tibetan Buddhist teachers, her 40-year dedication to the Buddhist teachings, and her experience as a Western woman.