Students are required to attend the entire retreat (no exceptions) and be able to practice approximately 10 hours per day. This retreat is oriented toward those who already understand the three yanas and have an existing practice they wish to deepen. There will be four streams of practice, and each group will stay within their stream for the entire month. Everyone will gather once a day for teachings and practice. The four streams are:

Dentog Chigma (Liberation on One Seat): This group will attend four sessions a day, some of which will be with Lama Wangdu Rinpoche. The retreat will end with a group fire puja. Required for Kapala Training Level IV.

Dzinpa Rangdröl Ngondro (Preliminary Practices in the terma cycle of Do Khyentse “Self-Liberation of Clinging”) Prerequisite: Ngöndro teachings and Three Yana retreat or equivalent. Further description of Ngöndro.

Nature of Mind Contemplative Practice: A silent sitting and walking stream based on Prajña Paramita teachings and practice. Prerequisite: transmission for Prajña Paramita practice or Dzog Chen Trekchö practice.

Sadhana Group: For those practcing a tantric sadhana such as White Dakini, Vajrakilaya or Green Tara. This group with practice both alone and in groups.

Several times per week Lama Tsultrim will teach the whole group from a selected traditional text. Once a week she will meet with each practice group for questions and discussion.

Fees: Sliding scale fees allow participants to pay according to individual means. Your payment above the low end directly benefits our scholarship fund.
Double: $2,795 - $1,995
Queen Double: $3,075 - $2,275
Single: $3,550 - $2,895
Camping*: $1,795 - $1,550
Suggested Dana: $100 - $300

Accommodation descriptions can be found here.

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

Detailed information about retreats at Tara Mandala
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Download registration form (PDF)
Register securely online: 50% of course cost or $500 family total (whichever is less) due at registration
Financial aid available

Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche began studying with his guru, Napdra Rinpoche, at age 8. Rinpoche has received teachings and transmissions from many extraordinary lamas, including His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, His Eminence Surkhang Rinpoche, His Eminence Urgyen Tulku, and His Eminence Chatral Rinpoche. Rinpoche has received the complete teachings and practices of Padampa Sangye, a great Indian mahasiddha who is credited with bringing Chöd practice to Tibet. A master of Chöd, Rinpoche was asked by His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama to continue the precious teachings of Padampa Sangye by establishing a monastery in Kathmandu. Rinpoche now presides over the monastery, Pal Gyi Dingri Langkor Jangsem Kunga Ling, and teaches around the world.

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.