Teachers

Lama Tsultrim Allione

Lama Tsultrim Allione is the bestselling author of Women of Wisdom (1984), Feeding Your Demons (2008), and Wisdom Rising Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine (2018). Lama Tsultrim is the founder of Tara Mandala, a 700-acre retreat center with a three-story temple and library dedicated to the divine feminine in the Buddhist tradition, located near Pagosa Springs in southwest Colorado. She leads a vibrant international community with over forty groups around the world. Born in New England, she traveled to Asia in her late teens, and in 1970, at the age of 22 in Bodhgaya, India, she became the first American to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. She later disrobed, married and became the mother of three and now is a grandmother of six. In 2007, she was recognized in Tibet and Nepal as the reincarnation of a renowned 11th-century Tibetan yogini, Machig Labdrön, and she is one of the few women Lamas in the world today. In 2012, she received the Machig Labdron Empowerment from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa. She was awarded international recognition as an “Outstanding Woman in Buddhism” in 2009 by a panel of distinguished scholars and practitioners in Bangkok, Thailand.

Photo: © Katrin Röder

 

Events with Lama Tsultrim Allione

Feeding Your Demons® - Online Program
Open Dates

Join the Feeding Your Demons® Online Program and become fully certified to use this method in a professional setting with clients, or choose the à la carte options for personal growth and enrichment. Through compelling content and practice assignments, participants engage in a journey of increasing levels of personal transformation…

Lama Live!
Open Dates

IMPORTANT!!! This is an internal listing for the calendar that is redirected through a forwarding link by Ben to: https://www.taramandala.org/connect/ask-lama-tsultrim/  the root text document for website copy updates is: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UGQxNsuTuED_DM-UVs8I4VoXLoXzlZaJqMaHRQioNv0/edit#

Zhitro Self Paced Program
Open Dates

In our society, we often lack practices specifically designed to help someone who has died as they embark on their transitional journey. The simple and accessible practice of Zhitro provides a meaningful way for a practitioner to assist the deceased. This practice also helps individuals become familiar with the visions…

Riwo Sangcho Self Paced Program
Open Dates

Riwo Sangchö is the most widely-practiced sadhana for the Tibetan rite of sang, fragrant smoke offering. Sang is an ancient and powerful practice for purifying sickness, removing obstacles, accruing merit, and paying karmic debts. Through making offerings to the Buddhas & Bodhisattvas, Dharmapālas, Dakinis, and all sentient beings as well…

Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine Self Paced Program
Open Dates

“The mandala is a template or blueprint of wholeness. It has a center and four directions. Associated with each direction is a color, an element, an obstructed pattern and a wisdom. It is a way to understand yourself and also your world.”       – Lama Tsultrim Allione The mandala…

Green Tara Self Paced Program
Open Dates

Green Tara is one of the most beloved figures in Vajrayana Buddhism. With one foot in the meditative posture and one foot extending down into the world, she embodies the ideal of compassionate action, and thus serves as a powerful model for modern contemplative life. As a manifestation of Tara,…

Chod of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche Self Paced Program
Open Dates

Chöd, the practice of severance, is a profound ritual for dealing with fears, illnesses, and difficult emotions. Developed in the 11th century by the great Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön, the practice of Chöd slowly transformed from an obscure practice lineage into a cornerstone of multiple schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The…

Machig Labdron and the Nature of Mind Self Paced Program
Open Dates

Machig Labdrön was an 11th century Tibetan yogini widely renowned for developing the practice of Chöd. She was recognized by the great scholars of her day to be an authentic master and had thousands of disciples. Machig was one of the few Tibetan women to establish practice lineages of her…

Opening the Heart Sutra Self Paced Program
Open Dates

In this self-paced program, Lama Tsultrim Allione teaches on the history and philosophical meaning of the Heart Sutra, the most widely beloved condensation of the Prajnaparamita literature. But despite its brevity and pithy nature, the Heart Sutra can be an easy source of confusion for those new to Mahayana philosophy.…

Introduction to Feeding Your Demons® for Mental Health Professionals
Open Dates

Who can attend? Licensed therapists, psychologists, counselors, and social workers Mental health professionals seeking to expand their knowledge of innovative techniques for personal and professional development Clinicians looking for a research-validated, transformative approach to enhancing personal well-being and professional effectiveness Mental health providers who wish to cultivate a holistic approach…

Oral Transmission Event
Open Dates

Lama Tsultrim Allione will offer the Lung for Green Tara, Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche Chöd, Riwo Sangchö, and Zhitro practices at a future date. This is a free live-streamed event with no registration required. Anyone is welcome to receive a Lung as a blessing and connection to a certain practice.…

The Heart of Buddhism A Year Long Buddhist Studies Program
January 31 - November 21, 2025

Welcome to The Heart of Buddhism: A Year Long Buddhist Studies Program. Throughout 2025, we’ll explore the history, core teachings, and practices that guide Buddhist practitioners in the Tibetan tradition in waking up to their true nature of innate compassion and wisdom. The Buddhist path offers profound guidance for working…

Embodying the Innate Wisdom and Compassion of the Twenty One Taras
October 11, 2025 - December 11, 2027

Explore the symbolic meaning, power, and purpose of the 21 Taras through teachings, embodied meditation, mantra, and journeys with Tara. In this immersive and transformative program, Dorje Lopön Chandra will offer us a lens through which we can understand and integrate the contemporary context of the Taras through inspiring stories…

Mandala Method Journey into the Mandala of the Sacred Masculine
October 17 - November 15, 2025

“The mandala is a template or blueprint of wholeness. It has a center and four directions. Associated with each direction is a color, an element, an obstructed pattern and a wisdom. It is a way to understand yourself and also your world.” – Lama Tsultrim Allione  The Mandala of the…

The Great Perfection
October 24 - November 21, 2025

Course Five of the five-course series, The Heart of Buddhism: A Year Long Buddhist Studies Program with Lama Tsultrim Allione and guest teachers. The Buddhist Path The Buddhist path offers profound guidance for working with the individual and collective challenges we face — and transforming suffering into liberation. These teachings show…

Simhamukha The Lion Headed Dakini
November 7 - 23, 2025

Join us for two retreat weekends as we take an immersive journey through the transmission, teachings, and practice of Simhamukha: The Lion-Headed Dakini  This online program offers transmission and teachings on the Simhamukha practice and Lama Tsultrim’s personal transformation work within the mandala. Simhamukha is known as a powerful remover…

Feeding Your Demons Collective Demon Feeding Workshop
December 13 - 14, 2025

Collective Demon Feeding Workshop December 13-14, 2025 | Online As we navigate ongoing global challenges—wars, political divisions, and rising violence and prejudice—this intensive workshop offers a powerful opportunity to transform personal practice into collective healing through Lama Tsultrim Allione’s Feeding Your Demons® method. Workshop Overview Join Lama Tsultrim Allione, Dorje…

Feeding Your Demons Collective Demon Feeding Practice
December 14, 2025

Collective Demon Feeding Practice with Lama Tsultrim Allione December 14, 2025 | 11am – 12pm MT| Online As we navigate ongoing global challenges—wars, political divisions, and rising violence and prejudice—this rare gathering offers a powerful opportunity to join practitioners worldwide in transformative collective practice. Experience firsthand how Feeding Your Demons®…

Song of the Vajra
February 21 - 22, 2026

Mandala Method Journey into the Union of the Sacred Feminine and Masculine
March 20 - April 11, 2026

“In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the pinnacle spiritual experience is described as the union of the feminine, symbolizing wisdom, with the masculine, symbolizing skillful means.” ~ Lama Tsultrim Allione Venture into the Yab Yum Mandala to explore divine union beyond gender identifications, experiencing and integrating the feminine and masculine we each…

White Dakini Drubcho
June 22 - July 1, 2026

The Osel Nyingtig Gathering ONLINE
August 15 - 20, 2026

The Osel Nyingtig Gathering
August 15 - 20, 2026