Teachings, Courses, & Retreats

Register now to take advantage of Early Bird Rates until January 2, 2025. Discounts applied at registration.
  • $759.00 – Generosity Rate
  • $539.00 – Sustainability Rate
  • $436.00 – Access Rate

Date & Time Details: Fridays: January 31, 2025 - February, 21, 2025 (see schedule in listing)
FOR CERTIFICATION TRACK PARTICIPANTS
Certification Training Module
Saturday, March 1, 2024 (9:00am – 3:00pm MST)

Location: Online - Zoom

Scholarships & Financial Assistance:
Learn more about available financial assistance options and apply for a scholarship here.

Suggested Dana Range: $85 - $255
The program prices do not include teacher offerings (dana). To learn more about dana and suggested dana ranges, please click here.

Email us about program

Journey into the Union of Sacred Feminine and Masculine – Mandala Method (online)

With Lama Tsultrim Allione, Lopön Ellen Booth Church, Chögé Bridget Bailey and Chögé Lisa Erickson

January 31 - March 1, 2025

“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 hold within ourselves. The model of Yab Yum union enables a direct experience of non-duality. The exploration of encumbered patterns  as represented by the five families becomes a framework for exploring obscurations that arise in relationships, such as attachment, anger, disconnection, and jealousy, and how these may be transformed into relationship wisdom.

The work of healing and moving towards wholeness involves drawing forth and cultivating the positive aspects of both our feminine and masculine energies; otherwise, the hidden agenda of each can be destructive and self-sabotaging. With the Mandala Method program we offer a sublime method to work with the feminine through the Mandala of the Dakinis, the masculine in the Mandala of the Buddhas, and the union of the two in the Mandala of the Yab Yum. This is deep inner work appropriate for individuals of all gender identities.

We can explore the Yab Yum in outer, inner and secret ways, a traditional way to unpack various layers of any given teaching. At an outer level, the teachings of Yab Yum suggest that we can meet another being – however that “other” appears to us – as a path of practice in which we fully face our partner with no escape, no guarantee, no solid ground. At an inner level, we can understand Yab Yum as a symbol of an internal balance between energies we have come to label ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine.’  At a secret level, the Yab Yum is the union of the ground of being and the emanations of the ground, the fundamental non-duality of emptiness and form, of wisdom and compassion. 

You will have the opportunity to focus on one of the five families to explore more deeply your encumbered patterns related to these themes, learning how to transform them in the wisdom of each family, and explore how these energies impact how you show up in your life, relationships, and spiritual practice.

In this experiential program, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Learn the Mandala of the Yab Yum, a daily meditation practice
  • Learn the symbolism of the Tibetan Yab Yum, including the Male and Female Buddhas and their attributes
  • Explore the integration of Sacred Feminine and Masculine, beyond the binary understanding
  • Be introduced to Jung’s teachings on Anima/Animus
  • Use the five wisdom family framework to explore your obscurations in relationships, inner and outer
  • Receive teachings on the inner, outer, and secret mandala
  • Explore divine union and non-duality
  • Engage in enhancement practices such as the Guided Journey with the Yab Yum and Art through Mandala Work with your Hands as part of  your personal work
  • Work with additional practices such as Unblocking the Encumbered Energy (Sound and Light Practice) and Element Meditations 

Primary Practice:
The Mandala of the Yab Yum, daily practice, the concise version

Enhancement Practices: 
Guided Journey with the Yab Yum
Mandala Work with Your Hands
Element Meditations
Unblocking the Encumbered Energy (Sound and Light Practice)

This rich course is also part of the new Mandala Method Certification Program. This program guides individuals through deep work and practice with the mandala and certifies them to be able to use mandala work one-on-one with clients. For more information about the Mandala Method Certification Program, contact the Mandala Method coordinator through this Contact Form.

Who Should Attend?

  • Anyone in Magyu. Completion of this program fulfills part of the mandala requirement for Magyu: The Mother Lineage practitioners.
  • Anyone interested in becoming certified to use Mandala Work with clients and who hopes to complete the Mandala Method Certification Program. Completion of this program fulfills Mandala Method Level III requirements. For more information, see the Mandala Method certification program.
  • Anyone interested in learning the Yab Yum mandala practice and associated enhancement practices.

Recommended reading:
Wisdom Rising, Feeding Your Demons and Women of Wisdom by Lama Tsultrim Allione
Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism by Dr. Miranda Shaw

Recording Access: 
All participants will have a 1-year access period to the recordings.

What is a Tara Mandala Online Program?

Tara Mandala offers online programming via live and pre-recorded curriculum that give you the opportunity to access dharma teachings, engage in guided practice, experience personal retreat and hands-on learning, while connecting with other participants through easy-to-use online platforms and an engaged community network. When needed, the program description and schedule will inform you in advance if and when a specific online session must be attended live if a direct transmission (Tib. lung) may be given. Access to recordings of all sessions will be available for additional viewing for one year. 

Tara Mandala Pricing Guidelines
As we work to become an equitable, diverse and inclusive community, our pricing guidelines are intended to be a map, inviting each of us to take inventory of resources that contribute to our access to precious dharma teachings. While we do ask you to look inward, please know there is no right or wrong answer. We encourage you to select the range/rate appropriate to your circumstances. To learn more about Tara Mandala’s pricing guidelines for Online Programs, In-Person Retreats, and Special Promotions, please visit this page

Installment Payment Plan Option at Registration
During registration, students can either pay the program fee in full or select the Installment Payment option. If choosing the installment payment option, students will pay a 25% deposit upon registering and subsequent equal payments will be processed automatically every month. The final balance is due 14 days before the start of the program.

Deferred Payment Plans and Financial Assistance

Tara Mandala offers two types of financial assistance: Deferred Payment Plans and Scholarships. You may apply for one or both of these types of assistance. Read the terms carefully as outlined on the financial aid application. Please see this page for further information.

Offering dana to the teacher:
The practice of offering dana, which means “generosity,” is the traditional offering the student makes to the teacher as a symbol of appreciation, gratitude, and reciprocity for receiving the precious teachings. Information on offering dana to the teacher will be provided during the program. To learn more about dana and suggested dana ranges, please click here

Sustaining Sangha:

If you are currently a member of our Sustaining Sangha, you may apply your Online Program discount to this course. To learn more about Sustaining Sangha membership, benefits, and discounts, click here

Click Here for Our Online Programs Cancellation and Refund Policy

PROGRAM SCHEDULE
The live sessions of the program are listed below. All times are Mountain Standard Time. Please use this link to see how this daily schedule translates into your timezone.  Session(s) with Lama Tsultrim Allione TBD.

Friday, January 31, 2025
9:00am – 3:00pm MST
Session with Lopön Ellen Booth Church,  Chögé Bridget Bailey, and Chögé Lisa Erickson

Fri, February 7, 2025
9am – 12pm MST
Session with Lama Tsultrim Allione (TBD),  Lopön Ellen Booth Church, Chögé Bridget Bailey, and Chögé Lisa Erickson

Fri, February 14, 2025
9:00am – 12:00pm MST
Session with Lopön Ellen Booth Church, Chögé Bridget Bailey, and Chögé Lisa Erickson

Fri, February 21, 2025
9:00am – 12:00pm MST
Session with Lopön Ellen Booth Church Chögé Bridget Bailey, and Chögé Lisa Erickson

Weekly practice sessions
Chögé Bridget and Chögé Lisa will lead practice sessions and Q&A
Saturdays February 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd 10am – 11am MST

FOR CERTIFICATION TRACK PARTICIPANTS
Certification Training Module 

Saturday, March 1, 2024
9:00am – 3:00pm MST
Certification Half Day for students seeking certification in the Mandala Method
Teachers in this session: Chögé Bridget Bailey and Chögé Lisa Erickson
Contact the Mandala Method coordinator through this Contact Form for more information.
Cost: $150*
*Please select the Certification Training Module add-on during registration to register for this session.

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…
Learn more about Lama Tsultrim Allione
Lopön Ellen Booth Church
Lopön Ellen Booth Church (Yeshe Choepel) has been practicing Tibetan Buddhism for 35 years. She is a Buddhist teacher, meditation coach, former member on the Tara Mandala Board of Trustees, and an accomplished educator and author of many educational books and articles for parents and teachers. Formerly a professor of…
Learn more about Lopön Ellen Booth Church
Chögé Bridget Bailey
Bridget Bailey’s training is rooted in 17 years of Buddhist meditation practice and study. She holds an MBA from Duke University, a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and is a licensed therapist in Washington State. She studied as an Apprentice Teacher with Lama Tsultrim…
Learn more about Chögé Bridget Bailey
Chögé Lisa Erickson
Lisa Erickson is a Chögé, meaning ‘virtuous teacher of dharma’, in Tara Mandala’s Teacher’s program. She is a certified Feeding Your Demons facilitator and teacher. She is a Kalyanamitra in Tara Mandala’s Magyu program, and part of the first group to complete Kapala V training within Magyu. She is coordinator…
Learn more about Chögé Lisa Erickson

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Tara Mandala

PO Box 3040
Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
Phone: 970.731.3711 Web: taramandala.org

Mission Statement

Tara Mandala offers solo and group practice, study, and retreat inspired by and anchored in authentic lineages of Vajrayana Buddhism, nurturing a complete path to ultimate realization as well as exploring the interface between Buddhist teachings and Western psychology … More »