Sustaining the Tradition of Transmission
A Conversation with Judy Lief and Larry Mermelstein
Edited from a discussion recorded in Halifax, October 2025
In a quiet room in Halifax, two of Chögyam Trungpa’s senior students sat across from one another: translator and teacher Larry Mermelstein, core faculty of the Three-Yana Retreat, and editor and teacher Judy Lief, founder of the Profound Treasury Retreats.
What unfolded in their fifty-minute exchange was a brilliantly intimate reflection on how Trungpa Rinpoche’s teachings continue to take root and adapt in a modern world.
A Contemporary Seminary
The Three Yanas Retreats, now held at Drala Mountain Center, arose from a similar impulse. Larry Mermelstein, together with Andy Karr and Lynn Friedman, envisioned a way to make Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s seminary curriculum available once again as a living tradition.
“Our program is totally focused on the talks he gave at the Vajradhatu Seminary,” Larry explained. “We call it Entering the Vajra World because it’s meant for people stepping into the Vajrayana path. It’s a contemporary seminary — a one-month immersion in study, practice, and community life.”
The structure mirrors the rhythm of Trungpa Rinpoche’s original three-month program: a week of meditation, a week of study, a week of Vajrayana transmission, and a final week of integration.
Sangha Renewal
Judy Lief began by recalling the years after Trungpa Rinpoche’s passing during a time when many in the sangha felt adrift.
“It felt like a dry, parched period,” she said. “People were frozen, unsure how to participate, how to bring energy together again. There was a longing for rain, for renewal.”
From that longing came the first Profound Treasury Retreat, a simple idea: to gather longtime students and newer practitioners in an atmosphere of study, meditation, and community as a way to nurture what was already shared.
“We wanted to come together in a non-adversarial way, not splitting off, but re-energizing what Trungpa Rinpoche had entrusted to us.”
What began as one experimental retreat in Maine evolved organically into a twelve-year cycle of annual programs, alternating between Maine and Colorado. Each gathering explored themes from The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma—the monumental three-volume compilation of Trungpa Rinpoche’s seminary teachings that Judy Lief edited from thousands of hours of transcripts.
Training the Next Generation
Both teachers spoke passionately about mentoring and inclusivity, ensuring that the next generation inherits not only the teachings but the confidence to lead.
“We realized it’s hard to train teachers in the abstract,” Judy said. “So, we started pairing a more experienced person and a newer one, working side by side. It’s an apprenticeship. You learn by teaching.”
Financial accessibility is another cornerstone. “We decided early that this could not become elitist,” Judy continued. “If we want to raise up younger teachers, we have to provide scholarships.”
Larry echoed the same commitment of Drala Mountain Center, noting support from the Pema Chödrön Foundation and DMC’s generosity in offering Entering the Vajra World tuition-free.
Why Trungpa Rinpoche’s Legacy Matters
When asked why Trungpa Rinpoche’s teachings remain so vital in the West, both smiled knowingly as longtime students speaking from decades of experience.
“We’re biased,” Larry admitted, “but what Trungpa Rinpoche did in coming to the West was extraordinary by bringing a 2,500-year tradition into a modern language and culture.”
“He didn’t just create another lama-centered lineage,” Judy said. “He created institutions — places of study, art, practice, and service — that could endure beyond any one teacher.”
Larry added: “People think of him as wild and unconventional, but he was incredibly systematic. He built the foundation of the Hinayana and Mahayana first before introducing Vajrayana.”
The Living Lineage
As their conversation drew to a close, both returned to the importance of place and community.
“Practicing at Drala Mountain Center, walking where Trungpa Rinpoche, the Karmapa, and so many others practiced feels like a blessing,” Judy said. “People are so happy to be here.
There’s nothing like it.”
Larry agreed, smiling: “Come to these programs,” he said. “They’re full of strange and wonderful people, all hanging out together.”
About Judy and Larry
Judy Lief is a Buddhist teacher and author who edited The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma. She leads the annual Profound Treasury Retreats.
Larry Mermelstein is a senior teacher and translator, executive director of the Nalanda Translation Committee, and a founding faculty member of the Three-Yana Retreats, Entering the Vajra World at Drala Mountain Center.
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