Entering the Vajra World: A Three-Yana Retreat
July 19–August 18, 2024
Buddhist Meditation Retreats, Dathun & Weekthun, Immersive Meditation Retreats, On Land Retreats, Scholarship Available Programs
Hosted by the Three Yanas Society and Drala Mountain Center
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of the 20th century. He encouraged deep training in meditation, study, and community life. His approach was ground-breaking, leading students through the three yanas (vehicles) and drawing on the profundity of the mahamudra and maha ati traditions.
Now, senior students of Trungpa Rinpoche will offer a residential, immersive experience, similar to the training they received from him, so that newer students can encounter the depth of these teachings and practices, and experience the discipline, delight, and community connections that result.
About the Program
This retreat is designed for students who have a solid foundation in Buddhism and the preparation, desire and commitment to become vajrayana practitioners and for those students who are already vajrayana practitioners.
- Week One: PRACTICE – emphasis on shamatha-vipashyana practice.
- Week Two: STUDY – three-yana review along with practice sessions.
- Week Three: PRACTICE – shamatha-vipashyana & vajrayana practice. Vajrayana transmission will be offered and mentorship in Kagyü ngöndro will be available for those participants who choose that path. Inspired by the vision of sharing Trungpa Rinpoche’s vajrayana training with a new generation of practitioners, Ani Pema Chödrön will join the program in person for a few days and give a talk following the vajrayana transmission.
- Week Four: STUDY – vajrayana topics, along with practice sessions
The main practice at this retreat is shamatha-vipashyana meditation, as taught by Trungpa Rinpoche. There will also be designated sessions for ngöndro practitioners and sadhakas. Each day will include four sessions of practice or study with at least 30 minutes each day of mindful movement. There will also be time for reading and study.
Who Should Attend?
We welcome participants with diverse backgrounds. While this program will emphasize the Kagyü and Nyingma paths as presented by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, students of any qualified vajrayana teacher are encouraged to attend. Participants in this retreat will have committed to studying and practicing Buddhism and to have completed previous immersive periods of meditation practice.
Application Process
Because we want to ensure the best possible experience for everyone, the following is required before you register:
- Application – click Submit Application button (below on the right) to submit your application
- Letter of recommendation from a meditation instructor or Buddhist mentor (instructions will be sent upon receipt of your application)
Upon completion of these requirements, you will be provided with a registration link.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MARCH 1, 2024 TO BE CONSIDERED
Scholarship Information
Click here to learn more about financial assistance and scholarships. BIPOC individuals are encouraged to apply. If you would like a scholarship, please indicate on your application. Once you have been confirmed, instructions for how to apply for a scholarship will be sent to you.
Please review and understand Drala Mountain’s current COVID-19 policy before visiting.
Guest Speaker, Post-Transmission Talk
Beloved Buddhist teacher, author, nun and mother, Ani Pema Chödrön, is one of the first western women to become fully ordained as a Buddhist nun. She became a novice nun in 1974 and, at the request of the Sixteenth Karmapa, she received the full bikshuni ordination in 1981 in Hong Kong. Ani Pema met her root guru, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1972, and studied with him until his death in 1987. In 1984, with the encouragement of Trungpa Rinpoche, she helped to establish Gampo Abbey in rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Over the years, she has become one of the best known Buddhist teachers in the west and the author of many best selling books, including: The Wisdom of No Escape, Start Where You Are, When Things Fall Apart, The Places That Scare You, and No Time To Lose, a commentary on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Ani Pema currently teaches in the United States and Canada, but spends most of her time in solitary retreat under the guidance of Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.
Retreat Faculty
Adrienne Chang
Adrienne Chang has studied in the tradition of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche for fifteen years, helping co-lead Shambhala and Buddhist meditation retreats and courses in Europe, North America, and online. Adrienne is currently a member of the Milinda program, a ten-year, inter-sangha, shedra-styled Buddhist teacher training program under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.
Gaylon Ferguson
Gaylon Ferguson, PhD, has led mindfulness meditation retreats since 1976. He has taught at Stanford, the University of Washington, and Naropa University. He is the author of two books: Natural Wakefulness (on the four foundations of mindfulness) and Natural Bravery (on fear and fearlessness). He has written articles for Lion’s Roar and Tricycle magazines.
June Crow
June Crow began her study and practice of Buddhism in l968, after meeting Suzuki Roshi, a Soto Zen master. During an intensive training session at Roshi’s Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, she met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. She became his student in 1970. Following the Parinirvana of Trungpa Rinpoche, she studied with Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and […]
Andy Karr
Andy Karr has practiced and studied the dharma for over fifty years under the guidance of such masters as Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. He is the author of Into the Mirror: A Buddhist Journey through Mind, Matter, and the Nature of Reality and Contemplating Reality. He is also the coauthor of […]
Larry Mermelstein
Beginning in 1971, Larry Mermelstein became a close student of the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and scholar. He has served as a senior teacher in the Vajradhatu/Shambhala community for decades. He is a founding member and the executive director of the Nalanda Translation Committee for over forty years and is a […]
