H.H. the Dalai Lama’s commentary to A Shower of Siddhis: A Song of the Four Recollections, Guidance in the View of the Middle Way
We are delighted to share with you H.H. the Dalai Lama’s commentary to A Shower of Siddhis: A Song of the Four Recollections, Guidance in the View of the Middle Way in Zollikon, Switzerland, 1979
Courtesy of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, India
Please do NOT share this recording publicly in any way, on the internet, on any other platform, or any other means of distribution.
This is being offered in conjunction with the release of, Śamatha and Vipaśyanā: An Anthology of Pith Instructions, composed and translated by B. Alan Wallace and Eva Natanya. We highly recommend this book for a deeper understanding of this text.
We are delighted to be able to share H.E. Jamyang Dagmo Sakya Dagmola’s teaching on Drakpa Gyaltsen’s commentary on Parting from the Four Types of Clinging, given in Santa Barbara, California, January 2012
Courtesy of Tara Ling Santa Barbara
Please do NOT share this recording publicly in any way, on the internet, on any other platform, or any other means of distribution.
This is being offered in conjunction with the release of, Śamatha and Vipaśyanā: An Anthology of Pith Instructions, composed and translated by B. Alan Wallace and Eva Natanya. We highly recommend this book for a deeper understanding of this text.
Gyatrul Rinpoche’s talk on “Karma Chakmé and Mingyur Dorjé,” recorded in 1989
Gyatrul Rinpoche’s talk on “Karma Chakmé and Mingyur Dorjé,” translated by Sangye Khandro, given at the Shambhala Meditation Center of Los Angeles, January 6, 1989.
Courtesy of Shambhala Meditation Center of Los Angeles.
Please do NOT share this recording publicly in any way, on the internet, on any other platform, or any other means of distribution.
This is being offered in conjunction with the release of, Śamatha and Vipaśyanā: An Anthology of Pith Instructions, composed and translated by B. Alan Wallace and Eva Natanya. We highly recommend this book for a deeper understanding of this text.
$108.00–$640.00Price range: $108.00 through $640.00
The Four Noble Truths from the Perspective of Shravakayana, Mahayana and Dzogchen
Nov 10-17, 2013
The Four Noble Truths comprise the basis and fundamental structure of all the Buddha’s teachings. More accurately translated as the “four realities for aryas” (those who have gained direct realization of nirvana), these are the four topics the Buddha taught when he first turned the Wheel of Dharma to his five close disciples in Sarnath, shortly after
his enlightenment.
During this week-long retreat, Lama Alan Wallace explains how these four realities are understood from the perspective of the Shravakayana, the Mahayana and the Vajrayana, or Buddhist tantra, culminating in the Great Perfection, or Dzogchen.
Please read below for additional information and for the scholarship application.
The retreat is available with streaming audio recordings, streaming video recordings or as a DVD.
This retreat is an opportunity to explore the interdenominational, inter-contemplative themes outlined by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his vision for the Center for Contemplative Research:
The Buddhist meditative practices of śamatha and vipaśyanā
Teachings on nonviolence and compassion from other revered Indian traditions
Instruction in the contemplative traditions of Christianity
The virtual retreat will be available with both audio and video recordings of each day's teachings.
We are offering multiple pricing options as you will see when you select 'Choose an option' from the drop-down menu below.
Read more about the retreat below.
This retreat is an opportunity to explore the interdenominational, inter-contemplative themes outlined by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his vision for the Center for Contemplative Research:
The Buddhist meditative practices of śamatha and vipaśyanā
Teachings on nonviolence and compassion from other revered Indian traditions
Instruction in the contemplative traditions of Christianity
Read more about the retreat below.
Please select your registration and accommodation option from the dropdown.
$108.00–$450.00Price range: $108.00 through $450.00
Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment: Concise and Clear Advice for Practice in a Mountain Retreat bytwentieth-century Nyingma master, Düdjom Rinpoché, Jigdral Yeshé Dorjé.
Lama Alan Wallace presents and comments on pith instructions of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection. Providing guidance on retreat, this course is based on the text Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment: Concise and Clear Advice for Practice in a Mountain Retreat by twentieth-century Nyingma master, Düdjom Rinpoché, Jigdral Yeshé Dorjé.
Lama Alan translates and explores the short, powerful text on retreat in terms of the preliminaries, main practices, and post-meditative practices of the Great Perfection path.
This retreat consists of 10 one-hour lectures, each with a 30-minute guided meditation.
This will be a Virtual Retreat with Audio stream/download.
We are offering multiple pricing options as you will see below when you select Choose An Option.
If needed you are welcome to submit a scholarship application.Please see the description below for additional information.Si prega di vedere sotto per informazioni in italiano.
$200.00–$300.00Price range: $200.00 through $300.00
Join Drupön Lama Karma for a two-month series of teachings on Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment: Concise and Clear Advice for Practice in a Mountain Retreat by Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdrel Yeshe Dorji
Mountain Dharma is a presentation of the personal and intimate advice from the great Dzogchen Master Dudjom Rinpoche to a group of students in preparation for meditation retreat. Ever masterful, Dudjom Rinpoche, whose life and work provided a brilliant example of a Tibetan rigzin’s full awareness, tells a group of yogis how to use an extended period of seclusion in a mountain hermitage to recognize the nature of mind in his tradition. In this instruction, he is down to earth and eminently practical. The text is short but a seminal exposition of the view. Drupön Lama Karma received this instructions from his root guru Lama Naljorpa Rinpoche.
The teachings will be held every Friday beginning June 27th, 2025, until Friday, August 22nd, 2025. Sessions will be from 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. PST.
You can check your timezone here.
The sessions will be recorded so if you cannot attend the live session you will have access to both video and audio recordings. These teachings will be conducted online in Tibetan, with English translation, as well as Spanish and Russian translation.
You can read more about Drupön Lama Karma here.
There is a sliding scale to attend these teachings.
Please see the options below.
Should you need a scholarship please email: karmajnana108@gmail.com
Please read below for additional information.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to receive these teachings from Drupön Lama Karma.
On November 18th, 2020 Lama Alan offered five hours of oral commentary to Drubpön Lama Karma’s experiential account of his own practice of shamatha and subsequent contemplative training. This is Lama Alan’s first teaching at The Center for Contemplative Research at Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, CO.
We are delighted to share with you these inspired teachings, in both audio and video form, and with a Spanish translation also available. Traducción al español disponible.
The transcript that Lama Alan was reading from for this commentary has now been revised and is available in the book, Śamatha and Vipaśyanā: An Anthology of Pith Instructions.
The content of the teaching is not impacted with the revised translations.
Please see below for additional information.
$108.00–$480.00Price range: $108.00 through $480.00
Dzogchen, or the "Great Perfection," is regarded by many as the pinnacle of Buddhist teachings, for it presents the most direct path to realizing our true nature and to unveiling the deepest dimensions of consciousness.
This retreat consists of lectures, guided meditations and discussions, and is intended for participants with a sound understanding and practice of the foundational Buddhist teachings of the Four Noble Truths, Bodhicitta, and the Six Perfections.
Guest teacher, Eva Natanya
This retreat was recorded at El Capitan in Goleta, CA January 2019.
This is offered via audio stream/download.
$108.00–$640.00Price range: $108.00 through $640.00
A Contemplative Science of Mental Balance
Recorded February 2-9, 2014 in Santa Barbara, CA
On the basis of an ethical way of life, mental balance is the key to achieving genuine happiness and to following the path to spiritual liberation and awakening. Genuine happiness, in contrast to hedonic pleasure, is a sense of well-being that arises from within, without dependence upon pleasant stimuli.
The retreat is available via audio recording, video recording and DVD.
$108.00–$640.00Price range: $108.00 through $640.00
A Contemplative Science of Consciousness - November 2014 - Recorded November 9-16, 2014 in Santa Barbara, CA
Modern science has discovered many important facts about the mind by studying it indirectly through the examination of the neural correlates and behavioral expressions of mental processes.
The retreat is available via audio recording, video recording and DVD.
This audio stream and download contains 26 meditations from retreats with Alan Wallace in Santa Barbara, CA in 2009 . You will receive a Dropbox link to listen to these guided meditations.
$225.00–$550.00Price range: $225.00 through $550.00
An in-person and virtual retreat from Crestone, CO
The Vajra Essence - Part IV
March 31 – May 27, 2023
Co-sponsored by the Center for Contemplative Research
This registration is for the virtual, online retreat.
During this 8-week retreat, Lama Alan will grant an oral transmission and commentary to Düdjom Lingpa’s revealed treatise, The Vajra Essence, picking up where we left off last May.
Please read all of the details below for more information on the teachings and additional details about the retreat.
The most important prerequisite for participating in this retreat is that all applicants must have already listened to the oral transmission and commentary on the opening phases of The Vajra Essence by Lama Alan given during the first retreat in this series, offered during April – May, 2020 via either the SBI audio-stream or the Wisdom online retreat. You must have completed this before this retreat begins.
To request a scholarship please complete this scholarship application.
This year we are offering multiple pricing options as you will see below when you select Choose An Option.
$2,400.00–$2,900.00Price range: $2,400.00 through $2,900.00
An in-person retreat at Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, CO sponsored by SBI
The Vajra Essence – Part III
March 31 - May 30, 2022
In-person registration is now open for The Vajra Essence - Part III. This 8-week retreat will focus on completing Phase 4: “Determining the Characteristics and Qualities of the Ground”, Phase 5: "Determining Secret Dualistic Grasping and Revealing the Way of Natural Liberation", and Phase 6: "Teaching on the Essential Points of Practice and Their Key Distinctions" from The Vajra Essence: From the Matrix of Pure Appearances and Primordial Consciousness, a Tantra Self-Emergent from the Nature of Existence.
Please be aware that in order to maintain moderate social distancing (in addition to a required vaccination against COVID-19), we have very limited capacity for in-person attendance. Only those who have been accepted to attend should register here.
Please do not share this registration link.
See below for more information on the teachings and additional details about the retreat.
$225.00–$550.00Price range: $225.00 through $550.00
A virtual retreat from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado
Sponsored by Santa Barbara Institute and the Center for Contemplative Research
The Vajra Essence – Part III
March 31 - May 30, 2022
Audio Stream/Download Registration
This online, 8-week retreat will focus on completing Phase 4: “Determining the Characteristics and Qualities of the Ground,” Phase 5: "Determining Secret Dualistic Grasping and Revealing the Way of Natural Liberation" and Phase 6: "Teaching on the Essential Points of Practice and Their Key Distinctions" from The Vajra Essence: From the Matrix of Pure Appearances and Primordial Consciousness, a Tantra Self-Emergent from the Nature of Existence.
Prerequisite Requirements to Purchase Program
By purchasing you acknowledge that you have satisfied the retreat prerequisites of listening to both the 2020 and 2021 8-week retreats on The Vajra Essence and will listen to Lama Alan’s oral commentary to TheVajra Essence in its entirety and have had an empowerment or will receive the recommended empowerment.
If you have not received the Lake-Born Vajra empowerment from Lama Alan, then you should not listen to Yangchen's teachings on the sadhana (which began after the empowerment was granted during the 2022 8-week retreat on May 11, 2022). We do hope that at a future date the empowerment will be available again.
This year we are offering multiple pricing options as you will see below when you select Choose An Option.
If you need a scholarship, you can apply here.
Please read all of the details below under description.
$225.00–$550.00Price range: $225.00 through $550.00
The Vajra Essence – Part 2
Phase 3: “Revealing the Ground Dharmakāya” and Phase 4: “Determining the Characteristics and Qualities of the Ground” in The Vajra Essence: From the Matrix of Pure Appearances and Primordial Consciousness, a Tantra Self-Emergent from the Nature of Existence.April 1 – May 26, 2021
Prerequisite Requirements to Purchase Program
By purchasing you acknowledge that you have satisfied the retreat prerequisites of listening to the 2020 8-week retreat and will listen to Lama Alan’s oral commentary to the Vajra Essence in its entirety and have had an empowerment or will receive the recommended empowerment.
If you need a scholarship, you can apply here.
$225.00–$550.00Price range: $225.00 through $550.00
Phase 1: “Taking the Impure Mind as the Path” and Phase 2: “Revealing Your Own Face as the Sharp Vajra of Vipaśyanā” in The Vajra Essence: From the Matrix of Pure Appearances and Primordial Consciousness, a Tantra Self-Emergent from the Nature of Existence with B. Alan Wallace.
Retreat Dates:April 1- May 26, 2020
Prerequisite Requirements to Purchase Program
One must have genuine interest in practicing the dharma and must have read the text, The Fine Path to Liberation.
If you need a scholarship, you can apply here.
