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    Protected: 2022 8-Week Retreat The Vajra Essence Part III: In-Person Registration

    Price 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.

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    2022 8-Week Retreat The Vajra Essence Part III – Audio Stream/Download Registration

    Price 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 The Vajra 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.
  • SBI Free Options

    Transforming Felicity and Adversity Into the Path – June 2013, Audio Stream/Download

    $108.00
    With the many demands on our time in today’s world, it is all too easy to continue our spiritual practice to brief periods of meditation each day, supplemented by occasional teachings and retreats. But it is difficult for such intermittent dedication to Dharma, interrupted by long periods of mundane activities and concerns, to bring about deep and lasting transformation in our minds and way of life. In his classic text “Transforming Felicity and Adversity into the Spiritual Path” the 19th century Dzogchen master Dodrupchen Tenpey Nyima provides practical instruction for transmuting all of life’s ups and downs into nourishment on the path to enlightenment. During this retreat, Lama Alan Wallace offers an explanation of his teachings, together with guided meditations for putting them into practice. The audio recordings cover three and a half days of teaching and you will also receive the text. After you place your order you will receive an email with a link to the teachings. The audio stream was recorded in June, 2013 at Santa Barbara’s historical Old Mission.
  • Lama Alan

    Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment: Concise and Clear Advice for Practice in a Mountain Retreat – June 2022

    Price range: $108.00 through $450.00
    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 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.

  • The Shamatha Trilogy

    Free!
    During the 2022, The Vajra Essence - Part 3, 8-week retreat, Lama Alan offered three teachings, and meditations, on these essential, integrated shamatha meditations:
    • Mindfulness of breathing,
    • Taking the mind as the path and
    • Shamatha without a sign.
    We are delighted to offer these three core teachings, and meditations, for free.

  • Fathom the Mind. Heal the World. October 1-7, 2022

    Price range: $108.00 through $595.00

    Fathom the Mind. Heal the World.

    with Lama Alan Wallace, Dr. Eva Natanya & Dr. Anuradha Choudry October 1-7, 2022

    Co-sponsored by Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and the Center for Contemplative Research.

    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.

    Select your virtual retreat option
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    Protected: Fathom the Mind. Heal the World. In-person Registration – October 1-7, 2022

    Price range: $525.00 through $1,045.00

    Fathom the Mind. Heal the World.

    with Lama Alan Wallace, Dr. Eva Natanya & Dr. Anuradha Choudry October 1-7, 2022

    Co-sponsored by Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and the Center for Contemplative Research.

    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.

  • Four Immeasurables & Buddhist Mind Training

    Four Immeasurables & Buddhist Mind Training – July 2008 Media

    Price range: $108.00 through $640.00
    His Holiness the Dalai Lama has often commented that the essence of spiritual practice is cultivating a good heart. As important as meditative quiescence and insight meditation are within the Buddhist tradition, it is crucial to balance such practices with the cultivation of altruism. In this meditation seminar, Alan Wallace teaches a sequence of meditations for the cultivation of the “Four Immeasurables,” namely loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and impartiality. These are followed by teachings and practice of Buddhist Mind-Training, or “Lojong.” While many teachings on Buddhist meditation fill us with a longing to spend more time in quiet, solitary meditation, the practices presented here brings us back to life, to the active world of living with others. This seminar consists of teachings, guided meditations and discussions, but the emphasis is on meditation. Regardless of whether we hold to any religious beliefs, these practices can be of benefit to everyone seeking to explore their own capacity to experience unconditional love and compassion.

    The retreat is available with streaming audio recordings, streaming video recordings or as a DVD.

    This audio stream/video/DVD chronicles the seven-day retreat recorded July 19-26, 2008 at the Old Mission in Santa Barbara, CA and includes teachings, guided meditations, and discussions. Please select your preferred media type, audio stream, or DVD disks.
  • Lake Born

    Lake-Born Vajra Sadhana Class with Yangchen Ösel (Eva Natanya)

    Price range: $108.00 through $395.00

    Sadhana classes from the 2022 8-week retreat with Yangchen Ösel (Eva Natanya), which followed the Lake-Born Vajra Empowerment offered by Lama Alan Wallace.

    Yangchen offers 15 sessions to guide you in your sadhana practice. Her clear elucidation of these profound practices will enhance your understanding and practice. There are nine meditations and four videos, including a short teaching from Lama Alan on the 6-Session Guru Yoga and Yangchen's explanation of this teaching, the Lake-Born Vajra Sadhana with Gaṇacakra, as well as the complete Lake-Born Vajra Sadhana with Tibetan Recitation.

    This is available only if you have received the Lake-Born Vajra Empowerment in the Düdjom Tersar Lineage, whether from Lama Alan or another qualified guru.

      If you received the Lake-Born Vajra empowerment but did not follow the 2022 8-week retreat it is highly recommended that you receive these teachings from Yangchen Ösel. If you wish to receive teachings on the Lake-Born Vajra sadhana in this lineage of teachings from Lama Alan and Yangchen Ösel, we strongly encourage you to register for the whole of the 2019 8-week retreat, or else follow the entire sequence of the 2020-2022 Vajra Essence retreats. For your convenience, you can stream, download or listen to the teachings on your podcast app.
  • Crestone food

    Protected: Catering Options for “Fathom the Mind. Heal the World.” Retreat Oct 1-7, 2022

    Price range: $175.00 through $300.00
    This is to order your meals while attending the "Fathom the Mind. Heal the World." Retreat to be held at Blazing Mountain Retreat Center in Crestone, CO October 1-7. There are two options:
    • You will receive one meal every day - dinner on the first night, lunch on all remaining days. $175
    • You will receive dinner on the first day, lunch only on the final day and two meals on the remaining five days, both meals will be delivered at lunchtime. $300

    We are very sorry but once you place your order, we are unable to cancel it, or offer a refund, after September 25th.

  • 2023 Retreat

    Protected: 2023 8-Week Retreat The Vajra Essence Part IV: In-Person Registration

    Price range: $2,400.00 through $2,900.00

    An in-person and virtual retreat in Crestone, CO

    The Vajra Essence – Part IV March 31 - May 27, 2023

    This is for in-person registration.

    The virtual retreat registration will open in January or early February.

      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 be aware that in order to maintain moderate social distancing 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 and/or password. 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. This year we are offering multiple pricing options as you will see below when you select Choose An Option.  
  • 2023 8-Week Retreat The Vajra Essence Part IV

    2023 8-Week Retreat The Vajra Essence – Part IV: Virtual Registration

    Price 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.
  • Crestone food

    Protected: Catering Options for 2023 8-Week Retreat

    Price range: $325.00 through $650.00
    This is to order catered lunches for the month of April, at the 2023 8-week retreat.  You will be able to order lunches for the month of May in April. There are two options: You will receive one meal every day, six days a week - Monday - Saturday. This will be a total of 26 days from when the retreat begins until April 30th. You will receive one meal every other day, for three days a week - it will be a total of 13 days from when the retreat begins until April 30th. Please see below for additional information. We are very sorry but once you place your order, we are unable to cancel it, or offer a refund, after March 26th. You will see that there are four options for your meals: vegetarian, vegan, non-vegetarian and gluten-free. COST: Six Meals per week (any variation) $650 Three Meals per week (any variation) $325
  • Crestone food

    Protected: Catering Options for May 2023 8-Week Retreat

    Price range: $300.00 through $600.00
    This is to order catered lunches for the month of May, at the 2023 8-week retreat. There are two options:
    • You will receive one meal every day, six days a week, Monday - Saturday. This will be a total of 24 days from May 1st.
    • You will receive one meal every other day, for three days a week. This will be a total of 12 days from May 1st.
    Please see below for additional information. If you did not order meals in April you will be sent a food allergy form to complete. We are very sorry but once you place your order, we are unable to cancel it, or offer a refund, after April 25th. You will see that there are now five options for your meals: vegetarian, pescatarian (basically vegetarian but also with fish on occasion) vegan, non-vegetarian and gluten-free. COST: Six Meals per week (any variation) $600 Three Meals per week (any variation) $300

  • The Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers – Part I, May 2014

    Price range: $108.00 through $640.00
    A meditation retreat on the first half of Düdjom Lingpa's, The Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers. 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. This retreat was recorded in Santa Barbara, May 11-18, 2014. Please read more below about the retreat. This is offered via audio stream/download, video stream or DVD.
  • Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers

    The Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers – Part 2, April 2015

    Price range: $108.00 through $640.00
    A meditation retreat on the second half of Düdjom Lingpa's, The Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers. 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. This retreat was recorded in Santa Barbara, April 12-17, 2015. Please read more below about the retreat. This is offered via audio stream/download, video stream or DVD.
  • A Contemplative Science of Consciousness

    A Contemplative Science of Consciousness – November 2014

    Price 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.
  • A Contemplative Science of Mental Balance - February 2014

    A Contemplative Science of Mental Balance – February 2014

    Price 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.
  • Lama Alan Wallace from Miyo Samten Ling

    Lama Alan Wallace Public Teachings While in Retreat 2023 – 2024

    Free!
    Lama Alan Wallace Public Teachings While in Retreat. On Guru Rinpoche Day, November 22, 2023, Lama Alan emerged from retreat silence for a few hours to offer a very meaningful public talk. This was held in the stillness of Manjushri Chapel at Miyo Samten Ling with the yogis in long-term retreat present. This talk was inspired by the excerpt, Value of Observing the Mind, from The Royal Seal of Mahamudra, Volume One, by The Third Khamtrul Rinpoche Ngawang Kunga Tenzin. Lama Alan continued this series of teachings on Dakini Day, January 6, 2024. Register for this ongoing series of talks from this precious time while Lama Alan is in retreat. Each of the teachings will be available with audio and video recordings and are being offered free of charge for all who are interested. Please read below for additional information. Por favor, leer la siguiente información adicional. Traducción al español disponible.

  • Mahamudra Shamatha Teachings with Drubpon Lama Karma – Nov 2023

    Price range: $100.00 through $350.00

    Mahamudra Shamatha Teachings with Drubpon Lama Karma

    November 2023, Part 1, Three-Month Series

    Drubpon Lama Karma provides detailed instructions on the practice of Shamatha from the Mahamudra perspective, based on his own experience from years of meditation retreats. These teachings began on November 3, 2023 and continued on a weekly basis for three months. The teachings are available in both audio and video recordings. The teachings are in Tibetan language with English translation. The videos of these teachings are in the process of being updated on YouTube with Spanish and Portuguese closed captions (CC). The first few sessions are now available. You can watch the first session of this series of Shamatha teachings free on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK10qdh4j2I You can read more about Lama Karma and these teachings by clicking here. If you need a scholarship for this series, please email: karmajnana108@gmail.com

  • Four Noble Truths from Perspective of Shravakaya, Mahayana & Dzogchen – Nov 2013

    Price 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.
  • Dream Yoga Teachings with Drupön Lama Karma

    Dream Yoga Teachings with Drupön Lama Karma

    Price range: $200.00 through $500.00
    Join Drupön Lama Karma for a three-month series of teachings on Dream Yoga and also Daytime Yoga. In these teachings he will draw on the key points from different traditions. The teachings will be held every Friday beginning Dec 6th, 2024, until Friday, March 7th, 2025. Sessions will be at 7:00 p.m. PST. You can check your time zone here, just add your city and your local time will be calculated. 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. While there are no prerequisites for these teachings it is recommended that you have some familiarity with Drupön Lama Karma’s prior teachings or with dream yoga. You can read more about 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.
  • Drupön Lama Karma Offers Commentary on Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment

    Drupön Lama Karma Offers Commentary on Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment

    Price 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.

  • Protected: An Ornament of the Enlightened View of Samanthabhadra and Summary of the View, Meditation, and Conduct – A One-Week Retreat – January 2019

    Price 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.  
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