The family retreat is a time to explore spiritual journeys individually, as a family, and as a group. This year’s retreat will focus on family lineage in the sense of inherited positive traditions and stories, as well as inter-generational demons. As families become more conscious, old patterns can shift into new, establishing nourishing relationships for everyone.

The children will work on connecting to the land with awareness of beauty and spaciousness. They will spend time outside with fun and creative nature projects. Children will be split into two groups: one for ages 3-7, and a second for ages 8-12.

The teens, ages 13-18, will work with their life visions as they dive deeper into their own relationship with themselves, the land, and their families and communities. They will have time with Lama Tsultrim as well as spend four days as a group in the Hidden Meadow, during which they will experience a 24-hour solo vision quest under the guidance of experts in teen rites of passage.

Young adults, ages 18-30, will have time with Lama Tsultrim and assistant teachers exploring the Buddha’s core teachings, learning basic meditation and its application to daily life, as well as the five steps of “Feeding Your Demons”.

Adults will create a family lineage tree for inter-generational demons and allies with Lama Tsultrim, do the five-step work, and strengthen family allies. Parents will look at the demons they tend to unwittingly pass on to their children. There will be councils, meditation, and alone time for the parents or significant elders.

Fees: Sliding scale fees allow participants to pay according to individual means. Your payment above the low end directly benefits our scholarship fund.

Adult
Double: $1,035 - $725
Queen Double: $1,130 - $795
Camping: $675 - $525

Teen
Residence Hall: $650 - $495
Camping: $450 - $395

Child
Residence Hall: $550 - $395
Camping: $350 - $295

Family retreat price includes dana. Kids and teens can be added to a double room for the camping price plus
a $20 mattress rental fee.

Accommodation descriptions can be found here.

Sustaining Sangha discounts range from 10%-20% based on your membership level and are calculated at registration. Become a Sustaining Sangha member today!

Detailed information about retreats at Tara Mandala
Travel Information (booking flights, shuttles, hotels)
Download registration form (PDF)
Register securely online: 50% of course cost or $500 family total (whichever is less) due at registration
Financial aid available

Lama Tsultrim Allione, author and international teacher, founded Tara Mandala in 1994. Inspired by the vision of a Western retreat center while living in the Himalayas in the 1970s, Lama Tsultrim founded Tara Mandala with her husband David Petit, where she is now the spiritual director and resident teacher.

Lama Tsultrim was one of the first American women to be ordained as a Tibetan nun in 1970 by the 16th Karmapa. At the age of 26, after four years as a nun, she returned her monastic vows, married, and raised a family of three. Lama Tsultrim earned a Master’s degree in Buddhist Studies and Women’s Studies from Antioch University. She is the author of Women of Wisdom, a groundbreaking book on the lives of great female Tibetan practitioners.

Lama Tsultrim also authored the recently published Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict, which connects the knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism with the modern psyche, addressing major cultural issues and the roots of our suffering. This National Bestseller is based on Lama Tsultrim’s pioneering technique using five steps to nurture the parts of ourselves we usually fight.

Lama Tsultrim has for many years focused her teachings on the lineage of Machig Labdrön, the 11th century Tibetan yogini who founded the Chöd lineage. In 2007, while leading a pilgrimage to Tibet, she was recognized as an emanation of Machig Labdrön by the resident Lama of Zangri Khangmar (Machig’s monastery in Tibet). In 2009 she was selected by an esteemed committee of scholars and practitioners to receive the international Outstanding Woman in Buddhism Award given in Bangkok, Thailand.

Lama Tsultrim’s teachings arise from the blessings of her many wonderful Tibetan Buddhist teachers, her 40-year dedication to the Buddhist teachings, and her experience as a Western woman.