This retreat is an offering of great benefit both to beginning and committed students. It provides a base of study and practice that will create a firm foundation for the serious practitioner. Following the historical development of Buddhism, beginning with the life of the Buddha, this retreat will cover the Vehicles (Yanas) as they developed. Participants will receive guidance in the meditation practices related to each vehicle.

The first two sessions will follow the tradition of noble silence as taught by the Buddha, with the exception of discussions during Dharma talks and a voluntary oral exam. Each day will include meditation, teachings, study and a work period. Lama Tsultrim will offer individual meditation instruction and a private interview with each retreatant.

This retreat is required for those who wish to study more deeply with Lama Tsultrim. Participants who cannot attend the entire month-long retreat may attend individual sessions.

Session 1: August 4 - 11
Sutrayana: Life and Teachings of the Buddha
This session will offer a foundation in Buddhist practice, beginning with the life of the historical Buddha and the mindfulness practices he taught: sitting and walking meditation. Lessons will include the philosophical schools that developed after the Buddha.

Session 2: August 12 - 19
Mahayana: Vast View and Awakened Heart
This session focuses on the teachings of compassion and emptiness as they developed in the Mahayana tradition exploring the four immeasureables, the six paramitas, the opening of the compassionate heart, and the nature of mind itself through practice, Dharma talks and discussion. We will work with the classic mind trainings (lojong), loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity, as well as the emptiness teachings of Prajña Paramita and the sky-like mind.

Session 3: August 20 - 30
Vajrayana: White Dakini Drub Chen

Fees: Sliding scale fees allow participants to pay according to individual means. Your payment above the low end directly benefits our scholarship fund.
Session 1 or Session 2
Double: $1,275 - $895
Queen Double: $1,375 - $995
Single: $1,495 - $1,150
Camping: $795 - $575

Session 3 (Drub Chen)

Month-long
Double: $2,775 - $1,985
Queen Double: $3,055 - $2,265
Single: $3,445 - $2,695
Camping: $1,795 - $1,550

Suggested Dana per session: $160 - $320

Accommodation descriptions can be found here.

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

Detailed information about retreats at Tara Mandala
Travel Information (booking flights, shuttles, hotels)
Register securely online: 50% of course cost due at registration
Financial aid available

Session 1 (Sutrayana) registration form (PDF)
Session 2 (Mahayana) registration form (PDF)
Month-long registration form (PDF)

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.