Vajrapani Institute
P.O. Box 2130
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
(831) 338-6654 

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Kopan West 2009
with Geshe Tashi Tsering
November 13-22

The retreat gave me the tools and conceptual framework to bring Buddhist practice back home and make it a part of my everyday life.”

―Cedric, retreater at Kopan West 2008


  • Study the timeless teachings highly praised by H.H. The Dalai Lama – the Lam rim chen mo - The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment

  • Apply these classic teachings to your modern life to discover a greater sense of peace, meaning, contentment and fulfillment

  • Receive teachings from Geshe Tashi, renowned for the warmth, clarity and humor with which he makes complex subjects accessible to Western Students

“Of the many works of the Tibetan master Tsongkhapa, none compare in terms of popularity and breadth of influence with The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lam rim chen mo), which has been treasured by practitioners and scholars alike for centuries. What distinguishes it as one of the principal texts of Mahayana Buddhism is its scope and clarity… The various stages of the path are presented so clearly and systematically that they can be easily understood and are inspiring to put into practice”. ―H.H. The Dalai Lama


Kopan West is an annual tradition in the U.S. that started in 1999 at Vajrapani Institute. It is a ten-day residential lam-rim retreat that combines teachings, discussions, and guided meditations. Geshe Tashi Tsering, the resident teacher of Jamyang Center in London, explains that the focus of this retreat will be to help retreaters structure their daily meditation practice when they go back home. Students will receive instructions on how to make every day meaningful through mind transformation in the path to enlightenment.

Geshe Tashi adds that the benefits of this retreat will depend on retreaters’ prior experience with Dharma and particularly with the Lam rim chen mo. Although it is not mandatory, attendees are encouraged to read this classic work by Lama Tsongkhapa as preparation. Partial attendance is allowed just for students with previous experience in lam-rim. Beginners should arrive on the first day and are encouraged to do the ten-day retreat to have the full picture of the gradual path to enlightenment.

This is an ideal retreat for beginners as well as experienced practitioners because it is a review of all Buddha’s teachings to attain enlightenment. Geshe Tashi who will teach in U.S. for the first time, is an expert teacher for the Western mind. Geshe-la has been teaching and residing in Europe for 16 years. His expertise in lam-rim is internationally recognized because he launched 2 successful correspondence courses and published 4 books related with this topic.


“The most important thing is the continuity of developing your mind in the lam-rim, the stages of the path to enlightenment. It doesn’t matter if you are in Africa, Tibet, on the moon, in Iraq, etc. – whether you are rich or poor, whatever – continue to develop your mind in the lam-rim. That is the most important thing”.

―Lama Zopa Rinpoche


Lam-rim is a Tibetan Buddhist text which presents the complete path to enlightenment, as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of the lam-rim. However, all the versions of the lam-rim are based on extensions of Atisha's 11th Century root text A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) made a famous commentary on Atisha’s text, called Lam rim chen mo. Then, Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941) made another famous commentary on Tsongkhapa’s text called Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. Geshe Tashi will focus Kopan West 2009 on the Lam rin chen mo.

Kopan West was created to benefit Western students and follows in the footsteps of the famous One Month Meditation Course at Nepal's Kopan Monastery. The One Month course was originally taught in 1971 by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the founders of the FPMT.

Kopan West has been led by Venerable Robina Courtin (1999, 2000, 2006), Ribur Rinpoche (2001), Venerable René Feusi (2004, 2005 and 2007), and Venerable Tenzin Chogkyi (2008). Geshe Tashi is our next teacher and Yangsi Rinpoche will lead Kopan West 2010.

Vajrapani feels honored to have hosted the blessings and wisdom of these amazing exemplary teachers. We can remember the story of our first Kopan West retreat through Vajrapani’s newsletter of October-November 1999:

“After attending classes on the lam-rim, many of us develop the wish to immerse ourselves more fully in these precious teachings. Our thoughts may turn longingly to Kopan Monastery, home of the famous November Course […] to introduce Westerners to the fundamentals of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings. But where our heart might lead us our pocketbook or responsibilities may not allow us to follow. Don’t despair! The first annual Vajrapani Kopan West retreat is here! Venerable Robina Courtin, who has led many of the November Kopan Courses, will guide us through the stages of the path using the same format she uses in Nepal. Mornings will be filled with teachings, Lord Buddha visualizations, and prostrations. Evening sessions will include Vajrasattva practice, prostrations, and teachings”.

This 10 day retreat can be also done to fulfill the lam-rim retreat requirement for the FPMT program Discovering Buddhism Module 14 http://www.fpmt.org/retreat/dbschedule.asp

CLICK HERE FOR A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE


Geshe Tashi was born in Purang, Tibet in 1958. His parents then escaped to India in 1959. He entered Sera Mey Monastic University in South India when he was 13 years old, and graduated with a Lharampa (the highest possible level) Geshe degree 16 years later. Geshe Tashi then entered the Higher Tantric College (Gyuto) for a year of study.

Geshe Tashi's teaching career began at Sera, after which he taught the monks at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, for a year. He went on to the Gandhi Foundation College in Nagpur, India, and then moved to Europe, initially to Nalanda Monastery in the South of France for 2 years and then in 1994 came to Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, where he is the resident Geshe.

Geshe Tashi teaches in English and is renowned for the warmth, clarity and humor with which he makes complex subjects accessible to Western Students. Besides Jamyang, he is a regular guest lecturer at other Buddhist centers in the UK and around the world as well as founder and teacher of the Foundation of Buddhist Thought, the two-year FPMT correspondence and campus course on the basics of Tibetan Buddhism. He also founded the Lam Rim Chenmo Course, available as a 2 year Correspondence Course, based on Lama Tsongkhapa’s Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. The course is open to graduates of the Foundation of Buddhist Thought. Geshe Tashi is also author of 4 books available from Wisdom Publications: Four Noble Truths, Relative Truth Ultimate Truth, Buddhist Psychology and The Awakening Mind.


WHAT TO BRING?
- Any lam-rim text, particularly Tsongkhapa's Lam rim chen mo.

SUGGESTED PREVIOUS READINGS
- Tsongkhapa's Lam rim chen mo.


Kopan West with Geshe Tashi
November 13-22
Nights: 9  
Fees (inclusive of accommodation, meals, retreat fees)
Non-Member
Member
10%
Camping $945.00 $850.50
Main Dormitory $990.00 $891.00
Semi Private Dormitory* $1,035.00 $931.50
Private Room (single) $1,350.00 $1,215.00
Private Room (double) $1,215.00 $1,093.50
Cabin (single) $1,530.00 $1,377.00
Most Secret $1,800.00 $1,620.00

Scholarship Application deadline: October 13th

* Ordained monks/nuns stay in the Semi-Private Dorm. Lay people may register for this housing option, with the understanding that they may need to switch to the Main Dorm option if an ordained person registers.

No one will be turned away for lack of funds

Click here for details regarding financial aid

Click Here for Course and Registration General Info

Cancellation Policy 

A position for Course Manager Scholarship may still be available for this course. Click here for more information about the Course Manager position.