Our Resident Teacher

Elaine Jackson

Vajrapani Institute has been very fortunate in the great practitioners and teachers who have held the role of Resident Teacher, starting in the early days with Geshe Lobsang Gyatso and Geshe Wangdu. More recently, we’ve been blessed with Ven. René Feusi followed by Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi. We now welcome Elaine in this role. Elaine is loved by and well-known to our community. She was one of the founders of Vajrapani Institute. She served as its Director 2004-2009, and since then, in various roles helping us grow and serve the Dharma. She has been instrumental in the development of the center and its staff.

 

Elaine has been a student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche since 1977. She has studied with many great masters including Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, Choden Rinpoche, Kirti Tsenchab Rinpoche and Ribur Rinpoche among others. She completed a three-year retreat in 2014. Since her retreat, she has been teaching at centers in the United States and abroad.

Upcoming Retreats

How to Train a Happy Mind

Scott Snibbe

August 8 - 11, 2024
About this retreat Based on his book How to Train a Happy Mind, this three-day retreat with Scott Snibbe offers a relaxed tour of eight meditations that help bring out your best qualities, deepen your relationships, and build a better world. Each of the retreat’s practices is derived from the Tibetan Buddhist lamrim “stages of the path,” a series of analytical meditations highly refined over the centuries. This lesser-known form of meditation complements the more popular mindfulness meditation by using stories, emotions, and critical thinking to actively steer the mind away from frustration, craving, and loneliness, and toward happiness, connection, and satisfaction. The retreat requires no…

Lamrim Weekend Only

Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa

August 23 - 25, 2024
About the Retreat This is the complimentary retreat to the full Lamrim and Yamantaka Commentary retreat with our kind and compassionate guru, Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa. Use this page to register for the Friday to Sunday Lamrim only teachings.  No highest yoga tantra required. Rinpoche will begin with two days teaching on Lama Tsongkhapa’s famous prayer, The Foundation of All Good Qualities. A concise and stirring outline of the Lam-Rim, the prayer covers the entire graduated path to enlightenment, short enough to recite every day, profound enough to study for a lifetime. If you are looking to register for the full retreat of Lamrim…

Our Blog

  • Spring has officially arrived and with it a sense of renewal, a spark of hope. Trees are leafing and blossoming. So many wildflowers dot the hillsides. Bees are buzzing and early morning birds chatter like townsfolk exclaiming the beauty of this valley.  Living a quiet......

Vajrapani Institute is affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition www.FPMT.org