Upcoming Retreats

 


Full Moon Medicine Buddha Puja

Venerable Angie Muir

May 12, 2025
Medicine Buddha Puja: Ultimate Healing. Please join us for a Full Moon Medicine Buddha Puja May 12th from 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM.   Join us in welcoming Venerable Angie Muir back from her trip to India and Nepal! May 12th is a Full Moon, merit-multiplying day, which increases the strength of the puja. Merit refers to the positive energy or spiritual benefit accumulated through virtuous actions, thoughts, and practices that align with the path of compassion and wisdom. The Medicine Buddha puja purifies and heals on all levels: physical, mental, spiritual, and environmental. Medicine Buddha is the manifestation of the…

Experiential Vajrayogini Retreat

Elaine Jackson

May 22 - 25, 2025
Please join us for an experiential Vajrayogini Retreat with long-time FPMT Teacher and Vajrapani Founding Member, Elaine Jackson. Elaine is a student favorite, known for her warmth and skill in guiding her students through these profound and transformative tantric practices.   Elaine shares her heartfelt experiences about Vajrayogini Practice:   "My dear, dear friends, how wonderful that we will meet again to explore our relationship with Vajrayogini. I have seen over many years of practice that there is an alchemy, a gradual change, that manifests when I embrace the practice from a felt sense and try to bring that sense…

Saka Dawa Merit Festival: All Night Tara Practice and Prayer Wheel Turn-a-thon

Geshe Tenzin Legtsok and Venerable Angie Muir

June 10 - 11, 2025
Join us as we welcome Geshe Legtsok for our Saka Dawa merit festival and fundraiser!   There will be so many ways to create merit on this merit-multiplying day!   Make a date with Tara for our All-Night Saka Dawa Tara Purification Practice!  Join us in-person or online.  Sessions begin at 7:00 pm Tuesday, June 10th and continue through the night, concluding the practice at 7:00 am the following morning, Wednesday, June 11th.  For those coming in-person we will have a small dinner to kick things off, and then end with a breakfast celebration.   Our 24-hour Prayer Wheel turn-a-thon…

Intro to Buddhism and Meditation: A Kopan West Lamrim Retreat

Geshe Tenzin Legtsok

June 14 - 21, 2025
Please join us in June for a rare Kopan West Retreat during the summer! Kopan West is a Free, "Pay-it-Forward" retreat that is modeled after the famous Intro to Buddhism course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Begin your summer in the serene beauty of the California Redwoods at Vajrapani Institute!   Have you been interested in Buddhism but have not yet had the opportunity to explore it in depth? This retreat offers a unique opportunity to engage with the foundational teachings of Tibetan Buddhism in a supportive and immersive setting. Perfect for beginners and those looking to deepen their practice,…

Exploring Buddhism

Geshe Tenzin Legtsok

June 21 - December 14, 2025
Exploring Buddhism is the newest foundational-level course co-developed by FPMT Education Services and senior FPMT teachers, including Geshe Tenzin Namdak, Geshe Tenzin Legtsok, and Venerable Joan Nicell. Geshe Tenzin Namdak and Geshe Tenzin Legtsok serve as the main contributors. The program has been revised from the original pilot offered at various FPMT centers.   It was conceived as a bridge between the FPMT Discovering Buddhism and the FPMT Basic Program. The EB program presents selected topics that provide a strong basis for more advanced study. The program is intended for students with a good understanding of basic Buddhism.    What…

Nyung Nae Retreat

Venerable Charles

July 10 - 19, 2025
Dates are confirmed, and registration is open for the full retreat and each individual Nyung Nae!   Our most precious Venerable Charles has graciously agreed to return to Vajrapani in July 10-19 to Lead 4 Nyung Naes!   “Nyung naes take such a short time but brings strong purification. So many eons can be purified in this life; it makes it so easy to have attainments.” - Kyabjé Lama Zopa Rinpoche   Venerable Charles leads Nyung Nae retreats around the world, including 108 Nyung Naes annually in France.  Last Year's Nyung Nae retreat was profoundly transformative, and we are humbled and…

Family Camp 2025

July 24 - 27, 2025
This EVENT is CURRENTLY FULL, please join us for Family Camp 2026! A weekend family retreat where participants are given the opportunity to better understand their mind and emotions through a Tibetan Buddhist lens using meditation, discussion, art, nature and play. Set in the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains, families with children ages 5-12 are encouraged to unplug and reconnect, supported by a community of like-minded families, staff, and volunteers.   First Time at Family Camp? Read all about what to expect at Family Camp at our Family Camp details page              …

Cultivating Compassion in Daily Life

Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche II

August 16, 2025
We are incredibly fortunate to welcome the highly revered lama, Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche II, back to Vajrapani for a daylong retreat! We are delighted to have Rinpoche teach, as he is known for his warmth and humor as well as his ability to transmit profound and complex Buddhist concepts into accessible and practical advice for living for all students. Serkong Tsenshap Rinpoche II will join us to explore the profound wisdom of The Bodhisattva’s Garland of Jewels, a concise yet powerful guide to cultivating compassion by the great 11th-century Indian master, Lama Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana (980–1054). In this daylong, Serkong…

How to Train a Happy Mind

Scott Snibbe

August 28 - 31, 2025
Based on his popular 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…

Six Session Guru Yoga Weekend ONLY

Venerable René Feusi

September 12 - 14, 2025
About the Retreat We are overjoyed that one of our most precious teachers, Venerable René Fuesi, is returning to Vajrapani in September!   Six Session Guru Yoga Weekend With any HYT initiation in our tradition, there is a commitment to do the six sessions of guru yoga, but many have never received instruction. Venerable Rene thought it could be nice and useful to explain how to meditate on it in this Six Session Guru Yoga Weekend before starting the Shiné - Mahamudra portion of the retreat.   Venerable René will teach from Friday, Sept 12 evening through Sunday, Sept 14…

Six Session Guru Yoga & Shiné – Mahamudra

Venerable René Feusi

September 12 - 21, 2025
We are overjoyed that one of our most precious teachers, Venerable René Fuesi, is returning to Vajrapani in September! Ven. René's retreats are known to be deeply transformative as he invites us to inquire into the nature of the mind. Join us as Ven Rene creates this rare opportunity to get to know our minds and to learn how to meditate more deeply in this immersive 10-Day Retreat.    Six Session Guru Yoga Weekend With any Highest Yoga Tantra initiation in our tradition, there is a commitment to do the Six- Session Guru Yoga, but many have never received formal…

Shiné – Mahamudra Week ONLY

Venerable René Feusi

September 14 - 21, 2025
About the Retreat We are overjoyed that one of our most precious teachers, Venerable René Fuesi, is returning to Vajrapani in September. Ven. René is creating a rare opportunity to learn how to meditate more deeply in this immersive retreat.   Shiné - Mahamudra Venerable René will start the Shiné - Mahamudra portion of the retreat in the evening on Sunday, Sept 14th, ending at lunch on Sept 21st. This part of the retreat is open to all levels of students. No initiations are necessary.   Mahamudra Retreat “Nowadays, we try to take good care of our health, as we…

Hope in the Dharma?

Guy Newland

October 10 - 12, 2025
Join us for a transformative weekend retreat with Guy Newland, a renowned scholar and professor of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Guy’s engaging and accessible approach, grounded in his acclaimed work Introduction to Emptiness, will help you unravel complex Buddhist concepts and apply them to your daily life. Whether you're new to Buddhism or looking to deepen your practice, this retreat offers a rare opportunity to explore profound insights in a welcoming and supportive environment. Don’t miss this chance to deepen your understanding and cultivate inner peace!   About the Retreat Does the Dharma offer hope? Or does it tell us that…

Exploring Buddhism: Exploring the Path

Geshe Tenzin Legtsok

November 6 - 14, 2025
To proceed on the stages of the path to enlightenment, it is important to have a good roadmap. Exploring the Path allows us to get an overview of all topics of contemplation for the entire spiritual journey. Exploring the Path delves more deeply into the Lamrim, the step-by-step path to enlightenment.  Students will learn how to integrate this profound yet practical wisdom into daily life—cultivating greater peace, happiness, and compassion. The retreat includes insightful teachings, engaging discussions, and a variety of meditation practices, such as concentration meditation for mental clarity, visualizations for inner transformation, and analytical meditation on key Lamrim topics.…