In-Depth Meditation Training
Venerable Losang Gendun
February 7 - April 18, 2026
Year 3, Term 2
The Radiant Ground: Emptiness and Buddha Nature
This four year course is designed so that students can join at any time and immediately benefit. Each class includes 60 minutes of guided meditation followed by 90 minutes of lecture, including Q&A. Over 100 students from around the globe come together each week for this transformative program!
Year 3, Term 2: 11 Saturdays
February 7 – April 18, 2026
6:30am – 9:00am Pacific Time
NOTE: On March 21st and 28th we will have class from 7:30am to 10:00am
Online Only
In-Depth Meditation Training (IDMT)
We are excited to partner with the Buddha Project and many other FPMT centers worldwide to offer this wonderful, ongoing course with Venerable Losang Gendun. The IDMT was developed in dialogue with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, inspired by his conviction that the true fulfillment of our precious human life lies in generating the awakened mind, bodhicitta—and that accomplishing this requires deep meditative practice.
Suitable for students who have a thorough understanding of the Dharma, the course will be most rewarding for practitioners wishing to make Buddhist values and goals an integral part of their lives. With the benefit of a supportive community, meditation practice and lifestyle become mutually complementary; time on and off the cushion will be transformed into a path to enlightenment.
All recordings of the teachings, guided meditations, and study material are offered on The Buddha Project website so that registered students can access the materials at their own pace.
Each year of the IDMT can be followed independently.
Year 3, Term 2: February 7 – April 18, 2026
The Radiant Ground: Emptiness and Buddha Nature
This year’s journey will weave together the profound view of Madhyamaka, as presented by Nāgārjuna and his successors, with the compassionate vision of Tathāgatagarbha, the Buddha-nature teachings that reveal our deepest potential for awakening. Far from abstract philosophy, these teachings offer a radical reorientation of how we perceive ourselves and the world—pointing us beyond habitual grasping to a space of clarity, openness, and profound compassion.
Having cultivated the foundational practices of shamatha and vipashyana in the first year and explored Yogācāra’s profound psychology of ignorance and awakening in the second, we now turn to the very heart of Tibetan Buddhism: the nature of emptiness and the luminous potential that resides within every living being.
Guiding us in this exploration will be core texts from India and Tibet. Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā will serve as a central pillar, systematically dismantling the illusions of inherent existence. In dialogue with this, we’ll study Kamalashīla’s Stages of Meditation, a practical and accessible map for cultivating deep meditative insight grounded in the view of emptiness. Balancing the radical freedom of Madhyamaka, we will encounter the warmth and encouragement of Maitreya’s Ratnagotravibhāga, a poetic illumination of the Buddha-nature within all beings. These teachings remind us that beyond confusion and conditioning, there is a basic goodness that has never been lost.
To ground these profound insights in daily life, we will also study the beloved text of Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, The Seven Points of Mind Training. With its pithy slogans and deeply practical tone, it offers tools for transforming adversity and cultivating bodhicitta on and off the cushion.
Throughout the year, our study and practice will be enriched by meditative teachings from both the Pāli and Sanskrit sūtra traditions, inviting a direct and experiential understanding of emptiness—not as a concept, but as a liberating shift in perception.
This year is an invitation to let the view of emptiness infuse your practice—not as abstract philosophy, but as living experience: clear, liberating, and rooted in compassion. Our aim is not to gather concepts, but to transform how we see and relate to the world. Through study, reflection, and meditation, we learn to meet life with less grasping, more openness—and a heart that naturally responds with wisdom and care, held by the strength of community.
How to participate:
- The course consists of weekly online sessions of a 60-minute guided meditation, a 90-minute lecture with ample opportunity for Q&A. Sign up for a whole semester (recommended) or drop in on a class by registering below.
- After registration, you will immediately receive an email with the Zoom link to access the classes. A few days later you will be sent an email from The Buddha Project with access to the Online Learning Center on The Buddha Project website. Here you will find access to the Zoom sessions, the supporting materials, and recordings of past guided meditations and lectures. Please allow a few days for this to happen.
- Depending on the interest of participants, these classes may be embedded in practice days, guided by experienced students, which will provide a supportive environment for joint practice and discussion.
Who might want to participate:
- This course is beneficial for practitioners who want to further develop their meditative practice, by receiving in-depth meditation instructions and by getting a deeper understanding of the (philosophical and psychological) foundations of meditation. It will provide a complement for those who study Buddhism, to investigate and verify experientially the various subjects taught by the Buddha.
- To participate, you will need a basic understanding of Mahayana Buddhism, although the course will introduce many of the foundational topics. A basic understanding can mean having completed FPMT’s Discovering Buddhism course or the FPMT Basic Program or having obtained a similar level through other means.
If you have any questions about registration, please email office@vajrapani.org. You will receive login information for The Buddha Project within 3 days to one week of your registration date.
Financial Aid/ Scholarships
We want to make retreats and dharma courses available to everyone. With this in mind, we will gladly work out a payment plan with you if needed. If more assistance is necessary, we offer several scholarships.
- For detailed information on setting up a payment plan, please see Financial Aid: Payment Plans
- To see if you’re eligible for a scholarship, and how to apply for scholarships, please see Financial Aid: Scholarships
Our utmost goal is to help as many beings as possible to have the gift of the dharma and retreat. If you have additional questions after reviewing the guidelines for payment plans and/or scholarships, please email the Office at office@vajrapani.org.
About Vajrapani Institute
Vajrapani Institute for Wisdom Culture was one of the first Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Centers in America. Vajrapani aims to provide a friendly and conducive environment for people of all nationalities to learn, put into practice the teachings of the Buddha, and connect with other Dharma practitioners. Located on 70 acres of secluded land within the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz mountains, Vajrapani Institute has been an immersive space for people of all backgrounds to find and deepen their spiritual practices, with the main goal of bridging the gap between the head and heart of practice.
Teacher
Venerable Losang Gendun has dedicated nearly four decades to practicing Buddhism and has served as a Bhikshu in the Tibetan tradition for the past 19 years. Prior to his ordination, he worked in diverse fields such as palliative care, technology, refugee organizations, and management. His extensive training includes ten years of studying Buddhist philosophy and practice in monasteries across France, India, Nepal, and Myanmar. Additionally, he spent over four years in retreat, immersing himself in Tibetan sutra and tantra, as well as the Burmese Theravada Forest Tradition. For the last 15 years, Ven. Gendun has taught worldwide, sharing his knowledge…
Learn more about Venerable Losang Gendun


