The Path of Meditation: Foundations and Practice
Geshe Tenzin Legtsok
November 12 - 20, 2026
Ready to hit pause on the chaos of daily life and actually train your mind? This retreat offers a clear, practical, and experiential introduction to meditation—no fluff, just real tools you can use. Whether you’re flying solo or continuing your journey through the Exploring Buddhism program, you’ll find a supportive environment to deepen your practice and understanding.
Over the course of the retreat, you’ll explore the why and how of meditation in a way that’s structured, grounded, and—most importantly—accessible. You’ll dive into the two main types of meditation: placement (concentration) and analytical meditation, with a focus on developing calm abiding. Step by step, you’ll learn to cultivate mental stability, clarity, and mindfulness—all skills that transform not just your practice, but your daily life.
Through guided meditations, insightful teachings, periods of refreshing silence, and time for your own practice, you’ll pick up practical tools for handling distraction, strengthening focus, and navigating common meditation challenges. By the end, you’ll walk away confident in your meditation skills and ready to carry them into everyday life.
Key topics we’ll explore:
- How to structure a meditation session that actually works
- The core types and building blocks of meditation
- Techniques for training in calm abiding
- The stages of developing stable and focused mental states
- The four close placements of mindfulness—your roadmap to presence
Think of this retreat as a mental gym: challenging, fun, and deeply rewarding. Come curious, leave with a toolkit that will stick.
Registration Closes
November 5th
Silence
Partial Silence – There will be specific times where strict silence is kept, and other times allocated to facilitate discussion and conversation for students to bond and learn together. Silence is a wonderful and rare opportunity to help move these new concepts from head to heart.
Additional Information
- Please plan on arriving between 3:00 and 5:00 PM on the first day of the retreat
- Please plan on departing at approximately 2:00 PM on the last day of the retreat
- Accommodation information is provided during the registration process
- For more detailed information, please see our FAQ
If you are interested in serving as Course Liaison for this retreat, please apply here.
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 peaceful environment for people of all backgrounds 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 the practice.
Teacher’s Fees
Traditionally, spiritual teachings are considered priceless; the remuneration of our teachers is not included in the fee information detailed on this page. Instead, we invite you to consider bringing a cash donation with you to express your gratitude for the teachings.
The Buddha encouraged the practice of generosity as it develops non-attachment, loving-kindness, and compassion and deepens the awareness of our interconnectedness. Offering Dana to our teachers, a Pali word for “generosity,” is said to benefit both the giver and the receiver, helping the giver to practice generosity and the receiver to practice acceptance. Your offering of Dana can be whatever feels generous to you in your heart and your particular financial situation. If you can’t afford to give a cash offering as Dana, a thank you note is perfectly generous.
Participants will get a chance to present a cash offering to the teachers on the last day of the retreat and this is supplemented by a donation from Vajrapani Institute. Please note that we don’t offer a credit card option for Dana.
Financial Aid/ Scholarships
To encourage students to enroll in the Exploring Buddhism program, we are offering reduced fees and scholarships to EB students in need of assistance. We want to make retreats accessible 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. Please note that the scholarship deadline is one month before the retreat begins.
- 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 retreat. If you have additional questions after reviewing the guidelines for payment plans and/or scholarships, please email the Office at office@vajrapani.org.
Teacher
Geshe Tenzin Legtsok has been ordained as a Buddhist monk since 2001 and is the first American to complete the twenty-year Geshe Studies Program in classic Indian Buddhist treatises and their Tibetan commentaries at Sera Jey Monastic University in South India, following the tradition of ancient Nalanda University. In 2025, he completed the traditional study of tantra at Gyumed Tantric Monastery. With over two decades of study and practice under the guidance of great masters, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Geshe Legtsok brings profound insights into the application of Buddhist teachings. Born in Virginia,…
Learn more about Geshe Tenzin Legtsok


