In the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, practicing ritual is a powerful method to develop positive mind states and subdue the negative ones, while serving as a compelling foundation for your spiritual practice to flourish.  

For those new to Buddhism or those who have yet to grasp the profound benefits of these rituals fully, the rituals may seem overwhelming. We might feel a lack of confidence in engaging with these valuable practices, especially while practicing in groups. If we are unclear about the purpose of practicing ritual, we may lose motivation, feeling like we are just going through the motions, treating ritual as a mere checklist item or skipping them entirely in our individual practice. This retreat is designed to explore the depth and benefit of these powerful practices, giving ample time for teachings and explanations, practicing together, Q&A, and workshop sessions.

About this Retreat

In this retreat, led by Ven. Angie with Ven. Katy, you will be guided through the fundamental aspects of commonly practiced rituals to help you gain the confidence to chant basic prayers, mantras, and mudras in your own meditation as well as in group practices. You will learn how the use of mental visualization coupled with chanting ancient, sacred tunes and special hand gestures allow you to fully engage our body, speech, and mind in your practice. As a result, you can accumulate a huge amount of positive energy, or merit, which serves as a powerful foundation for deep transformation in your heart and mind. 

After Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s showing the aspect of passing away, it is critically important to keep these rituals in Rinpoche’s lineage alive. To accomplish that, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn from Ven. Angie, who received many of these practices directly from Rinpoche, and can pass the knowledge to others.

Gaining knowledge and confidence in practicing rituals will increase their powerful benefit, positive energy, and merit accumulated. With newfound confidence, you can continue on your spiritual path with rejuvenated motivation, an open heart, and clarity of purpose in following the Buddha’s teachings. 

This retreat will include teachings and workshops on the following practices:

Blessing the Speech Practice – a potent combination of visualization and recitation of mantras to consecrate our speech, rendering it beneficial in our communications throughout the day

Setting up your altar and making offerings – a mindful practice of generosity that is one of the easiest and most highly beneficial ways of creating positive momentum. We will also go over offering substances such as water bowls, food, and flowers in addition to extensive offerings.

Daily, Essential Prayers – learn the sacred tunes of the Refuge Prayer, Mandala Offering, Food Offering Prayers, Extensive Offering Practice, HH Dalai Lama’s Long Life prayers, and Dedication prayers. You will leave the course with a recording of these tunes in Tibetan so that you can memorize them if you so choose.

Special chanting of the Heart Sutra (in English) – set to sacred tunes, the Heart Sutra is one of most popular chants in Asia, invoking and reminding us of the wisdom of the Buddhas. 

This course will deepen your understanding of the power of the rituals as a vital instrument to move your mind toward manifesting your own beautiful qualities and potentials. Don’t miss out on this rare and unique opportunity!

Student Level

Students should have a basic understanding of Buddhism and have refuge from their hearts in the Triple Gem

Silence

Partial Silence – there will be specific times when strict silence is kept, after dinner through breakfast, 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. 

Tentative Schedule-

In-person

Thursday – Check-in, Dinner, Course Introduction

Friday and Saturday – Teachings, practice, workshops, Q&A, and meditations.

Sunday – Last practice session, Q&A, offerings to the teacher, closing talk, lunch, and departure

Online (all times are PT)

Thursday Evening:

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Course Introduction

Friday & Saturday:

7:15 am – 8:00 am  Sesssion 1

9:00 am – 12:00 pm Session 2

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Session 3

Sunday:

7:15 am – 8 am Session 1

9:00 am – 11:15 Closing Session

Recommended Reading:

“The Power of Mantra” – Lama Zopa Rinpoche (Wisdom Publications)

Special offering: Follow-up, weekly online practice

In order to cement these practices, repetition is key to building these beneficial habits.  Ven. Angie has offered to host a weekly online class, for four weeks, only available to those that attended this retreat .  The intention of this group online practice is to support and sustain the rituals, mantras, and mudras covered in this course. 

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
• You can see information about our accommodations in the registration process
• For more detailed information, please see our FAQ

About Vajrapani Institute

Vajrapani Institute for Wisdom Culture was the first Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Center 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 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.