Blog

A Love Letter to Differences

A Love Letter to Differences

I slip on a gift from my partner Jim... a green reflective vest with the little flashlight in its pocket. We live near a state park and rush hour traffic on the road I walk along to reach it each evening is fierce. He wants the cards stacked in my ...
Joyfully Relaxing In the Unknown: Lessons I've Learned Working at Vajrapani Institute

Joyfully Relaxing In the Unknown: Lessons I’ve Learned Working at Vajrapani Institute

"Life is far too important to be taken seriously." I love this quote by Oscar Wilde. Lately it's been coming to mind as I transition away from the familiar into the unknown. It's at these times the worrying mind can persist, but I see more and more that worry wastes ...
Celebrating Mutual Love and Affection: Denali and Cindie

Celebrating Mutual Love and Affection: Denali and Cindie

We asked mother and daughter, Cindie and Denali, some questions about their life and experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what they had to say about the qualities that lead them to rejoice and the lessons they have learned here. What do you most celebrate about your mother? Denali: I ...
Celebrating Empathy and Connection: Kamala

Celebrating Empathy and Connection: Kamala

We asked Kamala, 16, some questions about her life and her experience at Vajrapani Institute. Kamala has been attending Family Camp annually since she was 5 years old. This is what she had to say about the qualities that lead her to rejoice and the lessons she has learned here ...
Rejoicing in Humility and Shared Values: Aden

Rejoicing in Humility and Shared Values: Aden

We asked Aden, 14 years old, one of our long time retreaters who has been coming to Family Camp since he was 5, some questions about his life and his experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what he had to say about the qualities that lead him to rejoice and ...
Celebrating Flexibility and Balance at Once: Judith

Celebrating Flexibility and Balance at Once: Judith

We asked one of our long time retreaters, Judith, some questions about her life and her experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what she had to say about the qualities that lead her to rejoice and the lessons she has learned here. What is it you most celebrate about yourself? ...
Rejoicing in Reflection and Sharing Your Gifts: Nina

Rejoicing in Reflection and Sharing Your Gifts: Nina

<We asked our former Kitchen Manager, Nina, some questions about her life and her experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what she had to say about the qualities that lead her to rejoice and the lessons she has learned here. What is it you most celebrate about yourself? Why that? ...
Rejoicing in the Extraordinary, Inexpressible X: Ven. Jangchup

Rejoicing in the Extraordinary, Inexpressible X: Ven. Jangchup

We asked our resident monk, Ven. Jangchup, some questions about his life and his experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what he had to say about the qualities that lead him to rejoice and the lessons he has learned here. What is it you most celebrate about yourself? It was ...
Finding Opportunity and Community: Venerable Drolma

Finding Opportunity and Community: Venerable Drolma

We asked our former resident Sangha member, Ven. Drolma, some questions about her life and experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what she had to say about the qualities that lead her to rejoice and the lessons she learned here. What's the most precious thing Vajrapani Institute has given you? ...
Rejoicing in Drive While Finding Ease and Acceptance: Dave

Rejoicing in Drive While Finding Ease and Acceptance: Dave

We asked our Land Manager, Dave, some questions about his life and his experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what he had to say about the qualities that lead him to rejoice and the lessons he has learned here. What is it you most celebrate about yourself? It's hard to ...
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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…

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