The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation is pleased to announce our annual 2024 Dzogchen Buddha Path Autumn Retreat & Internet Teaching Program. The Autumn Retreat & Teaching Program will be taught by Benevolent Bodhi Lama Orgyen Zangshod Dorje (Marc Baldwin) under the guidance of His Eminence Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche. This program will be held online via Zoom with a limited in-person retreat option, and presents an ideal opportunity to deepen your understanding and experience of the teachings of the Dzogchen Lineage and practice the Dzogchen Buddha Path.

The 2024 Autumn Retreat (in-person) will commence on Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, 1 PM Pacific and conclude on Sunday, November 10th, 2024, 3 PM Pacific. Retreatants must arrive before 12pm Pacific on Saturday, November 2nd, 2024.

The 2024 Autumn Internet Teaching Program will commence on Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, 1 PM Pacific and conclude on Wednesday, November 6th, 2024, 9:00 PM Pacific.

This year’s teaching and training will include in-depth and direct teachings on the sacred text  The Buddha Path, the Buddhist fundamentals, and will include many practices such as reciting sacred texts, mantra recitations, personal thuns (practice sessions), etc.

Because space is limited, we may have to decline some applicants, so you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. The deadline to register for the Autumn ITP is November 1st; the deadline to apply for the Autumn Retreat is October 30th. Once you apply, we will contact you to confirm your registration.

Registration is open! Fill out the form here!

Event Pricing

As always the teachings and ceremonies themselves are offered free of charge, but it is traditional in Buddhism for the student to make an individual offering to the teacher during the retreat. You may voluntarily make an offering to the teacher at any time during the retreat. It is most auspicious to do this at the beginning of the retreat at the end of the opening ceremony.

All fees listed below are used to pay for food, supplies, utilities and maintenance of the facilities.

The internet teaching program fee is $275.

The retreat fees are as follows:

1. Adult (18–64) ~ $575
2. Senior (65 and up) ~ $450
3. Monastic ~ $450
4. Teen (ages 13–17) ~ $375
5. Youth (ages 8–12) ~ $325
6. Child (ages 0–7) ~ contact Retreat Director

There is an additional daily fee for each day on the property outside of retreat days. The cost is $30/day or $25/day with 5 hours of volunteer work each day.

When making your travel plans, please plan your schedule so that you arrive at the retreat center before 12PM on the first day of the retreat, and depart the retreat center after 3PM on the dates listed above. You are welcome to come earlier or stay later at the retreat center to volunteer to help us with preparations and clean-up of the retreat center. It is $25 per day to stay at the retreat center as a volunteer outside of the scheduled Autumn Retreat. This daily fee includes your meals and accommodations. Accommodations do not include blankets, sheets or towels.

About the Program

What to Expect on a Dzogchen Buddha Path Autumn Retreat or Internet Teaching Program

The morning bell rings in the crisp autumn air, calling you to meditation, where all retreatants practice The Buddha Path together. Dharma exercises and classes follow, with a full day of indispensable Buddhist teachings on how to put positive thinking into practice.

“Retreat” means withdrawing your body, speech, and mind away from busy, meaningless, and negative activities, freeing yourself to focus on helping all beings. During this event, you will intentionally carve time away from worldly distractions so you can wholeheartedly train your mind in the Way of True Happiness. With the support of sangha and the Dharma teacher, you will gain the skills to practice Dharma with more joy, depth, and intensity than before. By training your mind using the skillful means of the Dzogchen Lineage you will take steps toward your own awakening.

“Dzogchen” translates as “the Great Perfection” or “the Great Inclusion” because it contains all of Buddha’s teachings, including both sutra and tantra. The nature of mind is pure, luminous, and blissful, yet until we rid ourselves of negative thinking, we will generate suffering for ourselves and provide the conditions of others’ suffering. Through the practice of Dzogchen one can become Buddha in a single lifetime and never again be a negative condition for any being.

The Dzogchen Autumn Retreat and ITP is five or more days of diligent learning, contemplation, meditation, prayer, and discussion surrounded by precious sangha and experienced Dharma teachers. It is a unique opportunity to increase your love, compassion, and wisdom. During this time you will learn how to increase your happiness, causes of happiness, and the happiness of all beings, while decreasing the suffering and causes of suffering of all beings. By committing to spend a week practicing to this end, your mind will be transformed and you will have a more positive effect on your loved ones and all beings.

During a Dzogchen Internship and Buddha Path Retreat. Photo by Bhadra.

Daily Retreat Schedule and Sessions

Participants will be given ample time to cook, eat, exercise and maintain their precious human bodies. As part of your daily practice, from about 10:30 PM to 6:30 AM, you will be required to maintain a vow of silence and not engage in any normal waking activities except using the bathroom. These times may vary from day to day, but the idea is that you will be laying down resting your body for 8 hours every night and not unnecessarily disturbing other people.

A more intensive schedule will be sent out after registration. If you have any questions about the schedule, especially those attending the Autumn Internet Teaching Program, please reach out via email at autumn.retreat.USA@thebuddhapath.org

Attendance

To accumulate group power, students – without exception – will be required to attend all sessions in order to participate in the program.  In other words, retreatants cannot miss any of the sessions and then continue to participate in the remainder of the program without special permission. There are only a limited number of sangha that we can accommodate for the in-person retreat option, so please register as soon as possible. 

About the Teacher

Benevolent Bodhi Lama Orgyen Zangshöd Dorje, a longtime Buddhist practitioner, has spent more than a decade studying closely with Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche.

He is a passionate and inspiring teacher in the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. His devotion is to fulfill the aspirations of H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche and preserve the precious teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni in this world.

About the Lineage

It is extremely precious to study under an authentic master, one whose lineage can be traced all the way back to Buddha Shakyamuni. Our precious Vajra Master, H.E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche, is a thirty-third generation lineage holder of the Dzogchen Longchen Nyingthig and the Dzogchen Khadro Nyingthig lineages, selected by previous Dzogchen Lineage Masters in Tibet because of his profound knowledge and realization. With more than seven years of solitary cave meditation experience in the high Tibetan holy mountains, Rinpoche truly embodies the qualities of a realized practitioner and yogi. Also a vibrant and dynamic teacher and scholar, Rinpoche is a lama of the Dzogchen Monastery and professor of the Dzogchen Shri Singha University. He is a published author of numerous books in both Tibetan and English, including The Buddha Path, a practice book that encompasses all of Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha Path is available in English, Chinese, Russian, and German, and is soon to be released in Nepali, Japanese, and Spanish.

Just as great master of the past, Atisha, was revered for always teaching refuge, Khenpo Choga Rinpoche is revered for always training teachers. His heartfelt effort to train knowledgeable, wise and compassionate teachers has reached a critical juncture, and he has authorized authentically trained and certified Dharma Teachers of The Buddha Path to teach under his guidance. Rinpoche has requested that Upasaka Bodhisattva Zangshod (Marc Baldwin) lead this retreat.

More about Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche »

Retreat registration

Registration is open now! Fill out the form here. You will then be contacted soon by one of the Autumn ITP and Retreat Committee members to talk about next steps.

Please Read the Fine Print

Please carefully review the Retreat Details, Conditions and Policies before registering.

If you have any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to contact us at autumn.retreat.USA@thebuddhapath.org

How to Register

Because space is limited, we may have to decline some applicants, so you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. The application period for Autumn Retreat will close on October 30th at 3pm, 2024. The application period for Autumn ITP will close on November 1st at 3pm, 2024. Once you apply, we will contact you to confirm your registration.

Registration is now open! Everyone is welcome to apply.

How to Make Payments

Payment is due in full at the time of acceptance of your application. There will be no refunds after the close of the application period.

After your application has been approved, payment instructions will be sent to you.

The Great Merit of Supporting Retreats

Even if you will not be able to attend this retreat, you or anyone else you know may earn tremendous merit by providing facilities for those on retreat. If you would like to contribute financially or with labor, contact us immediately. There are a variety of different projects underway intended to support the retreat experience, including maintenance of the shrine tent and cabins, weatherproofing our facilities, and refinements of the kitchen and dining areas.

There are three ways you can help:

1. Come to the retreat center prior to the Autumn Retreat and get the unique benefits of a work retreat.
2. Offer donations for raw materials and supplies.
3. Sponsor students and volunteers who want to perform work retreats.

Providing immediate assistance will help facilitate improvements in time for Autumn Retreat. If you would like to help or would like more information, please contact the retreat director.

Join the Circle of Compassion

Support the Dzogchen Retreat Center Project

The Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation USA is an IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

For the peace and happiness of all beings, the Dzogchen Shri Singha Foundation USA is asking for your support to ensure the future of the Dzogchen Retreat Center USA, under the spiritual guidance of Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche.

Your help is urgently needed to ensure the preservation, practice, and transmission of the unbroken Dzogchen Lineage tradition for increasing personal happiness and creating lasting world peace. Please visit our Giving Section to learn more and donate online. Join our ongoing giving program, the Circle of Compassion, or make a one-time donation to the Dzogchen Retreat Center USA Project.

Generosity is the root of wealth and prosperity.