Register for Online

Please register for only one of the formats: Online or In-Person.

For In-Person Attendance: Space is limited. We suggest registering as soon as possible to reserve your seat. If the available seats fill up early, there will be an option to add your name to a waiting list. Registration closes on Thursday, November 6th at 6:00pm Pacific Time.

For Online Attendance: Online registration closes on Thursday, November 6th at 6:00pm Pacific Time due to the restricted nature of the retreat and the process involved in approving registrations.

We are excited that Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche will be offering a 5-Day Dzogchen Retreat this November! 

The path of the Dzogchen teachings consists of receiving direct introduction to the nature of your own mind and finding enlightenment within you. Through recognizing the nature of your own mind and remaining in the nature of mind through meditation practice, you become free from the limitations of ordinary thoughts and simultaneously reach the innate enlightenment that lies within you.

Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche started teaching from Dzogchen texts publicly in this way only several years ago and it has marked a very special milestone in Rinpoche’s activity. We are very happy to share that Rinpoche will be continuing to teach Dzogchen this November.

Please note that we previously announced a requirement to have completed the minimum accumulations in order to attend this year’s retreat. However, Rinpoche would like to give those still working toward the minimum accumulations more time to complete them and would like to speak more about Ngondro accumulations at the retreat. Therefore, just as in previous years’ Dzogchen Retreats, anyone who has received teachings on a Dzogchen Lineage Ngondro as described below, and is continuing to practice toward completing the accumulations Rinpoche requested, is qualified to attend this year’s Dzogchen Retreat.

At the retreat, Rinpoche will speak about Ngondro, how to practice it, and when to finish the accumulations.

As some of the information for this retreat — such as details on recordings and other policies — differs from many of our other retreats, we encourage you to review all the information on this page carefully.

Rinpoche has yet to select the specific topic for this year’s Dzogchen Retreat. We will share further information as it becomes available.

Schedule:

Friday, November 7th – Tuesday, November 11th
10:00am – 12:30pm Pacific Time: Morning Session
12:30pm – 2:00pm Pacific Time: Lunch Break
2:00pm – 5:00pm Pacific Time: Afternoon Session

Pricing:

Online
$250 – Program Price
$251 – $1000 – Program Price + Donation
$75 – $249 – Scholarship Rate

In-Person
$475 – Program Price
$476 – $1500 – Program Price + Donation
$175 – $474 – Scholarship Rate (Limited seats available for in-person scholarship rate. Please contact us if you no longer see this option available upon checkout.)

No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. Please contact us if you need to make special arrangements.

Prerequisites:

1. Foundation in a Dzogchen Lineage Ngondro

Having a foundation with a Dzogchen Lineage Ngondro practice by completing a full set of Ngondro teachings and continuing to practice it is required in order to attend this Dzogchen Retreat due to the importance of forming the necessary connection with the specific Dzogchen lineage that Rinpoche teaches from in the retreat. This means:

• If you completed the entire two-part Ngondro Retreat that Rinpoche taught as a foundation for receiving Dzogchen teachings, this fulfills this prerequisite for the retreat. 
• If you did not attend our Ngondro Retreats but have received complete Ngondro teachings on a Dzogchen Lineage Ngondro (see examples below), this also fulfills this prerequisite to attend the retreat. Specifically, the Dzogchen Lineage Ngondro practice needs to provide the required foundation in the tradition that Rinpoche is drawing from, such as in the examples below.

Examples of Dzogchen Lineage Ngondros that Meet this Prerequisite:

• • The Clearly Illuminated Path to Liberation (the Mipham Ngondro taught in the Ngondro Retreat by Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche)
  • Longchen Nyingtik
  • Dudjom Tersar
  • Namcho Ngondro
  • Chokling Tersar
  • Chetsun Nyingtik
  • Any other Ngondro from the Dzogchen tradition Rinpoche is teaching from

If you have any question about whether or not the Ngondro you have completed fulfills this requirement, please contact us.

Note: If you have just started receiving Ngondro teachings, Rinpoche has indicated that there is not sufficient time to develop the necessary familiarity with Ngondro prior to the Dzogchen Retreat at this point. So if you do not already have a background with Dzogchen Ngondro teachings and practice, Rinpoche encourages you to focus on Ngondro right now and wait to attend a future Dzogchen retreat and not attend this upcoming retreat.

2. Continuing to Practice toward Minimum Accumulations

As long as you have received teachings on a Dzogchen Lineage Ngondro as described above and are continuing to practice toward completing the minimum accumulations Rinpoche requested, then you are qualified to attend this Dzogchen Retreat.

At the retreat Rinpoche will talk about Ngondro, how to practice it, and when to finish the accumulations.

If you have any questions about whether or not you have met this prerequisite, please contact us.

In-Person Participants:

• Rinpoche has expressed that when studying Dzogchen, it is important to make it a priority. Therefore In-Person participants are asked to attend all sessions in-person to receive the teachings each day.
• This is a commuter retreat. If you’re coming from out of town and need local accommodations, here are several hotels within a 20 minute driving distance of the retreat:
  • • Novato Oaks Inn (Best Western) Discount available after registering.
    • Inn Marin and Suites Novato Discount available after registering.
    • Marriott Novato Discount available after registering.
    • Sheraton Petaluma
    • Hampton Inn Petaluma
• Please bring your lunch each day as there will not be time to leave during the lunch break. There will be plenty of refrigerator space and a microwave available for your use. We also recommend bringing a bottle or thermos of water if you wish.
• We ask that anyone who is not feeling well or has any recent symptoms of illness prior to the event not attend in-person. If you are no longer able to attend in-person, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected] as far in advance as possible so that we may offer your seat to someone else.
• Due to the precious and restricted nature of these teachings, Rinpoche has decided that recordings will not be made available for this retreat.

Online Participants:

• Due to the precious and restricted nature of these teachings, Rinpoche has decided that recordings will not be made available for this retreat.
• Rinpoche has expressed that when studying Dzogchen, it is important to make it a priority. With this in mind, we ask that online participants receive the teachings live as they are streamed on Zoom. 
• If your time zone or life circumstances will not allow you to join the live stream of the retreat as it airs, you may make a special request to receive links to daily replays of the retreat that will be posted after each day’s teachings and will remain available for 15 days following the retreat. Please fill out this form after registering to request special access to the daily replay links.
• Online registration closes on Thursday, November 6th at 6:00pm Pacific Time due to the restricted nature of the retreat and the process involved in approving registrations.

Additional Notes:

• If you have a different time zone, you may convert the time to your local time here.