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 5th at 6:00pm Pacific Time.

For Online Attendance: Online registration closes on Thursday, November 5th at 6:00pm Pacific Time due to the restricted nature of the retreat and the process involved in approving registrations.

We are pleased to share 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 that Rinpoche will be continuing to teach Dzogchen this November.

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

As in previous years’ Dzogchen Retreats, anyone who has received teachings on a Dzogchen Lineage Ngondro as described in the prerequisite section below, and is continuing to practice toward completing the accumulations Rinpoche requested, is qualified to attend this year’s Dzogchen Retreat.

We encourage you to review all the information on this page carefully.

Schedule:

Friday, November 6th – Tuesday, November 10th
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 well in advance of the retreat.

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.

If you have any questions about whether or not you have met this prerequisite, please contact us well in advance of the retreat.

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 in order 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.
    • 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.

Online Participants:

• 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 and in order as they are streamed on Zoom. 
• We will provide replay links at the end of each day so that those in different time zones can keep up with the retreat as it airs.
• In addition, the full recordings of the retreat will be available for all participants approximately one week after the retreat. The recordings will be available for 1 month.
• Online registration closes on Thursday, November 5th 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.