The following retreats will be taught by Pieter and Charlotte either together or with others at Tara Mandala Retreat Center this summer. Please click on a retreat listing for more details.
Three Yana Retreat
With Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen
June 17 – July 14, 2018
The Three Yana retreat will cover the historical and contemplative development of Buddhism involving a combination of meditation practice and daily teachings.
Sutrayana: The Journey of the Buddha
With Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen
June 17 – 24, 2018
Sutrayana looks deeply at the life of the Buddha and his teachings, including the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eight-fold Path and the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination.
Green Tara Retreat
With Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen
June 21 – 24, 2018
Join us to embody Green Tara, the female Buddha of compassion, who provides protection from fears and obstacles.
Mahayana: Vast View, Open Heart
With Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo and Pieter Oosthuizen
June 27 – July 4, 2018
This retreat will explore new developments that took place during the Mahayana period such as the Prajnaparamita Sutra, Madhyamaka and Yogacara philosophies, Buddha Nature, and the greater emphasis on compassionate motivation.
Vajrayana: The Mandala Principle
With Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam
July 7 – 14, 2018
In this retreat we will study how the Vajrayana developed historically and learn the fundamentals of Vajrayana practice.
Feeding Your Demons®: Kapala Training Level I
With Pieter Oosthuizen and Polly Ryan
July 18 – 23, 2018
Inspired by the ancient practice of Chöd, Feeding Your Demons® is a five-step process created by Lama Tsultrim Allione that allows us to offer compassion and understanding to our own inner demons rather than engaging in battle and struggling with them.
Feeding Your Demons®: Kapala Training Level II
With Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen
July 27 – August 1, 2018
FYD® work will expand through mapping of family lineage demons, physical body demons, and hydra demons.
Feeding Your Demons®: Kapala Training Level III
With Lama Tsultrim Allione and Pieter Oosthuizen
August 31 – September 4, 2018
In Kapala Training Level III we will go further into Machig Labdrön’s lineage, learning specific new practices and deepening our understanding of the roots and branches of her lineage tree.
Full Retreat Descriptions
Three Yana Retreat
June 17 – July 14, 2018
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen
Tara Mandala Retreat Center, Pagosa Springs, CO
This month-long Three Yana retreat will cover the historical and contemplative development of Buddhism involving a combination of meditation practice and daily teachings. During each section there will be noble silence and six hours of practice per day as well as two hours of teachings. Please note the three sections of this retreat can also be attended as separate week-long retreats. An optional oral exam will be given at the end of each yana. Lodging and meals between each section of the retreat are included.
For additional information on each Yana’s teachings, please see individual Yana retreat listings: Sutrayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
The Three Yana retreat is a required retreat for Gateway Foundation and Mother Lineage (Magyu) students. Each Yana is also available as a separate retreat. We are sorry that we cannot accommodate children on the land during this retreat.
This retreat is open to all.
Dates/Times:
June 17 – July 14, 2018
This retreat begins with a mandatory registration period from 2pm to 4pm on the first day and ends after lunch on the last day.
Tuition:
Suggested Dana/Donation to teachers: $840 – $1,120
Accommodation: Ranges from $1,727 – $4,744
Location:
Tara Mandala is an international Vajrayana Buddhist community with its home base at 7,500 feet above sea level in the mountains of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons.
For more detail visit taramandala.org or email us.
Teachers:
(click for full bios)
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Löpon Charlotte Rotterdam
Pieter Oosthuizen
Sutrayana: The Journey of the Buddha
June 17 – 24, 2018
Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen
Tara Mandala Retreat Center, Pagosa Springs, CO
Sutrayana looks deeply at the life of the Buddha and his teachings, including the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eight-fold Path and the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination. We will do intensive practice of Shamata (calm abiding) and walking meditation, and we will also learn about Buddhism through the life stories of the Buddha.
During the retreat there will be noble silence and six hours of practice per day as well as two hours of teachings. An optional oral exam will be given at the end of the retreat. We are sorry that we cannot accommodate children on the land during this retreat.
This is a required retreat for the Magyu Mother Lineage Program and the Gateway Program.
If you are attending the Mahayana retreat and wish to stay on the land between retreats, choose 3 extra nights. Extra night lodging is only an option for those taking two consecutive retreats.
This retreat is open to all.
Dates/Times:
June 17 – 24, 2018
This retreat begins with a mandatory registration period from 2pm to 4pm on the first day and ends after lunch on the last day.
Tuition:
Suggested Dana/Donation to teachers: $240 – $320
Accommodation: Ranges from $705 – $1,840
Location:
Tara Mandala is an international Vajrayana Buddhist community with its home base at 7,500 feet above sea level in the mountains of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons.
For more detail visit taramandala.org or email us.
Teachers:
(click for full bios)
Löpon Charlotte Rotterdam
Pieter Oosthuizen
Green Tara Retreat
June 21 – 24, 2018
Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen
Tara Mandala Retreat Center, Pagosa Springs, CO
Join us to embody Green Tara, the female Buddha of compassion, who provides protection from fears and obstacles. She sits with one foot in the meditative posture and one foot in the world, thus embodying active compassion and serving as a model for modern day contemplative life. In this retreat you will learn the Green Tara practice from the Luminous Secret Vajra Treasury, a treasure cycle of Adzom Drukpa.
This is a required retreat for the Magyu Mother Lineage Program.
This retreat is open to all.
Dates/Times:
June 21 – 24, 2018
This retreat begins with a mandatory registration period from 2pm to 4pm on the first day and ends after lunch on the last day.
Tuition:
Suggested Dana/Donation to teachers: $120-$160
Accommodation: Ranges from $321 – $1,040
Location:
Tara Mandala is an international Vajrayana Buddhist community with its home base at 7,500 feet above sea level in the mountains of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons.
For more detail visit taramandala.org or email us.
Teachers:
(click for full bios)
Löpon Charlotte Rotterdam
Pieter Oosthuizen
Mahayana: Vast View, Open Heart
June 27 – July 4, 2018
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo and Pieter Oosthuizen
Tara Mandala Retreat Center, Pagosa Springs, CO
This retreat will explore new developments that took place during the Mahayana period such as the Prajnaparamita Sutra, Madhyamaka and Yogacara philosophies, Buddha Nature, and the greater emphasis on compassionate motivation. Meditations on Tonglen, the Four Immeasurables, and the Six Paramitas will also be taught.
We are excited to announce that this year, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo will join us for three days of teachings to offer a commentary on Atisha’s “The Bodhisattva’s Garland of Jewels,” one of Atisha’s most well-known texts on Lojong (Mind-Training).
During the retreat there will be noble silence and six hours of practice per day as well as two hours of teachings. An optional oral exam will be given at the end of the retreat. We are sorry that we cannot accommodate children on the land during this retreat.
This is a required retreat for the Magyu Mother Lineage Program and the Gateway Program.
If you are attending the Vajrayana retreat and wish to stay on the land between retreats, choose 3 extra nights. Extra night lodging is only an option for those taking two consecutive retreats.
This retreat is open to all.
Dates/Times:
June 27 – July 4, 2018
This retreat begins with a mandatory registration period from 2pm to 4pm on the first day and ends after lunch on the last day.
Tuition:
Suggested Dana/Donation to teachers: $240 – $320
Accommodation: Ranges from $707 – $1,843
Location:
Tara Mandala is an international Vajrayana Buddhist community with its home base at 7,500 feet above sea level in the mountains of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons.
For more detail visit taramandala.org or email us.
Teachers:
(click for full bios)
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Pieter Oosthuizen
Vajrayana: The Mandala Principle
July 7 – 14, 2018
Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam
Tara Mandala Retreat Center, Pagosa Springs, CO
In this retreat we will study how the Vajrayana developed historically and learn the fundamentals of Vajrayana practice. Lopön Charlotte will give an introduction to the 5 Buddha families, the mandala principle and deity yoga, as well as transmission for the 5 Dakini Mandala, the 5 Buddha Mandala and the Yab Yum Mandala.
There will be noble silence and six hours of practice per day as well as two hours of teachings. An optional oral exam will be given at the end of the retreat.
This is a required retreat for Gateway Foundation and Mother Lineage (Magyu) students. Each Yana is also available as a separate week-long retreat. We are sorry that we cannot accommodate children on the land during this retreat.
This retreat is open to all.
Dates/Times:
July 7 – 14, 2018
This retreat begins with a mandatory registration period from 2pm to 4pm on the first day and ends after lunch on the last day.
Tuition:
Suggested Dana/Donation to teachers: $240 – $320
Accommodation: Ranges from $705 – $1,843
Location:
Tara Mandala is an international Vajrayana Buddhist community with its home base at 7,500 feet above sea level in the mountains of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons.
For more detail visit taramandala.org or email us.
Teacher:
(click for full bio)
Löpon Charlotte Rotterdam
Feeding Your Demons: Kapala Training Level I
July 18 – 23, 2018
Pieter Oosthuizen and Polly Ryan
Tara Mandala Retreat Center, Pagosa Springs, CO
Inspired by the ancient practice of Chöd, Feeding Your Demons® is a five-step process created by Lama Tsultrim Allione that allows us to offer compassion and understanding to our own inner demons rather than engaging in battle and struggling with them. This process is of great benefit when working with a wide variety of personal demons and other dilemmas of modern life. The demon work will be balanced by the deep practice of Prajna Paramita, a “nature of mind” meditation practice. This training is the first step for licensed healing professionals who want to become certified to use this process professionally.
This is a required retreat for the Magyu Mother Lineage Program.
This retreat is open to all.
Kapala Training Level 1 includes:
- Feeding Your Demons® – solo and partner work
- Feeding Your Demons® with drawing and clay
- Extended Ally Process – solo and partner work
- Prajna Paramita practice
Dates/Times:
July 18 – 23, 2018
This retreat begins with a mandatory registration period from 2pm to 4pm on the first day and ends after lunch on the last day.
Tuition:
Suggested Dana/Donation to teachers: $180 – $240
Accommodation: Ranges from $482 – $1,644
Location:
Tara Mandala is an international Vajrayana Buddhist community with its home base at 7,500 feet above sea level in the mountains of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons.
For more detail visit taramandala.org or email us.
Teachers:
(click for full bios)
Pieter Oosthuizen
Polly Ryan
Feeding Your Demons: Kapala Training Level II
July 27 – August 1, 2018
Lopön Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen
Tara Mandala Retreat Center, Pagosa Springs, CO
This retreat consists of a deepening of the Prajña Paramita practice, an introduction to Jamgön Kongtrül’s text “Transmitting the Meaning of the Mother,” and Machig Labdrön’s method for cutting through discursive thoughts with sound. FYD® work will expand through mapping of family lineage demons, physical body demons, and hydra demons.
For licensed therapists or counselors, completion of this Level II retreat and the required 108 FYD® Tracking Forms allows one to apply for certification to use the five steps of Feeding Your Demons® professionally.
This is a required retreat for the Magyu Mother Lineage Program.
Prerequisites:
- Completion of Kapala Training Level I
- 65 Feeding Your Demons® processes: 50 solo and 15 with a partner
- For partner work, tracking forms from both partners equal one partner work process. This should not be done with clients. It is acceptable to work with gods instead of demons for some of these sessions.
- 20 Extended Ally Processes: 10 solo and 10 with a partner
- 108 hours of Prajna Paramita practice
- A practice session is a minimum of 30 minutes. One hour is recommended. 30 minutes is just for those with very limited time. This 30 minutes includes the beginning and ending prayers.
- Plant a tree or sponsor a tree to be planted.
- This requirement came to Lama Tsultrim in a dream in which she was flying over Europe and saw that it was dry, parched and very hot. She heard a voice that said: “For Climate Change everyone should plant a tree before Kapala Training Level 2.” Planting a tree connects your practice to healing the earth and to Machig’s tree experience during her initiation from Sonam Lama.
Kapala Training Level 2 includes:
- Making a full-sized body map
- This entails tracking where the 65 demons/gods you did between Kapala Training Level 1 and 2 appeared in your body and reflecting on what you see in the body map.
- Male and female family lineage demon and ally maps
- A hydra map looking at a constellation of demons/gods
- “Transmitting the Meaning of the Mother,”* practice
- “Supplication to Machig Labdrön Nature of Mind,”* practice
- “Cutting the Four Demons Loose into Space”* practice
- Teachings on excerpts from the “Grand Poem of Aryadeva the Brahmin” and “Machig’s Last Instructions”
- Taking and Waking practice
If you intend to apply for Feeding Your Demons® certification, you will need to do the following:
- Complete Kapala Training Levels 1 and 2.
- Provide documentation (Tracking Forms) showing that you have completed 54 solo and 54 partner sessions (both yours and partner’s Tracking form makes one partner session), totaling 108 sessions.
- Pass a test with Lama Tsultrim or an Authorized Tara Mandala Teacher showing that you can guide someone through the process by memory, without using the text.
Dates/Times:
July 27 – August 1, 2018
This retreat begins with a mandatory registration period from 2pm to 4pm on the first day and ends after lunch on the last day.
Tuition:
Suggested Dana/Donation to teachers: $180 – $240
Accommodation: Ranges from $482 – $1,644
Location:
Tara Mandala is an international Vajrayana Buddhist community with its home base at 7,500 feet above sea level in the mountains of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons.
For more detail visit taramandala.org or email us.
Teachers:
(click for full bios)
Löpon Charlotte Rotterdam
Pieter Oosthuizen
Feeding Your Demons: Kapala Training Level III
August 31 – September 4, 2018
Lama Tsultrim Allione and Pieter Oosthuizen
Tara Mandala Retreat Center, Pagosa Springs, CO
In Kapala Training Level III we will go further into Machig Labdrön’s lineage, learning specific new practices and deepening our understanding of the roots and branches of her lineage tree. Lama Tsultrim will give the Machig empowerment and associated practices during this retreat.
This is a required retreat for the Magyu Mother Lineage Program.
Prerequisites:
- Completion of Kapala Training Levels 1 and 2
- Completion of a total of 54 solo and 54 partner Feeding Your Demons® processes begun after Kapala Training Level 1
- 108 hours of “Supplication to the Great Mother Machig Labdrön”
- 108 hours of “Transmitting the Meaning of the Mother” with “Cutting the Four Demons Loose into Space”
- You may choose how much time to spend with each (Transmitting the Meaning and Cutting the Four Demons) in one practice session.
- 200 thirty-minute sessions of Taking and Waking
- Or 100 hours total – You can do as much time as you like in one practice session, but 30 minutes is the minimum per session.
- Completion of the Three Yana Retreat
- Completion of the Chöd* Retreat (Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche)
In Kapala Training Level 3 you will receive:
- The Empowerment of Machig Labdrön
- The practice of “Opening the Gate to Space”*
- Feeding Your Demons® with dreams figures
- Collective Societal, Cultural, and Historical Demons
- Organizational and Group-dynamic Demons
- The Fourth Demon: Ego-clinging
- Extended Ally processes with the journey
Dates/Times:
August 31 – September 4, 2018
This retreat begins with a mandatory registration period from 2pm to 4pm on the first day and ends after lunch on the last day.
Tuition:
Suggested Dana/Donation to teachers: $150 – $200
Accommodation: Ranges from $402 – $1,300
Location:
Tara Mandala is an international Vajrayana Buddhist community with its home base at 7,500 feet above sea level in the mountains of Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It is guided by Lama Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons.
For more detail visit taramandala.org or email us.
Teachers:
(click for full bios)
Lama Tsultrim Allione
Pieter Oosthuizen
Teachers:
Lama Tsultrim Allione is founder and resident lama of Tara Mandala. She is author of Women of Wisdom and Feeding Your Demons. Born in New England to an academic/publishing family, she traveled to India in her late teens and was ordained as a Buddhist nun at the age of 22 by H.H. the 16th Karmapa. She was the first American to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in the Karma Kagyu lineage. After living in the Himalayan region for several years she returned her vows and became the mother of three, while continuing to study and practice Buddhism, particularly focusing on the lineage of Machig Labdron and Dzogchen teachings. In 1993, Lama Tsultrim founded Tara Mandala, a 700-acre center in southwest Colorado where an extraordinary three-story temple in the form of a mandala, dedicated to the sacred feminine in Buddhism has been constructed and consecrated. In 2007 while traveling in Tibet she was recognized as an emanation of Machig Labdron at the historic seat of Machig Zangri Khangmar by the resident lama. This recognition was confirmed by several other lamas, and in 2012 she was given the Machig Labdron empowerment by HH the 17th Karmapa.
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo was raised in London. In 1964, aged 20, she traveled to India to pursue her spiritual path and met her Teacher, His Eminence the 8th Khamtrul Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist Lama.
She became one of the first Westerners to ordain as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. The inspiring story of her life, including 12 years of secluded retreat in a Himalayan cave, is the subject of the biography, Cave in the Snow.
A popular Buddhist teacher, she presents the Dharma in an accessible manner to audiences across the world, offering methods to apply the Buddhist teachings in every day life.
Jetsunma is Founder and Abbess of Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in H.P. where some 100 young women, from the Himalayan region receive monastic training.
In 2008 Tenzin Palmo was given the title of Jetsunma, which means Venerable Master, by His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa, Head of her lineage.
www.tenzinpalmo.com
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (official) facebook
Löpon Charlotte Rotterdam has studied Tibetan Buddhism for the last 20 years, was authorized to teach by Lama Tsultrim Allione in 2006, and received the title of Magyu Lopön, lead teacher of Magyu: The Mother Lineage at Tara Mandala from Lama Tsultrim in 2016. Charlotte teaches in the US and abroad, often in partnership with her husband Pieter Oosthuizen, and co-leads the Boulder Tara Mandala Sangha.
Charlotte received a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. She served as executive co-director of Tara Mandala for four years, and thereafter as Trustee and Board President. Currently she is an Instructor and Director of the Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education at Naropa University. The mother of two boys, she has published essays on the intersection of spiritual practice and motherhood in Mandala and in an anthology, Fearless Nest.
Pieter Oosthuizen is an entrepreneur and a teacher. Pieter has brought innovative leadership to institutions such as Naropa University where he held the position of Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Tara Mandala Retreat Center, founded and led by Lama Tsultrim Allione, where he and Charlotte served first as Executive Directors and later as Trustees on the Board. His years of leadership have been dedicated to creating healthy, creative, and effective organizations built on cultures of openness, authenticity and honest communication. He received his Law degree in his native South Africa.
Pieter has been teaching and offering guidance in meditation and the process of Feeding your Demons for several years. To this end he brings a unique blend of incisive insight and genuine compassion. Among other disciplines, he has studied in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for two decades and most recently with Lama Tsultim Allione.
Polly Ryan, MA, MFT has been a devoted student of Lama Tsultrim Allione since 1992. She has also studied with B. Alan Wallace for over two decades. Under the tutelage of B. Alan Wallace, she has studied Shamatha, The Four Applications of Mindfulness, Seven Point Mind Training, The Four Immeasurables, Dzogchen, and other practices for over two decades. She has received teachings from many other Tibetan teachers including Kalachakra and Dzogchen teachings from H.H. the Dalai Lama in the late 1980’s. Polly is a certified Feeding Your Demons® Therapist and utilizes this process as a therapeutic life tool to assist clients in feeding rather than fighting their inner blocks to healing, growth and transformation. Polly opened her psychotherapy practice in 1986 in Truckee, CA, and Reno, NV. She leads the Tara Mandala Northern Sierra Sangha in downtown Truckee.
www.inneractiontherapy.com
SKYMIND 