Upcoming Retreats

 


“All Into One”: An experiential retreat on Calm Abiding and Emptiness based on Guru Yoga and the 3 Principal Aspects of the Path

Venerable René Feusi

April 25 - May 5, 2024
About the Retreat We are so pleased and honored that one of our most precious teachers is returning again to Vajrapani.   This retreat is a rare opportunity to meditate with Venerable Rene more deeply on the teachings he gave last year in the Bay Area on Guru Yoga as a basis for realizing Mahamudra or realizing "mind as it is."   Utilizing once again the Guru Yoga practice, The Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy, as the life force for collecting merit and clearing obstacles on our spiritual path, Venerable Rene will also offer experiential teachings and meditations…

Online Book Club – Vol 4: Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps

Venerable Gyalten Chimé

May 8 - June 26, 2024
When On Zoom Every Wednesday for 8 weeks 6:30 - 8:30pm Pacific Time Zoom Link will be sent a day before the Wednesday night class.     Prerequisites: None – Open to all students   It is recommended that participants read the first few chapters prior to the first Book Club session on May 8th.   About the Book This weekly online book gathering will feature facilitated conversation, discussion and meditation sessions with Buddhist monastic Venerable Chimé.   Delve into the substance of spiritual practice in this fourth volume of the Dalai Lama’s definitive series on the path to awakening,…

Weekend with H.E. Ling Rinpoche

His Eminence the 7th Kyabje Yongzin Ling Rinpoche

May 25 - 26, 2024
The FPMT Bay Area Centers: Land of Medicine Buddha, Ocean of Compassion, Tse Chen Ling, and Vajrapani Institute, are honored to announce a precious weekend with His Eminence Yongzin Ling Rinpoche!   Venue School of Arts & Culture: Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose, CA   Saturday, May 25 Teaching on the Foundation of All Good Qualities (In-Person and online via Zoom)   Sunday, May 26 1,000-Armed Chenrezig Initiation (In-Person only - per H.E. Ling Rinpoche's request)   How to Register Admission to both teachings and initiation is free of charge, based on the generosity of donations and sponsors. Make sure…

Nyung Nae Retreat

Venerable Charles

July 5 - 14, 2024
“Nyung naes take such a short time, but brings strong purification. So many eons can be purified in this life; it makes it so easy to have attainments.” - Kyabjé Lama Zopa Rinpoche A “Not To Be Missed” Nyung Nae Retreat with Venerable Charles! Venerable Charles leads Nyung Nae retreats around the world, including an annual month long Nyung Nae retreat in France every year.  We are humbled and honored to have Venerable Charles to lead this precious Nyung Nae retreat, our first since reopening after the pandemic. If you have a wish to purify yourself quickly to develop your…

Family Camp 2024 – Applications Open

July 25 - 28, 2024
Join us for our annual Family Camp for 2024! Since 1994, Family Camp has been providing families with children 5-12 the opportunity to learn more about their interconnections with each other in the frame of traditional Buddhist thinking and practice. In a mix of play and structure, both kids and adults have the opportunity to meditate in age-appropriate groups, create art projects following our yearly theme, participate in or applaud a talent show, have fun purifying at a fire puja, and much more. This annual event aims to instill in participants an appreciation of the value of loving-kindness in daily…

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 and Solitary Hero Yamāntaka – Commentary and Retreat

Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa

August 23 - 31, 2024
About the Retreat We are so fortunate that our kind and compassionate guru, Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa, is returning to Vajrapani Institute to lead another retreat in 2024. 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. Rinpoche will continue the remaining five days with a commentary on Solitary Hero Yamāntaka, with opportunities for group sadhana practice. Rinpoche will not be giving initiation for…

Foundation Service Seminar (FSS)

Amy Cayton and François Lecointre

September 9 - 14, 2024
Facilitated by Amy Cayton and François Lecointre   The Foundation Service Seminar (FSS) is the “FPMT immersion retreat”. It will provide essential information and nourishment for those already offering service, and for anyone interested in offering service in the FPMT organization.   The FSS retreat explores how to effectively offer our skills and qualities in service. We will investigate the purpose and mission of the FPMT organization, what it means to be an FPMT center, project or service: and how that vision can translate into joyful action for individuals. Interactive, enriching, inspiring and supportive, the FSS addresses all aspects of service…

Water Bowl Offering Retreat: The Power of Purification

Venerable Angie Muir

October 5 - 12, 2024
"When we offer water, our mind, like the quality of water becomes gentle and soft and we generate loving kindness and compassion towards all living beings, bodhichitta." - Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche   For any type of spiritual growth or realizations to develop in our hearts we need to create the internal conditions through the practices of purification and accumulation of merit. Whether you have a commitment to do the preliminary practice of water bowls from your teacher or have a wish to purify, offering water bowls is an excellent opportunity to experience the power of purification as well as being…

Experiential Vajrayogini Retreat

Elaine Jackson

October 17 - 20, 2024
Join us for an experiential Vajrayogini Retreat with FPMT Teacher Elaine Jackson at Vajrapani Institute.   Elaine has said, “How wonderful that we will meet again to explore our relationship with Vajrayogini. I will share my approach to the practice and happily discuss ways to enliven it, soliciting your experiences as well.”   “I have seen over many years of practice that there is an alchemy, a gradual change, that manifests when I embrace the practice from a felt sense and try to bring that sense into my everyday life. This comes, not solely from  the sadhana, but from embracing…

New Year’s Vajrasattva Practice Retreat – SAVE THE DATE

December 28, 2024 - January 1, 2025
Most of us operate from profound ignorance, a solid mis-knowing. This ignorance – that happiness and unhappiness come from somewhere “out there” – blocks us from seeing our clear light mind. The Vajrasattva practice purifies our mind from grasping so strongly onto the mistaken view. Utilizing time-tested visualization and meditation, deluded states – pain, sorrow, hatred, pride, jealousy, doubt – lose their power. Our mind is purified. We’ll explore why this powerful Vajrasattva practice actually works, and how we can use it in our daily life to grow our happiness.

Yamāntaka Approximation Retreat

January 3 - 31, 2025
Holding space for a possible Approximation Retreat for Yamantaka.  Dates are TBD and may be in Nov/Dec of 2024 or Jan/Feb 2025. Please sign up for the waitlist to receive notification and join a discussion/survey to find dates that would work for interested parties.