CHÖD Empowerment and Retreat with Khentrul Rinpoche

online and in-person in Austria
This page is for registration to attend in person only. If you would like to register to attend the event online, please click here.

About the Practice of Chöd
Our attitude of self-cherishing is one of the main obstacles on our spiritual path. Although this attitude fuels biased feelings and the many afflictions, we can approach this challenge using either direct or indirect means. Indirect methods work with the conditions of self-cherishing, preventing them from arising in the future, whereas direct methods work with the actual mind of self-cherishing to remove its capacity to harm us. To this end, the practice of Chöd is universally recognised as one of the best ways to eradicate the self-cherishing mind. This unique practice lineage can be found in all of the major Tibetan traditions.

The Tibetan yogini Machik Labdrön developed her unique practice of Mahamudra Chöd. A chöd pa (Chöd practitioner) can cut through anything. Throughout Buddhist history, female practitioners have embodied the qualities of leadership in virtuous conduct, meditation and practice. Machik Labdrön is an extraordinary example of a highly realized female practitioner. Shar Khentrul Rinpoche has an aspiration to cultivate more realized female practitioners around the world, and we hope that this practice will support more female masters to manifest prominently.

Rinpoche has received the Chöd transmissions and practiced it in multiple traditions, including the Nyingma, Kagyu, Jonang, and Gelug traditions. He had the honor to receive a transmission directly from the 9th Kalka Jetsun Dhampaformer spiritual head of Mongolia, who is also considered to be a reincarnation of Jetsun Taranathaand to practice a Chöd retreat with him.  


Khentrul Rinpoche with the 9th Kalka Jetsun Dhampa.

About the Empowerment and Retreat
This is a rare and precious empowerment of Chöd from the primordial mind of master Jetsun Taranatha. You will receive a booklet to follow along throughout the whole empowerment. Part of the text includes inspiring stories about Machik Labdrön’s life. This event includes the following:

  1. Introductory Teaching
  2. Preparatory Practice to the Empowerment
  3. “The Chöd Empowerment that Opens the Gates to the Sky” written by Jestun Taranatha 
  4. Oral Transmission of “Subduing Through Splendour” (a traditional Chöd Sadhana of the Jonang Tradition) 
  5. Oral Transmission of “A Brief Practice of Object Severance” (a condensed Chöd Sadhana written by Shar Khentrul Rinpoche)
  6. Translated Texts of the Empowerment Booklet and Sadhanas 
  7. Daily group and individual practice sessions with senior students
  8. Chöd Teaching with Rinpoche, including Taranatha’s Commentary on Chöd 
  9. Q&A session with Rinpoche 

 

The elements below will also be included for those attending in person:

  • Group Dharma Discussions
  • Optional daily body practice guided by qualified yoga teachers
  • Optional personal/group interview with Rinpoche (upon request)
  • Optional Walk in the nature around Kalapa with Rinpoche
  • Printed texts
  • Food and Accomodation 

 

Who can attend?
This event is open to all. There are no formal prerequisites to attend. However, previous Buddhist study and practice (such as the Ngöndro) are very helpful. If you are new to the Buddhist path, you may also like to study beforehand Khentrul Rinpoche’s course titled “What’s Real?” in our learning center and to read Books One and Two of Rinpoche’s trilogy “Unveiling Your Sacred Truth”. 

Food and On-Site Accommodations

Food and On-Site Accommodations
The fee for the retreat includes three vegetarian meals and shared accommodations at the beautiful Dzokden Kalapa Retreat Center. Please inform us ([email protected]) in advance if you have allergies, food intolerances, or other important health or mental conditions that we need to consider. We are able to offer various male and female dormitory spaces from four to eight participants in each room. You can alternatively bring your own tent and camp near the Kalachakra Stupa (see registration options). As we wish to host as many students as possible and offer everyone the opportunity to meet Rinpoche in person, for this retreat it is not possible to reserve an individual room inside the retreat center. Parking in the area of Kalapa is very limited. If you are staying with us for the whole retreat, we encourage you to find a place in the town to park to help day travellers reach the site. 

Off-Site Accommodations
If you absolutely need an individual room, many options for accommodations are available near the retreat center’s area, in the Garanas region, and in the town Bad Schwanberg. In this case, please search for and book the necessary reservations yourself. 

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities
Rinpoche strongly encourages us to support our dharma brothers and sisters by volunteering. For this retreat, we need one full-time volunteer to cook breakfast, lunch, and a light dinner for the participants. 

If you are considering this opportunity, please write as soon as possible to [email protected], so that we can arrange a video call to plan your participation. You can also volunteer for only a portion of the event rather than for the whole retreat; you can offer as much as possible according to your capability. Indeed, if you decide to be a full-time volunteer for the whole retreat (about. 8 hours volunteering each day), you can attend the empowerment and teachings without needing to register as a paying participant.

Schedule

Schedule
Vienna Time (CEST)
Lines in italics are relevant only for those attending in-person.

FRIDAY 4th August
14:00 to 16:00 – Check-in at Kalapa Retreat Center.
17:00 – Welcome Meeting at the Yoga Room (mandatory)
18:00 – Dinner
19:30 – 21:00 – Public Teaching with RINPOCHE –  Overcoming Fears and Limitations: The Practice of Chöd

SATURDAY 5th August
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – Vajrasattva Purification as a Preliminary Practice for the Empowerment
(sadhana “Divine Ladder” is published in the Vajra Book”)
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 13:00 – CHÖD EMPOWERMENT part 1
13:00 – Lunch and Break
15.00 – 16.30 –  CHÖD EMPOWERMENT part 2 (Tsok)
and ORAL TRANSMISSION of the Sadhanas
17.00 – 18.00 – Free time for rest, dharma discussions, self-study and self-practice
18.00 – Dinner
19.30 – 21.00 – CHÖD Practice Session 

SUNDAY 6th August
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – CHÖD Group Practice Session
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 –  CHÖD Group Session offline (for those at Kalapa) 
13:00 – Lunch and Break
15.00 – 16.30 – CHÖD Q&A with RINPOCHE
17.00 – 18.00 – Free time for rest, dharma discussions, self-study, and self-practice
Optional Yoga Class
18.00 – Dinner
19.30 – 21.00 – CHÖD Group Practice Session

MONDAY 7th August
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – CHÖD Group Practice Session
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 – Dharma Discussion in small groups (for those at Kalapa)
13:00 – Lunch and Break
15.00 – 16:30 – CHÖD Group Practice Session
17.00 – 18.00 – Free time for rest, dharma discussions, self-study, and self-practice
Optional Yoga Class
18.00 – Dinner
19.30 – 21.00 – Teaching with RINPOCHE

TUESDAY 8th August
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – CHÖD Group Practice Session
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 – Individual Chöd Practice in the nature area (for those at Kalapa)
13:00 – Lunch and Break
15.00 – 16:30 – CHÖD Group Practice Session
17.00 – 18.00 – Free time for rest, dharma discussions, self-study, and self-practice Optional Yoga Class
18.00 – Dinner
19.30 – 21.00 – Teaching with RINPOCHE

WEDNESDAY 9th August
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – CHÖD Group Practice Session
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 – Dharma Discussion in small groups (for those in-person in Kalapa)
+Online Session (for those attending online)
13:00 – Lunch and Break
15.00 – 16:30 – CHÖD Group Practice Session
17.00 – 18.00 – Free time for rest, dharma discussions, self-study, and self-practice
Optional Yoga Class
18.00 – Dinner
19.30 – 21.00 – Teaching with RINPOCHE

THURSDAY 10th August
06.30 – Wake Up Gong
07:00 – 08:30 – CHÖD Group Practice Session
08.30 – Breakfast
09:30 – 10:30 – Karma Yoga
11.00 – 12:30 – CHÖD practice with Rinpoche and Closing Session
13:00 – Lunch / Departure

Optional extras for practice

Optional extras for practice
To enhance your practice, you can purchase some additional items as suitable. Our Dzokden Kalapa store is run by volunteers, and all purchases directly support Rinpoche’s altruistic projects. Although you can take and receive the empowerment and participate in the retreat even without any of these items, they are recommended as traditional supports for Chöd practice. If you are attending in-person, you can order it online through our Kalapa store and pick it up upon arrival. At this time we can only offer in-person pickup for orders made before mid June. 

  • Chöd Drum (2 sizes)
    Made by artisans in Nepal. Each ritual drum comes with a brocade case and tail. This high-quality drum is made of Sengdeng wood.
  • Kangling Thigh Bone Trumpet (made out of wood)
    Made by artisans in Kathmandu, Nepal. Naturally, obtaining a Kangling made of real bone is very difficult in these modern times. As an alternative, many people worldwide use trumpets made from wood. Comes with a case. 
  • Vajra and Bell (Small or Large Size)
    Made with metal by artisans in Dehradun India. The color of the brocade case may vary from the one shown in the image. 

 

Additional Info for those attending in person

Additional Info for those attending in person: If you are participating in person and need live translation, you must provide your own internet connection and bring earphones to listen to the translated teachings provided over the internet using your tablet or mobile device in the temple. Laptops or notebook computers are not allowed in the temple. Unfortunately, we cannot provide a wireless internet connection for participants owing to technical limitations.

If you are a translator who is joining the retreat in person, please let us know in advance so that we can reserve a space for you to translate during the teachings. Space is available for a maximum of about four translators in total, and live translation will not be performed in the temple itself. Instead, in-person translators will participate in the event over an internet connection provided at the retreat center so that their translation can be broadcast to the online audience. You need also to register yourself as an in-person participant.

How to get to Kalapa?
Kalachakra Kalapa Center, Garanas 41, Bad Schwanberg, zip code 8541, Austria, Südweststeiermark.
Nearest airport is in Graz, Austria.

By train:
To travel to Kalapa by train, start at the main train station in Graz. From there, take the S6 or S61 S-Bahn towards Wies-Eibiswald for about an hour to the Bad Schwanberg station. (timetable information)

To travel from the Bad Schwanberg train station to the retreat center, a relatively inexpensive taxi service supported by the government is available that will take you directly to the Retreat Center, which is referred to as “Buddhistisches Zentrum” by this taxi service. For more information, please visit the following website: Regio Mobil. The taxi must be ordered at least one hour in advance, but visitors are recommended to do so much earlier or on the day before you intend to arrive. On weekdays, this taxi service operates between the hours of 6.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m. On weekends it does not operate during the evening. As the journey is quite long (about 20 minutes), the service should be scheduled at least half an hour before the closing hours provided above. For trips on Sundays or public holidays please schedule the taxi service by 5 p.m. on the day before you intend to arrive.

To order: +43 (0)50 16 17 18
Cost: €6.00 total regardless of how many people are taking the taxi.
Alternatively you can book a normal taxi service or similar.

By car:
From the Graz-West motorway junction (A2/A9), get on the A2 towards Klagenfurt/Italy and take the Lieboch exit. Then, continue on Federal Road 76 towards Eibiswald. After about 30 km, you will reach Schwanberg. At the end of the main square in Schwanberg, turn left towards Garanas. After the bridge, turn right towards Garanas and follow the signs to “Kalachakra Kalapa Center” uphill for about 8 km to reach the center.

DANA for KHENTRUL RINPOCHE
Beyond the empowerments, Khentrul Rinpoche has kindly agreed to give teaching sessions and to support the retreat leaders which will guide the practice sessions. If you wish to show your generosity to Rinpoche’s precious teachings and to his immense efforts, you can do it in-person at the end of the retreat or, if you are attending online, offer Dana for Rinpoche on the Dzokden website here.

Date

Aug 04 - 10 2023
Expired!

Location

Dzokden Kalapa
Garanas 41, 8541 Bad Schwanberg, Austria
Category

Speaker

  • Khentrul Rinpoche
    Khentrul Rinpoche

    Khentrul Rinpoché Jamphel Lodrö is the founder and spiritual director of Dzokden. Rinpoche is the author of Unveiling Your Sacred Truth, The Great Middle Way: Clarifying the Jonang View of Other-Emptiness, A Happier Life, and The Hidden Treasure of the Profound Path.

    Rinpoche spent the first 20 years of his life herding yak and chanting mantras on the plateaus of Tibet. Inspired by the bodhisattvas, he left his family to study in a variety of monasteries under the guidance of over twenty-five masters in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Due to his non-sectarian approach, he earned himself the title of Rimé (unbiased) Master and was identified as the reincarnation of the famous Kalachakra Master Ngawang Chözin Gyatso. While at the core of his teachings is the recognition that there is great value in the diversity of all spiritual traditions found in this world; he focuses on the Jonang-Shambhala tradition. Kalachakra (wheel of time) teachings contain profound methods to harmonize our external environment with the inner world of body and mind, ultimately bringing about the golden age of peace and harmony (dzokden).