with Lama Thupten Nima and Drupon Thinley Ningpo
Friday, March 24th – Sunday, March 26th 2023
In-person and online event
White Tara Empowerment
Lama Thupten Nima
Friday, March 24th
7:00pm – 9:00pm EST
White Tara Practice Retreat
Lama Thupten Nima and Drupon Thinley Ningpo
Saturday and Sunday, March 25th and March 26th
Session 1: 6:00am – 8:00am EST
Session 2: 9:00am – 12:00pm EST
Session 3: 2:00pm – 5:00pm EST
Session 4: 7:00pm – 9:00pm EST
PLEASE REGISTER HERE IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND
**Everyone is welcome to attend any session during the retreat that fits their schedule.**
All activities will be held in person at our center in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
The White Tara Empowerment and Practice Retreat will also be held on Zoom and YouTube Live Stream.
ZOOM ID: 859 7932 6780
PASSCODE: AchiDrolma
ZOOM Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85979326780?pwd=WWpsQ2U1cmg4allMTGx5MUVDNXBzUT09
White Tara is a well-known deity widely practiced for long life, health, healing, and compassion. The text we will practice is a pure vision sadhana with a special blessing connection to His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche. It arose from a direct encounter or pure vision in which Garchen Rinpoche’s former incarnation, Gar Trinle Yongkhyab, received the practice instructions from Arya Tara herself and then committed them to writing. The Sadhana, “The Refined Drop of Immortality,” is one of the main sadhanas practiced at Gar Monastery in Tibet and is also one of the regular practices at Garchen Institute in Arizona.
We are very fortunate to host Lama Thupten Nima, who has a profound connection with this particular text and Garchen Rinpoche.
Please join us for this special event!
Venerable Lama Thupten Nima
Lama Thupten Nima was born in 1965 into political turmoil and exile associated with the Chinese Cultural Revolution. He had the good fortune to receive instruction at fourteen from the great yogi Tamga and completed the four hundred thousand accumulations of the preliminary practices according to the Buddhist Yangzab terma.
Having been long associated with Gar Monastery, Lama-la made great efforts to travel to the Gar Monastery, where he received refuge ordination from His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche. He then received full monastic ordination and the bodhisattva vow from the great siddha Karma Norbu and was admitted to the Gar Monastery. There, he trained in the ritual practices of the tantras of Old and New Schools and other diverse religious activities. He was selected for special training at Lho Lungkar Monastery, including the Eight Heruka Sadhanas, the Embodiment of the Masters’ Realization, Vajrakilaya, and Essence of Great Bliss. He served as chant master and, later, as disciplinarian of the Gar monastery.
Thereafter, he received teachings from many of the great living Buddhist masters, including Dzogchen trekchod and thogal from Khenpo Munsel Rinpoche, the entirety of the Drikung Kagyu protectors, and the higher and lower tantra sections from HE Garchen Rinpoche, and received from Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok’s terma (mind treasure) of the Kilaya cycle of teachings. At Drigung Thil, he received from Drubpon Tendzin Nyima some of the profound teachings of the Drikung Kagyu, such as the Fivefold Mahamudra and the Six Yogas [of Naropa]. He studied the Gong Chig (Single Intention), Essence of Mahayana, The Bodhisattva Way of Life, and the Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices with Drigung Khenpo Namzig. Under the elder Drigung chant master Konchog Samten, he trained in the ritual practices of Chakrasamvara, Varahi, the Yangzab, Sarvavid, and Akshobhya.
Thereafter, HE Garchen Rinpoche entitled him a Vajra Master and asked him to undertake a series of assignments to help reorganize and reestablish Buddhist practice and monastic discipline in monasteries throughout the region, including Lho Miyel Monastery, Khargo Monastery, and later Tseri Monastery in Sichuan where he re-established the Great Accomplishment (Drupchen) practice of Yamantaka and gave other teachings.
Subsequently, at Gar Monastery, Lama Thupten Nima took responsibility for instructing the nuns at the Fivefold Mahamudra Meditation Center of Gargon Nunnery. He then came to America for a Yamantaka Retreat with HE Garchen Rinpoche. Currently, he serves as the Resident Retreat Master and Chant Master for the Garchen Institute in Arizona. Furthermore, he founded the Drikung Rinchen Choling Foundation in Los Angeles, CA, where he continues to oversee the center as the Resident Lama.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Preregistration
Empowerment is $60 (Friday, March 24th)
$40 per day (Saturday, March 25th and Sunday March 26th)
$140 for the full event
Food
Meals will not be provided, but snacks, fruit, tea, and coffee will be available for all participants.
Work-Study
Drong Ngur strives to make the Dharma available to everyone, and no one is turned away due to a lack of funds. Work-study is an excellent way to make an offering and generate merit. We are currently seeking volunteers, and work-study is available upon request. Please contact drongngur@gmail.com for more information.
Lodging
Lodging at Drong Ngur Jangchubling is available for the duration of the retreat. Please contact drongngurevents@gmail.com to reserve lodging.
Text
Digital copies of texts and sadhanas will be available previous to the start of the retreat in-person and online @ https://dnjus.org/virtual-dharma/
Questions?
drongngur@gmail.com