2024 Winter Retreat: Resting in the Wonder of the Natural Mind

Location icon
560 Drumheller Ln, Shipman, VA, USA
Date
December 27, 2024 - January 4, 2025

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Details of this retreat

Welcome to a dzogchen retreat open to everyone! In winter, nature turns inward to renew itself before the emergence of spring. As in nature, we, too, benefit from taking time to turn inward—to reflect, meditate, and nourish ourselves in community. As we find our centeredness through resting in stillness, silence, and spaciousness, we discover the sacred expanse of our own being and the rich resource of those who gather in this way. We rest, renew, and generate fresh visions for our lives. We activate our aspiration to benefit others. 

For this 2024 Winter Retreat, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche warmly invites you to join him for nine days of dzogchen meditation. Our traditional six-day retreat has expanded in length as a support to deepen our practice together. 

Dzogchen teachings, known as the teachings of “great perfection,” are considered the highest teachings in Bön and Tibetan Buddhism. The teachings hold the view that each of us and all of  reality is inherently complete and perfected as it is. Nothing needs to be transformed or renounced, simply recognized for what it truly is. Without accepting or rejecting any of our experiences, thoughts, or emotions, the essential dzogchen practice is a practice of allowing everything to be just as it is, without the elaboration of our habitual patterns or the conceptual mind. In this natural space of openness, we abide, fully present with wisdom and compassion. 

In this retreat, Rinpoche will present and guide a selection of dzogchen practices from the ancient Bön text of the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, the core of Rinpoche’s teaching at our winter retreats for the last 30 years. Experienced practitioners who have attended any of the 5-year cycles of the Experiential Transmission, as well as those who are new to dzogchen meditation are warmly welcomed.

If you are new to these teachings and practices, Rinpoche strongly encourages you to register for two free courses prior to attending the winter retreat:

 Starting a Meditation Practice through Ligmincha Learning, and
 Focusing and Calming Your Mind: The Tibetan Practice of Zhiné, through Glidewing

Time will be dedicated for a morning walk with Rinpoche. These walks are a beautiful opportunity to connect to others, with Rinpoche, and with our visiting resident lamas. We bring care and attention to the health of the body, get good sleep, and enjoy nutritious food—all supporting our ability to deepen and stabilize our meditation. 

 
Schedule
December 27, 2024
4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Onsite Registration/Check–in
6:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m. Dinner
6:45 p.m.– 7:00 p.m. Break
7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Teachings

December 28 –December 30, 2024
7:00 a.m.–7:40 a.m. Practice
7:40 a.m.–8:45 a.m. Walk/Circumambulate
8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Breakfast
9:15 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Teachings
11:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Practice
12:30 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Break
1:00 p.m.–1:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Teachings
4:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Break
5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Practice
6:00 p.m.–6:15 p.m. Break
6:15 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Dinner

December 31, 2023
7:00 a.m.–7:40 a.m. Practice
7:40 a.m.–8:45 a.m. Walk/Circumambulate
8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Breakfast
9:15 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Teachings
11:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Practice
12:30 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Break
1:00 p.m.–1:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Du Dok (end of year ritual
4:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Break
4:30 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Teaching
6:00 p.m.–6:15 p.m. Break
6:15 p.m.–7:00 p.m. New Year’s Eve Dinner

January 1, 2025
7:00 a.m.–7:40 a.m. Practice
7:40 a.m.–8:45 a.m. Walk/Circumambulate
8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Breakfast
9:15 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Sang Chӧd & Teachings
11:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Practice
12:30 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Break
1:00 p.m.–1:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Teachings
4:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Break
5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Practice
6:00 p.m.–6:15 p.m. Break
6:15 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Dinner

January 2–3, 2025
7:00 a.m.–7:40 a.m. Practice
7:40 a.m.–8:45 a.m. Walk/Circumambulate
8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Breakfast
9:15 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Teachings
11:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Practice
12:30 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Break
1:00 p.m.–1:45 p.m. Lunch
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Teachings
4:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Break
5:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Practice
6:00 p.m.–6:15 p.m. Break
6:15 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Dinner

January 4, 2025
7:00 a.m.–7:40 a.m. Practice
7:40 a.m.–8:45 a.m. Walk/Circumambulate
8:15 a.m.–9:15 a.m. Breakfast
9:15 a.m.–9:30 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Final Teaching & Close of Retreat
11:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m. Break
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Tsok
1:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. Khata offering
1:30 p.m. Lunch

Rinpoche will offer a refuge ceremony to anyone with an interest in taking refuge at the end of winter retreat on January 4.

Getting Here

Location icon Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, 560 Drumheller Ln, Shipman, VA, USA

Accommodation

Commuter w/Teachings + 3 Meals

Accommodation
Ensures your space at all teachings and practices. Includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Commuter w/Teaching + Lunch Only

Accommodation
This option ensures your space to all the teachings and practices. This will also include lunch for all days of the retreat.

Tent Site (Tienda de Campaña)

Accommodation
Leveled tent site, access to dormitory bathroom/shower facilities, and includes all meals. (Sitio de campaña nivelado, acceso al baño / ducha del dormitorio, y uso de espacios comunes interiores.)

Single Room (Sencillo) w/shared bath

Accommodation
1-person room with twin bed, bathroom down the hall. (1 persona habitación con cama doble, cuarto de baño en el pasillo.)

3rd Floor Single Room (Individual Sencillo) w/semi-private bath

Accommodation
3rd floor single room with 1 twin bed; bathroom shared with double on the same floor down the hall. (Habitación con cama doble en el tercer piso de Garuda House; Baño compartido con doble en el mismo piso por el pasillo.)

Double Room (Doble Habitacion) ( 2 Twin beds) w/shared bath

Accommodation
Bed in a double room with 2 twin beds, bathroom down the hall. (Cama en una habitación doble con 2 camas individuales, cuarto de baño en el pasillo.)

3rd Floor Double Room (Habitación Doble Aislada) ( 2 Twin beds) w/semi-private bath

Accommodation
3rd Floor double room with 2 twin beds; bathroom shared with single room on the same floor. (Cama en habitación doble con 2 camas individuales en el tercer piso de Garuda House; Baño compartido con habitación individual en la misma planta.)

3rd Floor Queen Bed Room w/semi-private bath

Accommodation
Room 305 - This room has one queen sized bed on the 3rd floor. The 3rd floor shares a bathroom with rooms 301 (single room) and 303 (double room).

Private Queen/Twin Room w/ensuite bath (Cama Matrimonial + Cama Doble con Baño Privado)

Accommodation
Private room with one queen-sized bed and one twin bed, plus its own bathroom. (Habitación privada con una cama doble y una cama doble, además de su propio cuarto de baño.)

Private Queen/Queen Room w/ensuite bath (Cama Matrimonial + Cama Matrimonial con Baño Privado)

Accommodation
Room with two queen-sized beds, plus its own bathroom. (Habitación con dos camas queen-size, además de su propio cuarto de baño.)

3rd Floor Queen/Twin Room w/ Ensuite bath

Accommodation
A 3rd floor private room with one queen-sized bed and one twin bed, plus its own bathroom. (Habitación privada aislada con una cama doble y una cama doble, además de su propio cuarto de baño.)

Venue & Amenities

A/C in Rooms icon A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi icon Free Wifi
Spa icon Spa
Sauna icon Sauna
Pool icon Pool
Towels icon Towels
Free Parking icon Free Parking
Kitchen icon Kitchen
Tour Assistance icon Tour Assistance
Hot Tub icon Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea icon Coffee/Tea
Cafe icon Cafe
Restaurant icon Restaurant
Fitness Center icon Fitness Center
Yoga Studio icon Yoga Studio
Housekeeping icon Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent icon Bicycles For Rent

Meals

Menu Types

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