Weekend workshops introduce new ideas in a gentle, meditative atmosphere.

Unless otherwise noted,
Saturday workshops begin at 10 AM and concludes at 4:45,
include a vegetarian buffet lunch.

Workshop participants may arrange to stay overnight at the Institute for $40 per night.

Programs are based on books by Tarthang Tulku.
These books are available at the Nyingma Institute Bookstore,
or may be purchased online through Dharma Publishing.

For Continuing Education Credit Workshops see
Continuing Legal Education Program- MCLEP certified workshops for lawyers
and MFT &LCSW Workshops -CEU credits for health care workers

For Retreats lasting longer than three days, see the Retreats Page or Human Development Retreat Page

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KNR413 Embodiment of Beauty June 21 The human heart thrives on wonder and the light of beauty. -Tarthang Tulku, Mandala Gardens. Our physical senses are capable of receiving great beauty, bringing us moments of exquisite feeling and deep satisfaction. To activate this capacity for beauty, we must clear confusion and repressed anger out of the pathways of the senses. The Kum Nye practices in this workshop initiate a stream of inner feeling that cleanses each sense. Based on Joy of Being and Mandala Gardens. Cost: $80. Instructor: Jack van der Meulen.

DHS405 Question of Identity: Ten Kinds of Self June 27 - 28 Friday, 7-9 PM; Saturday, 10 AM-4:45 PM. Who creates, controls, enjoys, defiles, or purifies experience? Am "I" substantial, or have "I" as Tarthang Tulku writes, "entered into an illusory partnership with an entity that has no existence of its own?" Experiential exercises will shed light on these questions, while lecture will examine the ten kinds of self as described by the Bodhisattva Maitreya and the Nyingma master Lama Mipham. Based on Ways of Enlightenment. Prerequisite: background in Buddhism. Cost: $95. Instructors: Sylvia Gretchen and Barr Rosenberg

MED401 The Art of Sitting Comfortably July 12 10 AM-1 PM (Includes a vegetarian lunch) This workshop is for those who have trouble sitting cross-legged on the floor. You will be led through a motion assessment of back, hips, knees, and ankles. A variety of sitting strategies will be introduced and a program of Kum Nye exercises will be tailored for you, taking into account your specific motion limitations. All are welcome, but register early for this workshop, since attendance is limited. Cost: $60. Instructor: Donna Morton, Kum Nye instructor and physiotherapist.

TSK406 Waking to Space; Opening to Freedom July 19 10 AM-4:45 PM We live our lives within narrow limits. Accepting these limits as 'the way things are," we never notice how they channel us into pathways of frustration and disappointment. The Time, Space, and Knowledge vision offers practices and insights that help us break through our limits. When we focus on space instead of structure, we taste freedom in each moment. When we break down the old patterns that claim authority over us, we gain the power to reshape our lives. For all levels of students. Cost: $80. Instructor: Jack Petranker.

DHS412 Practices on the Path to Liberation July 26 10 AM-4:45 PM This workshop is for those who have taken one or more courses at the Nyingma Institute and wish to learn how meditation, analysis, chanting, study, and movement practices fit together. Faculty members will guide you through each of these areas, focusing on how the many aspects of Nyingma practice, like the many facets of a jewel, work together to display the diamond-like nature of Dharma. Cost: $80. Instructors: Nyingma Institute faculty.

MED403 Calm and Clear August 2   10 AM-4:45 PM Clinging to nothing, but aspiring to compassion, Like a bird in the sky of simplicity, Gliding through life without fear, The Buddha-son reaches the highest plane. --Lama Mipham, The Wheel of Analytic Meditation. Methods to ease the mind into "the sky of simplicity" will be presented including meditations for calming the mind (shamatha) and meditations to expand insight (vipassana). For those familiar with Buddhist teachings. Based on Lama Mipham's The Wheel of Analytic Meditation. Cost: $80. Primary Instructor: Sylvia Gretchen.

DHS406 Cultivating Unlimited Love August 8-9 Friday, 7-9 PM; Saturday 10 AM-4:45 PM. Cultivating the "four immeasurable" states of mind--love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity--is a classic Buddhist practice that teaches us to transcend our ordinary way of being and our limited way of understanding love. We discover an inner serenity that fosters the realization of selflessness. Prerequisite: concurrent registration in DHS203, DHS211 , or consent of instructor. Cost: $95. Primary Instructor: Sylvia Gretchen.

MED416 Strengthening Devotion
August 16
10 AM-4:45 PM

In this advanced meditation workshop, we will exercise devotional qualities
that allow us to bring the powerful force of devotion into our daily life and
onto the path of wisdom and compassion.
Prerequisite: Three years of meditation experience.
Cost: $80.
Instructor: Sylvia Gretchen.

KNR414 Opening the Field of Awareness August 22 - 24 Begins with lunch on Friday and continues through Sunday lunch. When the senses open widely, they take on a different quality, and the sensations they transmit become fuller and more intense. Tarthang Tulku, Joy of Being. We work with introspective practices that focus on how the senses interact with mind and self. These practices help us to break free of the ordinary chain of perceptions that lead to misery. We become mindful that, within each perception, we have the opportunity to rest within the open space of awareness, simply "seeing," "feeling," and "knowing" beyond interpretations or labels. $325 (residential only). Instructors: Sylvia Gretchen and Barr Rosenberg. Based on Joy of Being and Openness Mind. Held at Ratna Ling MED401 How to Meditate August 30 10 AM-1 PM (includes vegetarian lunch) Learn how to begin and sustain a daily meditation practice. This popular workshop provides instruction in sitting and walking meditation and Tibetan chanting. Cost: $45. Instructor: Robin Caton.

 

KNR405 Tasting Relaxation* September 6 10 AM - 4:45 PM The relaxation that comes through Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga) practice is like a rich nectar that flows through the body and feelings. This workshop presents practices that allow participants to 'taste' this deep relaxation. Cost: $80. Instructor: Jack van der Meulen. For all levels of students.

KNR406 Joy and Spaciousness*
September 12-14
Gentle Kum Nye movement and breathing practices enhance a sense of spaciousness
and develop joyous feelings. Taught mostly outdoors, the beauty of nature will help
foster and expand inner joy.

$220 (residential only). Instructors: Sylvia Gretchen and Jack van der Meulen.
Held at Ratna Ling. For all levels of students.

 

TSK407 Freedom for Knowledge September 13 10 AM-4:45 PM As human beings, we have a wealth of experience that we can draw on to activate knowledge. Yet often we seem to ignore experience in favor of the surface contents of our thoughts. -Tarthang Tulku, Dynamics of Time and Space Beneath or within experience lies another way of being. We can discover a pervasive freedom, reflecting our basic nature. Using practices from the Time, Space, and Knowledge vision, we learn to relax into what is truly natural and available. Cost: $80. Instructor: Tom Morse.

 

MED404 Developing Concentration and Awareness September 20 10 AM - 4:45 PM The secret ‘formula’ or ‘path’ that leads to higher meditation is not to identify, not to take a position, not to hold onto anything within the meditation. Tarthang Tulku, Gesture of Balance. Concentration and awareness are necessary for success in any endeavor. We can develop concentration and heighten awareness quickly through analytical meditation. This workshop introduces experiential exercises that focus mind, but also lead us beyond words and labels. Cost: $80. Instructor: Bob Byrne. Based on the chapter “Observing Thoughts” in Gesture of Balance. For those with meditation experience.

 

MED405 Wheel of Analytic Meditation September 27 10 AM-4:45 PM The cause of confusion and frustration in life Is the virulent passion of the mind. Distortion and dispersion, the causes of passion, Must be replaced by incisive attentiveness. --Lama Mipham, The Wheel of Analytic Meditation Attachment, aversion, and confusion veil and distort serenity and clarity. This workshop presents classic Buddhist analytic meditations that help to restore mind’s natural peace through pointing out the compounded and transient nature of experience. $80. Instructors: Sylvia Gretchen and Jack Petranker. Based on Lama Mipham’s Calm and Clear. For those familiar with Buddhist teachings.

 

*These workshops meet the qualifications for hours of continuing education credit for MFTs and LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Provider: Nyingma Institute #2513. A full refund is given if a workshop is cancelled or a student is unable to attend.

New!

Fall 2008 Workshops
Weekend workshops introduce new ideas in a gentle, meditative atmosphere. Unless otherwise noted, Saturday workshops begin at 10 AM, conclude at 4:45 PM and include a vegetarian buffet lunch. Workshop participants may arrange to stay overnight at the Institute for $40 per night.

MED401 How to Meditate, October 4, 10 AM—1 PM Learn how to begin and sustain a daily meditation practice. This popular workshop provides instruction in sitting and walking meditation and Tibetan chanting. $45. Instructor: Mary Gomes. Includes lunch at 1 PM.
MED406 Seeing the Mind, October 4 We will explore how visualization practices can be used to expand consciousness. Workshop will include meditation exercises that contact a higher awareness, alive and healing. $80. Instructor: Sylvia Gretchen. Based on Hidden Mind of Freedom and Openness Mind.
KNR 412 Inner Alchemy: Transformation through Tibetan Yoga, October 11 Transformation occurs through Kum Nye, mobilizing the body's natural healing as it literally remakes the physical body. The movement exercises introduced in this workshop stimulate the flow of subtle energy that can lead to remarkable changes in body and mind. $80. Instructosr: Jack van der Meulen and Donna Morton. For all levels of students.
NPS406 Activating Joyous Feeling, October 18 By stimulating and directing positive, joyous feelings we can change the essence of our inner patterns and experience. When positive or joyous feelings and attitudes pass through each organ and circulate throughout our whole system, our physical and chemical energies are transformed. In other words, we have the opportunity to recreate our bodies through positive energy. Tarthang Tulku, Gesture of Balance Meditation, awareness, and movement practices awaken and expand joyous feelings. You will learn exercises that distribute deep feelings of joy through both body and mind. $80. Instructors: Sylvia Gretchen and Jack van der Meulen. Based on Gesture of Balance and Kum Nye Relaxation. For all levels of students.
NPS407 Transforming Personal History, November 8 In every time and place throughout history, people have been lifted out of their daily routines by moments of beauty when they sensed the wonder of being alive in this world. Tarthang Tulku, Knowledge of Freedom. Habits and patterns intertwined with painful past memories often prevent us from enjoying the freedom and beauty that the human body and mind offer. It is possible to skillfully touch these memories in a way that cuts through their power to restrict us. Practices from Knowledge of Freedom can help transform personal history from a source of pain into a wellspring of renewal. $80. Instructor: Sylvia Gretchen. For all levels of students.
DHS411 Melting Emotional Responses in Compassionate Knowledge, November 15 If it is the nature of the childlike to harm others, anger toward them is wrong, like blaming fire for burning. If such harm’s incidental, and their nature is gentle, anger toward them is wrong, like faulting air for holding smoke. Shantideva, Introduction to the Bodhisattva Way. Attentiveness to our nature fosters appreciation for the conditioned forces that impel emotions and actions, and the resulting tolerance is deeply rooted in compassion. Verses from Shantideva’s chapter on patience will guide our explorations. $80. Instructors: Lama Palzang, Barr Rosenberg, and Pema Gellek. For those with a background in Buddhist studies.
MED409 Silent Mind, Peaceful Mind, November 22 Everything is existing perfectly as complete openness. Tarthang Tulku, Hidden Mind of Freedom. By letting go of expectations the mind becomes silent, peaceful, and aware. Meditation practices that transform mental experience can lead to this form of perfect equanimity. $80. Instructor: Barr Rosenberg.  Based on Hidden Mind of Freedom. For intermediate and advanced meditators.
MED410 Ground of Being, December 6 Advanced meditation contacts states of mind free from desires and conflicting emotions.  ‘Mind’ is directly experienced as a process emerging from the ground of being. Workshop includes Kunzhi practices and a brief introduction to the Yogachara school of Buddhist thought. $80. Instructor: Sylvia Gretchen. For advanced meditators.
MED411 Nectar for Refining the Mind, December 13 Advanced meditation contacts states of mind free from desires and conflicting emotions.  ‘Mind’ is directly experienced as a process emerging from the ground of being. Workshop includes Kunzhi practices and a brief introduction to the Yogachara school of Buddhist thought. $80. Instructor: Sylvia Gretchen. For advanced meditators.
MED401 How to Meditate, December 13 , 10 AM—1 PM Learn how to begin and sustain a daily meditation practice. This popular workshop provides instruction in sitting and walking meditation and Tibetan chanting. $45. Instructor: Mary Gomes. Includes lunch at 1 PM.
KNR401 Renewing and Refreshing the Senses, January 3 Relax with a day of restful Tibetan Yoga exercises to refresh the senses. $80. Instructor: Jack van der Meulen. For all levels of students.