Jonang-Kālachakra Ngondro: Accumulation Retreat
January 4 – 10 | In-person & online, in English (translations TBA)
Join us in the beautiful Austrian mountains—or online—for a special practice retreat focusing on the “Inner Preliminary Practices” of the Jonang-Kālachakra tradition. This retreat emphasizes intensive practice supported by concise instructions, while also including teachings, oral transmission, and Q&A:
- * Start the year with the auspiciousness of Kālachakra
- * Connect more with the blessings of the Jonang lineage through Rinpoche’s prayer Immediate Blessings (oral transmission)
- * Start the Jonang Ngondro if you could not join the longer Dzokden yearly program
- * Intensify your Ngondro practice with the Sangha’s support
- * Reignite the flame of your practice and refresh understanding if you have already completed the Jonang Ngondro
- * Lay the foundation for receiving the Higher Empowerments soon or in the future
- * Purify and Accumulate Merit & Wisdom to eventually attain the Six Vajra Yogas
EVENT DESCRIPTION
The Ngondro—also called the “Preliminary Practices”—prepares you to uncover your own Buddha nature. If you want to fully unveil this perfect nature, the Kālachakra-Ngondro prepares you for the very subtle and profound yogic practices of the Completion Stage—known as the Six Vajra Yogas of the Kālachakra Tantra. You can immensely benefit by doing the Jonang-Kālachakra Ngondro even if you do not aspire to engage in serious meditation practices of the Kālachakra Completion Stage in this lifetime. Shar Khentrul Rinpoche’s flexible approach allows practitioners to adapt the practice according to where they are on the path.
- * There are no prerequisites for attending
- * If you wish to gain a substantial overview of the Ngondro practices according to the Jonang tradition, this retreat is the perfect choice
- * If you have already learned or are learning the Ngondro through other courses, this retreat is an opportunity to intensify your practice and directly feel the transformation through dedicated application
- * 6 teaching sessions (2 with Rinpoche) & 15 practice sessions (with some practice sessions using Tibetan chanting and others English recitation)
- * 21 sessions will be recorded, allowing you to catch up on missed sessions and continue your practice in the months that follow
- * The event can be attended either online or in person at Dzokden Kalapa Retreat Center in Austria
- * For in-Person Attendance: Additional opportunities for Dharma exchange, with the possibility of meeting privately with the retreat leader to ask more personal Dharma questions if needed
Translations: As this event includes many sessions, if translation into your language has been confirmed, it will cover all 6 teaching sessions, but not the remaining 15 practice sessions. Translation for some practice sessions may be available in a specific language if there are enough requests (please request in advance) and interpreters are available, but this cannot be confirmed beforehand.
Course Leaders
Vajra Master Shar Khentrul Rinpoche (via Zoom from Australia) has kindly accepted the request to give two teachings at the start and conclusion of the event, including an oral transmission and a Q&A session. Rinpoche will bestow an introductory teaching offering an overview of the Jonang Ngondro, focusing on foundational topics such as Renunciation, Refuge, etc. In the concluding teaching, Rinpoche will bestow:
- *Oral transmission of his own prayer, Immediate Blessings—this short prayer is an additional support for students to connect with the Jonang lineage and overcome obstacles in their practice
- *Commentary on the Aspiration to Accomplish the Six Vajra Yogas, providing an overview of the entire profound Completion Stage and inspiring students to prepare for receiving these practices in the future
Rinpoche has written numerous books on the Jonang Ngondro, including the detailed commentary The Hidden Treasure of the Profound Path and the three-volume series Unveiling Your Sacred Truth. When teaching live, however, Rinpoche always teaches in a new way, showing different angles to help his students gain deeper insight into the meaning and practical application of the practices.
Rafa Lobsang Dorje will lead the retreat on-site with Rinpoche’s blessing. Lobsang Dorje has been guiding groups and teaching the Jonang-Ngondro subjects since 2017. He has been Retreat Leader at Dzokden Kalapa since 2021 and has led multiple retreats on the Wensum & the Vajra Yogas.
Depending on availability and suitability, further Dzokden Golden Age Guides might also be invited to lead practice sessions.
Schedule
DETAILED SCHEDULE in CET (Vienna) TIME
Note: info in italics is relevant only for those attending in person or for activities without broadcast
January 4
14:00 – 16:00 — Check-in
16:15 – 16:45 — Kalapa Shop open
17:00 – 17:45 — Welcome Meeting
18:00 – 18:30 — Dinner
19:30 – 21:30 — OPENING TEACHING BY RINPOCHE
January 5
06:30 – 08:15 — 1st Practice Session REFUGE
08:30 – 09:00 — Breakfast
09:00 – 09:45 — Karma Yoga
10:00 – 11:15 — 2nd Practice Session REFUGE
11:45 – 13:00 — 3rd Practice Session REFUGE (self-practice, no broadcast)
13:00 – 13:30 — Lunch
14:30 – 15:15 — Dharma Exchange (in person, TBA depending on suitability)
16:00 – 17:45 — 4th Practice Session REFUGE
18:00 – 18:30 — Dinner
18:45 – 19:15 — Self-study time
19:30 – 21:15 — Teaching with Lobsang Dorje: REFUGE & BODHICHITTA
January 6:
06:30 – 08:15 — 1st Practice Session BODHICHITTA
08:30 – 09:00 — Breakfast
09:00 – 09:45 — Karma Yoga
10:00 – 11:15 — 2nd Practice Session BODHICHITTA
11:45 – 13:00 — 3rd Practice Session BODHICHITTA (self-practice, no broadcast)
13:00 – 13:30 — Lunch
14:30 – 15:15 — Dharma Exchange (in person, TBA depending on suitability)
16:00 – 17:45 — 4th Practice Session BODHICHITTA
18:00 – 18:30 — Dinner
18:45 – 19:15 — Self-study time
19:30 – 21:15 — Teaching with Lobsang Dorje: VAJRASATTVA HERUKA
January 7:
06:30 – 08:15 — 1st Practice Session VAJRASATTVA HERUKA
08:30 – 09:00 — Breakfast
09:00 – 09:45 — Karma Yoga
10:00 – 11:15 — 2nd Practice Session VAJRASATTVA HERUKA
11:45 – 13:00 — 3rd Practice Session VAJRASATTVA HERUKA (self-practice, no broadcast)
13:00 – 13:30 — Lunch
14:30 – 15:15 — Dharma Exchange (in person, TBA depending on suitability)
16:00 – 17:45 — 4th Practice Session VAJRASATTVA HERUKA
18:00 – 18:30 — Dinner
18:45 – 19:15 — Self-study time
19:30 – 21:15 — Teaching with Lobsang Dorje: MAṆḌALA OFFERING
January 8:
06:30 – 08:15 — 1st Practice Session MAṆḌALA OFFERING
08:30 – 09:00 — Breakfast
09:00 – 09:45 — Karma Yoga
10:00 – 11:15 — 2nd Practice Session MAṆḌALA OFFERING
11:45 – 13:00 — 3rd Practice Session MAṆḌALA OFFERING (self-practice, no broadcast)
13:00 – 13:30 — Lunch
14:30 – 15:15 — Dharma Exchange (in person, TBA depending on suitability)
16:00 – 17:45 — 4th Practice Session MAṆḌALA OFFERING
18:00 – 18:30 — Dinner
18:45 – 19:15 — Self-study time
19:30 – 21:15 — Teaching with Lobsang Dorje: GURU YOGA
January 9:
06:30 – 08:15 — 1st Practice Session DOLPOPA GURU YOGA
08:30 – 09:00 — Breakfast
09:00 – 09:45 — Karma Yoga
10:00 – 11:15 — 2nd Practice Session TĀRANĀTHA GURU YOGA
11:45 – 13:00 — 3rd Practice Session GURU YOGA (self-practice, no broadcast)
13:00 – 13:30 — Lunch
14:30 – 15:15 — Dharma Exchange (in person, TBA depending on suitability)
16:00 – 17:45 — 4th Practice Session FOUNDATION GURU YOGA
18:00 – 18:30 — Dinner
18:45 – 19:15 — Self-study time
19:30 – 21:30 — CONCLUDING TEACHING WITH RINPOCHE: Oral Transmission of “Immediate Blessings,” Commentary on “Aspiration to Accomplish the Six Vajra Yogas,” and Q&A.
January 10: (no broadcast)
06:30 – 08:15 — Practice Session (self-practice, no broadcast)
08:30 – 09:00 — Breakfast
09:00 – 10:00 — Karma Yoga & Wrap up
10:00 – 11:00 — Kalapa Shop open & Check-out
Retreat Guidelines for in-person attendance
This is not a strict retreat like the other Completion Stage Retreats at Kalapa. However, if you are attending in person, you are expected to participate in all scheduled sessions (teachings, practices, and discussions), unless prevented by health conditions. (Full-time volunteers on-site may attend according to their availability.)
Early Arrival / Late Departure: If you wish/need to stay one or multiple additional nights at the Retreat Center before/after the event, write us ([email protected]) so that we can inform you of the conditions.
Physical & Mental Health: Attending a retreat is a serious undertaking that will require your mental and physical health. If you are currently experiencing, or have recently experienced, any significant physical, psychiatric, or psychological illness, it is your responsibility to obtain written permission beforehand from your healthcare provider or your therapist to participate.
Silence: Group silence begins each evening at dinner (18:00) and continues until the start of Karma Yoga (09:00) the following morning.
Electronics: The use of electronic devices is generally permitted during this event. However, phone and video calls are not allowed in common areas or shared dormitories. If you absolutely need to make a call, please do so outside the center or in your room if you have a single room.
Leaving the Retreat Center: Participants are encouraged to remain within the retreat center boundaries. However, it is permissible to stay elsewhere overnight (e.g., in a hotel) if necessary or to take short walks in the surrounding nature. If you absolutely need to arrive after the event start or leave before event conclusion, please inform us in advance.
DRA: If you have already received the Four Higher Empowerments from Rinpoche, you may book the DRA (Dark Retreat Apartment) if you prefer a more private stay during the retreat.
Off-site Accommodations: If you absolutely need an individual room, options for hotel accommodation are available in Bad Schwanberg town. Please search for and book the reservations yourself if you have a car to drive daily forth and back. You need to pay additionally for in-person attendance.
Volunteer Positions & EAP Opportunities
This is an extraordinary opportunity to generate merit and create the causes to be able to engage in this practice yourself in the future. Rinpoche strongly encourages us to support our dharma brothers and sisters by volunteering. If you are considering this opportunity, please write as soon as possible to [email protected].
Audio, Video & Zoom
We are looking for a full-time volunteer to manage the technical setup throughout the event, including the audio system (mic setup and sound), video cameras, TV, Zoom hosting, and uploading the session recordings. Previous experience is preferred, but not required if you are highly motivated to learn in advance. We provide a tutorial and support to help you prepare. If you commit to this role for the entire event, you can attend the retreat free of charge. If you are participating in the EAP, this role also counts for approximately 60 EAP hours.
Cook Volunteer
We are also looking for a full-time volunteer to serve as the main cook for the entire event (breakfast, lunch, and a light dinner). If you commit to this role for the full retreat, you can attend the retreat free of charge. If you are participating in the EAP, this role also counts for approximately 60 EAP hours.
Registration
To register, select the registration option below that best suits your current circumstances. By proceeding to register, you confirm that you are aware of and accept our Cancellation & Refund Policy.
If you wish to attend in person, you need to select both: 1) one registration option, and 2) in addition, the option “in-person attendance.”
(In addition to these two, if you can and wish to stay in the DRA, you need to book and pay that separately after registration.)
Special opportunity — Full scholarship for translators for this event: If you are a volunteer translator at Dzokden and can commit to translating the whole event (21 sessions, around 4 sessions daily), you can participate online totally for free without needing to register. This arrangement is offered to all translators for this event due to the large number of sessions.
How to get to Kalapa?
How to get to Kalapa? Dzokden Kalapa Retreat Center, Garanas 41, Bad Schwanberg, zip code 8541, Austria, Südweststeiermark. The nearest airport is in Graz, Austria.
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 Bad Schwanberg. At the end of the main square in Bad Schwanberg, turn left towards Garanas. After the bridge, keep the right side towards Garanas and follow the signs to “Kalachakra Kalapa Center” uphill for about 8 km to reach the center.
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, we will send additional info via email some weeks before the event.
Speakers
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Rafa Lobsang DorjeProgram Director, Retreat Leader, EditorRafa Lobsang Dorje began his connection with Buddhism in 2008, after practicing other spiritual traditions in his homeland of Brazil. In Europe, India, Nepal, Mongolia, and Tibet, he had the precious opportunity to receive teachings, transmissions, and empowerments from masters of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as from the Theravāda tradition, and he participated in both group and solitary retreats.
In 2015, while in Austria, he was fortunate to meet his Root Guru, Shar Khentrul Rinpoche, from whom he has since received a vast and profound wealth of Dharma, ranging from foundational subjects to the Kālachakra Vajra Yogas. Since 2016, he has been teaching Lu Jong (Tibetan Healing Yoga). In 2018, Rinpoche authorized and encouraged him to teach the Dharma.
In 2020, he significantly reduced his professional work as a composer in order to dedicate himself full-time to serving Rinpoche’s altruistic vision. He currently serves the Dzokden Saṅgha as an Editor and Editorial Coordinator of new translations, and at Kalapa as Program Director and Retreat Leader.
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Shar Khentrul RinpocheSpiritual Director, Rimé Teacher, Kālachakra Vajra Master, AuthorShar Khentrul Rinpoche Jamphel Lodrö is the founder and spiritual director of Dzokden and Dzokden Kalapa. 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 Kālachakra 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-Śhambhala tradition. Kālachakra (Wheel of Time) teachings contain profound methods to harmonize our external environment with the inner world of body and mind, eventually bringing about the Golden Age of Peace and Harmony (Dzokden).