Kalachakra Dark Retreat (3 Isolations / Wensum) in the Winter

How to prepare myself for this retreat In addition to the longer sādhanas “Divine Ladder” and “Enlightening the Heart”, you will need to know the sādhana “Secret Ḍākinī Treasure”. For the latter, register here for the oral commentary if you have not already done so. During the retreat, a few Guru Pūjā and Kālachakra-Tsok gatherings will also be held on special occasions. In the following links you can additionally register for their two associated courses at the learning center to prepare yourself in advance: GURU PŪJĀ / KĀLACHAKRA-TSOK 

Materials Bring a hard copy of the practice book “The Profound Path of Vajra Yoga” and of “Secret Ḍākinī Treasure.” You can also bring Rinpoché’s commentary “The Hidden Treasure,” “Unveiling Your Sacred Truth 3,” and the Higher Empowerments Booklet as a reference for your practice. Other reading materials not directly related to the Wensum practice are not allowed.

Retreat Infos and Guidelines This is a strict retreat. The retreat will be closed and in silence. During this period, participants are not allowed to receive visitors or use computers, laptops, tablet devices, mobile phones, digital clocks, etc. at all — not even for recitation or other Dharma-related activities. If someone needs to contact you in case of an emergency, they can email [email protected] or call +43 676 395 8898. Rinpoché advises participants to follow the retreat guidelines respectfully, not only for the success of their own practice but also to avoid disturbing others.

The daily schedule consists of four practice sessions and additional activities such as occasional pūjās, watching Rinpoché’s recorded teachings, and so forth. Participants are welcome to address their questions related to the Wensum practice directly to the retreat leader. They can also request a personal audience with Rinpoché (remotely via Zoom) as well if absolutely necessary. Participation in two daily group sessions is mandatory unless health conditions completely prevent you from taking part. The remaining two sessions can be practiced in your own room if you prefer.

Check-in 14:00 – 16:00 on Friday, February 28th | Check-out 13:30 – 14:30 on Sunday, March 9th.

The concluding ritual of the retreat will be on Sunday 9th March 9:30 – 11:00. Check-out on the 9th of March after lunch (if you absolutely need to leave earlier, that is possible. FAQ: If you cannot commit to attending for the entire duration, please let us know in advance the exact date and time of your earlier check-out. Please note that even in this case, we cannot offer you a special registration cost lower than the ones below. The cost is for the event as a whole, regardless of whether you can stay for the entire period or not. Please note it takes incredible merit to have the conditions for this type of event to happen.

Volunteer Opportunities There is an open position for a volunteer to cook breakfast, lunch, and a light dinner for the participants. A room separate from that used by the retreat participants will be provided for the volunteer cook, who will be able to enjoy all the areas in the retreat center except for the Kālachakra Temple which will be reserved for the participants only. Rinpoché strongly encourages us to support our dharma brothers and sisters by volunteering. This is an extraordinary opportunity to generate merit and create the causes to be able to engage in this practice yourself in the future.

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. That being said, we prefer the participation of someone who can commit to the whole period. During your stay, we can provide free access to an online course or recorded retreat at our digital learning center if you would like support for your practice and study while you are volunteering. If you however already received this practice from Rinpoché and want to take the cook position for the whole event, you can attend the retreat without the need to pay any registration costs.

Food and On-Site Accommodations

The fee for the retreat includes three vegetarian meals and shared accommodations. Usually, in the Winter we host 2 – 3 participants in each dormitory room. If you absolutely need a single room, you can book the Dark Meditation Apartment. 

An apartment for meditation in the darkness will be available by paying an additional fee per day or for the whole event. The apartment (ca. 40 m2) can be used by one person alone or by two persons (e.g. close vajra brothers and sisters who plan their retreat together). There are 3 spaces: *At the back, a spacious room with the possibility of generating complete darkness including a shrine, sleeping, office, and meditation areas; *A middle space with a kitchen, toilet, and bath; *A third room at the entrance (a smaller area than the main room) with the possibility of generating almost complete darkness, a sleeping place, and a second toilet.

Conditions for renting additionally the private meditation apartment:

Regular Price per day: 108,- Euro for the whole apartment and its 3 areas. The price for renting the apartment is the same regardless of 1 or 2 persons staying inside. This does not include event participation that needs to be paid separately. 

Minimum booking: 3 nights. In the other days, the practitioner can stay in the dormitory if they do not want to pay for other additional days. Whole event discount: If a participant wants to stay the whole event (9 nights) there is a discount with the final price of 636,- Euro (again, this is only for the additional room, it does not include event registration.)

How to book a private Meditation Apartment? 1) select below the registration option “Dark Meditation Apartment” (if you wish to book the apartment for the whole duration of the event) or then “Normal Registration Fee” (if you are renting the apartment for only a portion of the event); 2) send us an e-mail informing us which days you like to stay in the Meditation Apartment (e.g. March 2nd – 6th as an example) or the whole period etc.; 3) receive from us via e-mail a link to pay and then pay additionally for the rental of the days you choose; 4) if you are planning the stay there with another practitioner, only one person does this additional payment and you both are responsible to agree on how to divide between yourselves the booking costs as suitable.

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 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.