A hybrid event both Onsite at Nalanda West and Online via Zoom
September 17 - 20, 2026
Event Overview
We are delighted to open the registration for the 11th edition of Nalandabodhi’s annual Tara Drupchen. This year again, we will be so lucky to have our teacher, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, practicing with us at Nalanda West, as well as our Nalandabodhi acharyas, lamas, mitras, and a few visiting lamas.
In addition to connecting with Tara and practicing compassion, this practice-intensive weekend will allow us to engage with the compilation offered by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa of “The Ritual of the Five-Deity Tara and Tara Mandala.” Please check the section on the lung requirement below to ensure you are properly prepared to practice.
Details for Attending the Drupchen
Acharya Lama Tenpa and Mitra Dean Mark Power warmly invite all Nalandabodhi members and friends to attend Tara Drupchen onsite at Nalanda West. This will enrich the practice and deepen our connection with Tara.
For those unable to go to Seattle who live close to a local center, we encourage you to gather together at your center during the drupchen to practice as a group while attending the drupchen online. We hope this will foster a sense of community, whether you participate onsite at Nalanda West or with your local group.
If you cannot attend onsite either at Nalanda West or at your local center, feel free to attend online at home. With the exception of the lung, all sessions will be recorded and accessible for 21 days following the Drupchen, until October 11.
Prayer Requests
Aspirations and prayer requests are an integral part of the Tara Drupchen practice. All are encouraged to make as many aspirations and prayer requests as you wish. These will be displayed at Nalanda West as well as on a zoom slide show during the Drupchen.
Click the link below to make a prayer request. You will also have an opportunity to make a prayer request when you register or by using the links on the participant page.
Lung Information
The lung for the Tibetan-language practice, “The Ritual of the Five-Deity Tārā and Tārā Maṇḍala,” will be offered on Thursday, September 17, from 2:00–4:15 PM Pacific time. You can receive it either onsite at Nalanda West or online via Zoom. We highly encourage everyone to receive the lung, but if you’re unable to attend this session, you’re still welcome to join the practice sessions during the drupchen. Please note that the lung will not be recorded and won’t be available on the participant page.
Registration Information
Anyone planning to attend all or part of the Drupchen onsite at Nalanda West must register by September 14th to secure a spot. Onsite registration will close after September 14th to allow for proper planning of services.
Online registration will remain open until the last session on Sunday, September 20th.
If you are joining at your local sangha, please register online on this page so you have access to the recordings and resources. This also helps us for record-keeping. You should also follow any additional protocols your local sangha may require for onsite participation.
Please email programonlinesupport@nalandabodhi.org if you have any questions.
Online Registration
Thank you for your interest to join us online for Tara Drupchen 2026.
Onsite Registration
Thank you for your interest in joining us onsite at Nalanda West (Seattle, WA) for Tara Drupchen 2026. NOTE: This option will close on September 14, 2026
This is a free event, but monetary offerings and donations of any amount are appreciated - they help us make these and other events accessible to all and they are one form of generosity practice.
Sharing in the Sponsorship of this Practice Event
There are a number of very specific ways you can help create the material conditions that support this event–for example by sponsoring fruit offerings, flowers, tea breaks, or teacher and principal’s meals. To learn more about participating in sponsorship click the link above.
Tentative Schedule (subject to change)
All times are Pacific Time (UTC-7).
FAQ
Will There Be Recordings?
Sessions and teachings will be recorded and become available for viewing on the Tara Drupchen Resource page 24-48 hours after recording. The recordings will be available for 2 weeks after the event until October 11th. We ask for your patience as our volunteers work to make these available to all participants. While recordings will be available, it is recommended that participants who are able to attend live, do so.
What is a "Drupchen?"
Drupchen (Tibetan: སྒྲུབ་ཆེན་ ; literally, “great practice [gathering]” or “great accomplishment [gathering]”) is a traditional format for a practice-intensive retreat in the Vajrayana tradition. The practice of Drupchen is said to bring great benefit to its participants and the communities around them. In this way it is a strong generator of merit, purification, and blessings. It is a powerful method for dispelling obstacles and hindrances for ourselves and our sangha’s dharma activities.
The liturgy used during this Drupchen practice is the Heart of the Two Accumulations (ཟབ་ཏིག་སྒྲོལ་མ།). It will be screen shared for the English practice sessions.
Who is Tara?
In addition to being a symbol of our fearless nature of mind, Tara is also a historical figure. She was a devout practitioner and princess who vowed to attain full awakening in a female body, demonstrating that gender is not a barrier to enlightenment. Therefore, Tara is considered both a symbolic representation of our inner qualities and a historical, female bodhisattva.
What is the Purpose of This Practice?
The purpose of this practice is to dispel fear and cultivate compassion. In all wisdom traditions, including Buddhism, it is said that the antidote to fear is loving-kindness. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the figure of Tara symbolizes loving-kindness and compassion — and a strong resolve to dispel the fears of all beings.
In Tara practice we connect with this fearless and compassionate nature of our own mind, as symbolized by Tara, through a combination of methods—visualization, making offerings, chanting, and meditation—in order to embody and manifest those qualities more fully in our daily life.
About Nalandabodhi
Nalandabodhi is an international Buddhist community whose mission is “Offering the timeless wisdom and boundless compassion of the Buddha to inspire individuals and create kind communities in today’s world.” Using tools the Buddha offered, we provide a genuine path to a more open, kind, and full life.
Under the direction of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, our centers provide open and supportive spaces for engaging in study, meditation, and mindful activity on the journey to discover the full potential of our own mind. To learn more visit nalandabodhi.org