Tara Drupchen 2023

On-Site Tara Drupchen  September 22 – 24, 2023

We joyfully announce the eighth annual Tara Drupchen to be hosted on-site by Nalanda West. This weekend practice intensive includes sadhana, or ritual practice, and teachings from Nalandabodhi senior teachers.

If you are coming to Nalanda West to attend Tara Drupchen on-site, please register below. We must limit the number of people attending on-site to allow for comfortable seating and social distancing, so please register for on-site attendance only if you will be on-site, at Nalanda West, in Seattle, Washington. The deadline to register is Wednesday, September 20th.

Everyone attending on-site will be asked to offer mindful activity, such as clean-up, in support of the Drupchen. Once you have registered below, you will receive an email with more information.

We will be offering tea and lite snacks, as well as a vegetarian lunch.

Note that a lung for this practice is required for participation in the Drupchen practices. Lama Rabten Tshering will offer a lung on September 21st at 4:30 pm PDT. It will be followed by a teaching about Tara from Mitra Lee Worley. These will be recorded and the link posted on the Tara Drupchen resources page for those unable to attend live on the 21st.

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. Thank you!

Schedule

Click here to download the schedule.

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 10th. 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.

How can I make 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 slide show during the Drupchen. Follow this link for submitting aspirations and prayer requests.

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.

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 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།), which will be screen shared for both the Tibetan and English practice sessions.

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

Questions?     Contact help@nalandabodhi.org