Courses 2023

13-15.01.2023 Green Tara – Protectress from Fears

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga Dorje

Course schedule:
Starts: Friday, January 13th, at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, January 15th, after lunch

Course fee:
180 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (01.01)

The Tibetan name for Tara, Drölma, literally means savioress, protectress. The activity of Green Tara protects and frees us from our fears, fears of outer dangers as well as the corresponding mental afflictions that bind us to the sufferings of cyclic existence. She is said to be very swift in her activity, like a loving mother who cannot bear the cry of her suffering child, she will immediately come for our aid. Her 21 emanations represent different aspects of her enlightened activity.

Perhaps one of the most well known and beloved of tantric deities, her practice is common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Like here in Halscheid, Green Tara is part of the daily practices at countless monasteries and centers around the world.


27-29.01.2023 Silent Retreat – Shine and Lhaktong

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga Dorje

Course schedule:
Starts: Friday, January 27th, at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, January 29th, after lunch

Course fee:
180 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (01.02)

Shamatha, or as it is called in Tibetan, Shine, is the most fundamental and indispensible form of meditation in Buddhism.
On the way to recognizing the ‘true nature of mind which is deep, calm, simple and clear’ there have arisen many different contemplative techniques since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha 2500 years ago. But all of them begin with this very basic method for thoroughly quieting the mind and bringing about real tranquility.
The stable foundation provided by Shamatha or tranquility meditation, and the insight into the emptiness of all phenomena gained by Vipashyana, is the basis for all further developments we can achieve in our practices, whether they be Tonglen, Creation and Completion or Mahamudra/Dzogchen.
Indeed it can be said that no progress can be made without these first fundamental techniques of meditation. This is because the practice of Shamatha meditation is the first crucial step in quieting the mind’s tendency to jump from one thought to another, and to reveal the clarity of one’s own mind. Thus, our mind becomes a perfect tool for observing its own nature, enabling us the insight which will finally lead to a profound transformation of our whole being.


15-21.02.23 Great Mahakala Puja and Losar Festivities

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga Dorje

Course schedule:
Begins: Wednesday, February 15th at 4:30 PM
Ends: Tuesday, February  21st after lunch

Course fee:
300 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (02.01)

Losar is the Tibetan New Year, a time of auspicious beginnings.
Traditionally this holiday is preceded with a four-day celebration of the longer version of the Mahakala puja. Through the purifying and pacifying powers of the chief Dharma Protector of the Kagyu order, we clear away the negativities of the past year and pray for good luck and the removal of any obstacles in the new.

Mahakala is the wrathful form of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion; he provides support for the auspicious development of dharma activities, dharma centers and dharma practitioners everywhere. A short version of the Mahakala puja is one of the daily practices in the Halscheid Retreat Center.

The long Mahakala practice phase starts on Wednesday February 15th at 4.30 pm and ends on Sunday February 19th with the burning of the tuntor and a traditional oracle soup in the evening.
We begin celebrating Losar on the 20th at 10 AM with a fire offering puja for the happiness and peace of all sentient beings in the world. We close the evening with a meditation on Avalokiteshvara.
We finish the festivities on Tuesday February 21st with butter tea and saffron rice and then a delicious Losar lunch, enjoying each other’s smiles and best wishes for a happy and joyous new year.


03-05.03.2023 Ritual Workshop

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga Dorje

Course schedule:
Starts: Friday, March 3rd, at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, March 5th, after lunch

Course fee:
180 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (03.01)

In this workshop we will familiarize ourselves with the rituals of the pujas, which are performed in Halscheid on a daily basis. During these pujas different offerings are made: i.e. water offerings, scent offerings, food offerings, sound offerings – all our senses are addressed.

The puja is lead by the Umdze or ritual master. He plays the cymbals, which are accompanied, depending on the puja, by different instruments: drums, conch, kangling and radong are the most important instruments. The offerings are performed by the Chopen, the shrine master.

We will familiarize ourselves with the different musical instruments and the arrangement of the different offerings on the shrine, and we will learn about the duties of the shrine master as well as the fabrication of tormas – special food offerings.

In diesem Workshop werden wir uns mit den Ritualen der täglich in Halscheid durchgeführten Pujas vertraut machen. Während einer tibetischen Puja werden Opferungen verschiedenster Art dargebracht: Wasseropfer, Duftopfer, Speiseopfer, Klangopfer – alle unsere Sinne werden dabei angesprochen.

Please bring bell and dorje as well as a small damaru with you, if possible.


07.03.2023 Sang Fireoffering on Chothrul Duchen

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga Dorje

Course schedule:
Starts: Tuesday, March 7th at 10 AM

Course fee:
50 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
20 Euros [includes only lunch]

For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (03.02)

One of the highest Tibetan-Buddhist festivities is the Butterlamp Festival. It is the culmination and the end of the auspicious time of Chothrul Duchen, which starts with Losar and ends on the following full moon. This year, the Butterlamp Festival will be on Tuesday, March 7th.

On each of the Chothrul Duchen days after losar we remember one of the miracles, which were performed by Buddha Shakyamuni within 15 successive days in order to strengthen the trust of his followers and to disprove wrong views. During these 15 days, the effect of our practice is multiplied immensly, therefore it is especially auspicious to perform virtuous acts or to devote oneself to intense practice.

On this day, we will perform a Sang Fireoffering for purification and we will renew our prayer flags for world peace.


06-10.04.2023 Guru Rinpoche – Easter Retreat

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga Dorje

Course schedule:
Starts: Thursday, April 6th, at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Monday April, 10th, after lunch

Course fee:
250 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (04.01)

The Guru Rinpoche Practice „Konchog Chidu“ („The Essence of the Three Jewels„), is a Terma text (treasure text) discovered by the great Terton (treasure finder) Rigdzin Jatson Nyingpo. It has extraordinary power to remove any kind of hindrance.

The special blessing of this sadhana is described in the „Prayer which Radiates the Light of Blessing„, a prayer of devotion to Guru Rinpoche:

„… However – in this degenerate time (these teachings) are a jewel that is poised on the head of a poisonous snake. If I, in these unclear and dark times, make a heartfelt promise with strong longing that stirs the depths of the vajra samaya of the deities of the Three Jewels and the Three Roots, then the extraordinary power of the Lamas – the Holders of the Three Kinds of Transmission, the Yidams and the multitude of the Dakinis, and the ocean of Dharma protectors, as well as through the power of the unchangeable, the truth, the nature and independence of phenomena – will allow the richness of the essential teachings to shine brightly, as the sun and moon bring light into the darkness, and bring to an end the darkening of unjustified attacks. May their victory secure this tradition of deep truth!
The excellent tradition, transmitted by Orgyen Rinpoche and the wisdom holders, has power over the three worlds and subdues the three kinds of existence. It is universally victorious and transgresses all appearances of phenomena. May it spread everywhere!“


28.04.-01.05.23 Karma Pakshi Retreat with Ganachakra

Course Instructors:
Lama Kunga Dorje

Course Schedule:
Begins: Friday, April 28th, at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Monday, May 1st, after lunch

Course Fee:
200 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (04.02)

It is particularly through the profound practice of Guru Yoga that we are able to connect with the power of the Kagyu lineage masters and quickly receive their blessings.

Karma Pakshi [1204-1283] was the second Karmapa, renowned to this day as an embodiment of Vajrayana crazy wisdom and primordial awareness. In celebrating and supplicating him we invoke not only his bright illuminating energy and miraculous powers but through him, the supreme vitality and continuously unfolding presence of Mahamudra itself.

This weekend retreat will present the Guru Yoga practice of Karma Pakshi in its entirety, including instructions and practice of the sadhana and ending with a traditional Ganachakra or ‘great feast.’


12-14.05.23 Ringu Tulku Rinpoche – The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva

Course Instructor:
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

Course schedule:
Begins: Friday, May 12th, at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, May 14th, after lunch

Course fee:
250 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (05.02)

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche was born in Kham in Eastern Tibet in 1952. Due to the Chinese invasion, he was forced already as a small child to leave his home country. He received his education under the tutelage of H.H. the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa and of H.H. Dhilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Later on, he studied at the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology in Sikkim as well as at the Sanskrit University in Varanasi, India. He was the first Kagyu lama to receive the Acharya title at the Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi. In the following course, H.H. the 16th Karmapa awarded him the Khenpo title, and he also received the Lopon Chenpo title (corresponding to PhD) from the International Nyingma Society.

For 25 years he then served as a Professor for Tibetan Studies and as a textbook writer in Sikkim. Since 1990, he undertakes extensive travels all over the world, giving teachings and empowerments. H.H. the 17th Karmapa appointed Ringu Tulku Rinpoche as his representative for Europe. His profound knowledge combined with his deep understanding of the Western World make him into one of the most important mediator for Tibetan Buddhism in the West.


02–04.06.23 Red Chenrezig „Shaker of Samsara“ – Retreat with Bardo Puja on Saga Dawa Duchen

Course Instructor:
Ani Evelin Dosedla

Course schedule:
Starts: Friday, June 2, at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, June 4, after lunch

Course fee:
180 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (06.01)

The bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara [Chenrezig] is the supreme embodiment of the caring compassion of all the Buddhas, an impartial compassion that embraces the entire immeasurable multitude of all sentient beings.

The red, standing form of Avalokiteshvara is known as Khorwa Dong Trug: “He who stirs samsara from its depths.” The meditation practice associated with this deity is known to be especially powerful, and includes a bardo section, helping to lead the consciousness of the deceased to the pure land of Buddha Amitabha.

As part of this special ritual, at the end of the retreat a list with the names of all deceased will be burned. If you send us the names of recently departed friends, relatives or pets, we will include them on the Amitabha list.


30.06.-02.07.23 White Tara – Long Life Practice for the great masters of our lineage

Course Instructor:
Ani Evelin Dosedla

Course schedule:
Begins: Friday, June 30th, at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, July 2nd, after lunch

Course fee:
180 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (06.02)

White Tara, (Skrt. Cintachakra “Wish-fulfilling Wheel”) is the female Bodhisattva Tara who embodies long life, healing and serenity. With her seven wisdom eyes in head, hands and feet, she sees the suffering of beings in all realms of existence and the three times, and like a loving mother comes to the aid of all who need and call to her. As a focus for tantric deity yoga, the practice of Tara can be traced back to Yeshe Tsogyal and Padmasambhava, and to this day is widespread in all Dharma schools in Tibet. Many of the great masters of Vajrayana Buddhism have chosen her as their personal yidam, including the present Dalai Lama.


21-23.07.23 Lama Drubgyud: Foundations of Tibetan Medicine

Course Instructor:
Ani Evelin Dosedla

Course schedule:
Begins: Friday, July 21st, at 7 PM (dinner at 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, July 23rd, after lunch

Course fee:
150 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (07.02)

According to Tibetan Medicine, our body consists of the five elements earth, water, fire, wind and space. These five elements constitute the basis for the three main body constitutions wind, bile and phlegm. Diseases originate from a loss of harmony of the elements. In order to establish the balance again, the treatment for a disease includes the intake of herbal pills, medical applications, but also the diet and the behaviour of a patient, since every imbalance, according to the Tibetan view, is caused by a wrong attitude of our mind.

Lama Drubgyud Tendhar was born in 1972 close to Rumtek in Sikkim. In 1982 he was ordained and began his education at Rumtek Monastery. In 1987 he was chosen to study astrology and medicine at the Men-Tsee-Kang Institute in Dharamsala, India. He finished his education in 1991, earning a Tibetan doctoral degree. In 1993 he was asked by Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche to support him in the foundation of the Chagpori Medical Institute. Since the end of the 90s he travels to the West and gives teachings. In 1999 he was also shortly resident lama at the Kamalashila Institute in Germany.


18-20.08.23 Gonkar – White Mahakala

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga

Course schedule:
Begins: Friday, August 18th at 7 PM (dinner at 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, August 20th after lunch

Course fee:
180 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (08.01)

Gonkar, the white Mahakala, is a wrathful emanation of the bodhisattva Chenrezig, the personificiation of the compassion of all buddhas. His compassionate activity destroys all obstacles for our spiritual practice, like a lack of support, and magnetizes material as well as spiritual richness. Gonkar can influence the domain of family, material possessions, sustenance, power, but also wisdom and spirituality.

Especially in times like ours which are dominated by wars and pandemic diseases, our world is endangered by severe material losses, famine, disinformation or the incapability of making sense of a flood of information, violent reinforcement of egoistic tendencies, breaking up of family relationships or friendships. All these tendencies can be counteracted by the compassionate activity of the White Mahakala and we can pray for his support to purify our obstacles and to increase life-sustaining conditions.

The practice of the White Mahakala was introduced in Tibet in the 11th century by Khedrub Khyungpo Naljor, the founder of the Shangpa Kagyu tradition. It is the main protector practice of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage.


01-03.09.23 Thunshi Lama Naljor – Guruyoga of the 8th Karmapa Mikyo Dorje

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga

Course schedule:
Begins: Friday, September 1st at 7 PM (dinner at 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, September 3rd after lunch

Course fee:
180 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (09.02)

The practice of Thunshi Lama Naljor, the Guru Yoga in Four Sessions, is one of the most important guru yogas of the Karma Kagyu lineage. This guru yoga originates from the 8th Karmapa Mikyo Dorje, who relied on more early source for composing this guru yoga. The Thunshi Lama Naljor can be practiced for any of the Karmapas, and it is said that this practise will lead to realization of Mahamudra.


29.09.-03.10.23 Chod Retreat

Please inquire whether teachings will be translated into English during that course!

Course Instructors:
Lama Kunga

Course Schedule:
Begins: Friday, September 29th, at 7 PM (dinner starts at 5:30 PM)
Ends: Tuesday, October 3d after lunch

Course Fee:
275 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (09.01)

The practice of Chöd is taught by all Tibetan Buddhist schools. It is an extremely effective method for cutting the tight net of ego fixation that binds us to the endlessly turning wheel of suffering. The key point of this ‘cutting-through practice’ is bringing deluded mind directly to its inherent pure nature, by recognizing it as equivalent to the enlightened state of the ‘Great Mother Prajnaparamita’.

Through training in the method known as ‘Opening the Door to the Sky’ we experience a state beyond duality and intellectualisation synonymous with Mahamudra. Simultaneously we develop limitless, impartial generosity free from ego-clinging.


20-22.10.2023 Vajrakilaya Retreat

Course Instructor:
Lama Kunga Dorje

Course schedule:
Begins: Friday, October 20th at 7 PM (dinner starts 5:30 PM)
Ends: Sunday, October 22nd after lunch

Course fee:
180 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For bank transfers please state name of participant and course number (10.01)

Vajrakilaya, a wrathful manifestation of Vajrasattva, eradicates ignorance and emotional afflictions that cause obstacles in our daily life and our dharma practice. The symbol of the compassionate wrathful activity is the phurpa, a ritual dagger which stabs the obstacles, thereby subduing and transforming their destructive potential. Vajrakilaya in essence represents our own pure inner nature, that was never stained by the turmoils of mental afflictions. The activity of Vajrakilaya is especially effective in pacifying social conflicts and disturbances, and mending breaches of the tantric samaya, like the breaches of the bonds between Vajrayana practitioners.


26.12.23-01.01.24 Amitabha Retreat with Bardo Puja

Course Instructors:
Lama Kunga

Course Schedule:
Begins: Tuesday, December 26th,  at 7 PM (dinner starts at 5:30 PM)
Ends: Monday, January 1st, after lunch

Course Fee:
300 Euros [includes all meals and accommodation]
For wire transfer of the course costs please state the name of the participant as well as the course number (12.01)

To spend the time at the turn of the year in a meaningful way for us as well as for others, we will meet again this holiday season for our annual Amitabha Retreat.

Amitabha Buddha is the meditation deity associated with the divine realm of Sukhavati (tib: Dewachen). He is called “Buddha of Limitless Light”, because his activity permeates all clouded states of our being and clears away all suffering.

By doing Amithaba practice – reciting mantras, prayers and practising the sadhana – we can support those who have departed this life on their further path, clear away states of suffering in ourselves and others, and help to create an auspicious compassionate foundation for the coming year. Those of us who have lost someone dear can dedicate the positive merit of the retreat to them, as well as to all other sentient beings.

For those who have passed away in the course of the past year, there will be a special ‘bardo puja’ on the 31st of December. On the morning of New Years Day we will celebrate the beginning of the year with an auspicious ‘Ribosang,’ a smoke offering ritual for happiness and world peace.

If you would like to have deceased persons or animals be included in the prayers and the practice, you can send us the names to include in our list.