Siddhartha's Intent

"Three year retreat should be taken as an ignition of your spiritual life." --Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

News from Vajradhara Gonpa Three Year Retreat (updated 24 October 2010)

•  The current three year retreat at Vajradhara Gonpa commenced with 16 participants on 12 January 2009 with the retreat boundary sealed by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche on 12 February 2009. The retreat will conclude in mid 2012. Retreatants have come from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Hong Kong, as well as Australia. Participants include five men and eleven women, ranging in age from their late 20s to mid 60s.

•  If you would like to make a connection with the three year retreatants, you can make donations to be used for practice materials and offerings. Please see below.

•  In April 2009 Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche formally announced that the current retreat will be the last three year retreat at Vajradhara Gonpa. At present Rinpoche has not indicated any plans for future three year retreats at other locations either in Australia or overseas.  Those interested in engaging the contemplative practices typically included in three year retreat may wish to look into the Dharma Gar programs being administered in Germany and the United States. Dharma Gar is designed for those who wish to combine a commitment to disciplined contemplative practice with worldly commitments such as career and family.

•  Vajradhara Gonpa thanks the Khyentse Foundation for need-based scholarship support of qualified retreatants.

•  Visit Vajradhara Gonpa with Google Earth/Maps: 28º 28' 04.35" S, 153º 03' 12.28" E.

Three year retreat at Vajradhara Gonpa is a residential program of strenuous contemplative practice according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The emphasis is on intensive experiential training rather than intellectual study. The retreat is conducted within a formal boundary, and retreatants are expected to remain at Vajradhara Gonpa for the entire period of the retreat. Practice is divided into four daily sessions for the duration of the retreat. The actual length of the retreat may be up to three and a half years.

The retreats are conducted in the spirit of the Tibetan Ri-mé (non-sectarian) tradition and are patterned on the 'Eight Chariots' retreat curriculum designed by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. Participants undertake the preliminary practices (ngöndro) and then the development and completion stage practices according to sadhanas of the three roots (guru, deva and dakini). Retreats are guided by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche with the assistance of a resident retreat master.

The language of the program is English. Texts and liturgies are provided in English translation. Liturgies are optionally made available in the original Tibetan.

Integral to the three year retreat is the experience of practitioners living together as a yogic community, encouraging development of the lifelong habit of a practitioner's lifestyle. As a yogic community, retreatants share with volunteer staff the responsibility for the care and upkeep of Vajradhara Gonpa.

Established in 1986 under the spiritual guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Vajradhara Gonpa has over the years accumulated the blessings of the many authentic Buddhist masters who have taught programs there to audiences of up to 200 participants. Beginning in early 2003 the Gonpa began a process of transition to become a dedicated three year retreat facility. The inaugural retreat began in December 2004 with 28 Australian and overseas participants.

Over time the Gesar Springs lay Buddhist community has grown up in affiliation with the Gonpa and contributed to its development. Today the continued generosity and commitment of the Gesar Springs community and many other local sangha members provides essential external volunteer support for the three year retreat.

As a 200 acre parcel of the 800 acre Gesar Springs community, Vajradhara Gonpa is located on natural bush land north of Kyogle in Northern New South Wales. The Gonpa enjoys a pristine, spacious and secluded environment providing an appropriately peaceful atmosphere for long-term contemplative practice.

Perched high on a hillside, the Gonpa affords pleasing views of the sub-tropical forests of the Border Ranges and is a natural haven for various Australian wildlife, including kangaroos, koalas, and a wide variety of birds.

With the main teaching/practice hall as its core, the Gonpa is a complex of buildings serving for training and accommodation.

Due to its remote location, Vajradhara Gonpa generates its own 240v electric power by a combination of solar panels and diesel generator. LP gas is used for cooking and refrigeration, and water is pumped from a natural spring. Thus environmental awareness and conservation of resources is an integral part of life at the Gonpa.

A retreat has not yet been scheduled to follow the current Three Year Retreat. Once a retreat program has been announced, there will be a formal process for applying to join the retreat.

Vajradhara Gonpa expresses its deep gratitude to the many sponsors who over many years have contributed to providing an environment where the dharma can be so whole heartedly practiced.

You can also make donations in direct support of the three year retreatants. This is a wonderful way to make a connection with their retreat program. Khyentse Rinpoche has requested that donations to the three year retreat be applied to retreatants' practice materials.

If you would like to make a donation now: You can securely make a donation to Vajradhara Gonpa Three Year Retreat Centre by Visa or Mastercard through PayPal by clicking on the the button below. You do not need to have a PayPal account. Thank you for your generosity.