His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin
Lam Dre 2018

At Tsechen Kunchab Ling Temple
Seat of His Holiness the Sakya Trizin in the United States
12 Edmunds Lane, Walden, New York, U.S.A

Simplified Chinese Script

About the Lam Dre Teaching

The Lam Dre or Path Including the Result is the most important and esoteric teaching cycle of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism. The teachings and meditations in the six-week cycle explicate the entire path to Buddhahood in two parts. The first part is the Three Visions, composed of pith instructions and meditations from the sutras. The second part is the Three Tantras, composed of pith instructions and meditations from the tantras. The Three Visions is a prerequisite for the Three Tantras.

The Lam Dre teaching is based on the Hevajra Tantra and includes the Hevajra major initiation. It originated in ancient India with the Indian scholar and mahasiddha Virupa, who was abbot of Nalanda University. He received initiation and pith instructions directly from the tutelary deity Vajra Nairatmya, quickly attained very high realization, and demonstrated great spiritual powers and miracles, such as power over the elements and being unaffected by punishment or poison.

The teachings which Virupa bestowed to his disciples became known as the Lam Dre teaching, and four generations later it was transmitted to Tibet. There, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo, the first of the five founders of the Sakya Order, received and mastered these teachings, and later, due to his high realization he received it again directly from Mahasiddha Virupa himself. Since that time, the Lam Dre has been the special practice of the Sakya Order. It is a unique integration of philosophical explanation and meditation practice.

 

Receiving the precious Lam Dre teaching directly from His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin himself is a very special opportunity not to be missed. His Holiness is a peerless master of the Dharma in general and Vajrayana and the Lam Dre in particular. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has praised His Holiness the Sakya Trizin as “King of Vajrayana masters.” His Holiness the Sakya Trizin personally preserves this precious living lineage of practice and blessings in our time. He has previously bestowed the Lam Dre teaching many times in different parts of the world, and is the primary lineage holder of the Sakya, Ngor, and Tsar lineages of the teaching.

The opportunity to receive the Lam Dre teaching in North America is rare; the last time it was given on this continent was in 2011. The summer 2018 Lam Dre teaching will be particularly special as it will be a very detailed teaching, encompassing six weeks of empowerments and instruction. The teachings will be bestowed in English and simultaneously translated to Mandarin. Each morning, His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin will bestow the teaching. In the afternoon, meditation instruction will be given by his eldest son, His Eminence Ratna Vajra Rinpoche.

Following the conclusion of the Lam Dre teachings, students will have the opportunity to remain for an additional week of retreat instructions and undertake the eight-month Hevajra Retreat.

For intelligent people desiring to learn and practice the authentic Dharma from living masters, there is no better opportunity than this.

His Holiness will bestow the Lam Dre teaching according to the tsogshe explanation tradition. It will be given in two parts: The Three Visions and the Three Tantras. The Three Visions portion of the teaching will be followed by the Bodhisattva Vows and Hevajra Cause Empowerment. His Holiness Sakya Trizin will bestow the Hevajra Cause empowerment followed by the Three Tantras. The Three Tantras includes teachings on the Hevajra sadhana as well as a number of other empowerments including the profound Hevajra Path empowerment. After the six-week cycle of empowerments and teachings is complete, students who wish to undertake the Hevajra retreat may remain for an additional week of instruction on how to perform the retreat, followed by an opportunity to actually undertake a traditional eight-month secluded retreat. There are the following options for attendance:

Program Dates
Onsite check-in May 19 – 20, 2018
Three Visions, Bodhisattva Vows, and Hevajra Cause Empowerment May 21 – June 2, 2018
Entire Lam Dre Teaching May 21 – July 3, 2018
Retreat Instructions July 4 – 10, 2018
Hevajra Retreat (approximately 8 months) July 11, 2018 – April, 2019
 

It is not possible to attend only the Three Tantras, or only a portion of the Three Tantras. For vajra samaya reasons, students wishing to attend the Three Tantras portion of the Lam Dre must attend the entire teaching beginning from May 21 through July 3. Teachings will take place from approximately 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 3:00 to 6:00 pm each day. Participants should arrange their transportation to arrive during the early afternoon of May 20 for welcome and registration, followed by a welcome dinner hosted by Venerable Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen, abbot of Tsechen Kunchab Ling. Arrange your departure for July 4, unless you are planning to remain for the retreat instructions and retreat.

Following the conclusion of the Lam Dre teachings, students may choose to remain for an additional week to receive practical instructions on how to perform the Hevajra retreat. Those wishing to undertake the Hevajra retreat at Tsechen Kunchab Ling must receive permission from His Holiness the Sakya Trizin concerning whether or not they are ready to undertake this major spiritual commitment.

The Hevajra retreat will begin on July 11, 2018. It will be a traditional closed, solitary retreat. More information on how this is to be done, how meditation sessions are to be structured, and other advice will be given during the retreat training. However, you should know that once you are ritually sealed into your retreat room, you will be alone with no outside communication, phone, or electronic devices, for the duration of the many months of the retreat. You will see only a few people whom you designate in advance, mainly your retreat guide and retreat assistant, who will visit on a regular schedule. Supplies and food will be delivered to each retreatant and each will do their own cooking in their own kitchen.

Although all will begin together, the duration of the retreat will be different for each retreatant, as each person will continue their retreat until they accomplish recitation of the requisite number of mantras. This will occur at each participant’s own pace, usually it requiring 7 and a half to 9 months. After everyone has completed their retreat, Tsechen Kunchab Ling will organize a group fire puja.

If you are prepared to undertake this major spiritual commitment, please contact sakya@sakyatemple.org for more information.

Registration costs for all participants have been paid through the kindness and generosity of Venerable Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and other Lam Dre sponsors who have pledged to cover the temple’s costs to host these precious teachings. By the merit of this offering, may the life of His Holiness the Sakya Trizin and all holy masters be long and their teachings flourish throughout the world.

Sign-Up

While there will be no tuition charge for the teachings, it is  important that each person who plans to  attend all or part of the Lam Dre teaching sign up using the link below. Signing up in advance is important so that you can receive updates about scheduling and special events that will occur during the teachings and so that you will be granted access to texts and other materials that will help you prepare to receive the Lam Dre, and to the forums where you can coordinate housing and transportation with other students. Also, your sign up information will help us prepare materials, texts, etc. in sufficient quantities and the initiations can be scheduled appropriately.

Registration is now closed

Please arrange your own housing. A list of local options is available on our website and soon we will have a forum for students looking to share housing and transportation.. We regret that there are no accommodations available at the temple, and camping on the temple grounds is not allowed during the Lam Dre teaching.

If you would like to coordinate housing arrangements with other students, this forum is available to use.  To use the forum:

  1. Click on the Google groups button:
  2. Sign into your Google (i.e. Gmail) account, or create one if you don’t already have one
  3. Click on the discussion category “Accommodation: Looking for roommate(s)”
  4. Create a new topic with your request or respond to one of the existing ones to find a roommate

Please arrange your own food. There are several restaurants walking distance from the temple. On days when empowerments and teachings are held, between the morning and afternoon teaching sessions, Tsechen Kunchab Ling Temple will prepare a simple vegetarian lunch as an offering to participants, but we regret that we are unable to accommodate special dietary requirements. All students should make their own breakfast and dinner arrangements.

Please arrange your own transportation. A car is recommended as there is no local public transportation. Students looking to share transportation can find each other on a forum which will be published in the near future to facilitate sharing.

Bring your vajra and bell. Please do not bring audio or video recording equipment as no individual audio or video recording will be allowed. Students wishing to have a copy of the teachings will be able to purchase a professionally recorded copy of the teachings for a reasonable price at the end of the teaching cycle. Also,  please no pets.

Receiving the complete Lam Dre teaching and initiation cycle has always required a great commitment and effort on behalf of a devoted student. He or she must arrange weeks of time away from work and family, a place to stay and provisions, and make substantial offerings to receive this profound teaching.  Although most of this planning and effort is still required, Venerable Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen has generously arranged to make this Lam Dre as accessible as possible by offering it completely free of charge for the first time in the West.

An undertaking of this size and cost is only possible with the generosity of devoted Dharma sponsors.  All those with fortunate means and motivation are invited to share in the great merit of making these profound teachings accessible to all who wish to receive them.  In addition to the virtuous karma of being a patron of the Dharma, sponsoring the profound Lam Dre teaching is a very special way to strengthen one’s connection with these profound pith instructions.

Lam Dre Patron – $10,000 – Lam Dre Patrons’ generosity covers the considerable costs of hosting the teachings and providing the noonday meals for lay participants. In appreciation for Lam Dre Patrons’ kindness in making the Lam Dre teaching possible for all, patrons receive special seating in the assembly, dinner with His Holiness the Sakya Trichen, gifts of appreciation, and recognition in signage.

Publication Sponsor – $1,500 – Publication sponsors cover the cost of preparing, printing, and distributing the numerous prayers, sadhanas, initiation recitation texts, and other publications distributed during the Lam Dre. Publication sponsors are recognized during the teachings and acknowledged in the publications distributed to the assembly.

In addition, those who wish to sponsor empowerments, daily teachings, meals for the holy family and sangha, tea, distribution of texts, images, and flowers, please use the link below or inquire with the on-site information desk.

 

The temple welcomes those who wish to accumulate merit by offering service to the temple and sangha during their stay. Volunteers may help in various ways, including service of daily tea offerings, cleaning and resetting the shrine room each afternoon, and helping in the kitchen and dining room. A regular commitment of an hour a day is requested from those who wish to become official volunteers. Volunteers will be recognized with appreciation during and at the conclusion of the teachings. The temple does not pay volunteers nor does it offer tuition discounts for volunteering. Please email contact@sakyatemple.org if you would like to volunteer.