Dzogchen Teaching Retreat in Tuscany, 4th-6th October (and possibly 7th)

Drubdra Khenpo Tsultrim Tenzin, Head of the Meditation School at Triten Norbutse, the seat of Yungdrung Bön Tibetan Tradition in Kathmandu, Nepal, will teach a rare and precious Dzogchen text:

རྗེ་ཏ་པི་ཧྲི་ཙའི་གསོལ་འདེབས་ཀུན་བཟང་ཐུགས་སྤྲུལ་མའི་འགྲེལ་བ་མདོར་བསྡུས་ཤིག་བཀོད་པ་ཡེ་ཤེས་རབ་འཕེལ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་བཞུགས་སོ།།

Spreading Supreme Wisdom: Concise Explanation and Commentary on the Supplication Prayer to Lord Tapihritsa, Mind Emanation of Kuntu Zangpo

by Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche

The Supplication Prayer to Lord Tapihritsa contains a very condense explanation on the Base, Path and Fruit as well as the View, Meditation and Conduct of Dzogchen. In this commentary, the current Zhang Zhung Nyengyu Lineage Holder Yongdzin Rinpoche unwraps layers of meaning contained in the prayer and provides lucid explanations on these topics. We are truly fortunate that an erudite Bönpo lama, Drubdra Khenpo Tsultrim Tenzin, a heart disciple of Yongdzin Rinpoche, has kindly agreed to give teachings on this text, which are offered for the first time in the West.

Background to the text

Spreading Supreme Wisdom: Concise Explanation and Commentary on the Supplication Prayer to Lord Tapihritsa, Mind Emanation of Kuntu Zangpo is a commentary by Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, the Head Teacher of Yungdrung Bön and current Lineage Holder of Zhang Zhung Nyengyu, on the Prayer to Tapihritsa by Gyerpung Nangzher Lödpo, one of the early masters in this unbroken lineage.

Nangzher Lödpo was a Zhang Zhung drubthob-mahasiddha and royal priest to the last Zhang Zhung Emperor Ligmingya, who lived in Zhang Zhung, now Western Tibet, in the 7-8 centuries AD. It was during his first meeting with Master Tapihritsa that Nangzher Lödpo spontaneously uttered this prayer, at the hermitage of the Deer-faced Rock (Tib. Brag sha-ba dgong gi dgon pa).

Tapihritsa achieved the Rainbow Body of Great Transfer after practising in solitary retreat for nine years, but he had not yet found a suitable pupil to whom he could pass on the Single Lineage (Tib. gcig brgyud) transmission of the Zhang Zhung Nyengyu Dzogchen cycle. So, he emanated as a young boy and came begging to the door of Nangzher Lödpo’s sponsor, a rich man called Merchyugpo Yungdrung Gyaltsen, who, instead of giving the boy alms, employed him as a shepherd. One day Tapihritsa came to the cave where Nangzher Lödpo was practising and they got into a debate. The young boy defeated Nangzher Lödpo who, because of his tantric practice and high position at the Zhang Zhung Emperor’s court, still had quite a lot of arrogance, which hindered his understanding and practice of the Dzogchen View. At the end of this meeting, the young boy soared into the sky and manifested as a Mind Emanation of Kuntu Zangpo, and it is then that the astonished Nangzher Lödpo spontaneously uttered this prayer.

Preliminary Programme

• Friday 4th  
• 07.30 – 08.15                          Meditation
• 08.30 – 09.30                          Breakfast (for hotel residents)
• 10.00 – 12.30                          Teachings  
• 13.00                                       Lunch – vegetarian buffet (for all retreat participants)
• 15.00 – 17.00                          Teachings
• 17.00 – 17.30                          Break
• 18.00  – 19.00                          Meditation
• 19.30                                       Dinner (for hotel residents)

• Saturday 5th
• 07.30 – 08.15                          Meditation
• 08.30 – 09.30                          Breakfast (for hotel residents)
• 10.00 – 12.30                          Teachings  
• 13.00                                       Lunch – vegetarian buffet (for all retreat participants)
• 15.00 – 17.00                          Teachings
• 17.00 – 17.30                          Break
• 18.00  – 19.00                          Meditation/Teachings
• 19.30                                       Dinner (for hotel residents)

• Sunday 6th
• 07.30 – 08.15                          Meditation
• 08.30 – 09.30                          Breakfast (for hotel residents)
• 10.00 – 12.30                          Teachings  
• 13.00                                       Lunch – vegetarian buffet (for all retreat participants)
• 15.00 – 17.00                          Teachings and Transmission
• 17.00 – 17.30                          Thank yous and farewells

Monday 7^th October : if there is sufficient interest, Drubdra Khenpo will offer a full day of transmission, teachings and practical demonstrations on Magyu Tsalung, Tummo, Trulkhor, Thigle, and Gagsel (removal of obstacles). Donation for the full day: €50 Euro, lunch included.

Drubdra Khenpo will teach in English with consecutive translation into Italian.

Materials, prayers etc will be available in English and Italian.

Please bring your own meditation cushion.

Practical Information

Registration

To register for this retreat, please send an email with your full name and confirmation of your initial donation (see below). We will reply and confirm your booking.

Location

The retreat will be held in Hotel Eden, a 4* hotel just 200 m from the sea.

Address:          Hotel Eden viale Antonio Gramsci 26, Cinquale 54038 Montignoso (Massa Carrara).

Website:         https://www.edenhotel.it/en/

Tel:                  +39 0585 807676

Email: info@edenhotel.it

Lunch

Thanks to the generosity of some sponsors, a vegetarian buffet lunch (excluding bar) will be available gratis to everyone taking part in the retreat.

Accommodation

Hotel Eden has kindly agreed a discount for retreat participants.

https://www.edenhotel.it/en

If you wish to take up their offer, we recommend you register with the hotel as soon as possible, (no later than 30^th June) stating that you will attend the Meditation Retreat.

Bed & Breakfast

Single Room                €89.00 Euro per room per night

Double Room              €129.00 Euro per room per night

½ board (breakfast + dinner)

Single Room                €125.00 Euro per person per night

Double Room              €105.00 Euro per person per night

Other accommodation is available nearby, including campsites, B&B, self-catering etc.

For more information, check tourist sites for Marina di Massa, Marina di Carrara, and Massa Carrara.

Transport

Nearest Airport:                      Pisa

Nearest Train Station:             Massa Carrara

Donation/Fee

All participants are asked to contribute 180 Euro as a token of gratitude to Drubdra Khenpo.

Please register for the retreat by 30^th June, 2024 and confirm your booking with a donation of €90 Euro via:

or Bank Money Transfer to:

For both methods please clearly state:

TUSCANY RETREAT

If you have any special circumstances, including financial difficulties, please contact us by email:

English          Italiano