The Trekchö Instructions of Yeshe Tsogyal: for Vajrayana practitioners

with Acharya Richard John

9:30 AM – 4:30 PM (followed by a potluck feast)

Register here

Please note that this day-long program for Vajrayana practitioners only 

In the 8th century CE, Yeshe Tsogyal had a vision in which Vajrayogini gave her these pith instructions for practicing trekchö, known as “cutting through to primordial purity.” Trekchö is the Dzogchen equivalent of Mahamudra, and both are the epitome of the path of wisdom.

This profound but practical and accessible text gives concise instructions for recognizing and resting in the empty and luminous nature of mind. It is my personal favorite pith instruction, and I truly look forward to sharing it and practicing it with you.

— Acharya Richard John

A light lunch is included.

Feast Potluck to follow at 4:00pm (further details to follow)

PREREQUISITE: Shambhala member/vajrayana practitioner

Acharya Richard John is a beloved friend and teacher to Santa Rosa Shambhala. He became an early student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche after reading Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism in 1974, although he didn’t know exactly what Buddhism was, what his teacher looked like, or how to meditate. At the time he was a woodworker in Santa Cruz, California. His first experience of meditation was at a dathun (a month-long meditation retreat) at Padma Jong, near Mendocino, in 1975. Shortly afterward, the Vidhadhara asked him to oversee the volunteer production of all the carvings and gold leaf in the shrine hall in Boulder, and then at Karme Choling.

After careers as a designer and a management consultant, he served as director of the Halifax Shambhala Centre. He completed the first three-year group retreat at Gampo Abbey. Appointed an acharya by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in 2002, Richard has taught Shambhala Buddhist programs in North America, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and Chile. Richard now teaches full time and is extremely grateful for that opportunity. Richard and his wife Liz reside in Halifax, Nova Scotia.