The stūpa – Tibetan chörten (Wylie: mchod rten) – is one of the most recognisable symbols of Buddhism and Yungdrung Bön, rich in layered meaning and spiritual significance. It embodies both the wisdom that perceives reality as it is and the wisdom that understands its boundless scope. As both a visual support and a symbol of enlightened qualities, the stūpa serves as a constant reminder of the Buddha's enlightened virtues.

Each element of its structure – proportions, shapes, and ornaments – symbolises specific qualities of the Buddha and the bodhisattvas. According to sacred texts, stūpas are expressions of the Buddha’s compassionate power, radiating blessings to all who honour them. They also serve as support for purification and the accumulation of merit.

Traditional practices associated with stūpas include prostrations, circumambulations, offerings, purification rituals, and the application of sacred oils or essences. These actions are intended to purify inner obscurations and strengthen the accumulation of virtuous merit.

The benefits of these practices are manifold: they are said to bring beneficial rains, fertile lands, prosperous harvests, health for sentient beings, and harmony among humans and animals. Offerings made to stūpas are therefore regarded as sources of well-being and abundance.

This workshop offers an in-depth exploration of the nature and symbolism of stūpas. It is intended for those who, guided by faith or the wish to understand, seek to deepen their connection with the sacred meaning of these spiritual monuments.

As a complement to this understanding, the act of drawing a stūpa will be practised as a form of meditation and spiritual cultivation. Quality paper and pencils are provided for the participants. Please bring other tools, such as a ruler, an eraser, or your favourite pencil.

Through mindful observation and careful tracing of its sacred geometry, participants can transform the creative process into a contemplative exercise – inviting stillness, focus, and inner connection with the qualities embodied by the stūpa itself.

We are delighted to announce the return of Amchi Nyima and Geshe Dennyi to Shenten Dargye Ling! They have kindly agreed to teach again this year, much to our joy.

The topic presented by Amchi Nyima is particularly valuable: he will offer an in-depth introduction to medicinal baths (Tibetan: བདུད་རྩི་ལྔ་ལུམས་; Wylie: bdud rtsi lnga lums), according to traditional Tibetan medicine. These are commonly referred to as Lum (Tibetan: ལུམས།; Wylie: lums).

Recognized by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Lum offer a unique and rich field of knowledge—one you will have the opportunity to explore directly under the guidance of an experienced master.

In the morning, Amchi Nyima will explain in detail:

• the methods of steam bath application,

• how the treatment is administered,

• the most appropriate seasons for the therapy,

• as well as the necessary precautions and care during the course of treatment.

In the afternoon, Geshe Dennyi will continue his teaching on the causes of illness. This year, he will focus on karmic causes and traditional Tibetan methods for preventing imbalances and preserving health.

Hello

Pönlop Tsangpa Tenzin Rinpoche will offer a teaching on the practice of shine (literally "abiding peacefully," also called shamatha in Sanskrit) based on the Athri and Yethri Thasel texts. The Athri, one of the most important Dzogchen teachings of the Bön tradition, distinguishes two types of shine meditation: tshänchä, which consists in focusing the mind on a substantial object, and tshänmed, which consists in resting in a state of even and objectless meditation.

Pönlop Tsangpa Tenzin Rinpoche is the head teacher of the Bön Dialectic School at Triten Norbutse Monastery in Nepal. He is also greatly appreciated by Western students for his enthusiasm and his straightforward way of approaching complex subjects. We are very much looking forward to his visit to Paris.

The teaching will be translated from Tibetan into English, and then from English into French. It is open to long-time practitioners and to beginners alike.

Dates: July 4 and 5

Address: Espace JAYA, 284 rue des Pyrénées, 75020 Paris. Please arrive early to allow for on-site registration and a punctual start.

Fees: Tier 1: €40/day — Tier 2: €30/day — Tier 3: €20/day. To attend the teachings, you need to have paid your annual membership fee for the Shenten Dargye Ling association (this can easily be done online, but we will also register membership fees on site if needed).

This year’s Summer Retreat at Shenten Dargye Ling is guided by Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, who will continue teaching the profound Dzogchen text Mume Dalpa (Tib. Mu-med bdal-pa).

Following the inspiring beginning of this study and practice last year, we now continue our exploration of these essential teachings. New participants are most welcome. Rinpoche’s clear explanations and compassionate guidance make these teachings accessible to all sincere practitioners, whether familiar with Dzogchen or new to it.

The Mume Dalpa is a foundational Dzogchen text within the Yungdrung Bön tradition. It presents the direct experience of the mind’s natural, non-conceptual state – and is beyond all intellectual thought. The term Mu-med means “beyond concept or duality,” and bdal-pa refers to vast "all-pervasiveness" or, in terms of "primordial or pure awareness" (Rigpa).

During this retreat, participants will receive its teachings and, through meditations, be guided to recognise the essence of Dzogchen (the Great Perfection) in accordance with the Yungdrung Bön tradition.

Registration per week:

• Week 1 (July 17–22): Register

• Week 2 (July 24–29): Register

• Week 3 (July 31 – August 5): Register

In August, Shenten will host a gathering of Tibetans from Europe for the third consecutive year. This is not a teaching or practice retreat organized in Shenten's usual format, so there will be no online registration or Zoom participation. It is above all a time of meeting, sharing, and being present together.

Shenten is first and foremost a place of retreat, study, and research around the Bönpo tradition. By occasionally hosting this gathering, the center also offers a setting suited to a more communal dimension: allowing Tibetans living in Europe to come together for a few days, to practice together, share warm moments, and keep their cultural bonds alive.

This gathering was born from Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche's wish that Tibetans living in Europe — bönpos or not — could come together at Shenten at least once a year. Over a few days, participants share moments of practice together, conversations, meals, and festive times around Tibetan songs, dances, and traditions.

It is also a precious opportunity for children and the younger generations to encounter Bönpo and Tibetan culture more directly — culture that can be hard to keep alive day-to-day in countries of exile. By hosting this gathering, Shenten becomes, for a few days, a place of memory, continuity, and shared joy for the Tibetan community.

For any practical information about this gathering, those concerned are invited to contact the organizers directly.

Research Group

PaganTibet, "Reconstructing the Pagan Religion of Tibet" is a five-year project (2023-2028) funded by the European Research Council and based at the EPHE in Paris, under the direction of Charles Ramble. The aim of the project is to investigate the nature of Tibetan religion before the arrival of Yungdrung Bon and Buddhism. We know from Bonpo histories that Tonpa Shenrab Miwo encountered religions systems known as "Bon" when he brought his teachings to the Tibetan Plateau, and retained some of their rituals after modifying them to accord with his spiritual principles. Traces of these systems are preserved in some of the texts of the Four Ways of Cause, but especially in a large corpus of manuscripts belonging to a priestly tradition called Le'u that have recently come to light in eastern Tibet. In order to avoid confusion with Yungdrung Bon, the project refers to the traditions represented in these texts not as Bon but as Pagan Religion. However, since it is the monks of Yungdrung Bon who are most familiar with the literary conventions and the concepts contained in this corpus, PaganTibet is collaborating closely with the monks of Triten Norbutse and of Shenten Dargye Ling under the guidance of Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung and of Khenpo Gelek Jinpa in the tasks of digitising, electronically transcribing, editing and annotating these works to make their content more comprehensible and accessible. In August of this year, the members of the Pagan Tibet project will gather at Shenten Dargye Ling for a week – as they did last year – for an intensive reading of selected texts in an environment where they will be able to seek the advice of the monks and to benefit from the monastery's well-furnished library of Bon literature.

Continuing his teachings from previous years, Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche will again offer us the precious meditation instructions of the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud, belonging to the unique Experiential Lineage, the Nyam Gyud.

Therefor Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud, the orally transmitted Dzogchen lineage of Zhang Zhung, belongs to the highest category of Dzogchen teachings. Having the extremely rare quality of being an unbroken lineage from its origin till the present days, the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud own another wonderful particularity: alongside its complete corpus of Dzogchen teachings in four volumes, a lineage of short and decisive meditative instructions took birth, forged by the experiential realisation of the masters of the lineage: This is the Nyam Gyud, the Transmission of Experiences.

Consisting of precious key points about the view, the meditation, the activities and the fruit, it is a unique collection of the personal instructions of those realised masters to their disciples.

With a strong emphasis on meditation instructions for recognising the Nature of the Mind, this teaching is traditionally put into practice immediately after receiving each master’s instruction set – that's what we will do during this retreat: In the spirit of the pedagogy proper to this lineage, Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche will proceed by alternating direct instructions with meditation sessions on each of those key-points.

We invite you to join this rare opportunity to dive directly into the instructions of one of the most unique Dzogchen lineages, and to build your own personal experience under the guidance of Rinpoche.

This retreat is convenient for both stabilising your understanding of the Dzogchen meditation and discovering at firsthand, making it a great opportunity for beginners and seasoned mediators alike.

The Special Gomdra Program at Shenten Dargye Ling monastery in France.

Our beloved master and living Buddha, Yongdzin Rinpoche established the traditional four-year meditation school, Gomdra, at Shenten Dargye Ling in 2009 to give western practitioners the opportunity to deepen their practice and learn meditation and philosophy in the same systematic way the monks do at the main Bön monasteries. The 70-day Gomdra retreat focuses each year solely on teaching and intensive practice.

The full duration of the Gomdra Program will last for four years and each year the participants will do 70-days of intensive practice at Shenten Dargye Ling. The daily program consists of four practice sessions, one hour teaching and the practice of the four generosities: Sangchö, Chutor, Surchö and Chö.

The first four-year Gomdra program started in September 2009 and the teaching and practice was based on the Atri Dzogchen Cycle. The second Gomdra started in September 2014 and the teaching and practice was based on the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud and its commentary called Gyalwa Chagrti. The third Gomdra started in September 2019 and the teaching and practice was based on Drakpa Korsum and its extensive commentary called Yangtse Longchen.

The Fourth Gomdra Program

The main four dzogchen cycles of Yungdrung Bön will be completed by this fourth Gomdra, which is based on the teaching and practice of the Yetri Thasel Dzogchen Cycle and its commentary called Namkha Truldzo (the Treasure of Space) and the preliminary teaching, Ngöndro, called Drangdon Munsel Dronma (the Lamp Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance).

The first year started on September 4, 2025, and focuses on the preliminary practice with nine accumulations according to the text Drangdon Munsel Dronma (the Lamp Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance). The practice includes the experience of the realization of the Natural State instructed in a traditional way by searching of mind, Semtsol, and fixation of mind, Semdzin.

The second year of the Gomdra will start on September 3, 2026, and the focus of our practice is on Trekchö. First, we will do the Six Loka Purification Practice, second, the Phowa Practice, and then we will concentrate on the main practice Trekchö. I am really looking forward to seeing you all at Shenten in September and continuing our practice together.

The Congregation Shenten Dargye Ling

During this retreat, we will explore the profound practice of Phowa, as transmitted in the Dzogchen Atri cycle. Teaching sessions will alternate with guided meditations, allowing participants to integrate understanding through direct experience.

Phowa is a traditional yogic discipline widely practised in Tibet, often included among the foundational trainings. Through the power of visualisation and specific breathing techniques, practitioners can experience a tangible and verifiable result — one that strengthens confidence in both the inner yogic methods and our innate capacity for transformation.

Known as the “transference of consciousness,” Phowa is a practice that prepares us for the moment of death by guiding consciousness through the central channel. In doing so, it opens the possibility of liberation from karma and the cycle of rebirth, inspiring direct recognition of our own true nature.

Lama Sangye Mönlam is a highly experienced monk of the Yungdrung Bön tradition, known for his deep understanding, gentle manner, and great empathy towards all beings. Having trained extensively under accomplished masters in both monastic and meditative disciplines, he embodies the living wisdom of the ancient teachings. Lama Sangye shares his knowledge with clarity and warmth, guiding students through subtle practices with patience and genuine care, making complex teachings accessible and directly meaningful in daily life.

We are pleased to announce that Khenpo Akarpa Rinpoche has agreed to come again this year to continue his teachings

Tsa Lung & Trülkhor

Khenpo Akarpa Lama Rinpoche presents a new course that offers an in-depth synthesis of Tibetan yogas. Distinct from the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud transmissions, this curriculum was designed by Rinpoche on the basis of his own research and expertise in Tibet’s diverse yogic lineages.

Tsa Lung and Trülkhor refer to inner tantric practices and purifying physical exercises that support the Dzogchen path. These methods were traditionally used by tantric yogis of the Himalayas, Zhang Zhung, and Tibet.

The programme covers in particular :

• Breath purification – techniques for releasing blockages in the tsa (channels), harmonising the five winds, and promoting physical and mental health;

• Body purification – methods for balancing the five elements, stimulating inner heat (tummo), and treating disorders caused by imbalances;

• Mind purification – approaches for calming the mind, removing obstacles, and developing single-pointed concentration.

These practices aim to purify body, speech, and mind, dissolve obstacles, and foster overall well-being. Participants can expect increased vitality, radiant health, and deep joy while cultivating compassion and wisdom.

Khenpo Akarpa Lama Rinpoche

Ordained at the age of five, Akarpa Rinpoche is regarded as one of the eminent Buddhist masters of our time. With more than thirty years of experience, he is a meditation teacher, accomplished Dzogchen practitioner, and scholar of the Sūtra, Tantra, and Dzogchen corpora.

True to the rimé (non-sectarian) approach, he has received major transmissions—Dzogchen, Ma Gyü Thukjé Nyima (Mother Tantra), Vajrakīlaya, Kālacakra, Guhyasamāja, the Six Yogas of Nāropa, and the Six Doctrines of Niguma—from masters within the Yungdrung Bön, Sakya, Gelug, Kagyü, Nyingma, and Jonang traditions.

Since 2008, he has spent several months each year studying and practising with Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, receiving one-to-one instruction unequalled in the past two decades.

He also completed four years of study in Chinese Buddhism at the Minnan Buddhist Institute (China) and developed a keen interest in Zen, which he explored in Japan, where he led meditative tea ceremonies.

When not in retreat, Rinpoche teaches Tsa Lung, meditation, and other spiritual disciplines across China and Europe. In June 2017, he presented Tsa Lung to nearly a thousand Gelug monks at Ganden Monastery—the first public teaching of this Tibetan yoga to such a large monastic gathering. The same year he taught it at Menri Monastery at the invitation of Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizin.

“The purpose of spiritual practice is never the religion itself, but the transformation of our being”, Rinpoche often reminds us.

Renowned for his wisdom, sincerity, and courage in facing modern challenges, he inspires students through his compassion, accessible teaching style, and profound understanding of contemporary struggles.

Please note: this retreat is now offered on-site only. There will be no online stream.