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

Hello

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.

A Transformative Chöd Practice for Cutting Through Ego-Clinging and Awakening Fearless Generosity

Teachings by Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche — Paris, 21–22 November 2026

The practice of Chöd invites us to face our fears, loosen the grasp of the ego, and transform obstacles into opportunities for awakening. Through profound generosity, sacred visualization, prayer, and awareness, we learn to release attachment and deepen our compassion for all beings.

In the Bön tradition, numerous practices are used to cultivate generosity, purify negative karmic tendencies, and free us from ego-clinging and the disturbing emotions that arise from it. Among these is the Generosity of the Body (lüjin; Wylie: lus sbyin), more commonly known as Chöd (gcod).

Chöd is deeply rooted in the tantric tradition and its profound methods of bringing difficult circumstances onto the spiritual path. It is also practised within both Tantra and Dzogchen in forms ranging from simple and accessible to profound and elaborate. In each case, Chöd supports and strengthens one’s principal spiritual practice.

As one of the traditional practices of generosity, Chöd has become an important part of the daily practice of many Bön practitioners. Since the establishment of Shenten Dargye Ling, members of its sangha have performed Chöd regularly, sometimes accompanied by teachings and at other times as a daily group practice.

During this two-day programme in Paris, Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche will give teachings on "The Laughter of the Dakinis", a concise yet powerful Chöd practice composed by the great Bön master Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche (1859–1934).

Through these teachings, participants will discover how Chöd transforms fear, attachment, and adversity into generosity, openness, and direct recognition of the nature of mind.

The teachings will include:

1. Taming places of power through the performance of sacred dance

2. Taking refuge

3. Cultivating the mind of bodhicitta

4. Supplicating the dakinis and lineage masters

5. Transferring consciousness, transforming it into the form of the dakini, and liberating the bodily aggregates

6. The white offering

7. The red offering

8. The generosity of Bön through teachings and the sharing of spiritual knowledge

9. The generosity of protection through an introduction to the natural state

10. Dedication and conclusion

Who may attend?

Everyone is warmly welcome, whether completely new to Chöd or already familiar with the practice. No previous experience is required.

These teachings are particularly recommended for those who practise Chöd regularly and wish to deepen their understanding, strengthen their practice, and receive further guidance on its meaning and essential principles.

Come and discover a profound path of generosity and transformation—one that teaches us to meet fear with courage, attachment with openness, and every obstacle as an opportunity for awakening.

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.

Gutor — literally “the nine offerings” — is traditionally held at the close of the year, as a high point of purification and renewal. It clears away the obstacles and the harmful influences gathered over the months gone by, so that the new year may be entered in a spirit of clarity and beginning again.

At Shenten Dargye Ling these days are centred on Sherab Jamma, the Loving Mother of Wisdom, one of the female Buddhas of the Yungdrung Bön tradition. Performing her practice and her rituals before the turn of the year is an observance the centre keeps every year, in the way Tibetan families hold yearly ceremonies for their family deities.

How the days unfold

2 January is given over to preparation: the making of the tormas, the ritual offerings shaped for the ceremony. It is a day of preparation rather than of practice.

From 3 to 6 January the Gutor itself takes place, from morning until evening, with the many practices connected to Sherab Jamma. The purification ritual that closes these days clears what stands in the way before the new year begins.

7 January is left free.

The Zhang Zhung Losar

On 8 January the community celebrates the Zhang Zhung Losar, the new year of the Bön tradition. It comes about a month before the Tibetan Losar, which that year falls on 7 February.

This day is lived on site: there is no particular practice, and nothing is streamed. It is open to those who are at the centre, or who ask to come.

In January 2026, Drubdra Khenpo invited us on a journey to the roots of the A khrid cycle. He returns in January 2027 to continue this teaching.

This second retreat is devoted to bodhicitta, to compassion, and to an introduction to the nature of mind. You do not need to have attended the 2026 retreat to take part: this is also an opportunity to begin exploring Dzogchen through one of the major Yungdrung Bön cycles, traditionally the first taught at Menri's meditation school.

For practitioners already familiar with some of the most famous manuals from this cycle, namely the 13th century Akhrid in 15 sessions of Dru Gyalwa Yungdrung Rinpoche, or the 20th century Kusum Rangshar of Shardza Rinpoche, this is truly a very auspicious opportunity to be introduced to their sources.

As well as to deepen their understanding of this living tradition, by going back to where everything started, the works of its founder : Meu Gongdzo Rinpoche, known as "the holy hermit", who reached parinirvana in 1096. This key figure of our tradition received from Lama Zhu Kyese Chenpo the Dzogchen teachings revealed by the great Shenchen Luga, namely the dzogchen cycle of the 9 Arcanes (Gabpa Gukor) and the minor sections of Mind (sems phran). He then practiced them till his meditation reached its full accomplishment. Later, It is said that for the benefit of his disciples, he composed his experiential instructions as well as his own Mind treasuries, and organized the teaching into meditative sessions.

The Akhrid in 8 sessions was composed by Drogön Yorpo Mepal, the fifth master of this lineage. He himself left many relics after his own parinirvana in 1169, Drogön Yorpo Mepal gathered into one corpus, the teachings of the cycle organized into sessions by Meu Gongdzo Rinpoche, together with the Experiential Instructions (Nyam Khrid) and Mind Treasury (Gong Ter) of the holy master.

The Akhrid in 8 sessions

contain 2 main chapters:

• The Precious Supplication of The Direct Introduction (Ngo sprod Rinchen Saldeb)

• The gradual guidance of the Oral instructions (Man ngag Khridrim)

When in turn, Dru Gyalwa Rinpoche wrote his famous manual in 15 sessions, it is from this source that he composed it, being the support of the Oral Instructions of Akhrid.

In the words of Drupdra Khenpo, Head of the meditation college of Triten Norbuste :

"In summary, those instructions condense in one the three sources:

• The Speech of the Buddha

• The Oral instructions of the Master

• Its own Experiences of the teaching

While the words are few, the meaning is very deep : those are secret instructions, made of experiential (Nyam Khrid) and Mind-Treasury teachings (Gong Ter), about the practice itself

That is why, for the women and men who are dedicated themselves seriously to the meditation of dzogchen, those instructions are essential, one cannot do without. " 

Drubdra Khenpo, the “Meditation Khenpo”, is the abbot (khenpo) of the Meditation School at Triten Norbutse Monastery in Kathmandu, is widely respected for his expertise in meditation, ritual, and teaching. His unique ability to convey these sacred teachings with clarity and depth makes this an exceptional opportunity for practitioners at all levels. You can read his full biography here: Drubdra Khenpo Tsultrim Tenzin Rinpoche

On 22 January 2027, the day of the full moon, the Shenten community commemorates the birth of Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche, the founder of Bön.

Yungdrung Bön is the original spiritual and cultural tradition of Tibet and the Himalayan regions that border it, and it is among the oldest living religions in the world. According to the Bön scriptures it was founded by the Buddha Tonpa Shenrab Miwo, who lived more than nine thousand years ago in the land of Olmo Lungring.

His sacred life and his Twelve Deeds describe the unfolding of his awakened activity in the world. Through his awakening, his teaching and the transmission of the ways of Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen, he laid the doctrinal and practical foundations of Bön for the benefit of all beings.

The programme for the day will be announced.

Losar is the new year of the Tibetan calendar, and the most important festival of the year in Tibet as across the Himalayan regions.

It is not to be confused with the Zhang Zhung Losar, the new year of the Bön tradition, which Shenten celebrates on 8 January — about a month earlier.

This date appears in the programme for information. The day is lived on site, with no organised programme and nothing streamed, and remains open to those who are at the centre or who ask to come.

On 11 February the Shenten community commemorates the anniversary of the birth of Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen (1356–1415), founder of Menri Monastery.

Born in Gyalmorong, he became a monk at about the age of ten and received full ordination at thirty-one. He studied at Yeru Wensakha, then the great seat of Bön learning in Tsang, where the renown of his knowledge led to his being offered an abbot’s throne. Yeru Wensakha was destroyed by floods.

In 1405, at the age of fifty, he founded Tashi Menri to replace it. Menri became the mother monastery of the whole Bön tradition, and its abbot — the Menri Trizin — is recognised as its spiritual head. The curriculum Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen established there is the one Bönpo monks still follow today.

His name, Nyame, means “without equal”.

His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin, spiritual head of the Yungdrung Bön tradition, will be at Shenten Dargye Ling from 6 to 9 May 2027.

He will teach the fivefold practice of the luminous A of Kuntuzangpo, connected to the peaceful deity of the luminous A, from which the recitation of the mantra comes. The practice belongs to a tantric cycle composed in the twelfth century by a Bönpo master, abbot of the monastery of Yeru Wensaka.

On 9 May His Holiness will give the initiation of Shenla Ökar, of the five Buddha families and the five wisdoms.

On site and online

The teaching is streamed online. The initiation is not: it is received on site only.

Among the many teachings transmitted at Shenten Dargye Ling, Dzogchen Dragpa Kor Sum holds a particular place within the Yungdrung Bön tradition.

It is one of the four great Dzogchen cycles revealed by the Buddha Tonpa Shenrab, setting out the complete path to awakening through three distinct transmissions: the extensive version taught in the Deva Loka, the realm of the gods, the intermediate version in the human realm, and the condensed essential instructions revealed in the realm of the Nagas. Together they guide practitioners from foundational understanding to the direct realisation of the natural state.

Ponlop Tsangpa Tenzin Rinpoche continues this year the cycle begun in previous editions. The chapter to be covered will be announced.

On 12 June 2027, Shenten Dargye Ling gathers to commemorate the parinirvana of Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche.

Tradition holds this anniversary to be a precious occasion to remember his immense kindness, to contemplate his teachings and to renew the connection with his awakened presence through devotion and practice. With gratitude and an open heart, we invite you to join us in honouring Rinpoche’s life and legacy.

We warmly welcome all practitioners, and especially Rinpoche’s long-time students, for a day of practice together, at Shenten Dargye Ling or online. The programme for the day will be announced.

The three-week summer retreat at Shenten Dargye Ling is led by Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche. It is given over to the teaching and practice of Dzogchen.

The subject for this year will be announced.

Newcomers are welcome: Rinpoche’s clear explanations and compassionate guidance make these teachings accessible to every sincere practitioner, whether familiar with Dzogchen or meeting it for the first time.

Summer is the most favourable time to assimilate these practices: the retreat lasts three weeks, and experienced practitioners present can guide those who are beginning.

Continuing the teachings of previous years, Khenchen Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche will once again offer the precious meditation instructions of the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud, belonging to the unique experiential lineage, the Nyam Gyud.

The Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud, the Dzogchen lineage transmitted orally from Zhang Zhung, belongs to the highest category of Dzogchen teachings. It holds the exceedingly rare quality of having been transmitted without interruption from its origin to the present day.

To this distinction another is added: alongside its complete body of Dzogchen teachings, a lineage of instructions arose that rests on the experience of practice itself.

Our beloved master Yongdzin Rinpoche established in 2009, at Shenten Dargye Ling, the traditional four-year meditation school, the Gomdra, to give Western practitioners the opportunity to deepen their practice and to study meditation and philosophy in the same systematic way as the monks of the great Bön monasteries.

The full programme lasts four years; each year participants undertake seventy days of intensive practice at Shenten Dargye Ling, given over entirely to teaching and practice.

The third year of the fourth Gomdra runs from Thursday 2 September to 12 November 2027, led by Khenpo Gelek Jinpa. Like those before it, it rests on the Yetri Thasel Dzogchen cycle. The content of this year will be announced.

This retreat is held on site only.