Upcoming Programs 2026
The Great Chariot Online Part 9
Friday, January 30 to Sunday, February 1, 2026
Friday, February 6 to Sunday, February 8, 2026
Friday, February 13 to Sunday, February 15, 2026
Minling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche will continue this cycle of teachings and commentary on the Omniscient Longchen Rabjampa’s The Great Chariot: A Commentary on Finding Rest in the Nature of Mind of the Great Perfection. Rinpoche will bestow teachings online on the chapters of How to Follow a Spiritual Friend and Refuge. These teachings are of the utmost importance for all practitioners, as refuge forms the very foundation of the path of Dharma and no progress is possible without truly taking refuge.
These teachings will be pre-recorded and posted on the Dharmashri Online Portal every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with live zoom review sessions with the Acaryas, Upacaryas, and Dharma Instructors on Sundays. Zoom Reviews are scheduled according to time zone and will be recorded. All teachings are in English and translations into Czech, French, German, Greek, Polish, Spanish and Chinese are available. Recordings of the teachings and reviews will stay up through the week for deepened study.
Registration for this program is now closed.
The Great Chariot Online Part 10
Friday, April 24 to Sunday, April 26, 2026
Friday, May 1 to Sunday, May 3, 2026
Friday, May 8 to Sunday, May 10, 2026
The Great Chariot Cycle continues starting the weekend of April 24th,2026, as Rinpoche will bestow further teachings on how to follow a spiritual friend and refuge in the Great Chariot Online Part Ten. This online program will be open to all those students who complete part 9 in February 2026. The program structure and schedule will remain the same for this three-weekend program as well.
Summer Retreats at Lotus Garden
Vajrasattva Teachings and Inaugural Drubchö at Mindrol Gatsal
Teachings: Friday, July 10 to Tuesday, July 20, 2026
Preparation and transition Day: Wednesday, July 21, 2026
Drubchö: Wednesday, July 22 to Friday, July 24, 2026
In July 2026, Minling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche will bestow teachings on the view and practice of Minling Dorsem (Vajrasattva). It is said that Vajrasattva is the lord of all the Buddha Families, and this terma of Terdag Lingpa is renowned as the single essence of all sadhana practices. As the main practice of the Mindrolling International sangha and Lotus Garden in particular, students who wish to take on the commitments and engage in the Vajrayana path are strongly encouraged to receive these teachings and learn this practice. Members of the Mindrolling Dharmashri Study Groups who engage in this practice or who aspire to do so should receive these teachings. In particular, students who are engaged in the Practice Intensive cycle are strongly encouraged to attend this program in order to strengthen their practices within the Practice Intensive.
Inaugural Dorsem Drubchö
These teachings will conclude with a three-day drubchö, an extensive sadhana practice, of the Minling Dorsem from July 22nd to July 24th, 2026. This drubchö marks the inauguration of Mindrol Gatsal, the new temple at Lotus Garden.
To receive these teachings and be able to immediately put them into practice is a wonderful opportunity, and doing such a drubchö fully and completely is one of the greatest skillful means for practitioners to accomplish the two accumulations of merit and wisdom.
These teachings will be held in-person at Lotus Garden and will also be available as an online program for those who already have the Minling Dorsem empowerment. These teachings will be translated and streamed live for students around the world who are studying and practicing the Minling Dorsem.
New students must attend in person because without receiving the empowerment and reading transmission in person, one is not permitted to engage in the practice. Integral aspects of the sadhana practice such as mudras, instruments, tormas, and shrine set up will not be available online. These ritual aspects must be learned in person.
More information on the retreat and registration for the in-person and online teachings will be announced in Spring 2026.
Inauguration Celebration
Saturday, July 25 , 2026
Following the three-day drubchö of the Minling Dorsem, the greater sangha of Lotus Garden will gather for the official inaugural celebration of Mindrol Gatsal, the new temple at Lotus Garden named the Joyous Garden of Ripening and Liberation. The greater sangha of Lotus Garden is encouraged to come together for this joyful moment to officially open Mindrol Gatsal. It is a wonderful opportunity for the sangha to practice together and make strong aspirations and dedications for the flourishing of the Mindrolling lineage and Lotus Garden. Everyone is welcome.
Dzöd Dün Reading Transmissions – His Eminence Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
Arrival: August 10, 2026
Transmissions: August 11 to 15, 2026
Departure: August 16, 2026
His Eminence Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, with great compassion and kindness, has been bestowing the reading transmissions (lung) of the Seven Treasuries of the Omniscient One, Longchen Rabjampa at Minling Lotus Garden since 2024. These Seven Treasuries are the very extensive compositions on Dzogchen by the Omniscient One and to receive the lung from such a great master is an incomparable support for practitioners who seek to genuinely actualize the path of Dzogchen. This program is open to students who have attended the previous transmissions, and if you wish to join the transmissions for the first time this year, you may request to do so.
Information for requesting to join and registration will be made available in Spring 2026.
Autumn Retreats and Programs
Practice Intensive Retreat 2026
Arrival Days: October 30 and 31, 2026
Retreat: November 1 to November 28, 2026
Departure Day: November 29, 2026
Rinpoche will continue to bestow teachings and transmissions to the students of the Practice Intensive cycle in October and November of 2026. This is a closed retreat and is only open to those students who have attended all the Practice Intensive Retreats in previous years.
Samadhi: The Path of Stillness and Insight
Friday, December 4, to Saturday, December 12, 2026
Following many requests for a program that is a core teaching for practitioners of all levels, Minling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche will bestow teachings on Shamatha, the practice of calm abiding, in this hybrid program. These teachings are open to the greater sangha including both new and old students. The teachings will be in person at Lotus Garden and will be live streamed as an online program. This program will also be available in translation for our international students. The practice of Shamatha is one of the most important practices for taming the mind as taught by the Buddha and countless great masters since that time have continued to teach and expound upon it. Through the practice of Shamatha, practitioners begin to develop the quality of mindfulness, which is one of the most important qualities that must be developed on the path of Dharma.
