Upcoming Programs 2026
Sunday May 17, 2026 – Mindrolling Dharmashri Study Groups: Bringing Adversity to the Path of Dharma
Minling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche has provided a wonderful Dharma text on the topic of “Bringing Adversity to the Path of Dharma,” for the Mindrolling Dharmashri Study Groups to review and practice. The study groups will meet over zoom and the Acaryas and Upacaryas who lead the study groups will give a presentation and review on this text.
In current times when many individuals and the world in general are facing difficult situations and challenges, it is of utmost importance not to get caught up or distracted with mundane samsaric reactions to such situations. The path of Dharma is the true refuge in the face of whatever difficulties one faces. This study group session is intended to clarify and provide guidance on how to relate to adversity while maintaining the authentic Dharma view.
Study group leaders will provide timings and zoom links to the each study group.
If you are interested in joining the Mindrolling Dharmashri Study Groups, please write to studygroups@dharmashri.org.
Sangha Practice Gathering I – Downpour of Blessings Guru Yoga and Saga Dawa
Friday, May 22nd – Sunday, May 31st, 2026
Led by Upacharya Steve Iverson
This extended Sangha Practice Gathering will take place from the 6th lunar day to the full moon 15th lunar day of the most auspicious month of Saga Dawa. This month marks the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of the Buddha and is one of the most auspicious and important times of the year for all Buddhists. It is said that due to the blessings of the Buddha, the merit one accumulates during this time is multiplied many million-fold times.
Sangha members are encouraged to come together at Lotus Garden during this time to fully engage in the practices of accumulating merit and purification. There will be a daily schedule of group practice focusing on the Downpour of Blessings Guru Yoga. The auspicious 8th, 10th, and the Full moon 15th lunar day of Saga Dawa will all be observed with extensive prayers and offerings:
8th Lunar Day (May 24th) – Guru Yoga and Tara Praises session in-person for those at Lotus Garden
10th Lunar Day (May 26th) – Downpour of Blessings Feast for all gathered sangha members and live streamed for all North American Study Group members
15th Lunar Day (May 31st) – Saga Dawa – Live stream with Minling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche of extended prayers, aspirations, and offerings to Buddha Shakaymuni
These ten days are a wonderful opportunity to fully engage in the life of a Dharma practitioner and devote oneself fully to practice and service to the Dharma. There will also be group work periods, and all meals and housing will be included.
Detailed schedules and more information about this sangha practice gathering will be provided upon registration. Please register to reserve your space. Registration for these events is on a donation basis to contribute towards food and housing during your stay.
If you are interested in registering for the Sangha Practice Gatherings, please write to registration@lotusgardens.org for more information.
Sangha Practice Gathering II – Sitting Meditation and Aspiration Prayers
June 19th – 28th, 2026
Led by Lopön Helen Berliner
This Sangha Gathering will be a chance to engage in formal sessions of sitting practice, along with group morning and evening prayers and extended aspiration prayers each day. Mornings will be scheduled for sitting meditation sessions in the Mindrol Gatsal Temple and at the Buddha Park. The afternoons will include targeted group rota sessions to help care for the retreat center. Housing and meals will be included. The auspicious 8th and 10th lunar days will also be observed:
8th Lunar Day (June 22nd) – Guru Yoga and Tara Praises session in-person for those at Lotus Garden
10th Lunar Day (June 24th) – Downpour of Blessings Feast for all gathered sangha members and live streamed for all North American Study Group members
Detailed schedules and more information about the sangha practice gatherings will be provided upon registration. Please register to reserve your space. Registration for these events is on a donation basis to contribute towards food and housing during your stay.
If you are interested in registering for the Sangha Practice Gatherings, please write to registration@lotusgardens.org for more information.
Summer Retreats at Lotus Garden
Vajrasattva Teachings and Inaugural Drubchö at Mindrol Gatsal
Teachings: Friday, July 10 to Monday, July 20, 2026
Preparation and transition Day: Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Drubchö: Wednesday, July 22 to Friday, July 24, 2026
In July 2026, Minling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche will bestow teachings on the renowned sadhana of Minling Dorsem (Vajrasattva). It is said that Vajrasattva is the lord of all the Buddha families, and the Minling Dorsem terma of Terdag Lingpa is renowned as the single essence of all sadhana practices. Rinpoche will bestow teachings on Creation and Completion (Sanskrit: Utpatti and Sampannakrama, Tibetan:Kyerim and Dzogrim) in the context of this profound sadhana.
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 Vajrayana practice.
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.
Inaugural Dorsem Drubchö
These teachings will conclude with a three-day drubchö, an extensive sadhana practice, of the Minling Dorsem (Vajrasattva) 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.
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.
The Great Chariot Online Part 10 – Dharmashri Online Program
Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 23, 2026
Friday, August 28 to Sunday, August 30, 2026
Friday, September 4 to Sunday, September 6, 2026
The Great Chariot Cycle continues in August and September 2026, as Minling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche bestows further teachings on Chapter 5: How to Follow a Spiritual Friend and on the following chapter on Refuge in the Great Chariot Online Part Ten. This online program is open to those students who completed part nine in February 2026. The program structure and schedule will remain the same for this three-weekend program.
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
Arrival Day: Friday, December 4, 2026
Retreat: Saturday December 5 to Saturday, December 12, 2026
Departure Day: Sunday, December 13, 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.
