Buddhist Yogis News

Pema Khandro and Buddhist Yogis News Archive

What is Dzogchen Meditation? A Guide to Retreat with Pema Khandro

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

What is Dzogchen Meditation?

“Dzogchen is one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most treasured practices for awakening to intrinsic wisdom. Dzogchen means ‘Great Perfection,’ which refers to the natural goodness at the heart of every person. Its goal is to cultivate wakeful, authentic presence.

One of the greatest challenges to well-being is the untrained mind. It is full of conditioned scripts and distracted. It may be so deeply habituated, that the experience of freshness and clarity are difficult to access. Buddhism points out that an untrained mind is plagued by mental afflictions such as anger, grasping, insecurity, depression, and jealousy. Even though most people spend their lives in such states, this is not mind’s ultimate potential. Mind also has a deeper aspect, known as ‘the nature of mind.’

The ‘nature of mind’ is an innermost quality of wakefulness, loving-kindness, and openness. According to Dzogchen teachings, these qualities are the enduring, ever-present, most authentic expression of being. Even though this nature of mind may be temporarily eclipsed by mental afflictions, those afflictions cannot dilute mind’s intrinsic quality. That quality, a natural goodness, is always there, waiting to be harvested. This is why Dzogchen meditation is practiced.

Meditation is a life-long practice. So, having a sustainable practice is crucial. This is why the quality of meditation over the quantity of meditation is valued in Dzogchen. For example, one can begin with shorter sessions and gradually extend them. Also, the practice of silent sitting meditation can be interspersed with breathing techniques. Silent meditations can be alternated with chanting meditation or physical meditation techniques.

Dzogchen meditations incorporate practices for body, speech and mind. Therefore the notion of ‘mind’ is a holistic one. Body, speech and mind are known as the three gates because they are the gateways to recognizing awareness. This is an important element of Dzogchen meditation because working with the posture and physical practices can greatly reduce the obstacles to meditation. But the body is not just a means to an end in Dzogchen meditation. The body itself is pervaded with buddha-nature. It has a natural wisdom and purity. Even though it is impermanent, it is also an expression of the creative compassion of ultimate reality. Therefore the body itself is a field of revelation and insight into authentic presence.”

(Excerpted from the Tibetan Yoga & Dzogchen teaching with Pema Khandro)

What is the Dzogchen Meditation Retreat?
This five-day retreat takes place annually in the redwood forest, in Santa Cruz California. This retreat is practice oriented. It focuses on deep relaxation and supported meditation practices. Since it is the most important event of the year for the Buddhist Yogis Sangha, students come from all around the world to attend.

There are still a few spaces left for this year’s Dzogchen Retreat with Pema Khandro Rinpoche. Register by July 15th for Early Bird Tuition.

 

2017B_Dzogchen Retreat
Join Pema Khandro and the Community of Buddhist Yogis for a week of restorative, peaceful meditation.

Retreat into the beautiful redwood forest, unwind with restorative yoga, experience deep quiet, enjoy vegetarian cuisine, converse with fascinating people and best of all, receive Buddhism’s most profound teachings.

Pema Khandro is a Buddhist teacher specializing in the contemplative practices of Tibet’s Buddhist Yogis. Read more about the retreat teacher – Pema Khandro here – Pema Khandro’s Biography

Click here for Retreat Schedule and Details
Register Now for Early Bird Tuition
Members receive additional Discounts

Ngakpa International
Info@BuddhistYogis.org  |  www.BuddhistYogis.org

Pema Khandro at the International Buddhist Women’s Conference

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

Pema Khandro will be presenting at the International Buddhist Women’s Conference in Hong Kong. The Conference begins tomorrow, June 22, 2017. It is organized by Sakyadhita International which is a worldwide organization devoted to benefiting Buddhist women around the world. Since its inception in 1987, it has participated in positive changes to empower women around the globe. The organization and its conferences promote dialogue, harmony, and connection among Buddhist women from different traditions throughout the world. It has over two thousand members in forty-five different countries.

This year’s conference is held in Hong Kong. The theme this year is “Contemporary Buddhist Women: Contemplation, Cultural Exchange & Social Action.”

 

Pema Khandro Rinpoche’s will be presenting at the conference on Sunday. Her presentation will focus on patterns of the development of women’s identity in Tibetan biographies. The presentation is entitled, “Becoming Vajrayogini, Buddhist Women’s Self-Esteem without Self.” It examines the philosophical precedents for concepts of identity development. The following is a short excerpt of a translation from a text she will discuss.

“For without dharma holders, who will have fortitude? The Buddhists who put Dharma into practice… should not hold the view that men are superior and women are inferior. Now and future generations should look up to these great women and embrace them as models. Then, whatever activities they do, whether dharmic or worldly, they will never be discouraged. They will be brave. They will endure. In this state they will accomplish their vows.1“

For more details about the conference visit http://sakyadhita.org/conferences/15th-si-con.html

For more information about becoming a member of Sakyadhita International – visit:

http://sakyadhita.org/home/joinus.html

 

Foot Notes:

  1. In English, the title is, “Garland of White Lotuses: The Liberation Stories of Great Female Lives in Tibet.” In Tibetan, it is “Phags bod kyi skyes chen m dg gi rnm par thar ba pd+m dkar po’i phreng b pod dang po bzhugs so.” (Garze: Bla rung arya tare’i dpe tshogs rtsom sgrig khang, 2013).

16 Students Completed the Teacher Training

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

The first ever online version of the Meditation Instructor Training created by Pema Khandro was completed last weekend. This course has been taught in a variety of formats over the last fifteen years, a ninety-day course, a twenty-one day retreat, a once a month year-long retreat, and now as an online training. Participants completed 60 hours of training. (Read more about the training here – Pema Khandro’s Meditation Teacher Training.) This included daily meditation practice and lessons led by Assistant Teachers, Satya Shiva and Aruna Rigdzin, as well as a daily teaching on meditation led by Pema Khandro Rinpoche. The lessons focused on the practice of Calm Abiding Meditation and the science of mind in Buddhist thought.

Twenty-one lessons focused on the practice of Calm Abiding Meditation,  known as Zhine in Tibetan or Shamatha in Sanskrit. It included lessons on what is mind, the stages of meditation, techniques for Calm Abiding Meditation, breathing practices for warm-ups for meditation, ethics for teaching, teaching methodology and more. There were extensive weekly exams on the material and weekend workshops on teaching. The weekend workshops were interactive for the trainees using the online format. This gave them an opportunity to see each other, receive feedback on teaching and dialogue as a group. They also completed daily meditation journals throughout the course.

There were extensive weekly exams on the material and weekend workshops on teaching. The weekend workshops were interactive for the trainees using the online format. This gave them an opportunity to see each other, receive feedback and dialogue as a group. They also had daily meditation journals.

One of the surprising elements of the course is the bond formed by all the participants, who practiced together, wrote and read each other’s daily meditation journals, met in workshops and supported each other through the teaching exams.

Twenty-students began the course and sixteen students finished. They were offered the choice to finish the final requirement, which was a teaching practicum, within the month-long period of the training or to take three months to finish it. Four students finished it within the first month and graduated. Twelve more students will have until August to complete their practicum. The practicum required the trainees to teach three meditation classes in an underserved community. This included classes for people suffering from anxiety and trauma, classes for youth with behavioral challenges, classes for mothers in a small town in Bali and classes for people with chronic stress.

Congratulations to the four graduates and best wishes to the twelve students as they complete their practicum.

New York Retreat with Pema Khandro, Sylvia Boorstein, Geoffrey Shugen Arnold

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

Boundless Love:
How to Generate Compassion for Yourself and OthersThe 2017 Lion’s Roar Retreat features Sylvia Boorstein, Geoffrey Shugen, and Pema Khandro Rinpoche along with Lion’s Roar & Buddhadharma editors.

Save the Date
September 8th – 10th, 2017 – Garrison Institute, Garrison, New York

About the Retreat

Join Pema Khandro, Sylvia Boorstein, Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Lion’s Roar and Buddhadharma editors for a weekend meditation retreat in New York. The retreat will focus on the topic of Boundless Love.

The retreat will be an opportunity to learn and practice Buddhist meditations for cultivating love and compassion. It will be a weekend of quiet reflection, presentations, and teachings, meditation instruction, discussion, and connection.

It will be held at the Garrison Institute, a ninety-five acre retreat center overlooking the Hudson river. Registration for this retreat is now open.

 

Lion’s Roar Annual Retreat: Boundless Love: How to Generate Compassion for Yourself and Others

Join Pema Khandro for a Free Online Meditation Class

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

Learn to practice meditation with Pema Khandro Rinpoche tonight April 26, 2017.

This class is a free online guided meditation – offered once a month.

Tibetan Buddhist meditation has been the source of inspiration for people from all walks of life. This is due to the widespread appreciation of the benefits of meditation for reducing stress, improving health and calming and focusing the mind.

This class makes learning meditation and doing a regular meditation accessible. It is a short, half hour class led through the online platform, go to meeting. Sign up for the class and you will receive a link in your mail box for how to join. This will also put you on the list to receive a link for future classes as well.

DATE & TIME DETAILS:

April 26, 2017 6pm-6:30pm PDT / 9pm-9:30pm EDT

LOCATION: Online

Free Online Meditation Class  Online Meditation Class With Pema Khandro Sign Up Here

Meditation Instructor Training Report

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

The online meditation instructor training is more than half way through. Seventeen students from all over the country are participating in daily practice and online lessons, weekly workshops, weekly exams, daily journaling and more.

The training has been taught by Pema Khandro Rinpoche and Aruna Rigdzin and Satya Shiva. It is attended by some new members of the sangha as well as long time members and teachers.

In what has been a massive feat of intermingling dharma and online technology, the students and teachers have all had a beautiful experience. Through the online platform, students can see each other and talk together with the teachers, watch videos of the lessons at their own pace and download teaching materials.

One of the most surprising elements is has been the strong sense of community felt by all participating. Even though the participants live in different cities, through the online discussions, chats and daily practices – there has been a strong sense of sangha. The training has two more weeks to go.

The exams have been comprehensive since the dense and in-depth material taught in the daily classes piles up. However because the lessons and practice are an hour each, it has facilitated participation by students who have active, busy lives, full of commitments. This is is one of the missions of Ngakpa International, to make training accessible to householders, people with work, family and social commitments.

The training has two more weeks to go. Congratulations on everyone for your diligence!

The next training for leaders is the Bodhisattva Training in the fall. Learn more here: Bodhisattva Training with Pema Khandro

Meditation Teachers Building a Mindful Society

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

Meditation Teachers can offer important tools to society for relating to these tumultuous times.

Meditation promotes mindfulness and equanimity – the ability to let emotional states arise and pass without becoming overwhelming. With mindfulness, we are able to become aware of our mind states, rather than carried away by them. It promotes the state of equanimity, the ability to respond skillfully to situations. Instead of responding with knee-jerk reactions, blame, resentment and anger we can choose healthier responses, such as loving-kindness and compassion. (1)

Help make meditation available in underserved communities. Teach meditation posture, breathing techniques and contemplative methods for finding peace of mind.

In order to promote meditation as a resource for mindfulness and equanimity in society, Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Pema Khandro Rinpoche with offer an online Meditation Teacher Training beginning April 10th.

For full details visit this page about Pema Khandro’s Meditation Teacher Training

Meditation Instructor Training

References

(1) See a full article on mindfulness and equanimity in Buddhism, mindfulness, equanimity and psychology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4350240/

Meditation Teacher Training

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

Equanimity, calm, peace, inner strength, resilience, centeredness… there are so many reasons the world needs meditation teachers.

It is integrated into schools, corporations, psychology and health care. Indeed, meditation has been turned to so often for health and mental health – that one study showed it was the most popular form of complementary medicine used in the United States. According to a National Health Survey in 2007, 38.4% of Americans had used some form of alternative health measures – with breathing, meditation, and yoga as the most common. (1)

Meditation Teacher Training

In order to offer accessible Meditation Teacher Training – Pema Khandro will offer an online version of her popular course – the Meditation Instructor Training. This course has been offered five times over the last decade. In the newest iteration – the course will be offered through a combination of self-paced video lessons, online meetings, practicum, and workshops.

The course will be taught by Pema Khandro, Satya Shiva and Aruna Rigdzin.

It will culminate in fifty-seven hours of training on the fundamentals of meditation practice and the Buddhist philosophy of mind and emotions.

The Meditation Teacher Training online will be held April 10th- May 8th 2017

For more information click here – Meditation Teacher Training with Pema Khandro:

Meditation Instructor Training

Reference
(1) West, Michael, Ed. The Psychology of Meditation: Research and Practice. (Oxford University Press, 2016).

Pema Khandro Featured in Buddhadharma Magazine

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

Pema Khandro is featured in the Spring 2017 Buddhadharma Magazine. Pema Khandro contributes to a panel of speakers in Buddhadharma quarterly on the topic of Buddhist ethics in the twenty-first century. The panel features a conversation with Pema Khandro, Noah Levine, Rev. angel Kyodo Wiliams and Ajan Amaro. It examines the subject of ethics from a current perspective.

Pema Khandro says, “Generally speaking ethics in Buddhism are addressed from the point of view of karma – the power of actions to set in motion effects in the future. It also focuses on the power of action to condition our minds. How we act reinforces certain identities, it feeds habits, it strengthens particular emotions or intentions. But Buddhist ethics are not only about karma, they are also about understanding the code that we live by, what we will and will not stand for. In that sense, clarity on ethics gives enormous power to our lives because it is our code of honor that brings out our natural dignity.”

The article featured in the magazine touches on current themes in Buddhist ethics, women’s empowerment, social justice, issues of social equality and much more. For the full article, find the magazine in your local bookstore. Or visit the online version to read the inspiring introduction by Koun Franz.

Click here to visit the introduction at Lion’s Roar online:

Inside the Spring 2017 Buddhadharma magazine

New Module of Vajrayana Training March 1st

Upcoming Events

Bardo Teachings – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath

Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhism & Sexuality – Self Paced Course

With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan

Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Buddhist Ethics – Self Paced Course

With Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality.   Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
Register Now

Women in Tantric Buddhism – Self Paced Course

With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro

Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Register Now

Cutting Through Fear: Dzogchen Chod Retreat

With Pema Khandro

May 28 - June 1, 2025
May 28 - June 1 San Diego and Online In a world beset with fear, profound methods are needed to reclaim intrinsic wisdom and awaken innate courage. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies institute for a contemplation of fierce compassion through the annual Chod retreat, Troma Nagmo teachings, and an optional five month Comprehensive Chod intensive training to follow. Chod is the profound method of psychological transformation in esoteric Buddhism. Chod means cutting, referring to cutting through the fictions that cause fear, anxiety, and hesitations in one’s life.    
Register now

Fierce Compassion: Comprehensive Chod Training

With Pema Khandro

June 9 - October 13, 2025
Embark on a transformative five-month journey into the heart of Dzogchen Chod with Tulku Pema Khandro, Ph.D. and the Buddhist Studies Institute. This comprehensive Chod training offers a rare opportunity for an in-depth immersion in the Dzogchen Chod system, Healing Chod, and the Secret Black Dakini Teachings. Take your Chod practice to the next level and cultivate fierce compassion and psychological transformation while studying the Tibetan tradition.
Register now

by

On March 1st, A New Module of Vajrayana Training Online with Pema Khandro will begin.

Vajrayana Training is an online study course focused on understanding the symbols, rituals, philosophy and practices of Tibetan Buddhism.

The power of our current age is an unprecedented access to books, videos, empowerments and meditation retreats from many Eastern traditions. However, this can often lead to a patch work of contradictory experiences that don’t necessarily make sense, nor lead to greater depth. The Vajrayana Training provides a systematic, in-depth look at Buddhist thought and practice in order to place these teachings in their greater context.

In the past such training could only be accessed by learning a foreign language, living in Asia and living in monastery for many years. This has made deeper training accessible to only a few. This training is offered online order to share the wealth of wisdom of Buddhist philosophy and practice with sincere students who have dynamic, full lives. By training from home in an online format, there is a great potential for ongoing study and integration of these teachings in one’s family, work and society.

Learn more about Vajrayana Training here: http://ngakpa.org/vajrayana-training/

Vajrayana Training Format

  1. Once a month online class with Pema Khandro – one hour lecture and thirty minutes question and answer.
  2. Once a month online discussion group led by Pema Khandro’s senior students.
  3. Classes meet ten months a year. In November and December, self-paced practice instruction videos are given.
  4. Vajrayana Students may apply by signing up for an interview with Pema Khandro Rinpoche by skype or phone. Yearly interviews are repeated every summer.
  5. Vajrayana Training is offered in a series of six modules. Module Six begins March 1st 2017.
  6. The training is geared towards an intermediate audience who has some familiarity with Buddhist thought. Beginners are also welcome to join in, they are invited to utilize one of the teaching assistant for any questions that may arise.
  7. The classes are taught by Pema Khandro Rinpoche – you can read her full biography here http://www.pemakhandro.org/biography/

Vajrayana Training

Contact

Email: info@BuddhistYogis.org