Richard John’s November 2024 Northern California Visit
Please join us for this special hybrid series of programs this November.
Richard John is one of Shambhala’s senior teachers and has a special relationship with our Northern California community. He has been visiting our region for many years, and we greatly anticipate his annual teachings.
For all of these programs, we will gather in groups at our local centers and, and in most cases, broadcast online to the greater community via Zoom. Any exceptions to this will be indicated in the program descriptions below.
About Richard John
Richard John has been a student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche since 1975. He served as acharya to Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche for 20 years, and completed the first three-year group retreat at Gampo Abbey. Richard has led Buddhist and Shambhala retreats in North America, Chile and New Zealand for 40 years. Richard and his wife Liz reside in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
A testimonial from Lynele Jones in Boulder, who has coordinated many of Richard’s retreats —
Dear practice friends,
In case you have not yet had the opportunity to attend one of Richard John’s meditation programs — mahamudra, trekcho, or shamatha-vipashyana — I encourage you to attend his programs when they are available.
The main feature of Richard’s life has been the sitting practice of meditation and the activity of helping others to experience the nature of their minds through this practice. He has heard most of the questions that come up for practitioners on this path, and he addresses new questions with skill, relaxation, and humor. He has a vast library of helpful pith instructions which he quotes at just the right point during our practice day.
I have personally found Richard’s to be the most powerful short mahamudra meditation retreats I have done, and I hope you will also take advantage of this opportunity.
A word about Heart Gifts — It is customary to offer a monetary Heart Gift to the teacher. Teachers receive no salary or benefits, and depend upon this income in order to teach for a living. This is completely voluntary according to your inspiration, and there is no suggested amount — any amount is appreciated!
Public Programs
Don’t Wander! A Weekend of Deep Meditation
Sat & Sun, November 2–3 2024
9:00 am to 5:30 pm (Pacific)
Hybrid Program presented by the Sonoma Shambhala Center
Our practice will be guided by “Don’t Wander!” an extraordinary song in which Trungpa Rinpoche lays out the essence of the path in five brief lines. We will apply them line by line, working with one-pointed meditation, panoramic awareness, emotional confusion, and the futility of samsara.
This weekend retreat is open to all practitioners who are serious about the path of meditation, whether you are new to meditation or an experienced vajrayana practitioner.
Learn more and register here… norcal.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=741866
Meditation in Chaotic Times: A Weekend of Authentic Meditation
Sat & Sun, November 9–10 2024
9:00 am to 5:30 pm (Pacific)
Hybrid Program presented by the Berkeley Shambhala Center
Meditation is not something to do only when you have the luxury of time and space, nor is it just a strategy to be more calm or focused in your work. Indeed, the meditation taught by the Buddha has those results, but it is far more profound. If you undertake meditation as a path, it can transform your life and your reality altogether. It has been called “waking up.”
Learn more and register here… norcal.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=741872
Profound Simplicity: A Weekend of Deep Meditation
Sat & Sun, November 16–17 2024
9:00 am to 5:30 pm (Pacific)
Hybrid Program presented by the Davis Shambhala Center
This weekend retreat is open to all practitioners who are serious about the path of meditation, whether you are new to meditation or an experienced vajrayana practitioner. Our practice will be guided by pith instructions of great lineage masters, including Jamgön Kongtrul the Great, Suzuki Roshi, and Chögyam Trungpa. For those who attended Richard’s Profound Simplicity online course in May of this year, this will be an opportunity to apply the instructions in person.
Learn more and register here… norcal.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=741920
Vajrayana Programs
Please note: these programs are for vajrayana practitioners — those who have received transmission from a Kagyu or Nyingma lineage holder. Students who recently received transmission or abhisheka are especially invited, and all tantrikas are strongly encouraged to attend the previous weekend of meditation that precedes each of these programs.
Trekcho: Recognizing Mind Essence
Mon–Wed, November 4–6 2024
9:00 am to 5:30 pm (Pacific)
Hybrid Program presented at the Sonoma Shambhala Center
The highest teachings of the Buddhist path are mahamudra and dzogchen, and the pinnacle of those lineages is the transmission of mind essence. For over a thousand years, great masters have distilled these teachings into upadesha — pith instructions that penetrate the minds of students and enable them to open to glimpses of the awakened state. We will practice according to Trungpa Rinpoche’s incomparable instructions on recognizing mind essence that appear in “Songs of Experience.” These will be elucidated by teachings and commentary by other masters.. It’s highly recommended to begin with the program, Don’t Wander! A Weekend of Deep Meditation.
Learn more and register here… norcal.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=741396
The Radical Dzogchen of Khenpo Gangshar
A Veterans’s Day Vajrayana Retreat
Mon, November 11 2024
9:00 am to 5:30 pm (Pacific)
Hybrid Program presented by the Berkeley Shambhala Center
Khenpo Gangshar was a principal teacher of Chögyam Trungpa, and many of the teachings and practices we have received in Shambhala reflect this bond. In this brief retreat we will practice Khenpo Gangshar’s guru yoga and pointing out instructions, with commentary and instruction by Chögyam Trungpa and other masters.
Learn more and register here… norcal.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=741901
The Pointing Out Instructions of Tulku Urgyen
Mon, November 18 2024
9:00 am to 5:30 pm (Pacific)
Hybrid Program presented by the Davis Shambhala Center
The late Drugpa Kagyu master Tulku Urgyen is unparalleled for his wisdom and skill in pointing out the nature of mind. He did this in person for many of the great rinpoches of our era. He also has the rare siddhi to transmit this wisdom through the written word, which makes his mind vividly available through his many books. We will spend a relaxed day hearing and practicing his instructions.
Learn more and register here… norcal.shambhala.org/program-details/?id=741923
