We held our third Tathagata True Dharma Meditaion Retreat at the Holy Vajrasana temple near Sanger and Fresno California from October 10-16, 2026. Because our temple is quite small, we used our main Buddha Hall as the Dining Hall and our Meditation Hall by changing the lighting, locking certain doors, and closing certain curtains. Each morning at 6:00 am and again at 5:00 pm we joined Reba Jinbo Rinpoche in Sonora, California and others in Canada, Mexico, and throughout the USA via ZOOM in chanting and introspection as we do daily. Every evening we listened to a reading of a preliminary translation of one of HH. Dorje Chang Buddha III’s discourses focusing this time on His “Concise Discourses”. We followed the schedule listed below of Moving and sitting meditation with Oryoki meals and snacks throughout the day.
We hope to have more such retreats next year with a tentative schedule of December 28 (2026)-January 4, March 19-26, June 4-11, and September 3-10. Only the June dates are fixed as they fall before the June 11 and 12 Dharma Assembly in Glendale, California celebrating the Birthday of His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. The formal registration has not been posted yet, but let me know if you want to come. We realize you need at least 8 days to do a seven-day retreat, as many are doing this for the first time and need orientation and practice before starting and everyone has requested time for a group photo and a time for sharing experiences and an opportunity to ask questions. However, these functions should not interfer with our real purpose, which is to deepen our meditation practice. Remember we observe silence for the entire retreat.We are getting much better at this.
The above schedule will be followed at future retreats with the retreat starting with a Moving and Sitting Meditation Session at 4:00 pm on the first day and ending with Moving and Sitting Meditation sessions the morning of the last day followed by time for sharing and reflection and a Group Photo. If you have time, you might want to consider a trip to the Yosemite, Sequoia, or Kings Canyon National Parks that are around 2 hours drive from the temple. There will be an orientation program starting at 1:30 pm the first day. If you are interested in learning more about this type of retreat and would like to volunteer to be one of the Host leaders or Patrollers, we are considering holding a training session either before a scheduled retreat or over a weekend with Saturday being for training and Sunday for an actual one-day retreat. We will need to find cudgel carriers, hosts, and cooks for these events. Please let me know if you are interested.
The following video provides a demonstration of how we do the Moving Meditation and start the Sitting Meditation.
The following photos are all taken during the October 10-16, 2026 retreat.
CLICK for article on the Native American Themed Oryoki Lunch served at this October 2026 Retreat with links that provide background on the Oryoki Service.
This is a video from our June Meditation Retreat:
Add comment