“The principle behind healing with Chöd is that when diseases are fed by the practitioner … we are giving them an alternative way to get their needs met.”
~ Lama Tsultrim Allione, from her book Feeding Your Demons
The Chöd from Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Virtual Retreat with Lama Tsultrim Allione and Lopön Karla Jackson-Brewer begins this week (May 28 – June 1). This Chöd Virtual Retreat will be the first time Lama Tsultrim has taught this practice live online.
Chöd is a powerful method to feed and not fight that which consumes us. In this, we weave a thread of resolution through global and personal challenges. Chöd means to “cut through.” It merges ancient Tibetan shamanic practices, with Mahayana Buddhism, which emphasizes cultivating compassion and an understanding of emptiness. We meditate on giving up what we cherish most, and offering victory, or love, to our challenges, bringing us and others deep peace and spaciousness. Chöd is practiced with a drum and bell and is sung, working with energy to enhance these qualities.
Last week Lama Tsultrim appeared on Facebook Live to discuss the upcoming retreat. To watch, click here or on the video above.
Dakini Store
Chöd Drums, Bells + Dorjes, Chöd Drum Items
We are happy to offer a variety of Chöd drums and items in our online Dakini store. Our Chöd drums are crafted in Bhutan using Sengdeng (acacia) and Burl woods. The drum skins are covered in sacred substances and buried for many weeks. There are also mantras inscribed on the inside of the drum frames, empowering these ritual instruments. Browse our drums, drum tails, drum ornaments, bells and dorjes, kanglings, and more in our store. Click here to browse »
No instruments are necessary to attend the retreat on May 28. If you feel a calling to attend, please join us to enjoy learning the melodies and history of this powerful practice. For more about the retreat and to register, click here.
ABOUT THE RETREAT TEACHERS
Lama Tsultrim Allione
Lama Tsultrim Allione is founder and resident lama of Tara Mandala. She is author of Women of Wisdom, Feeding Your Demons, and Wisdom Rising: Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine. Born in New England to an academic/publishing family, she traveled to India in her late teens and was ordained as a Buddhist nun at the age of 22 by H.H. the 16th Karmapa. She was the first American to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in the Karma Kagyu lineage. After living in the Himalayan region for several years she returned her vows and became the mother … Read more »
Lopön Karla Jackson-Brewer
Lopön Karla Jackson-Brewer, MS, Tara Mandala Authorized Teacher, has been practicing Chöd for 30 years and has assisted Lama Tsultrim on many Chöd retreats. Since 2013, she has taught Chöd with Lama Tsultrim and Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton. Karla is a founder of Sine Qua Non: Allies in Healing, an Integrative Therapy Practice in New York City. She is an adjunct Professor in the Women’s & Gender Studies Department and the Africana Studies Department at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She also leads the Tara Mandala sangha in New York City.
We are excited to share this Chöd retreat experience with you, in discovering the potential of our generosity and revealing our pure hearts.
~With Blessings,
Tara Mandala Retreat Center
