Kopan West: Buddhism 101

• Receive a well rounded introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
• Study the timeless teachings highly praised by H.H. The Dalai Lama – the Lam Rim Chen Mo - The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment
• Apply these classic teachings to your modern life to discover a greater sense of peace, meaning, contentment and fulfillment

We are delighted to welcome Kadampa Center's beloved resident teacher Geshe Gelek to lead a retreat at Varjapani for the first time. Kopan West is an annual tradition in the U.S. that started in 1999 at Vajrapani Institute. It is a ten-day residential lam-rim retreat that combines teachings, discussions, and guided meditations.

Lam-rim is a Tibetan Buddhist text which presents the complete path to enlightenment, as taught by Buddha, therefore, this is an ideal retreat for beginners and well experienced practitioners because it is a review of all Buddha’s teachings to attain enlightenment.

In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of the lam-rim. However, all the versions of the lam-rim are based on extensions of Atisha's 11th Century root text A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment.  Tsonkhapa (1357-1419) made a famous commentary on Atisha’s text, called Lam Rim Chen Mo. Then, Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941) made another famous commentary on Tsonkhapa’s text called Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand.

“This retreat gave me the tools and conceptual framework to bring Buddhist practice back home and make it a part of my everyday life.”  ―Cedric, retreater at Kopan West 2008.