Spiritual Programme

Kopan offers the perfect environment for study and meditation for the students, casual visitors, and long-term retreaters.

-Discover Buddhism - Short Meditation courses 2003/2004
-One Month November Course 2003
-Three Month Vajrasattva Retreat 2004
-Nyung Nye Fasting Retrea during Chokar Duchen (2nd August  2003)
-Monlam Prayer Festival in 2004
-Teachings by Dema Lochoe Rinpoche in 2004
-Daily Teaching Program
-Tibetan Language Classes
-A Space for Rest and Reflection
-Personal retreats in the Tibetan tradition
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Discover Buddhism - Short Meditation courses
Regular 10 day introductory courses are held in March, April, May, June, then again in September and October. The courses give an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, and meditation skills and include a short Lam Rim retreat. The courses are led by Ani Karin, a senior Western nun, with daily teachings from a Tibetan Lama and include sessions of meditation, and daily discussions groups. The course leader as well as Tibetan lamas of the monastery is available for personal guidance.
All courses are residential with accommodation and food provided. Booking for the courses is recommended.
Cost of the introductory courses, including all meals and accommodation (in dormitory) 100 US$

Dates of 2003 courses

June 5 - 15
September 16 - 26
October 11 - 21
Dates for the 2004 courses

March
April (Easter course)

Please check closer to the time for the exact dates.

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One Month Meditation Course
Tentative dates: 8th November - 8th December 2003
The famous annual one month meditation course starts from 8th November.
Registrations are accepted from 15th June.

Three Month Vajrasattva Retreat
2004 Dates to be Announced
Following the annual one month meditation course is the three-month Vajrasattva retreat.
Tentative starting date is mid january 2004, pending information on teachings in Bodhagaya (India).
Registration are accepted from August 2003.

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Special events in 2004
Celebrating the Tibetan New Year February 21
In preparation for the Tibetan New Year, a series of pujas and ritual are performed at the monastery to purify the negative actions accumulated in the past year. The ceremonies culminate in the special offering ceremony with traditional monastic dances. The Tibetan New Year itself is mostly a family affair. On the third dayof the new year a puja and procession is held in Boudhanath, followed by traditional dances.

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Monlam Prayer Festival March 3-9 2004
Every year after the Tibetan New Year the Great Prayer festival is held at Kopan Monastery, followed by teachings by the most Venerable Dema Lochoe Rinpoche.
Again more that 1600 monks and nuns will gather at Kopan Monastery for five days of teachings and prayers for World Peace. In Tibet this was one of the biggest festivals in the monastic calendar, when tens of thousands of monks and nuns from all over Tibet gathered in Lhasa to commemorate the Great Miraculous Deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha, and to pray for peace for the country. Most Venerable Denma Lochoe Rinpoche, a high Lama from Dharamsala/India, will preside over the event, and give daily teachings.

Teachings by Dema Lochoe Rinpoche March 10 - March 31
The Most Venerable Dema Lochoe Rinpoche has again agreed to teach for three weeks after the Monlam Festival (exact program to be announced). Dema Lochoe Rinpoche, one of the few high lamas left that received their training in Tibet, is know for his very straight and succinct teachings style, cutting to the heart of the text, while at the same time speaking from an experiental rather than a scholastic point of view.
The teaching subejcts will be published closer to the time.
This is a wonderful opportunity to receive direct, pure teachings in a supportive, relaxed, monastic environment.
The teachings are given in Tibetan, with excellent translation by Ven. Sean Price, a close student of Dema Lochoe Rinpoche.

3-Month Vajrayogini Retreat Summer 2004

During summer of 2004 a three month Vajrayogini retreat is planned for those who have the commitment. Participants must have received the initiation, and commentary on the praxis.
Registration forms will be available from November 2003.
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Nyung Nye Fasting Retreat
Chokar Duchen. 2nd August 2003
A Nyung Nye or Fasting Retreat is a great way to purify past negative karma and accumulate merits. The merit is even greater of the retreat is done during the auspicious month of Buddha's birth and enlightenment. The fasting retreat is held at the Khachoe Ghakyil Nunnery. A Nyung ne consists of two days of prayers, prostrations and chanting; on the second day no food or drink is taken.

A nyung ne Fasting Retreat will be held to commemorate the special day of Shakyamuni Buddha's first teachings (one of the holy days of buddhism)

Participants are staying in shared rooms at the Nunnery.
The actual Nyung Nye starts at 4 AM with the taking of the 8 Mahayana Precepts.
There is a small charge of 6 US$ for food and accommodation (for one Nyung Ne) as donation to the Nunnery.
For more information, please contact us.

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Daily Teaching Program
In between courses, come and join a meditation and discussion group at 10 am every day (except Saturday and Sunday) in the Chenrezig gompa, led by a Western nun, Ani Karin. All are welcome, there is no need to book.
On Sundays, Dharma videos are shown instead of the teaching program.

Tibetan Language Classes
We can arrange private tuition in Tibetan language with our resident Tibetan teachers on request.

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A Space for Rest and Reflection
Kopan provides the perfect environment for reflection and contemplation. You can talk with members of the sangha community at Kopan, use the library, go for walks. There is no commitment to participate in any activities.This type of visit is only possible when there is no meditation course scheduled, so please check with our office. It is useful to book your accommodation in advance if you would like to come and visit.
Daily teaching and meditation is offered by our resident teacher between 10.am and 11.30am Mondayto Friday.

Personal retreats in the Tibetan tradition
Throughout the year you are welcome to do your personal retreat, such as your Nyundrol, under the supervision of a Tibetan Buddhist master. Single accommodation for this purpose is available upon advance booking. A good time for retreat is during monsoon, from June to August, or in winter - January and February. We have facilities for waterbowl retreat and Dorje Khadro firepuja. Booking is essential for retreat accommodation.

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An International Center for Study and Meditation
From the very beginning, Kopan was conceived by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche as a place of study and meditation for both the Himalayan sangha and for their many foreign students. In preserving this tradition to this day, Kopan has become a unique place, a meeting place between East and West, between religious and wordly life.

Kopan has truly been an oasis for the thousands of foreign visitors, who, tired of their materialism and hungry for something more, have made the place their home for weeks, months, even years. Regular meditation courses have been held at Kopan since Lama Zopa Rinpoche, one of the founders, gave his first public teachings at Kopan in 1971 to a group of twelve Westerners. The rest is legend. This intensive one month introduction to Buddhism became the model for the meditation courses now held throughout the year at Kopan.

The first 'One Month Meditation Course' was held at Kopan in 1971 .Since then up to two hundred students come every year to participate in the annual one month meditation course. Many more come for the seven and ten day courses during the rest of the year. These meditation courses throughout the year provide an opportunity to "taste the Dharma" and to facilitate reflection about living a meaningful life.

Kopan offers an extensive library with books in several languages as well as an audio and video library. Tibetan as well as Western sangha (monks and nuns) are available for private talks and advice.

Daily Dharma talks are offered when there are no courses scheduled.

Full board and accommodation is available to visitors throughout the year at a very reasonable cost. The income generated through this form an important part of the income of the monastery, and help in providing free facilities to all the monks and nuns.

From the beginning Kopan has managed to be many things to many people, sometimes uncomfortably for the traditionalists, but it always has been successfully blessed by the practice of the holy and ordinary beings who have lived or visited here.

We invite you to come and experience this special place in the foothills of the Himalayas.

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For information and registration form, please contact us.
Email:info@adventureplusnepal.com.np