Original Innocence with Lopon Barbara DuBois

Saturday 8am – Sunday 5pm PDT (UTC-7)

Click Here to register for online program
Click Here to register for in-person retreat
(Covid restrictions for in-person retreats apply)

Click Here for the Livestream

To all beings, Kuntuzangpo, primordial Buddha, sounds this clarion call:

Ho!
Everything – appearance and existence, samsara and nirvana –
Has a single Ground, yet two paths and two fruitions,
And magically displays as Awareness or unawareness.

The Ground of all is uncompounded,
And the self-arising Great Expanse, beyond expression,
Has neither the name ‘samsara’ nor ‘nirvana.’
Realizing just this, you are a Buddha;
Not realizing this, you are a being wandering in samsara.

I pray that all you beings of the three realms
May realize the true meaning of the inexpressible Ground…
Free from cause and condition,
Which is just this self-arising Awareness.

It is unstained by outer expression and inner thought,
Affirmation or denial, and is not defiled
By the darkness of unmindfulness.
Thus this self-manifesting display is free from defects.

This is original innocence: the original and unchanging true nature of all.
Our original and unchanging true nature.

Our retreat is an open door to meeting, recognizing, and resting in this profound, liberating truth. We gather, as many and as one – for teachings, practice, communication, and communion, in group and in solitude, in silence and in speech. Our retreat will flow freely from early Saturday morning through late afternoon Sunday (may include sessions at dawn and at night).

We will be reciting and working with the Prayer of Kuntuzangpo, so please download the text for your use during and after retreat. This and other documents are posted on this web page.

All are invited, no prior Dharma experience needed. Wherever you are, please join us directly on our livestream, and for those who are eligible and able, please join us in person at the Garchen Institute in Chino Valley, Arizona. Space is limited in person, limitless online. Covid protocols will be in place on campus, for the benefit of all; see details on the registration form.