From Fear to Love: Riding the 8 Worldly Winds with Vajrayana Insight
Retreat with Lama Linda (Linda Hochstetler)
April 3 - 5, 2026
Dharma Centre of Canada
Join us for a weekend Vajrayana Buddhist meditation retreat exploring the 8 Worldly Winds—also known as the 8 Vicissitudes: gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disgrace, pleasure and pain. These universal opposites blow through every life, stirring up emotional reactivity, fueling attachment and aversion, and pulling us away from equanimity and insight.
In the Vajrayana tradition, these worldly conditions are not simply to be endured or resisted, but transformed. Using meditation, mantra, and visualization practices, we will work directly with these winds—not as enemies, but as fierce teachers pointing us to deeper freedom. As we identify our habitual responses to each pair, we begin to soften our grip and see how our fear of impermanence, rejection, and vulnerability blocks the natural flow of love and connection.
Over the course of the weekend, we will:
Meditate on each of the 8 winds and examine how they show up in our lives.
Learn Vajrayana practices that harness the energy of these winds for awakening.
Engage in guided reflections and group discussions to support personal integration.
Participate in a Chenrezi Wongkur ceremony to awaken the compassion energy within
Explore how to meet extremes not with resistance, but with clarity, compassion, and the fierce courage of the bodhisattva.
By turning toward what we most fear—loss, shame, failure—we make space for something more enduring to arise. In this way, fear becomes the doorway to love, and instability becomes the path to spiritual freedom.
This retreat is open to new or experienced meditators and committed spiritual seekers. Teachings are rooted in the Namgyal Rinpoche lineage and emphasize experiential learning, personal insight, and transformative compassion. This is a silent retreat, with opportunities to ask questions in group classes.
Lama Linda (Linda Hochstetler) has explored consciousness and awakening for more than 30 years. She trained with Namgyal Rinpoche—the first Canadian-born Rinpoche—from 1995 until his passing in 2003, grounding herself in Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhist practices. She later continued her studies with Qapel (Doug Duncan), a successor in the Namgyal lineage, and received permission to teach under his guidance. She is the co-founder and leader of the Awaken in Toronto Sangha, where she teaches weekly online classes on consciousness and awakening principles, and leads retreats 4 times a year.
A registered social worker specializing in illness, dying, and death, Lama Linda also maintains a thriving private psychotherapy practice, has presented widely at conferences, and has been interviewed extensively on end-of-life topics. In 2021 she published her first book, 21 Days to Die: The Canadian Guide to End of Life. A mother, wife, and friend to many, she encourages her students to use their relationships as gateways to love more deeply and explore dharma more fully. She is devoted to weaving Buddhist teachings with Western psychotherapeutic approaches to support transformative change. www.lindahochstetler.com
Important Details
When: Please plan to arrive between 3-5 pm on the first day. The retreat will begin with a property orientation at 5:30pm followed by a light supper and the first evening class and will finish after lunch on the final day.
Rate: $306 - non-members $280- members ($30 course fee for Awaken in Toronto - AIT included)
(To find out how to become a member please visit our membership page)
Rates include: Single accommodation and all meals. They do not include instructor fees. The teacher is sharing his/her experience within the traditional Buddhist understanding of Dana. To understand more about Dana, please read the following:
What is Dana? Teachers give the teachings of awakening (Dharma) freely so that anyone, no matter their financial means can attend classes. Each time one receives teachings, it is an opportunity to consciously practice generosity. Giving money and other means of support expresses gratitude and support to the teacher and helps to ensure that these teachings continue. Each person receiving Dharma teachings determines the kind and amount of Dāna according to one’s heart and one’s financial means. When deciding how much to offer, one should think about what these teachings mean to you and try to give accordingly. It is recommended that students make an offering of dāna at the beginning of a class or retreat to establish the intention to make the most of this opportunity for one’s own progression and for the benefit of all others.
Deposit: A 50% deposit is required to hold your space upon registration.
Cancellation Policy
All cancellations are subject to a $100 fee, which will support other low-income practitioners through our Practitioner Support Fund.
If cancellation occurs within 14 days of the retreat start date, 50% of the deposit (equivalent to 25% of the total retreat cost) will be forfeited. These funds will be directed to the Uplifted Property Fund to support the Renewal Project.