Living Mandala, Living Bardo: A Vajrayana Retreat of the Five Buddha Families, with White Tara Empowerment”
Join us for a transformative weeklong Vajrayana Buddhist meditation retreat exploring the dynamic energies of the Five Buddha Families as a profound map of the living bardos—those in-between moments of life, change, and insight. Drawing from teachings in the Namgyal Rinpoche lineage, this retreat blends archetypal psychology, tantric ritual, and meditative stillness to awaken the sacred mandala within and around us.
Each day we will focus on one of the Buddha Families—Vairochana (space), Akshobhya (mirror-like wisdom), Ratnasambhava (equanimity), Amitabha (discriminating awareness), and Amoghasiddhi (all-accomplishing action)—and explore how these energies manifest in our own lives. These archetypes help us meet emotional challenges, personal transitions, and karmic patterns with greater clarity, compassion, and courage.
Integrated into the week will be:
Teachings on Tantric Vows: Understand how the samaya (sacred commitments) of Vajrayana practice form a container for deep realization. We will explore traditional and intuitive forms of Buddhist divination to access inner guidance and align with awakened intention.
White Tara Wongkur (Empowerment): We will receive the peaceful wongkur of White Tara, the embodiment of long life, healing, and maternal compassion. This transmission offers refuge and rejuvenation, anchoring the week in the boundless love of the divine feminine.
Together, these teachings provide a gateway to engaging the bardos not as places of fear, but as portals to love, presence, and realization. Suitable for both committed Vajrayana practitioners and sincere seekers open to the Vajrayana path. 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 3-5pm 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: $858- non-members $780- members (includes $30 going to Awaken in Toronto - AIT)
(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.