Creation Phase Meditation & Sādhana Yearlong Program
Creation Phase Meditation and Sādhana
Teachings and Guidance on the Gradual Path of Vajryana
with Lama Freddie (Drubpon Pema Rigdzin)
Who is this program for?
Have you received many Vajrayāna empowerments but have not been equipped with the understanding of how to pursue what you’ve been authorized to practice? Are you longing for authentic and sustained guidance geared toward progress? Is the wish to dive deeper pulsing within you, but you have not been able to create the space for personal retreats?
This year-long program is tailored for dedicated practitioners who have completed their preliminary practices (ngöndro) in any lineage or tradition and wish to continue training in the gradual path through the phases of creation in accordance with the teachings of the Nyingma School.
How to Die Professionally
How to Die Professionally: Hybrid- in-person and Online, with Drubpon Pema Rigdzin (Lama Freddie).
Like life itself, death is not a single moment but an ongoing progression, a transition that can be approached with awareness, preparation, and presence.
The gradual path of Vajrayāna offers a profound roadmap to guide us through the process of dying. We all have the potential to liberate at the time of death or in the bardo. For practitioners with devotion and some degree of training, this moment can become the most powerful opportunity for awakening. This is what Tsedrub Tharchin Rinpoche called how to die professionally.
How do we prepare ourselves for this crucial moment? And how can that preparation become a source of support for others?
This daylong program will offer a step-by-step introduction to the Vajrayāna view of death and transition, and the methods traditionally put into practice to arrive at that threshold with clarity and certainty.
The first part introduces the relative and secular foundations that support end-of-life care in both personal and communal settings. Topics will include ethical sensibilities, practical preparedness, and contemplative grounding, with open conversation and questions on how to meet our fears honestly and prepare with confidence.
The second part goes deeper, exploring the wisdom methods and practices of the Vajrayāna tradition that prepare us to die professionally, a phrase often used by Lama Tharchin Rinpoche to point to the central aim of Vajrayāna practice. Through questions and the exploration of various scenarios, we will strengthen our dharma guidance, steady our confidence, and arrive at greater clarity for the moment of transition.
This program is open to all. The recording will be available for later review and study.
Lama Freddie is an Interfaith Spiritual Care Provider at Stanford Healthcare and a former Chaplain with the Hospice of Santa Cruz. He has trained in Tibetan Buddhism for over thirty years and completed extensive Vajrayāna retreats, including two traditional three-year retreats under the guidance of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche. Lama Freddie is the Retreat Teacher (Drubpon) for the Three-Year Retreat Drub Nyiy Döjö Gatsal, founded by Lama Tharchin Rinpoche in 1992, a lead ritual chanter (umdze), and a mentor in the Ngondro Program of the Vajrayāna Foundation. An acupuncturist and a physical therapist in his native country of Brazil and a keen researcher of ancestral forms of healing, Lama Freddie’s activities have expanded to serve communities in the US and worldwide through authentic dharma and unique healing methods. He is the co-founder of Lhamen Foundation.
(flier art by Pema Tintin Tsehring)
Healing Cho Chambu Gyatsa Dudjom Lingpa
Healing Chö: Chambu Gyatsa from Dudjom Lingpa’s Troma Nagmo Cycle.
Sunday, May 17, 2026
The One Hundred Handprints Healing Practice, Changbu Gyatsa is a Cho healing ceremony from the Troma Nagmo cycle revealed by Terton Dudjom Lingpa.
One hundred handprints bearing the imprints of our karmic obscurations are arranged as the five desirable things. Through these offerings made to the wisdom Dakini Troma Nagmo, all accumulated karmic debts are purified, and health and balance are restored naturally allowing us to reconnect to our inner source of happiness and joy.
“If you visualize through these key points, the recipient of your offering, the Mamo Dakini, will be pleased. The recipients of your charities, the demons, will all be appeased as well. You will free yourself from inner and outer obstacles and hindrances, and produce the ultimate great merit.”
Dudjom Lingpa
Chö means to 'cut' or to 'sever.' It is a profound practice for cutting the root of suffering. In this ceremony, we will use melodies, visualizations, and offerings as participants lie down and are guided through meditation as methods for healing the disorders of the body and mind within the space of the sole mother Troma Nagmo.
Registration will open soon!
Guru Yoga of Guru Rinpoche in honor of Lama Tharchin 13th Dechö
Guru Yoga of Guru Rinpoche - In Honor of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s 13th Dechö
Open to all.
More upcoming.
Introduction to The Do Gyud Dzod with Anam Thubten
An Introduction to the Do Gyud Dzö
The Treasury of the Sūtra and Tantra
by Choying Thubten Dorje
Anam Thubten Rinpoche
Dhumatala, Point Richmond, CA
hosted by Lhamen Foundation
In commemoration of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s thirteenth Dechö
More details and registration upcoming.
Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten in Brazil
From Rio de Janeiro to Kuritiba and to the heart of Khadro Ling on Dungse Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche’s first visit to Brazil, together with Anam Thubten Rinpoche.
October 19 to November 2, 2026
This event is hosted by Lhamen Foundation. Those who wish to travel to Brazil are welcome to do so independently.
Email to request to be added to receive the schedule of events.
Repkong, Tibet Pilgrimage, Summer 2027
Save the date! Pilgrimage to Repkong, Tibet, Summer 2027
Eating The Sky Chülen Practice
Eating the sky
Chülen Rejuvenation Practice
Sunday, April 19, 2026, 10 am to 1 pm PDT
In Person at the Wisdom Center of Santa Cruz and ONLINE
Our spring practice will be devoted to the contemplative rejuvenation practice known as “Eating the Sky.” Rooted in Vajrayāna traditions, Eating the Sky is grounded in an ancient understanding that the body and mind are woven from the same fabric as existence itself. The five elements - earth, water, fire, wind, and space - are not only outer forces but also organic processes within us that shape our vitality, perception, and body. When these elements fall out of balance, “dis-ease” is the natural result.
The practice of chülen consists of methods aimed at extracting nourishment, or essences, through alchemical processes, ritual, and contemplation. Amongst the different modalities of chülen, extracting the essence of space is considered the most sublime and has been practiced for centuries by yogis in retreat and in Tibetan Traditional Medicine as a treatment for rejuvenation.
Across Tibetan contemplative and medical lineages, including Sowa Rigpa, healing begins by restoring harmony at this elemental level. Where medicine works through substances and behavior, practices such as Eating the Sky turn inward—using breath, visualization, and awareness to receive the elements in their most subtle yet most nourishing form. The practice emphasizes receptivity rather than effort, which invites the body to replenish and the mind to settle on its own basis.
Instructions will be given from the Tsokkyi Thukthik treasure cycle of the Dudjom Tersar lineage, where this practice is held as a support for sustained meditation and longevity. Over the course of the three-hour practice, guidance will be offered on posture, breath, and visualization, interwoven with spacious periods of contemplation.
The Verses of the Eight Noble and Auspicious Ones
The Verses of the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones
Teaching and Practice
Tashi Gyepa, or the Verses of the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones is profound prayer composed by the great Nyingma scholar, Jamgön Mipham.