Winter Seminar, Opening of 3-Year Retreat, and Vajrakilaya Retreat
Sun Dec 28, 2025 to Sat Jan 10, 2026
Timezone : Europe/Paris
Rangjung Yéshé Gomdé Pyrénées, La Bastide, France
Rangjung Yeshe Gomde Pyrénées joyfully invites you to join our beloved teacher, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche from December 28 until January 4, 2026, when he auspiciously opens the three-year retreat. We also invite you to remain for the period from January 5-10, 2026 to join together in the removal of obstacles by means of the powerful practice of Vajrakilaya.
From December 28-January 4, Rinpoche will be giving final instructions to the retreat group and he will also offer public teachings. The three-year retreat group will be receiving separate concluding teachings and they will not be attending the public seminar. They will continue practicing separately during the public seminar time.
We have not requested Rinpoche for a specific text for the public seminar. We have asked Rinpoche to share his heart advice for practice inspired by the end of the first three-year retreat at Gomde.
Drubpon Lama Tenzin Sangpo and Khenpo Pema Namgyal will also offer instructions that we can immediately put into practice in the ideal setting of our mountain retreat center.
Drubpon Lama Tenzin will then also lead a practice retreat from January 5 until January 10. This time is ideal for immediately putting into practice the instructions received from Rinpoche. Drubpon Lama Tenzin will be available to answer questions and to guide our practice.
The general plan for the week is:
28th of December: Official arrival day
29th of December: The day of opening ceremony for the three-year retreat
30th of December - 4th of January: Seminar at Gomde Pyrenees led by Rinpoche
28th of December: Official arrival day
29th of December: The day of opening ceremony for the three-year retreat
30th of December - 4th of January: Seminar at Gomde Pyrenees led by Rinpoche
5th of January: Official departure day
Please note that during the public program, Rinpoche may not teach one day, and we will then receive teachings from Drubpon-la or Khenpo-la. We will not know which day that is in advance, so please be understanding about schedule changes.
Please note that during the public program, Rinpoche may not teach one day, and we will then receive teachings from Drubpon-la or Khenpo-la. We will not know which day that is in advance, so please be understanding about schedule changes.
The official arrival day for the seminar is December 28 and the program will begin with a welcome session and meditation in the evening after dinner. If you intend to arrive earlier than December 28 please book additional days below and let us know your dates by writing to us at retreatinpyrenees@gomde.fr.
The official departure day for the seminar is January 5, 2026. We will begin the short Vajrakilaya retreat in the afternoon of that day, so we ask everyone who is not staying for the retreat to check out of their room in the morning of January 5. We appreciate your understanding that we need some time to rearrange spaces for the practice retreat.
From January 5-January 10, Drubpon Lama Tenzin will lead practitioners in the
Vajrakilaya practice. Please note that in order to accomodate as many people as possible, there will be no single room occupancy during the practice period. As the sessions will take place in the shrine room this should not be a major inconvenience.
The period around the New Year is a particularly auspicious time to clear away obstacles through the practice of Vajrakilaya.
Lama Tenzin has stated: "The Vajrakilaya root text mentions that 'Through this [practice], all obstacles will be pacified and all wishes will be fulfilled. Therefore, exert yourself in this.' It is a very important practice for all dharma practitioners for removing obstacles in our outer circumstances, and especially for removing obstacles to achieving enlightenment."
During this time, Lama Tenzin will lead four Vajrakilaya practice sessions a day.
Lama Tenzin has stated: "The Vajrakilaya root text mentions that 'Through this [practice], all obstacles will be pacified and all wishes will be fulfilled. Therefore, exert yourself in this.' It is a very important practice for all dharma practitioners for removing obstacles in our outer circumstances, and especially for removing obstacles to achieving enlightenment."
During this time, Lama Tenzin will lead four Vajrakilaya practice sessions a day.
Prerequisites: The most important prerequisite for attendance is genuine trust and faith in the Dharma and the wish to practice the teachings. It is best if one has taken refuge, previously practiced meditation in the Buddhist tradition for an extended time, and received mind nature teachings previously from Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche or another teacher in the tradition.
To help you prepare for your visit, please have a look at this document which describes the way Gomde Pyrénées functions.
If you have any questions about the seminar, retreat or Gomde Pyrénées, please feel free to reach out to retreatinpyrenees@gomde.fr.
ACCOMMODATION DURING SEMINAR
Due to our limited space, beds in the Gomde house only shared rooms are available for those who are attending the full seminar from December 28-January 5th. All our rooms will be converted into triple rooms and all bathroom facilities are shared for the seminar and for the retreat. We have given priority to the families of our three-year retreatants who will be traveling to the opening of the retreat and joining the seminar with Rinpoche.
You are very welcome to camp on our land either in one of our tents or in your own tent, but we will need you to register for that here as well. Our tent camping also has dry toilets and shower facilities. To help you to determine if camping is an option for you, you may wish to consult the historic weather for this time of year.
There are also limited options in the gites in the village of La Bastide. These gite options are shared apartments with several bedrooms, a kitchen, and an attached bathroom. Some of the bedrooms are only set-up with a double bed to sleep a couple.
Please read the accommodation options carefully to make the most suitable choice. You are also most welcome to attend the seminar and practice sessions as an off-site participant, in which case we request you to still register accordingly below.
Our wish is to make these precious teachings available to anyone with genuine interest. If the prices make it impossible for you to attend, please write to us at retreatinpyrenees@gomde.fr.
CANCELLATION POLICY
It takes a lot of effort and resources to plan a seminar with Rinpoche. Therefore if you cancel less than 30 days to the start of the seminar we regret that we cannot refund your fees.
If you want to insure yourself against the risk of needing to cancel, Billetweb offers an event insurance option during the checkout process while registering. This is managed by Billetweb and Gomde has nothing to do with it but a number of prior participants have had success with this method.
If you cannot make it but cannot request a refund anymore, please still let us know that you won't be coming by emailing retreatinpyrenees@gomde.fr. That way, we can keep it in mind when planning Dharma Service Jobs.
TRANSPORT
We will arrange transport from and to Barcelona Airport and Perpignan on the dates and times you can see under tickets. The times might change a bit to suit all the people best.
We will contact you about the details of the pick-up and drop-off latest 2 weeks before the event. If you have any questions about the transfers, you can write to shuttles@gomde.fr.
We ask that you purchase a transport ticket if you will need a ride to Gomde from Perpignan or Barcelona Airport. Please purchase it at least 1 week in advance.
For other arrival or departure times, you will need to make your own arrangements with public transport or taxis in Barcelona or Perpignan. We appreciate your understanding of our remote location. There are many different options for bus and train travel from Barcelona to Perpignan (Check Flixbus, BlablaBus, trainline.com).
There is also a cheap option with Public transport on 27th of December and 10th of January. Please find detailed information regarding public transport options to Gomde and how to make the reservation in this document: https://tinyurl.com/get-to-Gomde-Pyrenees
We can pick you up by car from La Bastide or Valmanya if you write an email to shuttles@gomde.fr at least 2 days in advance with your arrival date, time and the size and number of luggage.
We can pick you up by car from La Bastide or Valmanya if you write an email to shuttles@gomde.fr at least 2 days in advance with your arrival date, time and the size and number of luggage.
Date and place
Sun Dec 28, 2025 to Sat Jan 10, 2026
Timezone : Europe/Paris
