2025 Autumn Retreat: The Courage of Compassion (IN PERSON Attendance)

Retreat Registration for IN PERSON Attendance

Rigpa US Autumn Retreat

November 1 - 6, 2025

Orgyen Dorje Den, Alameda, California

Open to the PUBLIC

This year, our six-day program is designed as a full retreat, rather than a short teaching event. Annie Birken will open the retreat by laying the foundation, setting the stage for Ringu Tulku Rinpoche’s teachings, which will take place from November 3rd to 5th, 2025

The Courage of Compassion

In this polarized world, overwhelmed by conflict and hostility, what is the point of compassion?

Allowing our hearts to be touched by suffering requires courage. Yet without compassion, we can become trapped in a claustrophobic focus on ourselves alone, only adding to the isolation and disconnect we may feel. Could compassion helpus remove these barriers and connect genuinely with ourselves and others? What happens when we meet negativity withopenheartedness instead of resistance?

The Buddhist teachings tell us that we all have an innate capacity for empathy and kindness. Does that show us somethingabout who we truly are? Could we have a potential for compassion that is far more limitless than we ever imagined?

In this retreat, we will have the opportunity to explore Buddhist methods designed to unblock and reveal our natural qualities of love and compassion, helping us withstand difficulties with courage, resilience and humor. 

The retreat will include sessions of guided meditation and instruction, personal reflection, group discussion and sharing. This retreat will also be a joyful opportunity for the Rigpa community, their friends and family, and newcomers to meet and connect online and at Orgyen Dorje Den.

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About Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

Ringu Tulku Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist Master of the Kagyu Order. He was trained in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism under many great masters such as HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. He took his formal education at Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok and Sampurnananda Sanskrit University, Varanasi, India and has served as Professor of Tibetology in Sikkim for 17 years. His doctoral thesis was on the Ecumenical Movement in Tibet.

Learn more about Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

About Annie Birken

Annie Birken has been studying and practicing under teachers in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism since 1998 and completed a 3-year retreat in 2009. A native of Canada who grew up in Ireland, she now lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands together with her husband Pieter.

Learn more about Annie Birken

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PRACTICAL INFO

Location: The in-person location will be Orgyen Dorje Den (ODD), a Tibetan Buddhist center in the Nyingma tradition founded by the Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche under the auspices of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche in Alameda, California.  ODD is a meeting space only.

Schedule: 
Starts: Saturday, November 1 at 9:00 AM 
Ends: Thursday, November 6 at 1:00 PM

Provisional Daily Schedule: The retreat's schedule is currently set to begin daily at 9:00 AM PT and end at 6:30 PM PT. Please note that the schedule is subject to change.

Airport: The closest airport is Oakland International Airport (OAK).

Your Arrival: Please plan to arrive the day before to start promptly for the first session on Saturday morning.

Check-in and pick up your badge: Friday, Oct 31, from 3 to 4 pm OR Saturday, Nov 1, from 8 to 9 am.

Departure: Please plan your travels accordingly so as to stay until the end of the full retreat ( Nov 6 – 1 pm).  If you are able to stay a couple hours longer to help with the breakdown of the event, it would be so appreciated!  Pizza will be provided for everyone who helps!  

Accommodations and Meals: Retreatants will need to arrange their own off-site accommodations and meals (restaurants and supermarkets are plentiful nearby). You may wish to reach out to sangha friends to discuss sharing accommodations.

Signal Chat Group: We encourage everyone attending to join the 2025 Autumn Retreat chat group. This group will be a space for you to connect with other retreat participants. Feel free to use it to arrange carpooling, sharing accommodations, and other communications throughout the retreat.

Covid Protocol: Our Covid protocol is based on public health recommendations and requirements for Alameda County. At this time, Alameda County has no masking requirements, and no mask, testing or immunization record is presently required to attend this event. However, out of consideration for others' health and well-being, we ask that if you are experiencing symptoms consistent with the flu or Covid-19 like runny nose, sneezing (not due to known allergies), sore throat, cough or fever, to please stay home and join us through our online option. Please also keep in mind that the Covid protocol for the retreat could change based on Alameda County requirements at the time.

If you have any questions, please contact events.us@rigpa.org

We look forward to seeing you and hope you’ll be able to join us!

The US Retreat Team

Student Rates Available!