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Programme Calendar

With a château and farm buildings nestled among grand trees on peaceful cow-grazed meadows, with views over our lake and to a wide horizon, Dechen Chöling provides an ideal environment for meditation, yoga, retreats, and study. We are dedicated to hosting authentic lineage teachers whose teachings can have a positive impact on your well-being and personal development, and help create a kinder, saner world. We invite you to participate in our programmes, schedule some time for your personal retreat and renewal, and enjoy the serenity of this place.

NOTE: Find our regular online practice offerings here!

  • December

    • Winter retreat: Miksang and contemplative journaling

      With: Jessica Sarapoff

      As the year comes to a close, come create, dream and recharge your batteries with the contemplative practices of Miksang photography, writing and creativity.

       

  • January

    • Shambhala Training Level 2 – Open to All

      With: Herbert Elsky

      Having experienced a taste of basic goodness in Level 1, we want to go forward. Meditation practice allows us to observe how we create a cocoon of habit. Taught in French (translation upon request).

       

  • February

    • Weekend meditation retreat: “Awakened Heart” (Level 4)

      With: Tessa Racine

      A weekend retreat to connect with your heart and your world through the practice of meditation. Corresponds to Level 4 of the Shambhala Training. Prerequisites: Shambhala Levels 1, 2 and 3.

       

    • Protector Practice Weekthün

      With: Laura Puts, Lennart Krogoll

      A programme about meditation and compassion in action - open to all!

       

    • March

      • Dathün – A Month of Meditation

        With: Peter Nowak, Anne Von der Eltz, Sylvie Deraime

        One month of sitting in meditation: Take a radical step out of daily life to deepen your experience of who you are, touch your basic humanity and make friends with the simple reality of just being.

         

      • Dathün – FIRST TWO WEEKS

        With: Peter Nowak, Sylvie Deraime

        Register here if you would like to join this month-long meditation retreat for the first two weeks only. Open to all.

         

        • Dathün – LAST TWO WEEKS

          With: Peter Nowak, Sylvie Deraime

          Register here if you would like to join this month-long meditation retreat for the last two weeks only. Open to all.

           

          • The Joy of Fearlessness: Contemporary Approaches to Mudra Space Awareness

            With: Lee Worley

            Mudra Space Awareness is a group practice developed in the early 1970s by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It challenges us to move beyond unhelpful habits and fears in order to become more aware, courageous and collaborative. Open to all!

             

          • April

            • Dharma Art Training: Five-Part Intensive

              With: Herbert Elsky, Andràs Hajdu, Cécile Daimez

              “Dharma art” is creative work that comes from an awakened state of meditation. According to Chögyam Trungpa, it is also a way to appreciate the nature of things as they are and to express them without striving or struggling to achieve anything.

               

            • Smile at Fear

              With: Barbara Märtens, John Rockwell

              Ten days to reconnect with your heart and move beyond fear, using ancient Shambhala and Buddhist teachings. Open to all!

               

              • Kado-Ikebana: 5-day course

                With: Marcia Shibata

                This course includes the Kado-Ikebana two-day programme, adding an extra three days to deepen your practice.

                 

              • May

                • Kado-Ikebana: A two-day introduction

                  With: Marcia Shibata

                  A two-day programme open to all. Discover the Way of Flowers through the contemplative floral practice of Kado-Ikebana! No experience or equipment necessary.

                   

                • Traditional Chinese Qigong Retreat • Levels 1 & 2

                  With: Damien Sauvezie

                  Cultivate strength of body and calmness of mind through the practice of Qigong as presented by two distinct Taoist schools. Open to all. Taught in French.

                   

                  • Combined Qigong programme: Exploring Energetic Terrain AND Stoking the Warrior and Scholar Fire

                    With: Eva Wong

                    Register here if you would like to attend both programmes!

                     

                    • Exploring Energetic Terrain

                      With: Eva Wong

                      This programme is open to all who have completed Qigong levels 1 & 2. It is also required for graduates of Level 6 before continuing to Level 7.

                       

                      • Stoking the Scholar and Warrior Fire

                        With: Eva Wong

                        This programme is only open to advanced students of Eva Wong (graduates of Level 6) and a pre-requisite to Qi Gong Level 7.

                         

                        • Diamond Sky Dancer – Vajrayogini Retreat

                          With: Sarah Coleman, Mark Nowakowski, Lama Brian Hilliard

                          A 10-day retreat for advanced Vajrayana practitioners (see prerequisites below).

                           

                        • July

                          • Buddhist Foundational Studies: A Buddhist Studies Retreat

                            With: David Schneider, Tessa Racine

                            The mind is the working basis for meditative practice. This one-week retreat introduces fundamental Buddhist teachings on mind, consciousness, and the development of wisdom through meditation and study.

                             

                          • Festival of the Shambhala Terma

                            With: Daniele Bollini, Alfonso Taboada, Sabine Rolf, Eve Rosenthal

                            Join us in a celebration of the precious and profound teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Let us celebrate our profound teachings and strengthen our confidence in contributing to the world in these challenging times.

                             

                            • Kyudo: The Way of the Bow – Combined

                              With: Max Baltin, Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XXI

                              Instructor training for Kyudo practitioners combining the advanced and public programs led by Onyumishi Kanjuro Shibata XXI, Sensei.

                               

                              • Kyudo: The Way of the Bow – Advanced

                                With: Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XXI

                                Instructor training for advanced Kyudo practitioners. The programme will be led by Onyumishi Kanjuro Shibata XXI, Sensei.

                                 

                                • Family and Community Camp

                                  For families, single parents, and children aged from 3 to 10. Activities for children are organized in the mornings, giving adults the opportunity to meditate, read or just relax.

                                   

                                  • Shambhala Sun Camp

                                    Sun Camp is an outdoor, sleep-away summer camp for children aged 10-16. A whole week of offline fun, it's a chance to make friends from around the world while learning to take responsibility for oneself and one's world in a gentle and playful environment.

                                     

                                    • Kyudo: The Way of the Bow – Open to all

                                      With: Kanjuro Shibata Sensei XXI

                                      Open to all - a living tradition of contemplative archery.

                                       

                                    • August

                                      • Aikido and Mindfulness

                                        With: Ivan Tröscher, Jörg Kretzschmar

                                        In this program we will bring together the living Warrior traditions from the lineage of Aikido practitioners with the Shambhala Warrior culture brought to the west by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Join us for this unique offering.

                                         

                                    • September

                                      • Traditional Chinese Qigong Retreat • Level 3

                                        With: Ute Schneider

                                        Cultivate strength of body and calmness of mind through the practice of qigong as presented by two distinct Taoist schools. Prerequisite Level 1 & 2

                                         

                                      • Kado-Ikebana Instructor Training 2025

                                        With: Marcia Shibata

                                        This teacher’s training continues to cultivate a mind/heart that is always open. The programme is by invitation only.

                                         

                                      • October

                                        • Maitri: The Five Wisdoms and interpersonal relationships

                                          With: Tessa Racine

                                          An exploration of how the Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the Five Wisdoms can be put into practice in all our interpersonal relationships. Open to all, no meditation experience necessary. Offered in French only.