THREE-YEAR RETREAT

The Tibetan three-year retreat was formally instituted in the nineteenth century by the great master Jamgon Kongtrul Lodrö Taye. The three year and three-month (lunar calendar) timeframe derives from teachings in the Kalachakra Tantra regarding the time required to transform karmic energy into wisdom energy when engaged in undistracted meditation with proper view. Between January of 2009 and September of 2013, Jampa Dorje, aka Richard Denner, was ensconced in a cabin, Luminous Peak, at Tara Mandal Retreat Center in the San Juan Mountains, near Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and practiced meditation under the guidance of Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche. Jampa accomplished Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje’s mind treasure, Dzinpa Rangdröl. The Tibetan word Dzinpa means to cling or to fixate. Rang means self, innate, or inherent. Dröl means liberation. As such, the term Dzinpa Rangdröl may be translated as Self Liberation of Clinging, or Inherent Liberation of Fixation with the idea that fixation or clinging are liberated by themselves in the nature of mind.