Krodhikali Retreat Information and FAQ
2024 Krodhikali Retreat Schedule Overview
August 30th - September 2nd, 2024
Aug 30: Procession day, settling in tents, oral transmission for retreatants.
Aug 31: Refuge, Bodhicitta, Mandala, Seven Branches.
Sept 1: Three Kaya Purification, Guru Yoga.
Sept 2: Phowa, Krodhikali Tsok Offering. (Phowa and Krodhikali Tsok Offering start at 9am and are open to the families of the retreatants and also open to the public. Please note there is a public program at KGF the following weekend Sept 7 - Sept 8th. Please see the Enthronement page for more information)
Registration and Contact
Registration for the retreat opens April 1st and ends on July 31st or when registration is full. There is a strict limit of 165 retreatants. To register for the retreat or if you have any questions, please contact our Krodhikali Retreat secretary Andra Samelson at throma13@gmail.com
If you wish to attend the retreat and/or Krodhikali Wangchen for the first time, please first send your request to Garab Rinpoche directly at for.gadorin@gmail.com
Acceptance Letter
If you are granted permission to attend the Retreat and/or Wangchen, you will receive an acceptance letter which you will need to print out and bring with you. It will be presented to Garab Rinpoche when he assigns tents on the first day. Without it, you will not be allowed to enter the retreat.
Detailed Retreat Schedule
August 30th - September 2nd, 2024
Aug 30th. Procession Day and Settling into Tents
8:00 am: Helpers arrive at the Parking Lot
8:30 am: Retreatants arrive at the Parking Lot (belongings are taken up to the retreat site to a tarp)
10:00 am: Procession. Inviting Rinpoche’s Kupar from his residence
10:30 am: Prostrations and Katak Offering
11:00 am: Auspicious Desi and Tea
11:30 am: Tent Assignments
1:00 pm: Lunch
2:00 pm: Teaching to retreatants
6:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm: Practice Session. Four Feasts.
August 31st and September 1st.
5:30 am to 6:00 am: Wake up
6:00 am to 8:00 am: First Practice Session. Troma Ngondro and 1st Feast.
8:00 am to 9:00 am: Breakfast break
9:00 am to 12:00 pm: Second Practice Session and 2nd Feast.
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm: Lunch break
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm: Third Practice Session and 3rd Feast.
3:00 pm to 3:30 pm: Tea break
3:30 pm to 6:30 pm: Fourth Practice Session and 4th Feast.
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm: Dinner break
7:30 pm to 9:30 pm: Fifth Practice Session. Troma Ngondro and 5th Feast.
September 2nd. Concluding Retreat Day and Troma Krodhikali Tsok Offering
5:30 am to 6:00 am: Wake up
6:00 am to 8:00 am: First Practice Session
8:00 am to 9:00 am: Breakfast break
9:00 am: Phowa (open to public)
11:00 am: Raise flag
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm: Lunch break and preparation for Troma Puja
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm: Krodhikali Tsok Offering. Medium Length Troma Puja (Trodring)
3:00 pm: Appreciation Gifts
5:00 pm: Dinner
6:00 pm: Public Program Concludes.
Fee
The retreat fee is $500 USD and is due by August 15th. Due to a large number of last minute cancellations there is a cancellation fee of $100 USD.
Please make your check payable to “KGF Throma” and send it to:
Kunzang Gatshal Foundation Throma
P.O. Box 7
Delhi, NY 13753
USA
If you have any questions, please email Krodhikali Retreat secretary Andra Samelson at throma13@gmail.com
Texts
The main texts required for retreat are Troma Ngondro and the Four Feasts. These will be done every day and everyone is required to have a copy. At the completion of the retreat we will do a Krodhikali Tsok Offering (usually Concise or Medium Length Troma), and the following day a Smoke Offering and Fire Puja. Everyone is encouraged to have these to participate, but they are not required. If you have an edition of any of these texts acquired elsewhere and are familiar with the text you are welcome to use it, but we recommend for ease of use that new retreatants use our edition, as that will be the same text Garab Rinpoche uses for instructions and announcing page numbers. Most retreatants already have these texts from prior years, but those without can purchase them upon arrival.
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Troma Ngondro and Four Feasts. $30
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Medium Length Troma. $15
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Smoke Offering and Fire Puja $10
Ritual Items
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Bell and Dorje
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Chod Drum
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Kangling
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Mala
Attire
For returning retreatants and those who have previously attended a Krodhikali Wangchen, please wear the items you were given at that time and have worn at previous retreats including:
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grey drangju (long skirt)
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multicolored red and white zen (zentra/khamar)
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meditation belt (gomtak)
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meditation short skirt (angrak)
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earrings (nagyen)
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white button down shirt
For new retreatants who are attending this retreat for the first time, you will need to bring (not wear) the aforementioned items tied in a neat bundle with a name tag. These will be put on the shrine and blessed, and after receiving the Wangchen you will then be allowed to wear these for the retreat. Prior to that, if there is no Wangchen, and you have never received a Krodhikali Wangchen, you will need to wear the following for the retreat:
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maroon drangju (long skirt)
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maroon zen
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white button down shirt
For your convenience we have most of the required items available at cost for purchase at Kunzang Gatshal before entering the retreat:
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multicolored red and white zen (zentra/khamar) $30
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meditation belt (gomtak) $10
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meditation short skirt (angrak) $15
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earrings (nagyen) $5
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kangling (resin) $100
We do not have grey drangju available for purchase.
Rinpoche requests all retreatants to continue to wear their retreat attire for both the Troma Tsok Offering and Jinsek pujas upon the completion of the retreat which are open to the public. You may shower or wash up after the Phowa section is completed, but are requested to wear the same attire for any additional practices related to the retreat have concluded.
Practical Items
Please bring the items below and nothing else:
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two 8 ft x10 ft waterproof tarps (below and above tent floor. to reduce moisture buildup and protect tent.)
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camping mattress/sleeping pad
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sleeping bag
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pillow (optional)
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cushion
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reusable bowl, plate, cup/insulated mug, utensils (these dishes will be used for all meals during retreat)
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water bottle
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tote bag, large backpack, or clear plastic container (to carry your texts and ritual items from your tent to the shrine room each session)
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notebook and pen/pencil (writing notes when Rinpoche gives instructions/teachings) (optional)
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simple watch/alarm clock (optional)
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flashlight w. extra batteries (walking to and from tent)
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lantern w. extra batteries (hanging inside tent as a reading lamp)
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warm jacket
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waterproof rain coat/umbrella
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underwear/private undergarments
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socks
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thermal underwear/long underwear (optional)
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shoes
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towel
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Rules
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No leaving the retreat boundaries.
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No talking to fellow retreatants.
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No showering or brushing teeth.
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No use of internet or electronic devices (no phones, computers, cameras) except as a watch or alarm clock.
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No changing clothes, nor extra clothes. Wearing only the required attire.
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No applying make-up or any other skin care products.
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No tying hair or using any hair accessories.
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No bringing any kind of food (unless permission is given for medical reasons). Full vegetarian diet.
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No eating in individual tents.
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No burning incense and butter lamps in the retreat area or in individual tents. (safety hazard)
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One must generate the mind of renunciation, the expectation to be free from samsara and to attain enlightenment.
Krodhikali Wangchen
Wangchen is the special empowerment for the precious practice of Krodhikali, which according to the Dudjom Tersar tradition is one of the main practices for attaining rainbow body and achieving enlightenment in one lifetime. One must have permission directly from Garab Rinpoche to attend the Wangchen. Please note that Wangchen might not be given every year. In the absence of the Wangchen, the oral transmission will be given instead so that one can perform the practice.
The following are Samaya commitments which must be followed after receiving the Wangchen:
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One cannot abandon Krodhikali practice. If you do not plan on doing the practice, you should not take the Wangchen.
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One cannot cut one’s hair (Trawang/Hair Initiation) without requesting permission from the Guru or a deity representation (kupar/picture) or ideally not at all. If one cuts one’s hair, one should prostrate three times and visualize oneself receiving permission before cutting.
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One must always wear a drangju, zentra/khamar, and gomthak, and carry all practice implements including a tent, but in these degenerate times this is not possible other than during retreat. So this should be limited to times of retreat.
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One must do at least one short or medium length Krodhikali practice every month, preferably on lunar 25th Dakini Day.
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One must commit to attend a Krodhikali retreat every year, or at least three times in one’s lifetime.
Jinsek
The public is invited to attend the Jinsek on the day after the main retreat concludes. Please bring a bell and dorje if you have them. You may bring precious stones and jewels and different kinds of grains, which after being consecrated by Garab Rinpoche, may be offered in the fire. You can also write down names of family members or friends who have passed away and bring them to be burned during the fire puja.
Offerings
Outside of the mandatory retreat dues, or for those who cannot join retreat but wish to connect and make an offering, donations can be made to a number of programs.
General Offerings for the retreat, can be made anytime via check or card here.
People are welcome to make an offering specifically for the Troma Tsok Offering Practice that will be done with the public at the conclusion of retreat, or the Jinsek Fire Puja done the following day. Cash or check is accepted. Please write your name, date, and address on the envelope, and if you wish to specify what it goes towards please write that clearly on the outside of the envelope, and/or on the check. Checks can be made out to: "Kunzang Gatshal Foundation" and given in person to Treasurer Semo Pema Chokyi or mailed to:
Kunzang Gatshal Foundation
PO Box 7
Delhi, NY 13753
USA
Prayers for the Deceased
If you would like to make an offering for prayers for someone recently deceased, there will be an opportunity to make a cash offering and then write the deceased's name down on a yellow paper that will be posted in the shrine room at the beginning of the retreat. At the conclusion of the retreat Garab Rinpoche will perform a ritual for the deceased and burn all the names. (Please note this offering must be cash only and is not tax-deductible. The money is handed to Garab Rinpoche to Rangjung Monastary in Bhutan to also conduct prayers for the deceased.)
Meal Sponsor
If you would like to sponsor a meal offering, please contact NYC retreat staff member Yeshi Tshogyal via cell/text +1 (917) 439-0852 or email yeshi_tshogyal@yahoo.com. She will be arranging and collecting meal offerings. The cost to sponsor a single meal for everyone is $500 which can be offered individually, or shared with a group of five individuals. Rinpoche or the retreatants offer a prayer to the meal sponsors before each offered meal.
