Dorje Khyung Dzong- Retreat for one week
Item Number: 189
Time Left: CLOSED
Description
For almost thirty years, practitioners have come to know Dorje Khyung Dzong ("Indestructible Garuda Fortress") as an ideal place for solitary retreat. Secluded on over four hundred acres of piñon and juniper forests in Southern Colorado at an altitude of 8200 feet, DKD provides the quiet and privacy of a solitary retreat for those who seek to deepen their spiritual practice through meditation.
Founded in 1972 by meditation master and scholar ChögyamTrungpa Rinpoche, DKD is now under the direction of Sakyong Mipham Rinpochespiritual leader of Shambhala International. Two senior practitioners function as resident directors. While most of the retreatants who come here are practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism, people from any contemplative tradition who have a well established practice are welcome here.
DKD sits on the slope of Greenhorn Mountain overlooking the HuerfanoValley and the Sangre de Christo Mountains of southern Colorado. In summer, wildflowers decorate the fields. Autumn skies are the bluest blue and create the perfect backdrop for golden aspens and bright red oaks. Snow covered mountains and fresh mountain air make winter retreats popular with many people who return each year to the warmth of a wood fire in their cabin.
The Huerfano Valley remains a very rural area with many privately owned cattle and horse ranches. Bordered on two sides by the San Isabel National Forest, DKD, provides a pristine and tranquil environment that is ideal for meditation and spiritual development. Deer, elk, and other familiar forest dwellers such as foxes, chipmunks, squirrels and many species of birds make their home here along with a few, but rarely seen, black bear.
Dorje Khyung Dzong does not offer any group programs and has no guest facilities. Retreatants must be participants in established spiritual communities and have specific guidelines on retreat from their spiritual teacher or guide. Each of the seven cabins is separated from the others and equipped for a single person with propane range and lights, a bed, a picnic cooler with ice, and a shrine or altar. Every cabin has an outhouse, water pump and a wood burning stove. The cabins do not have electricity or running water. A nearby showerhouse is available for hot showers and long term food storage. For more information, or to schedule your retreat, please contact us.
Special Instructions
ABOUT SOLITARY RETREATS
What is the purpose of a solitary retreat: Solitary retreat gives you the opportunity to settle into practice and contemplation free from the distractions of daily life, and in doing so; deepen your experience of progress on the path.
What do people do on solitary retreats: The schedule you follow on retreat will be determined by your teacher or meditation advisor. Generally, one does eight or more hours of meditation and study in three to four sessions a day, leaving time for sleep, meals, relaxation, bathing and exercise.
On retreat you do not speak to anyone else, except a meditation instructor if desired. You must not leave the premises during your retreat. If supplies are needed, the staff will purchase them for you during our weekly shopping trip and leave them in the shower house where there is a refrigerator/freezer for storing supplies.
Who is qualified to do a solitary retreat?
Current membership or a strong personal connection with a spiritual teacher or community and completion of one or more group retreat programs of at least two weeks.
Recommendation of a spiritual teacher or meditation advisor is required.
What is the length of a solitary retreat?
At Dorje Khyung Dzong, the minimum retreat is three nights, although a minimum of one week is recommended. Extended retreats of up to six months are possible for qualified practitioners.
What kind of support is available for solitary retreats: The Resident Directors are responsible for maintaining the property and retreat cabins as well as the administrative functions at DKD. As senior practitioners, they can provide support in the form of meditation advice and are available for emergencies. They shop once a week for retreatants and deliver food and other supplies to those in “closed” retreats if needed.