Heart Advice

A foundational public program with Younge Khachab Rinpoche at Karmê Chöling in Barnet, Vermont, this fall.

Most of us aren't looking for a new belief system. We're looking for something that actually meets our life: the stress that won't quiet down, the relationship that needs more patience than we have, the grief we haven't let go of, the quiet question of what any of it is for.

This fall, Karmê Chöling welcomes back Younge Khachab Rinpoche for a weekend program. One of the most accomplished and accessible meditation teachers of his generation, he shows how centuries of contemplative practice speak directly to our real experience.

The weekend opens with a free public talk on Friday evening, open to everyone regardless of experience or background. Saturday and Sunday then offer a full, structured introduction to the path, taught in a way that is completely grounded in modern life, while remaining fully faithful to the tradition it comes from.

This weekend program, Heart Advice, is also the name of Rinpoche's book. The book is designed to stand fully on its own, while also laying the groundwork for a curriculum at Karmê Chöling, that people can return to in the years ahead.

• Friday Evening: A free, public talk open to all, no registration barrier, no prior experience required. A first taste of Rinpoche's teaching and an introduction to the weekend ahead.
• Saturday: The sutra path and its core practices, moving into the Mahayana path through bodhicitta, with an introduction to tonglen, the practice of exchanging self for others.
• Sunday: A taste of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, the view, the inspiration, and why these approaches matter, offered without restricted teachings, so that everyone in the room can genuinely engage with what is being pointed to.

Throughout the program, the teachings stay completely authentic to the lineage while becoming immediately relatable. They address stress, relationships, work, purpose, conflict, grief, attention, and the search for joy, rather than remaining abstract or academic.

Rinpoche's book, Heart Advice, is the foundation for this curriculum and a companion for the practice that follows it home. It presents the traditional Buddhist textual tradition in a way built for personal study, contemplation, and meditation, distilling the essence of the Buddha's teachings into something meaningful for daily life and mind.

The book offers an overview of the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma alongside deeper study of the Prajnaparamita sutras, tantra, and Mahamudra, bringing the path of liberation, as Rinpoche has mastered it, within reach. It is written to give readers the confidence to begin, the clarity to work through confusion on the path, and a way to bring the whole of the Buddha's wisdom into one complete practice; their own.

This program is for anyone seeking practical methods to engage more fully with life, rather than simply getting through it. Drawn from centuries of Buddhist meditation tradition, Buddhism at its core, offers one of the most thorough explorations that exists on the nature of emotions. It explores why intense feelings like anger, anxiety, grief, or longing arise. It also addresses how emotions can be worked with directly when they control your inner life or you resort to pushing them away.

This program brings that realization into ordinary language, so you don't need to be a monk or scholar to understand it, but can simply be curious and ready to engage in your life more fully.
This program is for those who are:

• New to This: Those curious about meditation and this way of understanding the mind who want a real foundation, not a fragment.
• Established Practitioners: Those with an existing practice who want to deepen their understanding of the full path and study with a teacher trained across all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
• Anyone Meeting Life's Real Questions: Those navigating stress, relationship strain, grief, life transitions, or simply the search for a more grounded and meaningful way to live.

No specific prior background or religious affiliation is required. Core concepts are taught in accessible, natural language while fully honoring the depth of the contemplative traditions they come from.

Karmê Chöling is a long-standing meditation retreat center set on over 500 acres of forest, meadows, and organic gardens in Barnet, Vermont. It has hosted residential meditation programs for decades, with facilities and staff oriented around contemplative practice and quiet, sustained study. The land itself, the fog lifting slowly off the fields, the quiet of the walking paths, offers a natural support for this kind of learning that is hard to find elsewhere.

Karmê Chöling is easily accessible from across the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada.

• By Car: Located just off Interstate 91 near Barnet, Vermont. Drive times are approximately 3 hours from Boston, 5 hours from New York City, 2.5 hours from Montreal, and 1.5 hours from Burlington.
• By Air: Participants typically fly into Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Burlington International Airport (BTV), or Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL), and continue by bus, rental car, or shuttle.
• Shuttles & Support: Program coordinators assist in planning the final leg of travel from regional bus or train stations to the center. Detailed directions and transportation options are provided upon registration.

Is the Friday evening talk really free?
Yes. The Friday evening talk is free and open to the public, with no registration fee and no prior experience required. It stands on its own
as an introduction to Rinpoche's teaching, and it is also the natural starting point for the full weekend.

Do I need to attend Friday to come Saturday and Sunday?
Friday is a wonderful entry point, but the Saturday and Sunday program is designed to be complete on its own for those who register for the full weekend.

Is this only for Buddhists?
No. Rinpoche's approach is Rime, non-sectarian, and accessible. No specific religious affiliation or prior study is required, only openness to the material.

Will this repeat next year?
This weekend is designed to be complete in itself, and it may also become the first in an ongoing curriculum at Karmê Chöling, with Heart Advice as its foundation.

What should I bring or read beforehand?
No preparation is required. Those who would like to go deeper are welcome to read Heart Advice before or after the weekend, but the teachings stand on their own for newcomers.

How do I know if this program is right for me?
You might already have an established meditation or Buddhist practice, or you might simply be looking for accessible, practical tools for meeting the real challenges of modern life, stress, relationships, grief, purpose, attention. Either way, if you're drawn to a teacher trained across all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism who speaks to modern life directly, this program is designed with you in mind.

If you're still not sure, you're welcome to speak with one of our program coordinators, who can help you think through whether this practice is a good fit for where you are right now. Reach out to Dana Fabbro at: dfabbro@karmecholling.org
Dana’s been a student and coordinator of Khachab Rinpoche's teachings for over a decade, and he'll be glad to talk it through with you.