Parent's Retreat Time

This is your retreat time while your child is attending the Mindful Media Retreat!
There will be plenty of space for the things we love about being at a retreat center: practicing together, taking long walks on the land, sharing meals, visiting with one another, and simply enjoying the experience of being in community. And you can participate in the very meaningful activity of tsa tsa painting!

Karmê Chöling is in the midst of creating an additional 1000 tsa tsas to be used in the transformation of the Purkhang into a kudung stupa. (See more info on this below) The work itself can become part of the retreat. There is something particularly meaningful about sitting together in quiet concentration, making these small sacred forms with our hands, knowing that they will eventually rest within the stupa. And there is something wonderful about stepping away from our ordinary routines for a weekend—to practice, connect, make something beautiful, and care for Karmê Chöling together.

All aspects of the weekend are optional. You can attend our household meditation practice sessions and join us for meals.

We do ask that if you have not worked with the tsa tsas at KCL this year, that you make sure to catch the first session, as that is when the instructions will be given.

Friday

• 3-6:00pm: Arrival time. Find your room and settle in.
• 6:30: Dinner with the Community

Saturday

• 9:00 am: Household Sitting Practice
• 10:30: Tsa Tsa painting (first) session
• 12:30: Lunch
• 2:00: Walk to Purkhang
• 3:30: Tsa Tsa painting session
• 5:30: Household Sitting Practice
• 6:30: Dinner
• 8-9:30: Parent socializing

Sunday

• 9:00am: Household Sitting Practice
• 10:30: Tsa Tsa Session
• 12:30: Lunch
• 2:00: Optional Children's Day celebration and/or departure

If you have any questions on the Mindful Media Retreat or this Parent's Retreat contact Gabe Taney at gabetaney@gmail.com or (802) 274-0118

A tsa tsa is a small clay image traditionally used as a devotional offering in Tibetan Buddhism. The tsa tsas we create will be in the shape of a stupa and will become part of the sacred contents of the kudung stupa.

More than an object, a tsa tsa is an expression of devotion and aspiration. It serves as a support for remembrance, practice, and the cultivation of virtue. The word tsa tsa is sometimes translated as “spark,” reflecting its traditional association with clearing obstacles and bringing benefit to oneself and others.

The Buddha said that whoever makes stupas from any material, at any place, even children playing to make stupas from sand, will achieve buddhahood. In the Buddhist tradition, creating tsa tsas is considered a practice of great benefit.

Working with mantra and color invites us to slow down and bring mindfulness to each step. The teachings describe tsa tsa making as a way to accumulate merit, purify obscurations, deepen one's connection to the Dharma, and generate benefit for all beings. The true value of the practice lies not only in what is created, but in the care, attention, and aspiration brought to the process.

Our work with the tsa tsas will unfold in two stages, with mantras being chanted throughout the process. First, we will prepare and insert paper mantras into each tsa tsa. Then we will paint them, traditionally described as "offering a robe to a sacred image."

The upper portion will be painted gold and the lower portion red. In this way, each tsa tsa becomes both an offering and a practice, infused with intention, devotion, and blessing.

By participating, you become part of the collective effort to transform the Purkhang into a stupa—a sacred monument dedicated to the Vidyadhara as well as a support for practice. It will offer future generations a place to make offerings, circumambulate, remember the teachings, and awaken devotion. Its purpose is not only to honor the past, but to benefit all who encounter it for years to come.