Tsa Tsa Painting

If you’ve been looking for a meaningful way to spend the holiday weekend, we invite you to come to Karmê Chöling and be part of this work in community.

We’ll spend time creating and painting tsa tsas together, but there will also 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.

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 holiday weekend—to practice, connect, make something beautiful, and care for Karmê Chöling together.

Whether you live nearby and would like to join us for a session or two, or would like to come to Karmê Chöling for the whole weekend, we warmly invite you.

All aspects of the weekend are optional. You can attend our household meditation practice sessions which are open to the public and free. You can join us for meals, which are by donation ($15 each meal or $30/day).

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

Friday

• 12:30: Lunch
• 2:00: Holiday Welcome & Tsa Tsa Training Session #1
• 4:30: Special Meal Prep
• 6:30: Dinner & Community

Saturday

• 9:00 am: Sitting Practice
• 10:30: Tsa Tsa Session #2
• 12:30: Lunch
• 2:00: Walk to Purkhang
• 3:30: Tsa Tsa Session #3
• 5:30: Sitting Practice
• 6:30: Dinner
• 8-9:30: Tsa Tsa Videos - Dance Party?

Sunday

• 9:00am: Sitting Practice
• 10:30: Tsa Tsa Session #4
• 12:30: Lunch
• 2:00: Tsa Tsa Session #5
• 5:30: Sitting Practice
• 6:30: Dinner

There are three options to attend:

• The Entire weekend - Please use the "Register" button in the sidebar. This will allow you to arrange accommodations at Karmê Chöling.
• Overnight - If you don't want to stay the full weekend but need overnight accommodations, sign up for the sessions you're interested in with the "A La Carte" button below and email Guest services directly to arrange for a room.
• A la Carte - If you only want to attend some of the sessions with no overnight stay, please use the "A La Carte" button below.

Sign-up for individual sessions

A La Carte

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.

If you would like to participate in finishing the tsa tsas, please let us know by registering.

Sign-up for individual sessions

A La Carte