Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
Learn More.

Learn more.

Due to road closures along Highway 1 to our north and south, Esalen is closed through April 11.
Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
past workshop

The Great Seal: Introduction to Mahamudra Meditation

February 5–10, 2023

Dustin DiPerna

This retreat presents a full set of teachings for Mahamudra meditation. The practice of Mahamudra, or Great Seal, originated in Northern India with the great mahasiddha Saraha. From Saraha, the practice expanded into several lineages that grew to include 84 wandering masters. These masters of Mahamudra were said to sing their students into enlightenment.

Over the course of this five-day program, students will be taught a detailed map of the four yogas of Mahamudra: One-Pointedness, Non-Elaboration, One-Taste, and Non-Meditation.

During this program, students will:

  • Experience many short sessions of meditation.
  • Be taught the basic tools of concentration.
  • Receive wisdom and insight into the true nature of thoughts, emotions, and perception.
  • Be taught to access a wide-open awareness that is deeply interconnected to everyone and everything.
  • Receive detailed instructions about the stages of the meditation path.  

Using the body as a gateway, students will begin with learning the stages of tranquility. Throughout the retreat, students will receive specific meditation instructions from Mahamudra masters like Tilopa, Maitripa, Sabari, and Niguma. All meditation sessions will be guided.

The retreat will culminate in an extraordinary insight practice where students will be given instructions to recognize the true nature of awareness as vast, non-dual, and unconditionally loving.

Each session builds on the previous one. Attendance at every session is required.Recommended reading: Pointing Out the Dharmakaya, by Thrangu Rinpoche,  Essentials of Mahamudra, by Thrangu Rinpoche

Recommended reading: Pointing Out the Dharmakaya, by Thrangu Rinpoche,  Essentials of Mahamudra, by Thrangu Rinpoche

Dustin DiPerna

Dustin DiPerna is a Harvard-trained scholar of world religions and adjunct professor at Stanford University. He is a senior teacher of Tibetan meditation. His books include Streams of Wisdom and Evolution's Ally, among others.

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