Opening to the Unconditional Love and Wisdom of our Buddha Nature
2026-05-08 - 2026-05-10 | Hybrid: In-Person and Online
Teacher: Lama John Makransky
Event type: In-person and on-line weekend retreat
Organization: Gomde USA (Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s center in North America)
For information and registration, go to:
https://gomdeca.org/program-description/1214/opening-to-the-unconditional-love-and-wisdom-of-our-budda-naturewith-lama-john-makransky-2026/
From a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, our buddha nature is the basic space of our being that is undivided from vast capacities of awareness, warmth, love, compassion, and wisdom. These capacities are always available below our surface consciousness but often hidden by our conditioned habits of thought and reaction. In this retreat, we will learn three modes of practice derived from Tibetan Buddhism that empower each other as they harmonize us with those innate capacities.
The receptive mode generates a field of care that helps us find immediate access to unconditional qualities of love and wisdom from the depth of our awareness (our buddha nature). In the deepening mode, we let those qualities help the mind settle into their source—the non-conceptual openness, simplicity, clarity, and compassionate warmth of our buddha nature. In the inclusive mode, we come from that depth of being to recognize others in their depth, including them in those unconditional qualities of openness and compassion.This contemplative process also empowers our ability to discern the empty, constructed nature of all reactions to others that impede our compassion, freeing the mind for further access to its innate awakening capacities.
In this weekend retreat, we adapt this pattern of practice from Tibetan Buddhism, with some assistance from modern psychology, to make it accessible both for Buddhist practitioners and for people of all faiths who have contemplative practice experience and seek not just an intellectual dialogue with Buddhism but a deep experiential encounter with it that might freshly illumine analogous depths of their own tradition.
Format:
Teachings that introduce the meditations, guided meditations, silent meditation, Q&A, discussion.
Prerequisites:
At least two previous years of regular contemplative practice (meditation, ritual or prayer). Before the retreat, please read John’s book Awakening through Love (Wisdom, 2007) or How Compassion Works (co-authored with Condon, Shambhala, 2025), or as much of it as possible.
Session times:
Fri, May 8 – Registration 3–5 pm; first session 7–8:30 pm
Sat, May 9– 9 am–12 pm PT; 2–5 pm PT; 7–8:30 pm PT
Sun, May 10 – 9 am–12 pm PT; 1:30–3:30 pm PT
Each teaching-practice session includes a break halfway through.

Deep Training in Sustainable Compassion and Wisdom
2026-06-01 - 2026-06-07 | Samye Hermitage, Cooperstown NY
Teacher: Lama John Makransky
Event type: In-person weeklong retreat
Organization: Samye Hermitage, Cooperstown NY (Phakchok Rinpoche’s center in North America)
For information and registration, go to:
https://www.samyenewyork.org/programs/492/harmonizing-with-the-unconditional-love-and-wisdom-of-our-buddha-nature
From a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, our buddha nature (the source of our profound dignity) is the basic space of our being that is undivided from vast capacities of awareness, warmth, love, compassion and wisdom. These innate capacities are always available below our surface consciousness, but often hidden by our habits of thought and reaction. In this week-long program of study and retreat, we will learn three modes of practice drawn from Tibetan Buddhism that harmonize us with those innate capacities. The receptive mode generates a field of care that helps us find direct access to unconditional qualities of love and wisdom from the depth of our awareness (our buddha nature), making us into a profoundly healing environment for all parts of ourselves and others. In the deepening mode, we let those loving qualities help the mind settle into their source—the non-conceptual openness, simplicity, clarity, and compassionate warmth of our buddha nature. In the inclusive mode we come from that depth of being to recognize others in their depth, and to include them in those unconditional qualities of openness and compassion. Those three modes of practice provide a foundation for meditations of compassion that convert our own painful experiences into compassion for others and that extend compassion in increasingly all-inclusive and unconditional ways (beyond “compassion fatigue”). This contemplative process also empowers deepening wisdom–the ability to discern the empty, constructed nature of all our reactions that impede compassion for others.
In this retreat, we adapt this pattern of practice from Tibetan Buddhism, with assistance from relevant areas of modern psychology, to make it accessible both for Buddhist practitioners and for people of all faiths and backgrounds who have previous contemplative experience and seek an accessible way to cultivate unconditional love and wisdom.
Sessions:
Daily 9am to 12noon, 2 to 5pm with a half hour break within each teaching-practice session.
Format:
Talks introducing guided meditations, silent meditation, large group Q&A, small group discussions.
Prerequisites:
Please read How Compassion Works:A Step by Step Guide (Shambhala, 2025) by John Makransky and Paul Condon before attending this retreat, or as much of it as possible. If you wish more background reading, read Awakening through Love (Wisdom 2007), also by John.

Innate Wholeness as a Profound Power of Healing for Self and Others
2026-09-26 - 2026-09-27 | Online
Teacher: John Makransky and Rachel Cronin
Event Type: Weekend on-line retreat
Organization: Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
Information and registration:
https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/classes/2026-innate-wholeness-as-a-profound-power-of-healing-for-self-and-others/

Barre Center 11-month Path Program with John Makransky
2026-12-01 - 2027-11-21 | Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, 149 Lockwood Road, Barre, MA, 01005, United States
Teacher: John Makransky
Organization: Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
Description: This program includes three in-person 6 day retreats at Barre Center of Buddhist Studies and monthly Zoom sessions over 11 months. Retreat dates are:

December 1-6, 2026
April 6-11, 2027
November 16-21, 2027

This program is by application. For info and to apply: https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/buddha-nature-path/
