Course Overview

Dying is an essential part of life; something that we all will face. Whether you or a loved one is facing death today or decades from now, it’s important to understand what it means to live and die well.


In this 3 day retreat, Khentrul Rinpoche will take us on a journey through what is known as the ‘bardos’, or transition periods, between one life and the next, and the tremendous opportunity they can offer if we view them as an opportunity for spiritual transformation. This is a good course for those new to Kalachakra or those who want to learn how to practice in all moments.Bardo means in-between. We are always in moments of transition. This course helps us identify the important moments of transition and what we do in them. Khentrul Rinpoche will help us understand the profound steps we can take to make our life meaningful so we are prepared for death and what we can do at the time of death. In this practical teaching, Khentrul Rinpoche will bestow the Kalachakra phowa transmission and help us identify opportunities for liberation in the Bardo.


Vajra Vega, the wrathful form of Shri Kalachakra and the King of the Wrathful Deities, is the protector aspect in Kalachakra. There are many benefits to establishing a connection with Vajra Vega. The essence of Vajravega is that he represents the non-conceptual primordial wisdom which arises when the winds enter the central channel. This is the method by which the root ignorance of conceptuality is cut. It is also the basis or the container in which the precious six vajra yogas arise. When we establish a wheel of protection with Vajra Vega, we are symbolically stopping the arising of dualistic appearances, and abiding within the non-conceptual wisdom.


It is very important and special for us to connect with this aspect of Kalachakra in our lifetime so that we may be benefited from the connection in the Bardo state after death. While we must do our best to create karmic propensities to realize our own sacred truth during this life, if we do not then in the Bardo state after death, we may be able to recognise Vajra Vega in the sea of wrathful Deities and be liberated.

  • Who is this course for?

    Open to anyone who wants to understand how to live fully and prepare for your own or someone else's death.

  • What will you learn?

    You will learn an overview of the 6 bardos, the Kalachakra Phowa and how to prepare for death.

  • How will this benefit you?

    Death is one of the best opportunities. This series of teachings helps you understand how to prepare best for it.

Course Curriculum

In this practical teaching, Khentrul Rinpoche will discuss the step by step instructions for what to do for our loved ones at the time of death, through their dying process and the subsequent prayers and practice we can do once our loved one has passed away. We do not have to be an incredible yogi to benefit from these teachings. Everyone can create conditions in this life, for their loved ones to have a peaceful death and a beneficial future rebirth.

  • Prepare for death by practicing while living

  • Learn what to do when you or a loved one is dying and immediately following their death

  • Learn how to spot opportunities for liberation while dying and in the bardo

  • Learn the basics of dream and sleep yoga

  • Learn basic Kalachakra practices

Instructor(s)

Khentrul Rinpoche

Jonang Kalachakra and Rimé Master

Khentrul Rinpoché Jamphel Lodrö is the founder and spiritual director of Dzokden. Rinpoche is the author of Unveiling Your Sacred Truth, The Great Middle Way: Clarifying the Jonang View of Other-Emptiness, A Happier Life, and The Hidden Treasure of the Profound Path. Rinpoche spent the first 20 years of his life herding yak and chanting mantras on the plateaus of Tibet. Inspired by the bodhisattvas, he left his family to study in a variety of monasteries under the guidance of over twenty-five masters in all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Due to his non-sectarian approach, he earned himself the title of Rimé (unbiased) Master and was identified as the reincarnation of the famous Kalachakra Master Ngawang Chözin Gyatso. While at the core of his teachings is the recognition that there is great value in the diversity of all spiritual traditions found in this world; he focuses on the Jonang-Shambhala tradition. Kalachakra (wheel of time) teachings contain profound methods to harmonize our external environment with the inner world of body and mind, ultimately bringing about the golden age of peace and harmony (dzokden).

Rafa Lobsang Dorje (Rafael Nassif)

Dzokden Kalapa Program Co-ordinator

He started his contact with Buddhism in 2008, after practicing in other systems of spiritual practice in his homeland Brazil. In Europe, India and Tibet he had precious opportunities to receive teachings, transmissions and empowerments from masters from almost all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and from the Theravada Tradition as well, and took part in different group and solitary retreats. He was fortunate to met his precious Guru Jamphel Lodrö (Khentrul Rinpoche) in She Drup Ling-Austria in 2015, from whom he has been receiving a vast and profound wealth of Dharma, since the foundational subjects until the Kalachakra Vajra Yogas. Since 2016 he has been teaching Lu Jong (Tibetan Healing Yoga). In 2018 he received authorisation from Rinpoche to teach the Kalachakra-Ngöndro. Recently he reduced his professional activities as a composer in order to serve the altruistic ideals of his Guru as a full-time volunteer at our Dzokden community. He serves the community a.o. as a translator, editor and coordinator for the translations’ groups for both German and Portuguese languages.