Date/Time
This event takes place 4-6 December 2026
Registration
Registration will close 3 days in advance of the event. Full refunds will be given for cancellation requests up to 3 days before the event.
Who can attend this event?
This event is open to everyone.
Translation
TBD
Finding Freedom in Life’s Transitions: Teachings on the Six Bardos
WITH MINGYUR RINPOCHE
Hosted by the Tergar Institute
The teachings on the six bardos point out the fundamental continuity of mind through all states of existence. From this perspective, what we call “life” and “death” are simply concepts — relative designations that are attributed to a continuous state of being, an indestructible awareness that is birthless and deathless.
— Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Be There. In Person. In Nepal.
There is something that cannot be transmitted through a screen — the felt sense of a room filled with practitioners, the air of a monastery, the stillness that settles when a teacher enters. Attending this program in person at Tergar Osel Ling in Kathmandu is an invitation to let the teachings land not just in your mind, but in your body, your breath, and the ground beneath your feet.
The bardos are teachings about transition. What better way to meet them than by making a journey yourself?
About the Program
The word bardo is often associated with the transition between death and rebirth. But bardo is much more than a destination — it is a continuous experience of the present moment. From the perspective of the six bardos, every transition in our lives, from the gap between two thoughts to the shift between waking and sleeping, offers a fresh opportunity to recognize the nature of our mind.
In this special collaborative event between Tergar Institute and Tergar International, Mingyur Rinpoche, Tergar Khenpos, and a range of international faculty members will guide us through an experiential exploration of the six bardos. Drawing on the essential instructions of the lineage and presented in diverse learning formats — seminar-style sessions, specialized breakout groups, in-depth group meditation, and community-strengthening activities — this program offers approaches for transforming the uncertainty of transition into the path of awakening.
Whether you are facing major life changes or simply navigating the moment-to-moment bardos of everyday life, these teachings provide a map for staying present, compassionate, and awake in the face of groundlessness.
Why Attend in Person?
To sit in the same room as Mingyur Rinpoche. To practice alongside fellow students from around the world. To be held by the monastery itself — its sounds, its rhythms, its silence between sessions.
In-person participants have access to the full daily program, including morning practice sessions with Tergar guides, teaching sessions with Khenpos and lamas, seminar and practice sessions, and the Compassion in Action sessions in interest-specific breakout groups. The schedule is designed to immerse you completely — not just in the teachings, but in the experience of being a practitioner in community.
Osel Ling is not simply a venue. It is a living environment shaped by decades of practice. Coming here changes something.
Can I get access to a recording of this event?
In response to participant requests, recordings the teachings will be available within a few hours after the final session each day and will remain accessible for two months. You can view them anytime by logging in to the event page. That said, we still strongly encourage you to attend live whenever possible and to use the recordings primarily to review the teachings.
Recordings of the teachings will be available on your Tergar International account. Please register using the same email address associated with your Tergar International account. If you don’t yet have a Tergar International account, you can create one at tergar.org.
Please note that participants in some regions may encounter difficulties accessing the recordings due to local restrictions.
What’s Included
- Teachings with Mingyur Rinpoche
- Morning and afternoon practice sessions with Tergar guides
- Teaching sessions with Khenpo Gyurme
- Seminar sessions with Tergar Institute faculty
- Compassion in Action sessions with interest-specific breakout groups
- Community meals and the rhythms of life at Osel Ling
What You Will Learn
The meaning and significance of the six bardos, the historical context for these teachings within our lineage, and creative techniques for working skillfully with life’s transitions — transforming fear and uncertainty into opportunities for growth and renewal.
Requirements
This program is open to everyone.
Also Available Online
This program is also offered as a live-streamed event through Tergar International, with simultaneous interpretation in Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. If you are unable to travel to Kathmandu, we warmly encourage you to join online. To register for the online program, visit events.tergar.org.
About Finding Freedom in Life’s Transitions: Teachings on the Six Bardos
Register to Attend In Person in Kathmandu, Nepal
Schedule
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1:00 p.m. | Registration (2h) |
| 4:00 p.m. | Program Overview (1h 15min) |
| 6:45 p.m. | Teaching with Mingyur Rinpoche (2h 15min) |
Please note that the schedule will begin on the afternoon of 4 December and end at 9:00 p.m. NPT on 6 December. Other details are subject to change prior to the event.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9:15 a.m. | Practice Session with Tergar Guides (1h 30min) |
| 11:15 a.m. | Teaching with Khenpo Gyurme (1h 30min) |
| 2:15 p.m. | Seminar and Practice with Tergar Institute Faculty (1h 15min) |
| 4:00 p.m. | Compassion in Action with Tergar Institute Faculty and Students (1h 15min) |
| 6:45 p.m. | Teaching with Mingyur Rinpoche (2h 15min) |
Please note that the schedule will begin on the afternoon of 4 December and end at 9:00 p.m. NPT on 6 December. Other details are subject to change prior to the event.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9:15 a.m. | Practice Session with Tergar Guides (1h 30min) |
| 11:15 a.m. | Teaching with Khenpo Gyurme (1h 30min) |
| 2:15 p.m. | Seminar and Practice with Tergar Institute Faculty (1h 15min) |
| 4:00 p.m. | Compassion in Action with Tergar Institute Faculty and Students (1h 15min) |
| 6:45 p.m. | Teaching with Mingyur Rinpoche (2h 15min) |
Please note that the schedule will begin on the afternoon of 4 December and end at 9:00 p.m. NPT on 6 December. Other details are subject to change prior to the event.
Want to learn more before you arrive?
Travel Far, Tread Lightly
Traveling to receive teachings is a meaningful act, and long-haul flights are among the most carbon-intensive journeys we can take. The Himalayan region, home to contemplative traditions for generations, is warming 1.5 times faster than the rest of the world. The Tendrel Forest Project, created by a Tergar Institute student, offers a simple way to acknowledge that footprint and do something about it.
The project funds community-led reforestation in Nepal’s Nubri Valley, planting native trees that support biodiversity, reduce landslide risk, and sequester carbon, with land and stewardship remaining in the hands of local communities. Donations are processed through the Yongey Foundation’s H.E.L.P. programme.
At $3 per tree, even a small contribution makes a tangible difference. Use the flight emissions calculator on the Tendrel Forest website to estimate your journey’s footprint, then choose how many trees to plant in response.
About Mingyur Rinpoche
In his approach to teaching meditation, Mingyur Rinpoche integrates traditional Buddhist practice and philosophy with the current scientific understanding of the mind and mental health – making the practice of meditation relevant and accessible to students around the world.
Mingyur Rinpoche is a world-renowned meditation teacher with personal experience of anxiety and panic attacks, which he suffered from throughout his childhood and into his teenage years, when he learned to transform his panic through meditation. Born in Nepal in 1975, Mingyur Rinpoche began to study meditation as a young boy with his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, himself a well-respected Buddhist teacher. As a child he became interested in contemporary science through conversations with scientists who were visiting his father, and as he grew older he began to collaborate with neuroscientists and psychologists, including Richard Davidson and Antoine Lutz at the University of Wisconsin, on research projects that study the effects of meditation on the brain and the mind.
Mingyur Rinpoche’s first book, The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness, debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over twenty languages. His second book, Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom, explores how difficult emotions and challenging life situations can be used as stepping stones to discover joy and freedom. In his most recent book, In Love with the World, Mingyur Rinpoche shares how his meditation practice sustained him when he left his monastery to wander through India and the powerfully transformative insights he gained from the near-death experience he had at the beginning of his journey. Mingyur Rinpoche recently appeared in the Netflix series The Mind, Explained, in an episode about the benefits of mindfulness.
As the head of the Tergar Meditation Community, Mingyur Rinpoche supports groups of students in more than thirty countries, leading workshops around the world for new and returning students every year.
About Khenpo Gyurme Wangchen
Khenpo Gyurmé ordained as a monk at Tergar Monastery, Nepal, at the age of six. There he completed the primary monastic education, studying Tibetan language, Buddhist ritual, and philosophy. Following his training at Tergar Monastery, he was sent to Sherabling Monastery, the seat of Tai Situ Rinpoche, to complete nine years of formal Tibetan Buddhist College (shedra). After graduating from the shedra, he taught for three years and eventually was granted the title of Khenpo, a recognition of his scholarly accomplishment and contribution to monastic education. Khenpo Gyurmé has also studied meditation extensively with Tai Situ Rinpoche and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche.
Khenpo Gyurmé is continuing his practice as the Principal of Education at Osel Ling Monastery in Nepal and has been teaching there for the past thirteen years. He is responsible for coordinating and overseeing more than 180 young monks’ studies and teaching monastic and lay students, thus playing a very significant role in the development of the monastery. As the Abbot of the monastery, he is devoted to educational development and to supporting Buddhist practitioners along their path.