Embark on the Great Journey taught by Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche:
Beginning the Dzogchen Kusum Rangshar Cycle with:
The A-Tri Ngöndro Preliminaries
Asheville, NC
February 21st – 27th, 2027
In Person and Via Zoom
Yeru Bön Center is honored to announce that Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche is coming to Asheville, NC in February 2027 to begin a monumental, life-changing cycle of teachings and retreats.
This special event marks the inauguration of an extensive, multi-year teaching cycle on one of the most experiential and revered systems in the Bön tradition: the Dzog Chen Kusum Rangshar(The Self-Arising Three Enlightened Bodies of the Great Perfection) by the great Bön master Kunkhyen Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche (Kunkhyen Sharzapa for short).
To prepare practitioners for the extraordinarily high teachings of the Kusum Rangshar, Rinpoche will begin by guiding us through the preliminary practices of the A-tri Ngöndro.
The Gateway: A-tri sNgöndro (Ngöndro)
While the A-tri Dzog Chen system is its own complete path, its Ngöndro (preliminary practices) is also the prerequisite and gateway for entering the cycle of the Kusum Rangshar.
These foundational practices are not merely “beginner” steps; they are deep, transformative methods designed to purify the mind and prepare it for deeper practice. By grounding ourselves in the A-tri Ngondro, we build the unshakeable foundation required for Dzogchen.
These nine practices are a complete path of inner transformation. They lay the indispensable foundation for everything that follows and are themselves a doorway to enlightenment.
- Semkyed: Generating Enlightened Mind
- Kyabdro: Taking Refuge
- Shagpa: Confession
- Mendal Bhulwa: Mandala offering
- Chag: Prostrations
- Lamai Naljor
- sNyingpo Namsum: The Three Essences of Bön
The Path Ahead: The Dzog Chen Kusum Rangshar Cycle
Yeshe Walmo, Protector of the Kusum Ranshar Cycle
This February’s event is just the beginning. Over the coming years, Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche will guide us step-by-step through many of the vast Dzogchen Kusum Rangshar cycle teachings. This is a rare opportunity to receive transmissions of this system renowned for its direct approach to realization.
The Dzogchen Kusum Rangshar is not a single teaching. It is an entire world of practice, representing a complete system leading from the foundations all the way through to the highest realizations of Dzogchen. To study this cycle in its entirety, under the guidance of one of the great masters of our time, is an opportunity that comes along rarely.
Future retreats in this multi-year journey will dive deep into profound practices, including:
- Zhi Ney (Calm Abiding): Training stability and focus in meditation.
- Phowa: The transference of consciousness at the time of death.
- Dzogchen Trekchö & Tögal: Cutting through illusion and crossing over into the spontaneous presence of the natural state.
- rMiwa Lamkhyer (Dream Yoga) & gNyidpa Lamkhyer (Sleep Yoga): Maintaining the clear light of awareness through the transitions of sleep.
- Tsa Lung (Channels and Winds) and Trul Khor (Magical Movement).
- Tummo (Inner Fire): Igniting the inner warmth of bliss and emptiness.
- Yidam Lhayi Naljor (Deity Yoga): Implimenting Yidam in practice and cultivating pure perception and realizing our enlightened nature.
- And many more teachings.
A Historic Undertaking
By joining us for this cycle of teachings, you are stepping into something greater than a standard retreat series. While we cannot reveal all our plans just yet, know that this multi-year path will offer an unprecedented, immersive connection to Kunkhyen SharzaPa’s masterpiece.
Join Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche this February and begin the journey of a lifetime.
Students who participate in each stage of the program will receive a certificate of completion, allowing them to continue forward into the next level of the Kusum Rangshar teaching cycle.
Each retreat will include supporting materials to deepen your connection with the practices. Throughout the year, there will also be umdze-guided practice sessions, along with a WhatsApp practice group where students can encourage and support one another in maintaining their commitments and practice.
About Latri Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche
Latri Khenpo Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche is the Abbot and lineage holder of Latri Monastery in the Kham region of Eastern Tibet. He received his Geshe degree from the Bön Dialectic School at sMenri, the mother Monastery of Bon in Dolanji, India, where he studied under His Holiness the 33rd sMenri Trizin, Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, and His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche—the head teacher of all Bön education.
Rinpoche has taught the unbroken lineage of Yungdrung Bön across the United States, Europe, and Asia since 1989, and is the founder of the Yeru Bön Center and multiple Bön centers worldwide.
Rinpoche is the author of Opening the Door to Bön, a guide to the A-Tri Ngondro practices, as well as The Inner Mirror, which covers the full Fifteen Session A-Tri Dzogchen. He has also written Khyung Mar, The Red Garuda, and a commentary on the 43 Guiding Principles for an Enlightened Mind. He is known for teaching in accordance with the sacred texts and lineage.
About the Dzogchen Kusum Rangshar
The Kusum Rangshar (The Self-Arising Three Enlightened Bodies), is one of the most important Dzogchen texts within the Bön tradition. Composed by Kunkhyen Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche, it is a comprehensive practice manual covering the complete range of Dzogchen and ways of Sang Nag methods—from preliminary practices and rushen, through trekchö, thögal, tummo, dream yoga, tsa lung, deity yoga, khandro yoga, protection practices, and beyond. It forms a complete cycle that, with dedicated practice, leads the practitioner toward manifesting the signs of true realization.
Shardza Rinpoche was born in Kham in rZakhog 1859 and devoted his life to contemplative practice, retreat, and prolific writing. He produced many volumes of works and gathered students from across all traditions of Tibetan spiritual practice. His realization was demonstrated at the time of his death in 1934, when he achieved the Rainbow Body of Light—” Jalu Woedku “ the highest attainment of Dzogchen, in which the physical body dissolves into rainbow light. He remains one of the most beloved and widely revered masters in the entire Bön tradition.
Housing
We are reserving a large vacation rental home that includes kitchen facilities and accommodations for participants. Some rooms will be shared, and some will be private.
We warmly welcome you to stay with the group in this home, which will create a supportive environment for practice, study, and community.
As part of the early registration, and as long as rooms are still available, your registration will include a room in the retreat home.
Because space is limited, rooms will be offered on a first-come basis. Once the rooms are filled, we will provide a list of nearby hotels for additional accommodations.
Early registration is highly recommended.
FEES: Seven Days – Six Nights
Early Registration – Limited – once housing is full, early registration time is over
- Retreat
- Meals ~ In House Only
- Housing ~ Available until they are all taken – Limited amount of rooms.
- Syllabus
- Recordings
- Supporting Materials
- Certificate of Ngondro Course Completion
- Three Half Day Practice as a group within the year.
- WhatApp Group to encourage practice and support with each other
Regular Registration
- Retreat
- Meals – Early Registration Only ~ If housing is all gone, you can still participate in meals ~ Additional Fee.
- Housing – Early Registration Only ~ Limited rooms available, once they are booked, you can check into a local hotel.
- Syllabus
- Recordings
- Supporting Materials
- Certificate of Ngondro Course Completion
- Three Half Day Practice as a group within the year.
- WhatApp Group to encourage practice and support with each other
TRANSPORTATION FROM AIRPORT AND RETURN AVAILABLE
Register