Annual Namgyalma Retreat
With Venerable Steve Carlier
November 13 - 20, 2026
Online Only via Zoom
November 13 – 20
Lama Zopa Rinpoche asked us to hold a 1,000 long mantra retreat each year, open to all. As he explained, the Namgyalma practice dispels life obstacles, purifies, and protects against birth in the lower realms. He said it is especially beneficial for the sick, including those with cancer and for doctors to find cures for sickness and diseases with no cure.
Even if you can’t recite this mantra 1,000 times, don’t worry! We will all get the benefits of reciting the total number recited by our group. That’s how karma works.
This mantra is so powerful. Reciting it can even cure illnesses that doctors who are experts in conventional medicine say are incurable, particularly if it is recited 1,000 times or more. After each set of recitations, you can bless the cream by blowing on it, and then the cream comes to have powerful healing properties. Besides that, it is incredible purification; and you create a huge amount of merit. —Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Rinpoche sent us this message after our 2017 Namgyalma retreat, during which as a group we were able to recite 10,267 mantras.
About the Retreat
We will be completing 1,000 long Namgyalma mantras. If you have refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha and have faith in tantra, you can attend this retreat, even without the empowerment.
This retreat will be online only via Zoom, and all times are Pacific Time. The sessions will not be recorded as per Venerable Steve’s request. If you live in another time zone where you can’t attend all the sessions live, you can still do the retreat at home. You will just need to do make-up sessions on your own to complete the daily sessions.
Retreat Schedule
Friday November 13
10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Opening session
Saturday, November 14 – Thursday, November 19
6:00 am to 8:00 am – Session 1
8:00 am to 10:00 am – Break for breakfast
10:00 am to 12:00 noon – Session 2
12:00 noon to 2:00 pm – Break for lunch
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Optional individual practice
Friday, November 20
6:00 am to 8:00 am – Closing session
Leader
Ven Steve was born in the UK and has been learning about Buddhism since 1977. He first met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1978. He was ordained as a Buddhist monk by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1979, and received full ordination from Serkong Tsenshab Rinpoche the following year.…
Learn more about Venerable Steve Carlier