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Being Present to the Moment of Death: Half Day Only
Last Chance
Being Present to the Moment of Death: Half Day Only
5.001 review
560 Drumheller Ln, Shipman, VA, USA
Oct 8 - 12, 2025
Retreat Highlights
- Death and Dying Dialogues
About this Retreat
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, is one of only a few masters of the Bön Dzogchen tradition presently living in the West. An accomplished scholar in the Bön Buddhist textual traditions of philosophy, exegesis, and debate, Tenzin Rinpoche completed a rigorous11-year course of traditional studies at the Bönpo Monastic Center (Menri Monastery) in India, where he received his Geshe, degree. In 1992 Tenzin Rinpoche founded Ligmincha International in order to preserve and introduce to the West the religious teachings and arts of the ancient Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition. Fluent in English, Rinpoche is known for his clear, lively, and insightful teaching style and his ability to make Tibetan practices easily accessible to the Western student. He is a highly respected and beloved teacher to students throughout the United States, Mexico, and Europe. In addition to Ligmincha International’s affiliates in the United States, Rinpoche has established centers in Central and South America, Europe and India.
Rinpoche is the author of 10 books: Wonders of the Natural Mind, in which he presents the view and practice of the Bön Dzogchen teachings; and The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep; Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen; Unbounded Wholeness; Tibetan Sound Healing; Tibetan Yogas of Body, Speech and Mind; Awakening the Sacred Body; Awakening the Luminous Mind; The True Source of Healing; and Spontaneous Creativity.
Dr. Blackhall is the section head for Palliative Care at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She is a nationally known expert in cross-cultural, ethical and clinical aspects of end-of-life care. She did her undergraduate degree at Yale University, went to New York University for medical school and residency training at Boston University. Her involvement in Tibetan medicine spans her career. In medical school Dr. Blackhall received a fellowship in Philosophy and Medicine where she compared Tibetan and Western views on health and illness and later spent a month in Dharamsala, India studying Tibetan Medicine with Dr. Yeshe Dhonden. Following her residency she received a Masters in Theologic Studies at Harvard Divinity School where she studied medical anthropology, the history of medicine, bioethics and Tibetan language. She works with the largest group of Tibetan Physicians in China, and has brought several to UVA as visiting professors. She has served as a visiting professor at the TsoNgon (ch: Qinghai) University Tibetan Medical College.
Dr. Mirghafori is a Buddhist teacher and Artificial Intelligence scientist. She is a lineage holder in the Theravada tradition, empowered by the Burmese meditation master Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw, with whom she practiced the jhanas and detailed analytical (Abhidhamma-style) vipassana. She also received empowerment from the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society, Insight Meditation Center, and is a Stanford-trained compassion cultivation instructor.
Additionally, Nikki has been a researcher and inventor in AI, holding multiple patents and co-author of 40+ scientific research articles. She has directed international research programs as the Principal Investigator, mentored post-docs and PhD students, taught graduate courses at UC Berkeley, and been a scientific advisor to Silicon Valley technology startups.
Nikki serves as a Stewarding Teacher and on the Board of Directors at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA and as a Teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. Nikki is Iranian-American, has taught contemplative practices internationally, and aspires to serve as a champion for wisdom and compassion, as well as ethical AI in our zeitgeist.
Dr. Tenzin Namdul, an Assistant Professor and Director of Tibetan Healing Initiative of the Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota, is a medical anthropologist and a Tibetan Medicine doctor, driven to understand mind-body relationship in studying healthy aging and memory, cognitive resilience, and end-of-life care through the lens of biocultural and Tibetan medical paradigms. He incorporates his wide array of training into translational science to examine how cultural values and practices shape the ways in which individuals age and die and care for others who are dying. His doctoral research examines how Tibetan medical doctors, Buddhist practitioners, and lay people’s perspectives about death and dying translate into their care for dying individuals and their own dying process. Specifically, he explores the Tibetan Buddhist contemplative practice called tukdam—a meditation an adept practitioner indulges in after a clinical death—through ethnographic study and shows how it informs and shapes both the sociomoral fabric of life and the sense of wellbeing at the time of dying among Tibetan refugees in southern India.
Dr. Namdul’s current research investigates factors associated with cognitive and physical resilience and how they influence aging and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias among Tibetan Buddhist monks in southern India.
Father Francis Tiso holds the A.B. in Medieval Studies from Cornell University, a Master of Divinity degree (cum laude) from Harvard University and a doctorate from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary where his specialization was Buddhist studies. Fr. Tiso translated several early biographies of the Tibetan yogi and poet, Milarepa and has led research expeditions in South Asia, Tibet and the Far East. His teaching interests include Christian theology, history of religions, spirituality, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.
Father Tiso was Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2004 to 2009, where he served as liaison to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Sikhs, and the Reformed (Calvinist) Churches. Since 1988, Father Tiso has been a priest of the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro, Italy, where he now serves as chaplain to the migrant communities in the Province of Isernia. Father Tiso is the author of Liberation in One Lifetime (2014) and Rainbow Body and Resurrection (2016). He is the recipient of grants from the American Academy of Religion, the American Philosophical Society, the Palmers Fund in Switzerland, and the Institute of Noetic Sciences in Petaluma, CA.
Details of this retreat
Walking Each Other Home
Wisdom, Faith, and Science on the Journey of Dying
How can spiritual practice guide us through the dying process, both as caregivers and as companions?
This October, Serenity Ridge welcomes spiritual teachers and healthcare practitioners from Buddhist and Christian traditions for a five-day retreat exploring the mystery of death and dying. Together, we’ll share practices, insights, and wisdom to support the journey of consciousness beyond death.
What You’ll Experience
Dialogues with international experts on end-of-life spiritual care, advanced meditation after death (tukdam), and the rainbow body—the dissolution of the physical body at death.
Practical tools and practices to help you navigate the dying process with clarity, awareness, and peace.
Who Should Attend
This retreat is open to everyone, whether you’re preparing for your own transition, supporting a loved one, or simply curious about the death and dying process.
An Opportunity to Deepen Your Journey
For a deeper journey, consider pairing this retreat with the 5-day silent Dzogchen meditation retreat immediately preceding it—an ideal preparation for heart and mind.
Schedule (New York Time)
Tuesday, October 7
7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Rinpoche Welcome/Talk
Wednesday, October 8
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Check-in
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Dialogue
4:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Break
5:00 p.m.–5:45 p.m. Guided Practice with Dialogue Presenters
6:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m. Dinner
Thursday–Saturday, October 9-11
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Check-in
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Dialogue
4:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Break
5:00 p.m.–5:45 p.m. Guided Practice with Dialogue Presenters
6:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m. Dinner
Sunday, October 12
11:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Capstone Conversations with Dialogue Presenters
Wisdom, Faith, and Science on the Journey of Dying
How can spiritual practice guide us through the dying process, both as caregivers and as companions?
This October, Serenity Ridge welcomes spiritual teachers and healthcare practitioners from Buddhist and Christian traditions for a five-day retreat exploring the mystery of death and dying. Together, we’ll share practices, insights, and wisdom to support the journey of consciousness beyond death.
What You’ll Experience
Dialogues with international experts on end-of-life spiritual care, advanced meditation after death (tukdam), and the rainbow body—the dissolution of the physical body at death.
Practical tools and practices to help you navigate the dying process with clarity, awareness, and peace.
Who Should Attend
This retreat is open to everyone, whether you’re preparing for your own transition, supporting a loved one, or simply curious about the death and dying process.
An Opportunity to Deepen Your Journey
For a deeper journey, consider pairing this retreat with the 5-day silent Dzogchen meditation retreat immediately preceding it—an ideal preparation for heart and mind.
Schedule (New York Time)
Tuesday, October 7
7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Rinpoche Welcome/Talk
Wednesday, October 8
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Check-in
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Dialogue
4:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Break
5:00 p.m.–5:45 p.m. Guided Practice with Dialogue Presenters
6:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m. Dinner
Thursday–Saturday, October 9-11
1:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. Check-in
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Dialogue
4:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Break
5:00 p.m.–5:45 p.m. Guided Practice with Dialogue Presenters
6:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m. Dinner
Sunday, October 12
11:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Capstone Conversations with Dialogue Presenters
Schedule
3-6pm
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change
Getting Here
Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, 560 Drumheller Ln, Shipman, VA, USA
Accommodation
Program Price
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
What's Included
- Presenter Dialogues, Dinner, Q&A
What's Not Included
- Lodging
