Longchen Jigme Samten Ling

Crestone, Colorado

Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, our long-term retreat center located in the spectacular foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, is the jewel of our organization. Overlooking the vast expanse of the San Luis Valley, the rugged beauty of this location makes an ideal environment for retreat. What occurs here, in Rinpoche's words, "is the very core of what we do."

Longchen Jigme Samten Ling has been supporting retreat in our sangha for over ten years. A dozen retreat cabins, each sponsored by an individual donor, are occupied year-round by both long-term retreatants and an on-going rotation of students in 100-day retreat. Rinpoche guides each individual at his or her own level, and there are two drubpons, or retreat masters, living there, who are available to support and help clarify any of the instructions.

Simply being in the natural beauty of retreat causes a person to reflect more deeply. Reflecting deeply, you gain a bigger perspective rather than seeing only what is in front of your nose. Your greater intelligence comes out of what is almost a dormant state. Once activated, this intelligence leads you to that which will be of true, lasting benefit to your life.

—Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Samten Ling is a self-sufficient world, offering retreatants a balanced mix of solitude and support that facilitates their deep engagement with the practices of this path. Through the maturation of the practitioners on the land, and through the communication between them and Rinpoche, what has evolved at Samten Ling is a refined understanding of what works best to support Western practitioners in retreat. Our aspiration is for Samten Ling to be a fertile ground, on which the essence of the Longchen Nyingtik may ripen in many beings, now, and long into the future.

Please be aware that retreats at Samten Ling are open only to authorized students of Kongtrul Rinpoche.