What we’re about
Karmê Chöling is a residential meditation retreat center situated on 500 acres of beautiful countryside in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. With the Green Mountains as the backdrop, the land is enriched by rolling meadows, woodland walking trails, and a one-acre organic garden.
Originally home to the Abenaki people, the land was turned into a dairy farm before it became our retreat center. We have six meditation halls, bright and open common spaces, a range of living quarters for full-time residential staff and program participants, along with seven rustic cabins in the woods for solitary retreats.
We are a global community of meditators, spiritual practitioners, and people who believe that human beings are basically good. This nature can be brought into daily life so that it radiates out to family, friends, community, and society. We are committed to creating communities where we support one another on our spiritual paths and celebrate life’s journey together, and to creating a society that brings out the best in each of us.
Our Center brings together people from all walks of life to learn, through the practice of meditation, to be kind to ourselves and others. The center continues to offer programs for both new and experienced practitioners, with a community life rooted in meditation practice as a foundation for fostering enlightened society.
The first land center established by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Karmê Chöling has served the international Shambhala community for 50 years. Upon his passing, leadership passed to his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, and recently to the Shambhala Board.
The Karmê Chöling community values respect for all individuals; regardless of meditation experience, age, race, gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation or identity, capabilities, politics, religion or occupation.
In this time of great difficulty for ourselves, society, and the planet, our Center promotes teachings across many faiths and traditions, that can help us show up with fearlessness and gentleness and to meet the challenges brought on by the chaos of our world.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- The Fullness of Being: A Silent Mindfulness Meditation RetreatKarme Choling, Barnet, VT
Note: The Fullness of Being retreat is open to everyone and also fulfills the 5-day retreat prerequisite for aspiring MBSR Teachers or as professional development for experienced mindfulness teachers (if in doubt, please check with your training organization).
“Fullness of being” refers to living life authentically, able and content to be fully who we are. One way to discover and experience such fullness of being is through the path of mindfulness meditation—a path that strengthens our human capacities for openness, deep caring, resilience, insight, and more. The practice of silent meditation has been encouraged throughout time in many contemplative traditions as a way to reconnect us with our unconditional confidence, natural wakefulness, and inherent goodness.
Information and Registration: https://www.karmecholing.org/program/the-fullness-of-being
- Mudra Space Awareness An Embodied Experience of NownessKarme Choling, Barnet, VT
Reawakening to Your Embodied Experience
This retreat is an opportunity to deepen into your embodied experience. Within a group setting, we will explore the principles of Mudra Space Awareness through practices using:- Movement
- Sensory exercises
- Intensification exercises
This weekend is a chance to slow down. Slowing down with Mudra will allow us to deconstruct our minds, bodies, and experience of the present moment as a way to more fully open up, feel our genuine nature, and experience confidence and compassion. We will primarily practice together indoors in a shrine room but we will also take our practice outside to more fully open our senses to nature and the elements, weather permitting.
Slowing Down, Sensing and Connecting
Mudra Space Awareness is a powerful embodiment practice rooted in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of meditation. Its contemplative movements are influenced by monastic dance, Dzogchen, and the theater arts. This unique lineage of teachings comes directly to us as a gift from Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founder of Shambhala, and offers a way to deepen our presence, confidence, and compassion through movement and awareness.The Joy of Spontaneous Play
To complement the Mudra activities, we will have a dance party Saturday night as a means of connecting deeper with our embodied intuition as well as spontaneously playing in the space and in the presence of others. Our very own DJ Glitter Kitty (Tai) will lead us on a dharma art dance journey Saturday night!. This will be a chance to be in your body in the way that feels right to you in the moment; mixing space, movement, and stillness as you see fit.Please join us for this weekend of practice and play.
Registration: https://www.karmecholing.org/program/embodied-experience-of-nowness
- Tai Chi Series - Autumn Working With the Air/ Metal ElementKarme Choling, Barnet, VT
The Element of Air/Metal
Chi is the energy that animates all living things. Autumn is the season when our Tai Chi practice turns to the air/metal element. You see this work happening in nature. Thunderstorms rage across the sky, clearing away the heavy heat of late summer. Wind sweeps the land, regulating the temperatures, scattering seeds, and reshaping mountains. Our bodies work with air too: internally this element cleanses and renews us. Through Tai Chi, we can realign ourselves with these natural rhythms, restoring harmony and flow within and without.Connection Through Tai Chi
Often described as a ‘moving meditation,’ Tai Chi offers a profound sense of well-being, inner balance, and resilience against life’s stresses. But this practice is more than just a path to health—it is a doorway to a more vivid connection to the energies that shape both our bodies and the world around us.Cloud Fists and Wind Hands
In this weekend intensive, we'll cultivate air chi with the forms Cloud Fist and Wind Hands. When performed with the proper intention, these forms move air chi through the lung and large intestine meridians. We'll learn these movements step by step from the ground up. Then we'll explore their energetic basis, integrating aspects such as color, direction, time of year, the senses, and the corresponding internal organs and pathways.A Tai Chi Series
Guided by longtime practitioner and teacher Joseph Pascutazz, this workshop is part of a seasonal Tai Chi series—an ongoing journey through the five elements and their profound relationship between the human body and the natural world.Come move with us!
Registration:
https://www.karmecholing.org/program/tai-chi-series-fall-2025
