Karmê Chöling Meditation Retreat Center

Karmê Chöling is a meditation retreat center nestled in the peaceful Green Mountains of rural Vermont. With over 700 acres of forests, fields, and streams, it’s a serene sanctuary from the noise and bustle of ordinary life. Here you can quiet your mind, open your heart and awaken to yourself and your world.

Our nonprofit retreat center was founded upon the principles of Buddhism in 1970. Karmê Chöling’s primary goal is to support people in the discovery of their own inherent wisdom and compassion, to nurture its development further through study and practice, and to encourage the insights and understanding gained to be taken out into all aspects of life, whether it be personal, communal, or societal.

We have a wide variety of programs to suit the needs and interests of our students, from introductory courses to deep retreats. We feature classes and instructions in meditation, mindfulness & contemplation practices, body awareness disciplines, and teachings from various wisdom traditions.

Karmê Chöling is home to a year-round residential community as well as hosting non-residential retreats for individuals and groups. Being at Karmê Chöling is an opportunity to live in a mindfulness-based community, applying the principles of kindness and awareness to daily life.

Featured Programs

Community News

• 
  Soitary Retreat Cabins Open for Practice
  You may have heard that Karmê Chöling’s retreat cabins were closed for a brief hibernation this summer. I frankly suspect this was a story circulated by a particular porcupine, who didn’t like the scolding I gave him for gnawing on… Continue reading
• 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva
  with Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo August 25 – 27 How to Become a Bodhisattva The “37 Practices of the Bodhisattva” is a powerful Buddhist text on training the mind in kindness and compassion. It is a guide that… Continue reading
• Anyen Rinpoche Teaches on Profound Text “37 Practices of a Bodhisattva”
  with Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying ZangmoAugust 25 – 27 Anyen Rinpoche, who will teach on the “37 Practices of a Bodhisattva” Aug. 25 – 27 at Karme Choling, often speaks of the profound blessings showered upon the practitioner who… Continue reading
• Senior Teacher Suzann Duquette’s Retirement Letter
  Happy New Year 2023! I wish you strong insights, continuity of practice, and a joyous heart in this Gregorian new year. I am writing to let you know that I will be retiring from the position of Karmê Chöling Senior… Continue reading
• Haiku: Artistic expression created out of contemplative practice
  Why do spiritual practitioners and followers of the arts alike turn to the ancient practice of haiku?“The form and style of contemplative haiku appeals to those interested in a Dharma art or contemplative practice as a way for personal enrichment… Continue reading
• Weapons of Compassion
    Compassion for Ukraine “When the war in Ukraine started, we immediately gathered our community online to do the practice of tonglen,” says Ella Reznikova, one of Karmê Chöling’s meditation teachers and a native Ukrainian. This online meditation and tonglen… Continue reading
• Does being true to ‘the spirit of the holidays’ mean opting out of tradition?
  As we enter another holiday season, more and more people are turning away from consumerism, and toward their meditation practice Choosing introspection instead of over-extension The holidays used to be a time of introspection and celebration within a community, a… Continue reading