About Us

Karmê Chöling is a residential meditation retreat center on 750 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. It was originally home to the Abenaki people, then a  dairy farm. The land is now home to a retreat center with six meditation halls and ample bright, open common spaces complement a range of living quarters for full-time residential staff and program participants, along with eight rustic cabins nestled in the woods for solitary retreats.

The first land center established by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Karmê Chöling has served the international Shambhala community for 50 years. Continuing under the leadership of his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the center offers programs for both new and experienced practitioners, with a community life rooted in meditation practice as a foundation for fostering enlightened society.

Meditation

Meditation retreats at Karmê Chöling focus on mindfulness-awareness practices to connect our innate goodness and natural intelligence with our engagement in the world. We offer leadership retreats, programs for children, families and teens, mind-body wellness training, in-depth Buddhist and Shambhala Path programs, and organic garden apprenticeships.

Culture

Our culture has emerged from over 45 years of contemplative practice on this exceptional land, blessed by many great teachers of the Kagyu, Nyingma, and Zen Buddhist traditions. Our traditions are rooted in the principle that every human being has fundamental goodness, warmth, and wakefulness. Joining the practicalities of daily life with the heart of meditation, immersed in the natural elements—sky, wind, water, earth—we are continually enriched by the world around us.

Community

Our community—visitors, staff, volunteers and members—is united by a shared commitment to creating a compassionate, sustainable, and just human society. Join us for a retreat. Drop by for a day visit. Or join our email list and connect with a community dedicated to creating enlightened society—one breath at a time.

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Inclusivity at Karmê Chöling

Karmê Chöling is committed to providing an environment that is welcoming, safe, and caring for all. We recognize that we all come with a variety of backgrounds and identities that impact our experience of being in community and guide how we hold our seat in the world.

We acknowledge that dharma communities are not immune from individual and organizational habits and practices that contribute to marginalization. By engaging the community through dialogue, education, policy, and other efforts, our intention is to create a supportive and inclusive environment for all in the vision of Great Eastern Sun.

To that end, we are investing resources to improve our infrastructure to assure adequate accommodation for persons with disabilities and non-binary gendered persons. If you have any questions about any of these topics, email our Rusung.

See also Diversity in Shambhala.