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The Most Secret Hayagriva retreat — the practice Lama Yeshe gave to Lama Zopa Rinpoche as an annual commitment for the protection and success of the FPMT — has been offered in August 2026 at Nalanda Monastery in France, and from March 31–April 14, 2027, His Eminence Kyabje Jhado Rinpoche will preside over the retreat at Chokyi Gyaltsen Center in Penang, Malaysia, with registration now open.
The Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat at Nalanda Monastery August 2026. Photo Courtesy of Nalanda Monastery.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe had a special connection to the Most Secret Hayagriva. It was Lama Yeshe who gave Lama Zopa Rinpoche this practice/commitment — as Ven. Roger shared — to do the retreat every year for the protection and success of all the FPMT. The FPMT organization has now taken on this commitment.
Rinpoche in fact shared that “Practicing Hayagriva can help to pacify the outer and inner obstacles for actualizing the path to enlightenment and success in Dharma practice, in serving the teachings of the Buddha, and serving sentient beings.”
The practice of Hayagriva is for removing obstacles and bringing success to the FPMT organization, centers, projects, and services, connecting with the unbroken lineage from the time of the Buddha and practiced by realized holy beings such as Nagarjuna, Guru Rinpoche, Siddha Darcharwa, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, Lama Yeshe, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. To realize the wishes of our Lamas, annually the retreat is offered, and this year we especially rejoice because there are two FPMT centers that are organizing this retreat.
Nalanda Monastery, in France, offered the retreat for the second time, August 12–29, 2026. For the occasion, Tritul Jampa Kalden Rinpoche (Gomde Rinpoche) from Sera Je, one of the few specialists in this rare and powerful practice — was invited, along with Geshe Tsultrim from Kopan Monastery as chant leader. With the genuine devotion and dedication of the 21 retreatants, there is no doubt about the immense benefit of this retreat, shared Ven. Thubten Sherab.
The Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat at Nalanda Monastery August 2026. Photo Courtesy of Nalanda Monastery.
“This retreat is the best thing one can do in life!” — Sara Karlgren, retreatant
“The night before the fire puja, there was an amazing thunderstorm unlike any I had ever seen before. A deep rumble came from very far away. At first the sound was barely audible, then the volume gradually increased — as if we could hear hundreds of wild horses galloping toward us. Then flashes of lightning lit up the darkness of the night, and a heavy but gentle, beneficial rain fell for quite a long time. With the heatwave, nature really needed water. It seemed to mirror the retreat itself: a profound practice, beneficial to all beings, which comes from very far away and has been passed down from generation to generation since Nagarjuna. And suddenly, it was here — we could touch it.” — Ven. Thubten Sherab
His Eminence Kyabje Jhado Rinpoche has graciously accepted an invitation to preside over the entire Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat program at Chokyi Gyaltsen Center in Penang, Malaysia, from March 31–April 14, 2027. His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche is regarded as the foremost expert in this practice after His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Read more about the Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat .
The registration for the Most Secret Hayagriva Retreat at the Chokyi Gyaltsen Center in Penang, Malaysia, from March 31–April 14, 2027 is now open. Read more in this form.
Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.