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Shambhala Publications

Shambhala Publications

Shambhala Publications

Pema Chödrön

Pema Chödrön

The Way of the Tender Warrior

Befriend Yourself

Defy Hopelessness

Let Go

Dance with the World

An interactive course from Shambhala Publications

Join Pema

Join the Course

It's been a lot.

It's been a lot.

It has been. The news, the relationships, the late-night spiral. The sense that the ground we trusted is no longer where we left it. We've spent so much energy bracing against what's coming that we've forgotten how to be here, where we already are.

When asked by her students for the tools that matter most for difficult times like this, Pema Chödrön returned to the four qualities her teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche called the dignities. Not as abstract teachings — as practices. Concrete, daily, portable. Things you can keep on an index card in your pocket.

In this new home retreat from Gampo Abbey, her home monastery on the cliffs of Nova Scotia, Pema offers four practices for being a steady, brave, tender heart amidst the noise. Friendly to yourself. Raise your lungta. Free from fixed mind. Dance with reality. Each one builds on the one before. Each one a tool for the moment you are in.

This is not a course that asks you to be different than you are. It is not a course that asks you to escape what is happening. It is a course about befriending what is already here — including the parts of you that are afraid, the parts of you that are angry, the parts of you that wonder if anyone else is feeling this too.

Through these teachings, Pema will guide you toward a kind of contentment that doesn't depend on the world being kinder than it is. A capacity to meet what arrives — fear, grief, surprise, joy — and to discover, as her own teacher used to say, that the only way out is through.

Four practices for the days that don't make sense. Whatever you encounter, you will be supported in turning toward it — learning to see whatever arises as a doorway to further awakening and connection.

It has been. The news, the relationships, the late-night spiral. The sense that the ground we trusted is no longer where we left it. We've spent so much energy bracing against what's coming that we've forgotten how to be here, where we already are.

When asked by her students for the tools that matter most for difficult times like this, Pema Chödrön returned to the four qualities her teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche called the dignities. Not as abstract teachings — as practices. Concrete, daily, portable. Things you can keep on an index card in your pocket.

In this new home retreat from Gampo Abbey, her home monastery on the cliffs of Nova Scotia, Pema offers four practices for being a steady, brave, tender heart amidst the noise. Friendly to yourself. Raise your lungta. Free from fixed mind. Dance with reality. Each one builds on the one before. Each one a tool for the moment you are in.

This is not a course that asks you to be different than you are. It is not a course that asks you to escape what is happening. It is a course about befriending what is already here — including the parts of you that are afraid, the parts of you that are angry, the parts of you that wonder if anyone else is feeling this too.

Through these teachings, Pema will guide you toward a kind of contentment that doesn't depend on the world being kinder than it is. A capacity to meet what arrives — fear, grief, surprise, joy — and to discover, as her own teacher used to say, that the only way out is through.

Four practices for the days that don't make sense. Whatever you encounter, you will be supported in turning toward it — learning to see whatever arises as a doorway to further awakening and connection.

Testimonials

Testimonials

if you've been…

if you've been…

Bracing instead of breathing

Turning away from the parts of yourself you’re ashamed of

Worn out from trying to fix what can’t be fixed

Wondering where the steady, brave voices are

Looking for ways to be of genuine benefit

Bracing instead of breathing

Turning away from the parts of yourself you’re ashamed of

Worn out from trying to fix what can’t be fixed

Wondering where the steady, brave voices are

Looking for ways to be of genuine benefit

this is for you.

this is for you.

What you will learn:

What you will learn:

In this six-week home retreat, Pema Chödrön will introduce you to the four dignities — Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon — a sequential set of practices for staying steady when the world is loud.

  • Friendliness

    Become unconditionally friendly with yourself, including the parts you dont want to see.

  • Energy

    Learn to raise your lungta — the inner energy that keeps you steady when the people around you are sinking.

  • Spaciousness

    Discover a mind that doesn't grasp, doesn't flee — a sky that holds whatever weather comes.

  • Engagement

    Move beyond hope and fear, into a way of meeting the world with curiosity and play.

  • Tools

    Walk away with four portable practices — Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon — to carry for the rest of your life.

  • Contentment

    Find the kind of steadiness that doesn't require the world to be kinder than it is.

Join the Course

This Retreat Includes:

This Retreat Includes:

In this six-week home retreat, Pema Chödrön will introduce you to the four dignities — Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon — a sequential set of practices for staying steady when the world is loud.

9 Hours of New Teachings

Experience this intimate set of teachings, newly recorded with Pema at her home monastery of Gampo Abbey.

Live Meditation Sessions

Sit with others in the retreat community during twice-weekly live meditations with our course facilitators on Zoom.

Guided Practice & Contemplations

Bring the teachings alive with guided meditation practices and contemplation prompts themed to each lesson.

Printable Transcripts

Review the lectures at your own pace, highlight, and take notes with downloadable PDF transcripts.

Unlimited Access

Access the course on your device or computer again and again as new insights emerge on your own path.

Live Calls with Pema Chödrön

Join two live Q&A calls in which Pema will take your questions from the online retreat. [DATES TBD with Pema's fall calendar]

Interactive Discussion Forums

Connect with other students and receive guidance from senior practitioners on our facilitated discussion boards.

Downloadable Audio Files

Take these profound teachings with you wherever you are — in the car, on a walk, or over the kitchen sink.

Recommended Readings

A list of readings and books recommended for deepening your study and practice.

"Friendly to yourself, and merciful to others."

— Pema Chödrön

Bonus Materials

Bonus Materials

Bonus Materials

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01 / Reciprocity

01 / Reciprocity

Buy One, Gift One

Share the gift of these transformative teachings. As a special bonus for this course, you'll have the option to gift a second enrollment to a friend, loved one, colleague, or anyone else at no additional cost right when you sign up.

Share the gift of these transformative teachings. As a special bonus for this course, you'll have the option to gift a second enrollment to a friend, loved one, colleague, or anyone else at no additional cost right when you sign up.

02 / Audio Teaching

02 / Audio Teaching

The Sacred Path of the Warrior

The Sacred Path of the Warrior

Pema's root teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche introduced the Four Dignities into contemporary Buddhism through his book Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior — a book Pema recently described on The Ezra Klein Show as "an excellent book to be reading right now in terms of what's happening in the world."

As a bonus for this course, you'll receive an audio teaching by Trungpa Rinpoche on the four dignities themselves — the lineage transmission that informs Pema's practice.

Pema's root teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche introduced the Four Dignities into contemporary Buddhism through his book Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior — a book Pema recently described on The Ezra Klein Show as "an excellent book to be reading right now in terms of what's happening in the world."

As a bonus for this course, you'll receive an audio teaching by Trungpa Rinpoche on the four dignities themselves — the lineage transmission that informs Pema's practice.

03 / Coupon Code

03 / Coupon Code

50% Off All Recommended Readings

50% Off All Recommended Readings

Total Retail Value: ~$120 | You Save: ~$60

Expand your library and deepen your study with 50% off titles on the recommended reading list for this retreat when you order at Shambhala.com.

Total Retail Value: ~$120 | You Save: ~$60

Expand your library and deepen your study with 50% off titles on the recommended reading list for this retreat when you order at Shambhala.com.

"Don't catch the flu. There is a way to not get sucked under."

— Pema Chödrön

Join the Retreat

Join the Retreat

—
Buy One, Gift One

—
Buy One, Gift One

Free second enrollment for a friend or loved one.

Free second enrollment for a friend or loved one.

Limited Time Only

Limited Time Only

Single Payment

Single Payment

Special Price: $249 USD
Special Price: $249 USD

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Join the Retreat

Limited Time Only

Limited Time Only

Payment Plan

Payment Plan

3 Monthly Payments of $85 USD
3 Monthly Payments of $85 USD

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Join the Retreat

Fellowship Available

Fellowship Available

Fellowships for people of color are available for this course. Apply here.

Fellowships for people of color are available for this course. Apply here.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, please email us within 30 days, and we will promptly refund your purchase price.

Course Curriculum

Course Curriculum

Each lesson maps to one of the four dignities, plus a setting lesson and a synthesis lesson. The four practices build on each other, in the order Pema teaches them.

Each lesson maps to one of the four dignities, plus a setting lesson and a synthesis lesson. The four practices build on each other, in the order Pema teaches them.

01 / Setting the Frame

01 / Setting the Frame

02 / Tiger

02 / Tiger

03 / Lion

03 / Lion

04 / Garuda

04 / Garuda

05 / Dragon

05 / Dragon

06 / Closing

06 / Closing

Lesson 01

Lesson 01

Setting the Frame

Setting the Frame

Steadiness in Hard Times

Steadiness in Hard Times

This lesson will help you:

  • Understand why Pema chose the Four Dignities for this moment, and what these teachings ask of us.

  • Hear how Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche foresaw a difficult era — and what he prepared his students for.

  • Recognize what "not catching the flu" means in your own daily life.

  • Discover the difference between resisting reality and collaborating with it.

  • Feel into the lineage and the larger story you are entering.

This lesson will help you:

  • Understand why Pema chose the Four Dignities for this moment, and what these teachings ask of us.

  • Hear how Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche foresaw a difficult era — and what he prepared his students for.

  • Recognize what "not catching the flu" means in your own daily life.

  • Discover the difference between resisting reality and collaborating with it.

  • Feel into the lineage and the larger story you are entering.

Lesson 02

Lesson 02

Tiger

Tiger

Friendly to Yourself

Friendly to Yourself

This lesson will help you:

  • Understand why Pema chose the Four Dignities for this moment, and what these teachings ask of us.

  • Hear how Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche foresaw a difficult era — and what he prepared his students for.

  • Recognize what "not catching the flu" means in your own daily life.

  • Discover the difference between resisting reality and collaborating with it.

  • Feel into the lineage and the larger story you are entering.

This lesson will help you:

  • Understand why Pema chose the Four Dignities for this moment, and what these teachings ask of us.

  • Hear how Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche foresaw a difficult era — and what he prepared his students for.

  • Recognize what "not catching the flu" means in your own daily life.

  • Discover the difference between resisting reality and collaborating with it.

  • Feel into the lineage and the larger story you are entering.

Lesson 03

Lesson 03

Lion

Lion

Raise your Lungta

Raise your Lungta

This lesson will help you:

  • Discover lungta — the windhorse — the bank of energy that is always available to you.

  • Rouse yourself when you're feeling depressed, defeated, or dragged down.

  • Recognize the two lights you face every morning, and which one leads where.

  • Cultivate joyful exertion — enthusiasm as a chosen quality, not a mood.

  • Become the person in the boat who keeps calm, so the whole boat can calm down.

This lesson will help you:

  • Discover lungta — the windhorse — the bank of energy that is always available to you.

  • Rouse yourself when you're feeling depressed, defeated, or dragged down.

  • Recognize the two lights you face every morning, and which one leads where.

  • Cultivate joyful exertion — enthusiasm as a chosen quality, not a mood.

  • Become the person in the boat who keeps calm, so the whole boat can calm down.

Lesson 04

Lesson 04

Garuda

Garuda

Free from Fixed Mind

Free from Fixed Mind

This lesson will help you:

  • Recognize the cage of the eight worldly dharmas — pleasure/pain, praise/blame, gain/loss, fame/disgrace.

  • Move beyond hope and fear into the open sky of impartial mind.

  • Walk into difficult situations without needing them to go your way.

  • Use your senses as a doorway — direct perception without conceptual overlay.

  • Trust that success and failure are equally the path.

This lesson will help you:

  • Recognize the cage of the eight worldly dharmas — pleasure/pain, praise/blame, gain/loss, fame/disgrace.

  • Move beyond hope and fear into the open sky of impartial mind.

  • Walk into difficult situations without needing them to go your way.

  • Use your senses as a doorway — direct perception without conceptual overlay.

  • Trust that success and failure are equally the path.

Lesson 05

Lesson 05

Dragon

Dragon

Dance with Reality

Dance with Reality

This lesson will help you:

  • Engage the world with sense of humor and play — even amidst what's hard.

  • Recognize every event as a message: "you live in a very rich world, one that never runs out of messages."

  • Move from spaciousness to grounded action without losing either.

  • Collaborate with reality instead of resisting it.

  • Become the person who is both temporally and spiritually steady.

This lesson will help you:

  • Engage the world with sense of humor and play — even amidst what's hard.

  • Recognize every event as a message: "you live in a very rich world, one that never runs out of messages."

  • Move from spaciousness to grounded action without losing either.

  • Collaborate with reality instead of resisting it.

  • Become the person who is both temporally and spiritually steady.

Lesson 06

Lesson 06

Closing

Closing

Carrying the Four Practices Home

Carrying the Four Practices Home

This lesson will help you:

  • Walk away with all four practices — Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon — internalized and portable.

  • Practice the index-card mindset: when you get hooked, name which practice to reach for.

  • Connect the four practices to the moments of your daily life.

  • Understand that all four practices serve one purpose: relieving suffering — yours and others'.

  • Continue the path beyond the course — because steadiness is lifelong training.

This lesson will help you:

  • Walk away with all four practices — Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon — internalized and portable.

  • Practice the index-card mindset: when you get hooked, name which practice to reach for.

  • Connect the four practices to the moments of your daily life.

  • Understand that all four practices serve one purpose: relieving suffering — yours and others'.

  • Continue the path beyond the course — because steadiness is lifelong training.

"Success and failure are the path."

— Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Course Excerpts

Course Excerpts

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Excerpt 1: "You are fine" + the boat story (Talk 1, foundational)
Excerpt 2: The handshake practice (Tiger / Lesson 2)
Excerpt 3: "Don't catch the flu" + lungta (Talk 2 / Lesson 3)

Designed with you in mind.

Designed with you in mind.

This course was made to meet you where you are.

Whether you are new to meditation or have practiced for years, whether you have an hour in the morning or twenty minutes between appointments, whether you take the course alone or with your whole household — the materials are designed to support different lives and different paces.

Every video is subtitled. Audio versions are downloadable for the car, the walk, the kitchen sink. Transcripts are printable for those who study by reading. Live sessions are recorded for those in different time zones. The discussion boards are available 24/7. The course is yours forever.

Fellowships are available for those who need financial support.

"Trust is remembering the warmth in my heart."

— Pema Chödrön

Join the Retreat

Join the Retreat

Buy One, Gift One

Buy One,
Gift One

Free second enrollment for a friend or loved one.

Free second enrollment for a friend or loved one.

Fellowship Available

Fellowship Available

Fellowships for people of color are available for this course. Apply here.

Fellowships for people of color are available for this course. Apply here.

Limited Time Only

Limited Time Only

Single Payment

Single Payment

Special Price: $249 USD
Special Price: $249 USD

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

Join the Retreat

Limited Time Only

Limited Time Only

Payment Plan

Payment Plan

3 Monthly Payments of $85 USD
3 Monthly Payments of $85 USD

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

Join the Retreat

Meet your teacher.

Meet your teacher.

Pema Chödrön

Pema Chödrön

Beloved Buddhist teacher, author, and nun, Pema Chödrön has inspired millions over the past five decades through her example and her message of practicing peace in turbulent times.

She is the author of best-selling books including When Things Fall Apart, The Places That Scare You, Comfortable with Uncertainty, Welcoming the Unwelcome, and most recently Another Kind of Freedom.

At ninety, she continues to teach with the warmth, humor, and directness she is known for — recently in a wide-ranging conversation with Ezra Klein on the New York Times, and now in this new home retreat for the moment we are in.

Pema first met her root teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. She received the full monastic ordination in the Tibetan lineage of Buddhism in 1981, and is the resident teacher at Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia — the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery for westerners in North America.

Beloved Buddhist teacher, author, and nun, Pema Chödrön has inspired millions over the past five decades through her example and her message of practicing peace in turbulent times.

She is the author of best-selling books including When Things Fall Apart, The Places That Scare You, Comfortable with Uncertainty, Welcoming the Unwelcome, and most recently Another Kind of Freedom.

At ninety, she continues to teach with the warmth, humor, and directness she is known for — recently in a wide-ranging conversation with Ezra Klein on the New York Times, and now in this new home retreat for the moment we are in.

Pema first met her root teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. She received the full monastic ordination in the Tibetan lineage of Buddhism in 1981, and is the resident teacher at Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia — the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery for westerners in North America.

Did you know?

Did you know?

Over 10,000 people have studied with Pema Chödrön through Shambhala Publications and Prajna Studios.

Over 10,000 people have studied with Pema Chödrön through Shambhala Publications and Prajna Studios.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

In this six-week home retreat, Pema Chödrön will introduce you to the four dignities — Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon — a sequential set of practices for staying steady when the world is loud.

When does the course begin?

The interactive portion begins on [DATE], with the first live call with Pema. You can get started as soon as you enroll. All lessons are available, and you may go through the course materials at your own pace.

When are the live calls with Pema?

[DATES TBD]

How does the buy-one-gift-one option work?

When you purchase this course you have the option to gift a second enrollment at no additional cost. There will be a link to a form where you can enter your recipient's name and email address after placing your order.

How long does it take to complete the course?

There are six lessons in the course and each lesson is designed to last a week. However, the course is flexible and you can work at your own pace.

When are the meditation sessions?

[DATES TBD]

Can I take this training on an iPad / mobile device?

Yes, you can access this course using the browser on your device.

How long will I have access to the course?

Your access to the course is unlimited. It will not expire.

How long will the discussion boards be available?

You will have unlimited access to the discussion boards. Facilitators will be available through [DATE].

What if I have technical difficulties with the course?

Please email course-support@shambhala.com

When does the course begin?

How long does it take to complete the course?

How long will I have access to the course?

When are the live calls with Pema?

When are the meditation sessions?

How long will the discussion boards be available?

How does the buy-one-gift-one option work?

Can I take this training on an iPad / mobile device?

What if I have technical difficulties with the course?