What is Chod?

Chod is an ancient Buddhist practice that creates a sacred container for deep healing and awakening. Rooted in the fierce and nurturing wisdom of the feminine, it invites us to find true refuge within ourselves. Through ritual, meditation, and visualization, practitioners learn to turn toward—rather than away from—fear, grief, and other unwanted experiences. This radical act of compassion transforms pain at its roots, allowing the energies of suffering to become the fertile ground for love, clarity, and liberation.

Often described as one of the crown jewels of Vajrayana Buddhism, Chod has been revered across all four Tibetan lineages for centuries. Traditionally transmitted only after years of practice, Chod is now being offered more publicly as a medicine for our collective time of instability and fragmentation. The practice calls on the great mother archetype of Tibetan Buddhism—the embodiment of fearless wisdom and unconditional care—to guide practitioners in cutting through the roots of ego-clinging and restoring wholeness. In this retreat, Sunisa will skillfully guide participants through Chod practice and ceremony, providing traditional context and embodied instruction.

Padampa Sangye’s Instructions to Machig

Please join Heart Sangha for a daylong Mahayana-style retreat to continue the Path of Chod Healing. This retreat will have no Chod ceremony. Participants will be invited to contemplate and grapple with the 7 aphorisms in their own life. Much like the Lojong slogans, there is much to be gained by memorizing the 7 aphorisms. It allows a person to navigate life’s turbulence and joy by these profound sayings. 

The retreat will be silent. We will have periods of silent meditation, guided meditation, and dharma talks on the slogans. This retreat is open to all people of all levels. 

Our guiding teacher Sunisa will be offering refuge and the bodhisattva’s vows at the end of this retreat. Everyone is invited to stay, witness the ceremony, and celebrate!