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Chöd: Cutting Through Ego-Clinging

Meeting Fear with Compassion and Generosity

Chöd is a thousand-year-old Tibetan Buddhist practice for meeting and engaging our fears and fixations through compassion and generosity. By visualizing an offering of our own body to that which would seemingly destroy us, we practice releasing our grasp on the constricted ego-self and opening to our inherent freedom, compassion and wisdom.

Over four days, Dorje Lopön Charlotte Z. Rotterdam and Lopön Pieter Oosthuizen will introduce you to a form of Chöd formulated by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and explore the teachings that underlie this powerful practice.

MAITREA, Týnská ulička 6, Prague 1 English with Czech interpretation

No previous experience is necessary; all are welcome.

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Machig Labdrön
Machig Labdrön, the 11th-century Tibetan yogini whose teachings are at the roots of the Chöd tradition.

Chöd means “to sever” or “cut through”

The practice has its roots in the teachings of the 11th-century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön and was traditionally also performed as a healing ritual.

One of the central visualizations in Chöd is the offering of our own body to that which seems to threaten or destroy us. This turns our habitual impulse to defend and cling to it on its head. Through this radical act of compassion and generosity, we practice loosening our grasp on a fixed sense of self.

The practice is sung in beautiful, ancient melodies and accompanied by a drum and bell. Voice, visualization, body and ritual come together, giving Chöd its distinctive immediacy and power.

A Chöd Form Formulated by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

This is the form of Chöd you will explore during the retreat. Teachings will alternate with guided group practice, allowing you to become familiar with the practice directly through your own experience.

Charlotte and Pieter have practiced Chöd for more than two decades. They have had the fortune of studying extensively with Lama Tsultrim Allione, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, Lama Wangdu Rinpoche and many others.

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche
Charlotte Rotterdam and Pieter Oosthuizen practicing Chöd with drums and bells

What to Expect Over the Four Days

Throughout the four days, teachings will alternate with guided practice. Step by step, you will become familiar with the different elements of Chöd and learn this particular form together with the teachers.

  • teachings on the principles and context of Chöd,
  • guided group practice,
  • the visualization at the heart of the practice,
  • chanting Tibetan texts and traditional melodies,
  • working with the Chöd drum and bell.

Chöd is a direct and radical practice. It invites us to look closely at our clinging to a solid sense of self, at what we hold on to, and at the possibility of gradually releasing that grip.

Sound, Rhythm and the Ritual Dimension of Chöd

Alongside its meditative depth, Chöd has a strongly embodied and sensory dimension. Chanting, the rhythm of the drum, the sound of the bell and visualization engage our attention in a way that ordinary conceptual thinking does not, helping us enter the practice with the whole body.

You can take part in the retreat without bringing your own instruments. If you later wish to practice Chöd independently, you will need your own.

Recommended instruments: Chöd drum · bell · kangling

For those interested, we will be able to arrange a group order. Details will be provided well in advance of the retreat.

Chöd drum, bell and other ritual instruments used in the practice

Tara Mandala and the Retreat Teachers

Dorje Lopön Charlotte Z. Rotterdam and Lopön Pieter Oosthuizen are senior teachers at Tara Mandala Retreat Center, founded by Lama Tsultrim Allione. Practitioners of Chöd for more than two decades, they are also the authors of Skymind: The Radical Path of Open Awareness (Shambhala Publications, 2026).

Lama Tsultrim Allione

Founder of Tara Mandala

Lama Tsultrim Allione

Buddhist teacher and founder of Tara Mandala Retreat Center. Charlotte and Pieter have studied extensively with her, and her teachings are among the primary sources of their Chöd practice and teaching.

Dorje Lopön Charlotte Z. Rotterdam

Retreat Teacher

Dorje Lopön Charlotte Z. Rotterdam

Charlotte has studied Tibetan Buddhism since the mid-1990s and was authorized to teach by Lama Tsultrim Allione in 2006. She is a senior teacher of the Magyu lineage at Tara Mandala and teaches Chöd and other Buddhist practices internationally.

Lopön Pieter Oosthuizen

Retreat Teacher

Lopön Pieter Oosthuizen

Pieter is Director of the Feeding Your Demons Institute. He has been deeply involved with Tara Mandala for many years and leads retreats internationally in Chöd, Feeding Your Demons, Skymind and other Buddhist practices.

Price and Registration

You can register directly below. You can also choose to pay in installments in the registration form.

Dates April 22–25, 2027
Time April 22–24, 9:00 am–5:00 pm
April 25, 9:00 am–4:00 pm
Venue MAITREA
Týnská ulička 6, Prague 1
Language English with Czech interpretation
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