The Waystation: November 2026
The Waystation — November 2026
Welcome, New People
If you're new here: this is a living Vajrayana lineage, not a philosophy seminar. We do the practices. Sorcery isn't a metaphor we use to make tantra sound edgy — it's what tantra actually is, and liberation is the whole point of it. If any of the vocabulary below is new to you, that's fine — start with What is Vajrayana and WTF is Tantra on the site — then sign up for a monthly membership if you plan to be a regular and start working through the Paths with our new self-paced white-belt course, Path 1: Intro to Buddhism, which leads to the option of taking formal Refuge. Finish this course by the end of the year, and a new session of P2, our guided Second Path through the Yidam practices of Vajrasattva and Vajrakilaya will be waiting for you.
Welcome, Returning People
Over the last three months, we've held four regional Mara Roasts (our group practices, teachings and gatherings) in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Mexico City, Mexico; Portland, Oregon, USA; and Kastela, Croatia. Next year, our travels take us to Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha's enlightenment, where we will practice during the Losar holiday (January 31st-February 4th, 2027) at Maha Bodhi temple. We are the first purely Western sangha to hold a place in this temple for this important holiday. More information on this trip will be available on vajrakula.com.
October has been the month of magic, with workshops on Thai amulet making, journeywork, the empowerment of Kurukulle, the guru yoga of the King of Shambhala, and the practices of the long life deities. We've had a lecture on the role of magic in Buddhism.
And we're still not done.
At the time of writing, we're getting ready for a Buddhist Halloween weekend, with an online lecture from Lama Fede on Buddhist Necromancy on October 31st, and a day of ritual & the arts at Leach Botanical Gardens near Portland the afternoon of November 1st led by Lama Sherab and Prajwal Vajracharya.
Tuesdays at the Temple pujas, meditation, and journeys to the Pure Lands will continue Tueday evenings in November at 6pm PST at the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland, online and in person.
This Month, Online
November is medicine month, and most of our empowerments have a medical theme.
[P3+/Restricted] Yuthok Nyingtik Root Empowerment Sat, Nov 7 · 11:00am–3:00pm PST (UTC-8) · Zoom · Lama Sherab · Core tantric cycle in the tradition of Sowa Rigpa, Tibetan Traditional Medicine, first received and synthesized by Yuthok Gonten the Younger, centered on Medicine Buddha · Substantial Ongoing Practice Samaya · Restricted
[P1+] Orgyen Menla, Sat, Nov 14 · 1:00–4:00pm EST (UTC -5) · Online via Google Meet · Lama Scott · The combined form of Medicine Buddha and Padmasambhava · An Anuyoga practice from the direct lineage upadesha of Journey to the Copper-Colored Mountain, this extremely fresh and closely-held practice is one of the Six Gates, the first set of practices for this kula, revealed as a result of the great pandemic as an aid to all beings affected by disease and obstacles of the body, speech and mind.
[P2+] Red Garuda Sat, Nov 21 · 1:00m–4:00pm EST (UTC -5) · Online via Google Meet · Lama Jilly · The fiery wings of Red Garuda of the Adzom lineage burn most fiercely against the scourge of cancer and other diseases that invade and subvert the harmonious and beneficial functions of the body, speech, and mind. This short lineage practice is another of the Six Gates group of practices adopted in the first days of the Vajrakula online, when disease raged across the world. Today, other obstructions and other causes of suffering afflict the beings of this world. May this practice be a balm for all of them.
[Open for all] Supplication of the Eight Vidyadharas of the Noble Land Sat, Nov 28 · 10:00am–2:00pm BAT (UTC -3) · Online via Google Meet · Lama Fede · Another practice of Mipham the Great, part of the Lamas' multi-author translation project
that brings the blessings of the lineage into modern English & Spanish. The practice is a bridge between Mipham's Manjushri Practice Cycle (Vol. 5 of his collected works) and his Kagye Deshek Dupa (Vol. 6), the eight wrathful practice deities which the Vidyadharas of the title received from the wisdom dakini Keyki Wangmo in nine treasure caskets. A precious gateway to one of the most advanced practice cycles in the Nyingma tradition.
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