Programs
Sundays at Samye: The Practical Bodhisattva
With Michael Friedman
Each Sunday from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, our sangha gathers for a morning of meditation, discussion, and Dharma study. Sundays at Samye offer a welcoming space to deepen practice and explore the Buddhist path together. About the Current Course: The Practical Bodhisattva Guided by Lama Michael Friedman, this course explores the Bodhisattva path […]
Transforming the Mind: The Practice of Lojong in Everyday Life
With Matthew Zalichin
In fall of 2025, Samye Hermitage New York hosted a weekend retreat on lojong—the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of “mind training.” Lojong teachings show us how to transform adversity into the path, open the heart of compassion, and bring Dharma practice directly into everyday life. Guided by Matthew Zalichin, this retreat focused on The Seven […]
The Song of Lodro Thaye: A Study in Mahamudra
With Matthew Zalichin
In the fall of 2023, our resident meditation instructor, Matthew Zalichin, offered a series of classes dedicated to The Song of Lodro Thaye by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, a concise yet profound poem from the Kagyu Gyurtso. Closely aligned with Phakchok Rinpoche’s presentations on Mahamudra, this text lays out the essentials of Mahamudra—the ground, path, […]
Trinley Nyingpo Retreat
With Tulku Migmar Tsering
In this retreat, Tulku Migmar Tsering taught on the fundamentals of tantric practice, including the three samadhis, four stakes, and other essentials, with daily group practice of the Trinley Nyingpo. This condensed sadhana practice is drawn from the Lamé Tukdrup Barché Kunsel (The Guru’s Heart Practice, Dispeller of All Obstacles), which was discovered by the […]
Developing Compassion
With Tulku Migmar Tsering
In the summer of 2023, Tulku Migmar Tsering guided us toward a deeper experience of compassion. Over a week-long series of personalized teachings and practice sessions, Tulku Migmar led us into ever greater insights into how we can develop ever greater compassion, the heart of Buddhist path. This style of mind-training is a powerful mechanism […]
The Four Foundations: A Tibetan New Year's Retreat 2024
With Tulku Migmar Tsering and Matthew Zalichin
In winter of 2024 during the New Year of the Tibetan lunar calendar, known as Losar, Samye New York hosted an immersive retreat on the Four Foundations of the Dharma. According to tradition, the actions carried out during these first days of the year are believed to carry a potency magnified a millionfold. Guided […]
The Path of Meditation
With Tulku Migmar Tsering
In this introductory retreat, Tulku Migmar Tsering led us through the Buddhist path of meditation. Experiential guidance in the traditional path of meditation was combined with dedicated practice sessions, suitable for absolute beginners as well as those who wish to reconnect with their sitting practice. Tulku Migmar elucidated the path from the outset of […]
Living the Dharma: Residential Practice Program
Deepen your practice. Serve with awareness. Live the Dharma. Samye Hermitage New York invites practitioners to join our community for periods of residential practice and service during the quieter months of the year. Set on our 26-acre retreat campus in the hills of Cooperstown, this program offers an opportunity to live within a rhythm […]
Samye Institute Awakening Dignity Course Practice Group
We warmly welcome you to the Awakening Dignity Practice Group, a weekly meditation gathering inspired by the teachings of Phakchok Rinpoche and connected with the global Awakening Dignity Across the Globe practice community hosted by Samye Institute. This group offers a supportive local space to practice meditation together while participating in a six-month international journey […]
Awakening Dignity: Summer Afternoon Practice Sessions
With Hilary Herdman
What: Introduction to Meditation course based on teachings from Phakchok Rinpoche course on Awakening Dignity. Suited for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. When: Wednesday to Saturday beginning on June 10th, 1:30–2:15 PM. Where: 412 Glimmerglen Road, Cooperstown, NY
Cultivating Awareness: Morning Meditation Session
With Seth Auster-Rosen
What: Morning meditation session supported by a Samye Hermitage teacher When: Wednesday to Saturday beginning on June 10th, 10:00–10:45 AM Where: 412 Glimmerglen Road, Cooperstown, New York
Samye Institute Summer Immersion 2026
Explore Buddhism as a Way of Life Six- or three-week immersion at Samye New York, Cooperstown, New York Samye Institute invites you into a rare educational and spiritual journey, a place where you can step out of habitual life, re-center yourself, and immerse in the Buddhist Arts & Sciences through direct experience. You […]
Week One: The Inner Science of Awakening Dignity
With Sophie (Shu-chin) Wu, Hilary Herdman and Seth Auster-Rosen
This opening week of the Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences introduces participants to the inner science of buddha dharma — the contemplative foundation that underlies the full immersion. In the weeks that follow, this inner science will be brought into dialogue with the outer sciences of medicine, artisanry, and philosophy (psychology […]
Guru Rinpoche Day: Monthly Tsok Offering
Each month on Guru Rinpoche Day, the Samye NY community gathers to honor Guru Padmasambhava and the masters of our lineage through The Concise Daily Practice, followed by protector offerings and a short tsok feast using The Cloud-Banks of the Two Accumulations. Tsok offerings are among the most sacred practices in the Vajrayana tradition—a […]
Week Two: Tibetan Medicine & the Science of Wellbeing
With Tawni Tidwell, Hilary Herdman and Seth Auster-Rosen
This second week of the Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences begins the integration of inner and outer sciences that defines the heart of the program. Building on the contemplative foundation established in the opening week, participants now bring the inner science of buddha dharma into dialogue with one of the great […]
Week Three: Buddhist Sacred Art & Artisanry
With Urgyen Gyalpo and Hilary Herdman
This third week of the Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences continues the integration of inner and outer sciences at the heart of the program. Building on the contemplative foundation established in the opening week, participants now bring the inner science of buddha dharma into dialogue with another of the great outer […]
Week Four: Buddhist Philosophy I – Understanding Reality by Knowing the Mind
With Tulku Migmar Tsering and Seth Auster-Rosen
This fourth week of the Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences continues the integration of inner and outer sciences at the heart of the program. Building on the contemplative foundation established in the opening week, participants now bring the inner science of buddha dharma into dialogue with another of the great outer […]
Week Five: Buddhist Philosophy II – The Nature of Thought, Perception, and Insight
With Tulku Migmar Tsering and Seth Auster-Rosen
This fifth week of the Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences continues the integration of inner and outer sciences at the heart of the program, picking up directly from the philosophical inquiry of the previous week. Participants now turn from the broad framework of Buddhist concepts to the specific question of how […]
Alash Ensemble: Tuvan Throat Singers
On Saturday, July 18th, from 7:00-8:15pm, the Alash Ensemble, a trio of throat singers and instrumentalists, will present the extraordinary music of their homeland, Tuva. This trio of globally recognized, master throat singers perform a style of singing that was developed in Central Asia and is most commonly associated with nomadic herders of Mongolia, though […]
Compassionately Caring: A Community Gathering on End-of-Life and Caregiving
With Tsunma Jamyang Donma, Andrea Sherman and Lori Solensten, MS
Join us for an experiential afternoon of insight, reflection, and connection—a nourishing space for caregivers of all kinds to gather, learn, and share. Whether you're supporting a loved one through illness, working in healthcare or hospice, or simply exploring how to care more deeply and wisely in daily life, this gathering offers tools, stories, and […]
Week Six: Noble Living, Noble Caring, Noble Dying: Healing Practices in Buddhism
With Tulku Migmar Tsering, Tsunma Jamyang Donma and Andrea Sherman
This final offering of the Samye Institute Summer Immersion: The Buddhist Arts & Sciences gathers the inner and outer sciences explored over the preceding weeks into an extended reflection on what it means to live, care, and die well. Drawing on the medicine teachings of Week Two, the contemplative training of the inner science weeks, […]
Summer Seminar 2026
With Phakchok Rinpoche
Awakening Dignity · Transformation · Realization We warmly welcome our local and international sangha to Phakchok Rinpoche’s annual Summer Seminar at Samye Hermitage New York in Cooperstown. This stand-alone week of teaching and practice marks the culminating seminar of the Samye Institute Summer Immersion, while remaining fully open and complete as an independent program […]