The Dzogchen Meditation Center was founded by direct students of the 11th Trungpa, Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and works to preserve his unique transmission of the Nyingma and Kagyu teachings of Tibetan Buddhism.

We offer regular weekly classes on Buddhist Meditation Wednesday morning from 10-12 and Tuesday and Thursday evening from 5-7 which are by donation and are open to the public.  We also have a regular Sunday Morning meditation intensive from 9 - 12 followed by a community lunch.  All are welcome. 

We are located on the New Meadows River in the Mid-Coast area of Maine and offer residential training opportunities in the Three Yanas of Tibetan Buddhism as developed by Trungpa Rinpoche for his students. It is a comprehensive approach to training which is based on Trungpa Rinpoche's notion of the Practice Center as "Container Principle." When we live and practice together as a sangha within the boundaries of the retreat center schedule the power of our practice becomes magnified which creates an environment of realization and blessings. Living in a practice environment allows individuals to focus on practice and study and enables them to penetrate the wisdom of the Buddhadharma through direct experience. All of Trungpa Rinpoche's retreat centers were based on this principle as was his three month seminary program.  The Dzogchen Meditation Center is an effort to revitalize and maintain this powerful tradition of practice and realization. We offer 3 month work/study positions where students receive room and board. In exchange they commit to engaging in the daily work and practice schedule at the Center.  It is a remarkable way to engage the path of meditation fully -- whether you are new to practice or have been practicing Buddhist for a number of years.

                        "We have discussed everything from the perspective of ati.   Because of that, we have been able to view the characteristics of the various yanas and tantric disciplines in terms of openness and spaciousness and inevitability. That notion of wakefulness we have been discussing constantly is the final wakefulness of ati yoga.”  Trungpa Rinpoche

Beginning students are first introduced to the practice of sitting meditation -- a practice which not only serves as a foundation for all Buddhist meditation but is  the central practice of the kusulu or simple meditator.   It is a practice which we continually return to during our 10 day meditation intensives which are held every three months at the Center.   The practice of sitting meditation is  the means for walking on the three yana path.  We emphasize the continued focus on the practice of meditation and the study of the  pith instructions of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages with particular emphasis on the profound oral instructions of Trungpa Rinpoche.

The Center is also the home of the Surmang Kagyu Order --a contemplative order dedicated to the propagation and preservation of the Buddhist   path laid out by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.  Belonging to the Order entails a commitment to this path and a commitment to helping others.  The Center provides regular retreats designed to provide members of the Order with the means to engage this path properly and fully.  To learn more about joining the Order contact Tashi Armstrong in the Main Office of the Surmang Kagyu Order at t This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.    

Present  Lineage Holder Chokyi Sengay Trungpa Rinpoche XII                   Chokyi GyamtsoTrungpa Rinpoche XI (1939 - 1987)