Autumn Datun: A Month-Long Meditation Retreat

October 6 – November 2, 2025

This month-long intensive meditation retreat, inspired by the form designed by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche offers the opportunity to develop a deep familiarity with the sitting practice of mindfulness awareness meditation. The four-week datun retreat provides a space of simplicity and clarity rarely accessible in our ordinary lives and a means to apply the teachings of the Buddha in our everyday lives.

During the Buddha’s time, practitioners would gather together seasonally to work with the techniques he was teaching. These instructions, taught 2,600 years ago crossed the Himalayas to Tibet a millennium ago, have been taught in many countries in the modern world since the 1960s, and are now coming back to the land of their birth. We are delighted to offer this program for the first time at Buddhapada from October 6 through November 2, 2025.

The Retreat Environment
The Datun environment is a full practice container. The daily schedule typically runs from 7 AM to 8:30 PM, consisting of sitting and walking meditation, daily chants, silent meals, physical exercise, dharma talks, work periods, free periods, and regular meetings with a meditation instructor. We ask that you commit to participating in the full daily schedule to create a safe and inspiring retreat environment.

Participation Requirements
– It is recommended that first time Datun participants attend the entire 4 week retreat but if due to scheduling this is not possible, you may register for the first two weeks only.
– People who have attended a Datun in the past can either attend all four weeks or the first 2 weeks only.

Practice Method
We understand that some of you who are considering coming to datun have been working with a variety of meditation forms and traditions. During retreat we will be using a simple mindfulness awareness technique grounded in attention to the breath, the body, and the surrounding environment.

While we honor all traditions, it is more suitable to work with other forms in a personal retreat or group retreat in that specific tradition. We ask that during your time at datun, you are willing to engage with the recommended form we will all be using. If you have further questions, please reach out to us.

Silence
Datun is a silent retreat consisting of days in which we will practice either functional silence or noble silence. During days of functional silence there is no verbal communication with the exception of what is necessary for the maintenance of the retreat or urgent personal matters concerning health or family issues. Noble silence is also a period of no talking with the exception of emergency situations. There is no requirement to avoid eye contact.

Electronic Devices Policy
During datun, distractions are kept to a minimum. The most obvious and all-pervasive distraction we have are our cell phones and other electronic devices. So that you can have the best experience during the retreat, we are requesting that you voluntarily allow us to safely keep your phones and other devices for the duration. If an urgent matter arises, your device will be returned to you. We ask you to refrain from engaging in on-line work of any kind during the retreat.

There is a day off midway through the retreat when devices can be returned for the day.

Cell phones and devices must be left switched off, and their use is not permitted in public spaces or anywhere that might be disruptive to other participants.

Oryoki: Mindful Eating Practice
Traditionally, in many cultures worldwide, mealtime is a time for gathering with family and friends. Similarly, during the Datun, practitioners come together at mealtimes as well and are introduced to a Zen form of eating called Oryoki (meaning “just the right amount”). This is a formal way to serve and eat a meal. It is also a shared experience, but with a notable difference—it is conducted in silence. Read more about Oryoki here.

There is no fee for Datun and it relies purely on the generosity of sponsors and participants.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION
To register for the Autumn Datun Retreat, please complete our online registration here.

Accommodation and Costs
Once you have filled the registration form and your participation is confirmed, please email Buddha Pada at info@buddhapada.in to book your room.

Accommodation charges vary based on the room category—
Suite with attached bathroom
Double room with common bathroom
Single room with attached bathroom
Single room with common bathroom

Note: Buddha Pada has accommodation. Please write to us to book your room as soon as you receive a confirmation from the Datun team.

Meet Your Instructors—

David Nudell
David met Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1971. Shortly after he moved to the Tail of the Tiger Buddhist community later renamed Karme Choling where he lived for the next six years. During that time he attended the first Vajradhatu Seminary in 1973, sat the first datun, attended Trungpa Rinpoche and became one of the resident teachers. In 1985 he moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia with his family where he was a practicing psychotherapist. In 2007 he became a student of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

Ella Milligan 
Ella Milligan was born in the United States to students of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. As a child she moved with her family to Nova Scotia, Canada to be closer to his growing sangha. Her first encounter with practice was at the age of eleven when her father tricked her into participating in a meditation retreat. Although she never met Trungpa Rinpoche she feels that her practice has always been deeply rooted in his teachings, and feels very lucky that her “job” now is with the continuing effort to transcribe his talks and make them available to the public. Since 1998 Ella has studied under Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. She loves datun practice, was a meditation instructor for four of the annual datuns in Bir, and is very happy to be part of the team bringing this powerful practice to Buddha Pada. 

Tashi Colman
A student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche who sat his first datun forty years ago, Tashi was Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s secretary from 2013-2023. He still sees datun as one of the best and most powerful foundations of all Buddhist practice. For more than twenty years, he also worked on holistic progress measures in Nova Scotia and Bhutan and is author of What Really Counts: The Case for a Sustainable and Equitable Economy (Columbia University Press, 2021).

Samten JN
Since meeting Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1973, Samten has been a devoted student. He took Refuge and Bodhisattva vows with Trungpa Rinpoche, attended the 1975 Vajradhatu Seminary, and received Vajrayana teachings from him. He was part of the core faculty of the Psychology Department in Naropa Institute for ten years. Samten taught classes on Buddhist Psychology and directed the annual three-month Maitri Retreat that was an integral part of the M.A. in Contemplative Psychotherapy program. Based on Space Awareness Practice developed by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, this program also included a datun. He has also attended teachings by other teachers, including Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. After living in the United States for over thirty years, Samten returned to India about twenty-five years ago.

Ken Einhorn
Ken has been a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche since the late 1970’s. He sat his first datun in 1980 and attended the three-month Vajradhatu Seminary with Trungpa Rinpoche in 1982. His journey on the Buddhist path continues as a student of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

Stephanie Garrett
Stephanie Garrett grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She became a dharma student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1987. Stephanie sat her first datun at Karme Choling, Vermont in 1989. She attended Vajradhatu Seminary, a three month intensive of Buddhist practice and study in 1990, is a meditation instructor, and since 1991 has been studying the way of Japanese tea ceremony.

Suruchi Choksi
Suruchi is a Mumbai based artist and transformational coach. She grew up and studied Business in Kolkata. She looks after the programming, communication design and administration of the Buddha Pada Institute in Kalimpong. Suruchi serves as a Trustee on the Board of Siddhartha’s Intent, under Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and Nalanda Foundation, under the aegis of Mingyur Rinpoche (Tergar India). She also co-runs Mesh Foundation, an NGO in Mumbai that works in the fields of cancer treatment, education and helping those in distress.  Suruchi constantly endeavours to integrate the timeless essence of the dharma into daily life. And she loves to have fun.

Pallavi Deshmukh
Pallavi has been a student of buddhadharma for more than five years having encountered the path through her teacher Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in Bir. Alongside the unfolding of these events, after working in the field of Public Relations and Marketing Communication in Mumbai for more than decade, Pallavi followed her love for arts and psychology in 2018. She delved into professional programs in creative art therapies and is currently a freelance creative arts therapy practitioner. Pallavi conducts workshops and programs both rooted in these therapies and integrating Buddhist practices and creative/expressive arts for mental health and well-being for the lay audience. She continues to engage in studying and practicing the dharma, including mindfulness-awareness meditation as a key component.

Lucky Vakharia
Lucky is a graduate of Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art and a post-graduate in the field of Animation Film Design from the National Institute of Design. She is an Animation Filmmaker, a theater actor, an avid reader, a traveler, forever a student of Buddhist psychology, and a relentless seeker of the truth!

Inna German
Inna coordinates Datun retreats in Deer Park, India. Her path shifted in 2017 after meeting Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, which led her to transition from her career in Moscow to a lifestyle allowing deeper engagement with Buddhist teachings.
Based between India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia, Inna studies within the traditions of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. She currently works with the Khyentse Vision Project as Social Media & Communications Coordinator, connecting traditional wisdom with modern audiences.

Health and Wellness Team

Nikki Keefe
Nikki met Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in 1996 in Australia and has been studying with him ever since, spending most of her time between India and Australia. She is a registered nurse and since 2005 has been overseeing and attending to the health care of the monks at Dzongsar Institute, Kanishka school Chauntra and more recently the participants at Deer Park institute Bir and those attending Datun retreats.

We warmly encourage you to consider joining us in October to practice and deepen our understanding of the dharma.

To quote Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche—
“Of all the forms of training and discipline in Buddhism, mind training is considered the most essential. In order to train the mind, there is training such as shamatha, to help you remain undistracted or at least discover how distracted you have been and through that make your mind flexible and malleable.”