Group photo of January, 2025, Chetsun Nyingthig retreat January 2025, with Adzom Gyalse Rinpoche on the throne, Lama Jacqueline Mandell far left.
Photos by: Jeanne Enders, Jacqueline Mandell.

The year 2025 is bringing dynamic beginnings to Samden Ling Portland, as the Tibetan Buddhist group celebrates its 25^th year.

In January Samden Ling sponsored Adzom Gyalse Rinpoche to give in Portland the rare empowerment and teachings of a cycle of teachings known as the Chetsun Nyingthig, born from the wisdom of Vimalamitra. So successful was this retreat that Rinpoche has decided to open the Chetsun Nyingthig teachings, a practice traditionally opened only to select practitioners, to a wider audience willing to make a three-year commitment.

Samden Ling is also stepping into the next quarter century with a new executive director, Chelsea Colby, and new volunteers. To expand into the next century the board of directors has decided to add more board members and volunteers, to envision and walk the way forward.

Samden Ling is an integral part of Dzogchen Nyingthig, a collective of centers and practice groups established by Adzom Paylo Rinpoche. The Dzogchen Nyingthig Mighty Networks platform and the interconnected sanghas, host nearly 1,000 practitioners from sister sanghas in Portland, New York, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and California. Many of the lineage practices such as Green Tara, Phurba, Chod, and more, are led via Zoom by the different groups, with some hybrid retreats.

The January retreat, held at a downtown hotel in Portland, was the first time the Adzom Drukpa lineage of Chetsun Nyingthig was taught in the Pacific Northwest. Forty attendees traveled from Europe, Canada, and many places in the U.S., to attend this eight-day retreat with its required three-year commitment.

Although originating from ancient masters, the teachings remain palpably alive. Once when Adzom Paylo Rinpoche was leading a retreat during a cold spell, he chanted invocations and prayers so strongly that a cold room became warm, and windows needed to be opened. During a later prayer session, the liquid in a special skull cup started boiling.

For one sangha member, that retreat revealed another level of consciousness, opening to vast enlightened possibilities.

A next week-long retreat is planned outside of Mexico City July 27 through August 3, which will offer further teachings to those who began in January. During the same period and in another part of the grounds, Adzom Gyalse Rinpoche will teach 30 new retreatants the Chetsun Nyingthig ngondro.

We rejoice that Portland was the inaugural place for the expansion of the Adzom Drukpa’ Chetsun Nyingthig transmission, teachings, practices and required empowerment.  Adzom Drukpa (1842-1924) passed the training of his lineage to his children, who in this lifetime are Adzom Paylo Rinpoche, Adzom Gyalse Rinpoche, and Jetsunma Kacho Wangmo.

To make the January retreat and follow-up possible, five individuals representing Samden Ling worked tirelessly during 2024, to secure a three-year R-1 visa for Adzom Gyalse Rinpoche to the United States. Kagyu Changchub Chuling (KCC), a Portland-based center in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, helped Samden Ling procure the visa.

Then through a collaboration with KCC, Adzom Gyalse Rinpoche offered a teaching to a full house, on a text by the 14-century Tibetan master Longchenpa called “Advice on the Ultimate Meaning.” It is hoped that Rinpoche will return to Portland in the fall.

Much of this progress is tied to Adzom Paylo Rinpoche’s 2019 public announcement making Jacqueline Mandell a lama, an honorific in Tibetan tradition that makes such a person a spiritual leader. Adzom Paylo Rinpoche has since asked Lama Jacqueline to lead Portland people in the foundational practices of the Longchen Nyingthig ngondro, as resident teacher.

In 2000, Adzom Paylo Rinpoche requested the establishment of Samden Ling, so that practitioners will be able to follow his teachings as well as those of dzogchen masters Longchen Rabjam (Longchenpa), Jigme Lingpa and Vimalamitra. Samden Ling became a non-profit, 501(c)(3) that year.

Lama Jacqueline now offers the Longchen Nyingthig Ngondro practice on Zoom, every Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. Pacific time. Practitioners come from nearby, and from as far away as Italy, Mexico and Central America. Longchen Nyingthig Ngondro teachings are also available on the Samden Ling YouTube channel. What began in a Portland living room is now available for all of those interested.

During the Covid Pandemic, as an introduction to lineage masters that many did not know, Lama Jacqueline offered on Zoom guided sessions on the book, “A Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems, Biographies of Masters of Awareness in the Dzogchen Lineage,” by Tibetan master Nyoshul Khenpo.

Adzom Paylo Rinpoche requested that this book be read. Rinpoche first did a reading transmission of the title of each chapter on each master, then Lama Jacqueline led a series of “Fireside Chats” on Zoom, where dharma topics and questions were explored with engaged conversation. These are now posted on Samden Ling’s YouTube channel.

Over the years Samden Ling has hosted extraordinary teachers who illuminated the many teachings and transmissions of Longchenpa and dzogchen. One year later Samden Ling coordinated with the local Pema Kilya group, to bring Dza Kilung Rinpoche to Portland for teachings. Prior to that, Samden Ling invited Gochen Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche for teachings and transmissions of the three roots and Chod. Samden Ling also invited lamas Rigzin Drolma and Namgyal Dorje, to offer retreats on Tara and Guru Rinpoche.

Lama Jacqueline first met Adzom Paylo Rinpoche in 1996 at Samye Chimpuk, a sacred place of revelatory practice, on the upper plateau above Samye Monastery, the first Tibetan monastery. At that time Jacqueline Mandel had no idea that at that time of pilgrimage in June during Sagadawa (the celebration of the Buddha’s enlightenment), she was also meeting her future.