May 23-24, 2026

Amitabha Weekend Retreat & Empowerment

Launching Our Sangha’s One Million Mantra Accumulation at Marpa Retreat Center

led by Drupon Thinley Ningpo Rinpoche with oral interpretation by Virginia Blum

Join us for a special weekend retreat dedicated to Amitabha Buddha, beginning with an Amitabha empowerment that will initiate our sangha’s collective aspiration to accumulate one million recitations of the Amitabha mantra. This retreat will be led by Drupon Thinley Ningpo Rinpoche, a holder of the title retreat master with deep experience guiding intensive, practice-focused retreats. Rinpoche is known for his ability to communicate profound dharma in a direct way as practical instruction that helps practitioners confidently engage in the actual practice and then bring it into everyday life.

Location: Marpa Retreat Center, Louisville, Kentucky

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This gathering will take place at Marpa Retreat Center, a newly developing land retreat center set in a remote and peaceful natural environment in Kentucky. Unlike a city Dharma center, this space offers something rare and precious: silence, open land, and freedom from everyday distractions. Retreat in such a setting allows the mind to settle naturally, creating the ideal conditions for deep practice and genuine connection with the Dharma.

During the retreat we will engage in:

• Amitabha empowerment
• Teachings on Amitabha practice and the view of transformation
• Training in the Amitabha sadhana
• Guided group practice and mantra recitation

Together we will establish the foundation for a sangha-wide accumulation of one million Amitabha mantras, planting seeds for the liberation of all sentient beings.


The Wisdom of Amitabha

Amitabha is the Lord of the Padma (Lotus) Family, the buddha family associated with the transformation of desire and attachment into discriminating wisdom. Among the five Buddha families, the Padma family addresses one of the most powerful forces shaping human experience: desire. This is the primary klesha of beings who dwell in the desire realm, where attraction, longing, and attachment continually pull the mind outward.

Yet in Vajrayana understanding, the afflictions are not rejected—they are transformed.

At its essence, the energy of desire is not inherently impure. Its purified form is discriminating wisdom: the luminous capacity to clearly perceive the unique qualities and beauty of every phenomenon. This wisdom warmly appreciates the richness and distinctiveness of the world without the neurosis of grasping, without the compulsion to try to possess what we perceive.

In this way, Amitabha practice helps transform the restless energy of longing into clarity, warmth, appreciation, and boundless compassion.


The Power of Retreat

Practicing in a remote natural environment is a time-honored method in the Buddhist tradition. Removed from the constant stimulation and demands of daily life, the mind naturally becomes more open, steady, and receptive.

At Marpa Retreat Center, surrounded by quiet land and beautiful natural scenery, practitioners can experience: • Deepened concentration
• Freedom from everyday distractions
• A stronger sense of sangha and shared intention
• A direct connection between Dharma practice and the natural world

This retreat marks an important beginning—not only for our Amitabha practice, but also for the establishment of Marpa Retreat Center as a place of refuge, practice, and awakening for years to come.

All are welcome to join this auspicious beginning.

Let us gather together to receive the empowerment, learn the practice, and set in motion the powerful aspiration of one million Amitabha mantra recitations for the benefit of all beings.

  • In the spirit of encouraging offerings to support the Dharma and generate merit but also making the retreat as affordable as possible for those with little means, this retreat will be offered on a sliding scale:

    • Benefactor Rate: $500

    • Supporting Rate: $300

    • Base Rate: $120

    For those who are inspired to support the development of our new retreat center and can do so without hardship, please contribute in accordance with your inspiration. If you are in need of special assistance financially please let us know.

    No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

    Please note that the retreat is complimentary for monthly sponsors of DNJ donating $200 or more a month.

  • There are seven newly constructed single occupancy dorm rooms with shared bathroom in the same building as the shrine room, kitchen and dining area. The rooms are comfortable but simple.

    • Indoor camping is available 

    • Dorm Room: $45 per night

    • Indoor camping: $20 per night

    Offsite Accommodations

    There are a number of hotels as well as airbnb lodging within close driving distance from the property. 

  • All meals will be delicious Vietnamese vegetarian fare provided onsite.

  • Marpa Retreat Center Address:

    101 Buddhaland road, Turners Station, KY 40075

    The nearest airports are SDF in Louisville, Kentucky and CVG in Cincinnati, Ohio. Both are a little over an hour’s drive to Marpa Retreat Center. You may wish to rent your own car. We will have group transportation with limited spaces scheduled to and from Cincinnati airport. If you are interested in carpooling with this group please contact us marparetreatcenter@gmail.com.