Summer Dharma Immersions: KVP Team Members in Practice
One of KVP’s main goals is to serve the practice needs of sanghas connected to the Khyentse lineage. Many of our team members hold teaching positions within various sanghas and have deep connections with particular practice traditions and teachers. Receiving teachings and engaging in the practice greatly enhances the quality of our translations.
To that end, several members of our team have attended Dharma events across Europe and North America this summer. These gatherings offer an invaluable opportunity to strengthen our connections with the teachings, ensuring our work remains grounded in real practice. Just as importantly, they cement lifelong Dharma friendships within our team that contribute enormously to the flourishing of the project.
📍Dordogne, France
Two of our in-house translators Christian Bernert and Jamie Creek, as well as senior editor Charles Hastings, and design editor Roope Koski recently attended the Summer Seminar in Dordogne, which took place from June 29 to July 5, 2025. The retreat, led by Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche, Pema Wangyal Rinpoche, and Tsawa Rinam Rinpoche, focused on alternating practice and instructions on mind training. Christian and Jamie had the opportunity to meet with Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche to ask his advice on various aspects of the project. They also spent time with our project consultants John Canti, and with Élie Roux from BDRC, who has been helping the project with our automated phonetics system and OCR-ing of source texts, amongst other things.
📍Toronto, Canada
Our translation team lead Zack Beer, in-house translator Heidi Nevin, editor Amelia Hall, research coordinator Arne Schelling, and marketing & media coordinator Rashmi Alevoor recently attended the Mind Treasure (Gong Ter) Empowerments in Toronto, where KVP’s principal advisor Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche bestowed the empowerments from Kyabjé Dudjom Jikdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche’s lineage. The team took the opportunity to meet over dinner with our alumni Translations Director, Philippe Turenne, to discuss the latest project developments.
📍Ward, Colorado, USA
Editor Dana Ming attended the Nyingma Summer Seminar in Ward, Colorado, a nine-day programm led by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Dungse Jampal Norbu, and Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel. The seminar will explore the Three Yanas of Tibetan Buddhism, and as part of the Mahayana section, Kongtrul Rinpoche will give a teaching on The Light of the Definitive Meaning, based on a translation of this text by Christian Bernert for the Khyentse Vision Project. Earlier this year, as the inaugural event of the Text of the Month initiative, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche gave a special two-day teaching on the same text, generously sharing his extraordinary insight and knowledge. Recordings of these teachings are available on our YouTube channel: Day 1, Day 2.
Our team understands that in order to produce authentic translations, we need the blessings of the lineage as well as empowerment and instruction. Similarly, it is essential for us to immerse ourselves in the teachings, and to really bring the Dharma into our own practice experience. This is why KVP holds regular in-house practice sessions and retreats on the practice texts we are translating, and why we regularly consult lineage-holders.