Tonglen: The Courage to Breathe In the World

This free online meditation class introduces Tonglen, the Tibetan Buddhist practice of "sending and receiving," as a way to stay present with suffering rather than turn away from it. It is open to beginners and experienced practitioners alike, and is led by Kali Basman for the Drala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, as part of its Online Practice Series. Because it is held online, you can take part from wherever you are.

What to Expect

The session runs ninety minutes in the evening, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm Mountain Time. Kali presents Tonglen as both an ancient Buddhist mind-training practice and an embodied method for building a heart spacious enough to hold the full range of human experience.

Our instinct in the face of pain is often to protect ourselves, fix what hurts, or create distance. Tonglen moves in the other direction. You breathe in what is difficult and breathe out relief, spaciousness, compassion and care. In this way suffering becomes less a wall between people and more a doorway into shared humanity.

Together you will explore:

- The traditional Buddhist practice of sending and receiving
- Working skillfully with the instinct to resist or turn away from suffering
- Compassion without collapse, fixing or overwhelm
- Using the breath and body as anchors for staying present
- Expanding personal suffering into a recognition of our shared humanity

The class draws on guided meditation instruction, breath work, contemplative inquiry and gentle embodied movement. The aim is to discover what it means to stay tender in a world that gives many reasons to close, and to find that an open heart can be both soft and strong.

About Kali Basman

Kali Basman of Kali Durga Yoga is an internationally celebrated Dharma teacher of teachers. She blends Buddhist mindfulness with Yin and Restorative Yoga, drawing on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Taoist practice. Her work explores the meeting place of contemplative practice, embodied anatomy and inner inquiry, and she has been teaching for nearly two decades.

Kali is deeply influenced by the Insight Yoga tradition and her longtime study with Sarah Powers, alongside studies with Paul Grilley and Tias Little. The integrated practice she offers is meant to help you return to a baseline of tranquility, recall your capacity for spaciousness, and remind your system of its anatomical, structural and emotional wholeness. She is also teaching on land at Drala Mountain Center in a silent yoga and Zen retreat for those who want to continue in person.

The Setting

Drala Mountain Center sits in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, and the class is offered from there as part of the Drala Mountain Online Practice Series, a collection of tuition-free online offerings held on select Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:30 pm Mountain Time.

Before You Go

No previous meditation experience is necessary, and the program welcomes all levels. It is taught in English. The class is offered free of charge in the spirit of dāna, the Buddhist practice of generosity, and a tax-deductible donation of any amount can be made at registration if you wish to support the teachings. Come prepared to breathe, feel, and sit with whatever arises.