How to Meditate

July 04 – 05, 2026

2-Day Non-Residential Course Led by Venerable Thubten Drolkar

Open to all levels of practitioners: beginners and experienced alike.

Everyone wants to have happiness and be free from dissatisfaction and unhappy states of mind.

True happiness is only found in our minds and does not come from outside circumstances.

In this 2-day non-residential program, you will get an introduction to the different types of meditation, learning how to incorporate Mindfulness into daily life. This will give you insight into the mind itself and will provide you with tools to develop a more balanced and peaceful way of being.

This course will be in silence.

Approximate daily schedule for both days:

09:00 – 09:45Meditation
10:00 – 12:00Teaching
12:00 – 14:00Lunch Break
14:00 – 16:00Teaching
16:00 – 16:20Tea Break
16:20 – 17:00Meditation

Please note: This schedule might change on short notice!

Registration in Tushita’s Office Required!

Teacher

Venerable Thubten Drolkar was born and grew up in Germany. When she went to India as a teenager she did her first Introduction to Buddhism Course at Tushita in 2013.

In 2017 she went to Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa in Italy to study three years of the FPMT Master Program.

Since 2020 she started leading courses in Germany and Switzerland and spent around 7 months in retreat at Vajra Yogini Institute in France.

In 2021 Venerable Drolkar moved to Dharamsala to continue her studies in Buddhist philosophy at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, where she is enrolled in the traditional Geshe curriculum.

She was ordained in December 2022 at Kopan Monastery

Practical Information

Tushita’s Donation Policy

Tushita Meditation Centre operates entirely on the basis of donations, most of which come from people attending our courses and retreats. We will ask you to please give your full donation for the course in our reception office in the days before the course starts, payable in Indian Rupees only (unfortunately we cannot accept Foreign Currency, Travellers Cheques or Credit / Debit Cards).

For example, the minimum amount that Tushita needs to cover our costs for a 2- / 3-day course is 1500 / 2000 Indian Rupees per person. This includes lunch and afternoon tea on this day. It does not include any other meals or accommodation, since it will be a non-residential course. Of course, extra donations to help Tushita are always welcome!

Course Registration

For our non-residential courses, registration is only possible in our reception office by making your full donation of 1500 INR for this 2-day course.

Office hours are: Monday – Saturday (closed Sundays)

  • 9:00 – 11:30am

– lunch break –

  • 12:30 – 4:00pm

Closed Sundays

Accommodation Options

Since this is a Non-Residential course, it will not be possible to stay here at Tushita. There are many guest houses and hotels nearby however, varied enough to meet all comfort levels and budgets. Here are some tips for finding accommodation in McLeod Ganj.

What to Bring

  • Warm clothing which can be worn in layers and a shawl/blanket for using in the meditation hall are advisable. Bear in mind that we are at a slightly higher altitude than in McLeod Ganj, it is noticeably colder here.
  • You are welcome to take notes during the course, so you may find a notebook, pen etc useful.
  • It is handy to have your own water bottle. Filtered water is available in our dining hall and out of concern for the environment, we strongly discourage students from buying water in plastic bottles.
  • An umbrella or rainwear, depending on the weather that day.
  • Please read our Library page: we sell books and other items, so you may want to bring some extra money with you; or check conditions for borrowing.
  • Please DO NOT bring: any musical instruments, camera, radios / tape / CD / MP3 players or mobile phones as you will be asked not to use them while you are here.

Read more on our Short Courses page.