§ WHAT IS A MARA ROAST
Three days to burn off what's stopping you
Mara is the force in Buddhist cosmology that shows up right before a breakthrough — not as a monster, but as comfort, doubt, and "I'll get serious about this eventually." A Mara Roast is three straight days of refusing that voice a hearing: real transmission, real ritual, real craft, done in a room (or on a screen) with people who are done negotiating with their own complacency.
This isn't a retreat where you sit quietly and take notes. Every session here is something you do — receive a transmission, build an amulet with your hands, journey somewhere and come back, unite your mind with a lineage of sorcerer-sages. Six doors in, one fire underneath all of them.
- Living Lineage
A rare in-person teaching from a hereditary Newar Buddhist priest — tantra that never left the street for the monastery.
- Guru Devotion
Suchandra Guru Yoga — the method for a king who refused to choose between running an empire and practicing seriously.
- Longevity Practice
A full retreat on the Three Long-Life Deities — because you can't walk this path from a hospital bed.
- Protective Craft
Build and consecrate your own amulet — an object with a job, not a souvenir.
- Journeying
Ritual and visualization as a real method for traveling somewhere else and coming back with something.
- Sorcery
Guru Yoga of the Wicha Masters — devotion and working power, refused to be separated, right to the end.
No hedging here: renting the temple space for three days costs money, and flying in teachers who are giving full, real transmissions — not a recycled YouTube talk — means covering travel.
That's what your ticket goes toward. Same price whether you're a longtime student or walking in for the first time — and it's what keeps this sangha able to keep doing this, in Portland and in every other city we show up in next.
Three days, six doors in
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FRI2
A Teaching by Guru Prajwal
GURU PRAJWAL RATNA VAJRACHARYA · TEMPLE + ONLINE
Guru Prajwal is a hereditary Newar Buddhist priest — a tradition where tantra never retreated into monastery walls but stayed woven into family, craft, and daily street life. A rare chance to receive teaching from a living tradition most Western Buddhists never meet face to face.
See the event on Vajrakula → -
FRI2
Suchandra Guru Yoga
TEMPLE + ONLINE
Suchandra was the king who asked the Buddha for a path he could practice without abandoning his kingdom — the template for anyone practicing seriously while still running a life. No prior experience needed; texts provided.
See the event on Vajrakula → -
FRI 2
–SAT 3Tse Lha Namsum Thugtik — Heart Essence of the Three Long-Life Deities
TEMPLE + ONLINE
A retreat built around the Three Long-Life Deities: the view, the root sadhana, and the movements. The premise is blunt and correct — a long, healthy life isn't an indulgence, it's practice infrastructure. No prerequisites; texts provided.
Check your ticket confirmation for the exact session times across the weekend.
See the event on Vajrakula → -
SAT3
Amulet Making
TEMPLE + ONLINE
One of the oldest sacred crafts — making an object built to protect. Construct and consecrate your own amulet: intention, material, blessing. Online participants get a materials list ahead and craft along from home.
See the event on Vajrakula → -
SAT3
The Journeying Workshop
TEMPLE + ONLINE
Traveling to other worlds isn't a metaphor — it's a method: ritual and visualization, done deliberately, with a way in, a way to move around, and a way back. Bring a blanket, dress in layers, and don't book anything demanding right after.
See the event on Vajrakula → -
SUN4
Guru Yoga of the Wicha Masters
TEMPLE + ONLINE
Wicha is the sorcerer-sage lineage of Southeast Asia — devotion and practical, working power, refusing to be separated. This guru yoga unites your mind with theirs directly. The weekend's closing practice.
See the event on Vajrakula →
Two paths, one fire
⚠ These are two different commitments, not interchangeable: if you're coming in person, or want the whole weekend live online, use the PayPal bundle below. If you only want to stream one or two sessions, skip PayPal and register those individually on the page.
Bundle it, save on it
All six sessions together, at a discount, via PayPal. This is the right path only if you're attending in person, or committing to catch everything live online. Message the Lama after to confirm you're on the list.
Pay $250 on PayPal →Register per session
Not doing the full weekend? Register directly on the page, one session at a time — pricing per session as listed above. Don't use PayPal for this path.
See events on Vajrakula →Nritya Mandala Mahavihara
- From PDX: 20–30 minutes by car; rideshare is easiest. By transit, roughly 45–60 minutes via MAX plus a bus transfer — build in extra time.
- Driving: street parking around SE 40th and Division — arrive a little early on weekends, since the strip gets busy with restaurant traffic.
- Transit: TriMet buses along SE Division get you within a couple of blocks; check the TriMet Trip Planner closer to the date.
- Landmark: a residential-feeling stretch near the SE Division restaurant corridor — hit the restaurant cluster around 40th and you're basically there.
- Last-minute confusion: text the Lama — better a quick "where exactly is this" than a missed session.
If you're flying in for a few days
Where to stay
Buckman, Hawthorne, or Division/Clinton — walking distance from the temple and from the best food in the city. Skip staying near the airport.
Weather
Early October means cool, often damp. Pack layers and something waterproof — it won't be dramatic, but it won't be dry either.
Food
SE Division and Hawthorne are dense with genuinely excellent restaurants and coffee. Portland punches way above its size here.
A free afternoon
Powell's City of Books downtown, or a walk through Forest Park for tree cover and quiet before or after a day of teachings.