We are delighted to share that preparations for Kunsang Palmo’s visit next year are well underway. Our teams in Cape Town and Johannesburg are working with joyful dedication, shaping retreats and events through which she will share her teachings. A three‑day retreat is already open for booking, and more offerings are quietly taking shape from a space of openness, possiblity, and collaborative planning. This newsletter - and likely the ones to follow - carries the early light of her visit.

With many thanks for all the contributions❤️

11 - 14 February 2027: A residential retreat with Kunsang Palmo in South Africa!

Tsunma Kunsang Palmo, meditation and Dharma teacher of Tergar International, has kindly offered to visit South Africa in February/ March 2027 and to share her teachings with us in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

About Tsunma Kunsang Palmo

Tsunma Kunsang Palmo grew up in England and spent over a decade as an art teacher in international schools around the world. Everything changed in 2005 when a meeting with Lama Zopa Rinpoche inspired her to remain in Asia and immerse herself fully in the Dharma.

While serving in a nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, she encountered Mingyur Rinpoche and, inspired by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, undertook a four-year Mahamudra retreat at Sherabling Monastery, followed by years of solitary practice.

Since 2019, Kunsang has brought her practice into the world — teaching internationally, serving as a contemplative mentor at the Tergar Institute, and leading retreats worldwide, including annual visits to Ringu Tulku's Bodhicharya sangha in Trinidad. In 2028, at the request of Mingyur Rinpoche, she will serve as Assistant Retreat Master for Tergar's three-year Mahamudra retreat.

Residential retreat "Meeting Transitions in Life and Death: A Map for Living and Dying".

Bookings are open for a three-day residential retreat "Meeting Transitions in Life and Death" at Bodhi Khaya. We will explore the teachings on the bardos – a map for meeting change in everyday life and at death.

Life is full of transitions. Some arrive without warning; others unfold gradually. The end of a relationship, a change in health, the loss of someone we love, or the uncertainty of a new chapter can leave us wondering how to find our footing.

Yet transitions can also open up new possibilities, inviting us to pause, look more deeply, and discover a different way of meeting ourselves and the world.

In Vajrayana Buddhism, these transitions, known as bardos, offer a profound map of human experience, from the changes of everyday life to the transition of death and what lies beyond. Each offers an opportunity for greater awareness, insight, and awakening.

This three-day retreat with Kunsang Palmo offers time to explore these teachings through meditation, contemplation, and discussion, including practices of calm abiding, sleep meditation, and reflections on death. Together, we will explore how the teachings can move beyond intellectual understanding into direct experience.

By learning to meet change with greater awareness, we can develop the clarity, openness, and confidence to navigate life’s uncertainties and prepare for its most profound transitions.

The retreat is open to everyone, including complete beginners.

Where: Bodhi Khaya, Western Cape
When: Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 February 2027.
Investment: R1,950 teaching fee, plus accommodation with meals. Cloister rooms are R4,440 for three nights, and other rooms and camping are also available.

The retreat centre: Bodhi Khaya

Bodhi Khaya is set in the Walker Bay Conservancy, an area with rich biodiversity, and provides a safe and nourishing environment. There are spring-fed mountain dams and over 30 km of trails, catering to hikers of all levels. Their kitchen serves delicious and nourishing vegetarian meals with gluten free and vegan options.

How to book

1. First, book with Tergar South Africa: email bookings@tergarsouthafrica.org and pay the R1,950 teaching fee to secure your place. Don't wait too long if you want to join this retreat!
2. Then book your accommodation at Bodhi Khaya:

OR you can follow the links on our website:

Please join us and discover how moments of change can deepen our practice and understanding and reveal what remains present even as everything changes.

Please share with anyone who might be interested 🙏

Support this visit

Thanks to your generosity, we've already raised R11,200, of Kunsang's flight costs, which is 40% of the way there 🙏 If you still would like to support her visit and want to help sponsor her flights, we welcome donations by EFT or online.

Thank you! ❤️

Account name: Tergar South Africa NPC
Bank: First National Bank
Branch code: 255355
Account number: 63127631405
SWIFT: FIRNZAJJ
Reference: Kunsang Palmo – your name

or via our website:

Information about other events with Kunsang Palmo next year

We will keep you updated about Kunsang's visit and teachings through our social media, WhatsApp groups, and the newsletter. Stay tuned!

🎬 "Behind the scenes"

In this feature, we highlight the volunteers who make our community come alive. Every week, community members offer their time, energy, skills and heart, to support our activities, our practice spaces, and each other. This often happens quietly and behind the scenes. Through a few short questions, we share their stories and celebrate the spirit behind their work.

This time in the spotlight: Kate Squire-Howe

After receiving confirmation that Kunsang Palmo would love to visit us next year, we began organising a three‑day retreat where she could share her teachings with us. This led to the creation of the retreat "Meeting Transitions in Life and Death: A Map for Living and Dying."

Kate was involved throughout the organisational process and generously offered to manage the retreat bookings, which is a quite a job! Thank you Kate for all your effort and help! 🙏

Kate answered the following questions for us:

❁⁠ What part of organising the retreat has energised you most?
Kate: The dreaming into the retreat. How we pull it together to make it accessible to as many people as possible. From pricing, accessibility to teacher and teaching topic. This topic “Meeting Transitions – a Map for Living and Dying” offers so much for beginners and oldies alike.

❁⁠ What’s something people be surprised to learn about the work behind the scenes?
Kate: How many moving cogs are involved – from Kunsang to the venue, Bodhi Kaya, a dedicated TSA retreat planning team and TSA Board – all united in a common intention, working together and embodying the teachings with kindness and patience!
Another very conscious consideration in the wider planning venue selection as it relates to the anticipation of a very hot summer. The retreat venue is a really gentle environment, with water, trees and a micro-climate to shelter us from the heat.
Last point – is we’ve chosen a personal touch approach with direct email, prioritized human connection over automated responses

❁⁠ What do you hope community members will feel or take away from the retreat?
Kate: I hope retreatants leave with a deeper connection to these teachings and inspiration to practice, as well as connection to each other and connection to nature - CONNECTION ALL ROUND

❁⁠ What’s one thing you’re excited about for the coming months?
Kate: Looking forward to welcoming familiar and new friends as bookings come in, watching this gathering come together and then Kunsang’s overall visit of course!

❁⁠ How does your meditation practice support you in your volunteer work, and what inspires you to offer your time and energy to the community in this way?
Kate: Being of service is an expression of my practice. Volunteer work and Dharma (Buddhist) practice are not separate.

❁⁠ Is there something else you want to share or say?
Kate: It takes a team and I’d like to thank Erika, the Bodhi Kaya team, Tara, Michele, Ilonka & Luke for bringing the retreat to life and of course, Kunsang for giving us the opportunity to run this retreat.

If you’d like to highlight a volunteer who works behind the scenes or want to be involved as a volunteer yourself, please contact Ilonka by sending an email to ilonka@tergarsouthafrica.org 🙏

Tergar International: Feel Better Now

A 3-Day Mini Meditation Journey with Mingyur Rinpoche

On the website of Tergar International you will find this online mini meditation course. In 3 days, you will explore how to reconnect with something that is already inside you: Your own inner calm, kindness, and clarity.

This journey is guided by Mingyur Rinpoche. He teaches us that meditation isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about recognizing what’s already here.

Each day you’ll get:

• A short video teaching (under 10 minutes).
• A simple practice you can do anytime, anywhere.
• A guided Meditation.
• A reflection to help bring it into your daily life.

Day 1: How to find inner calm in the middle of chaos.
Day 2: What if you're not broken?
Day 3: Awareness brings clarity.

Community meditation in November: in-person

Cape Town

❁ Weekly Community Meditation at The Commons, Muizenberg
Tuesdays, Innate Wellbeing · 18:15 – 19:15
Everyone is welcome. This is a chance to pause, drop in, and reconnect — with yourself and with others. Practice coordinator Jaco du Plooy.

Johannesburg

❁ Sunday Community Meditation, 29th of November · 10:00 - 12:00. HeartCore Contemplative Studio.
Beginner and experienced meditators are invited to join this gentle morning of meditation, reflection and connection. Practice coordinators Angelic & Paul.

Community meditation in November: online

❁ Open Awareness Open Heart · 18:00 - 19:00.
Come sit with us. No experience needed. Practice coordinator Alex Kunkhyen.
ID: 871 7555 4077. Passcode: 637704.

❁ Sunday Sit for Peace · 07:00 - 08:00.
All welcome. Practice coordinator Alex Kunkhyen.
ID: 895 4632 1830. Passcode: 887093.

Joy of Living cohort groups: online

These online groups have already started and meet weekly for practice, video teachings, and group discussions in a supportive environment. Each cohort combines self-paced online learning with the support of a local practice community. Please note that completion of each level is a prerequisite for progressing to the next course.
If you are interested in joining one of the cohorts, please contact Paul Boyter via email: practicegroups@tergarsouthafrica.org.

❁ Joy of Living 1 (JOL1): Calming the Mind
When: Every Tuesday evening from 18:00 - 19:15.
Practice coordinators: Angelic Pieplenbosch & Janique Marshall

❁ Joy of Living 2 (JOL2): Opening the Heart
When: Every Tuesday evening from 18:00 - 19:15.
Practice coordinator: Paul Boyter.
When: Every Monday evening from 18:30 - 19:45.
Practice coordinator: Janni Younge.

❁ Joy of Living 3 (JOL3): Awakening Wisdom
When: Every Monday evening from 18:00 - 19:15.
Practice coordinator: Fiona Anderson.

Mingyur Rinpoche's books

The Joy of Living and Joyful Wisdom

If you need copies of The Joy of Living and/or Joyful Wisdom by Mingyur Rinpoche, you can order these books with Huni via WhatsApp on 0829012178.