Places to study at in India/Nepal

[trackless]

Hello - This is my first post here. I've been practicing meditation (basic shamatha and some vipashyana) for a while now, and over time I've started leaning more towards the Tibetan approach - in particular, Dzogchen and Mahamudra. Once this pandemic situation subsides, I plan to travel to India/Nepal to study and practice under some accomplished masters. I intend to stay there for an extended period of time (several years, if possible), fully absorbing the culture and teachings, and maybe doing a 3 year retreat at some point.

While there is plenty of information on Dzogchen centers in the US/Europe, and plenty of webcasts from teachers living here, I am unable to find much information at all on the Dzogchen scene in India/Nepal. I know there are many Westerners, like Dr. Berzin, James Low, Tenzin Palmo, Ken McLeod, Dr. Kerzin, etc., who have spent several years in India - among these, a few ordained, while others remained there as laypeople, in some cases for decades. I'm looking at mainly at the latter option right now, but am open to ordaining at some point if the path leads there. I'm hoping that this forum may be able to provide some pointers on how to approach this. I am an Indian (currently living in the US), so visa is not a problem.

[PeterC]

You may want to make contact first with a lama in the US that has a connection to somewhere you want to study. Just showing up somewhere with no introduction or background in their lineage is a lot harder than being introduced by a lama of the same lineage who knows you.

[philji]

Ka Nying Shedrub Ling in Boudha, Kathmandu has a wide selection of courses available plus great access to proficient teachers, retreats including mahamudra/ dzogchen.
Main teacher is Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche.
https://www.ryi.org
https://shedrub.org

[pemachophel]

[tingdzin]

If you can spend a long period in South Asia without money or visa worries, you will be able to do a lot of personal investigation, and the best thing you can do until the pandemic subsides is to start studying the Tibetan language. This will open up a range of possibilities not available to those limited to their own language. That being said, Bauddha (Bodhanath, Jarungkhashor) outside of Kathmandu is probably the best place to get your feet wet if you are interested in Nyingmapa and Dzogchen.

[trackless]

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions.

[SilenceMonkey]

You may want to make contact first with a lama in the US that has a connection to somewhere you want to study. Just showing up somewhere with no introduction or background in their lineage is a lot harder than being introduced by a lama of the same lineage who knows you.

Sometimes you can just show up too. You might be able to speak with the abbot or lama and ask how to begin practice.

[PeterC]

You may want to make contact first with a lama in the US that has a connection to somewhere you want to study. Just showing up somewhere with no introduction or background in their lineage is a lot harder than being introduced by a lama of the same lineage who knows you.

Sometimes you can just show up too. You might be able to speak with the abbot or lama and ask how to begin practice.

Sure, of course. But if he has ideas about where he wants to go, and they have outposts in the country he’s in, why not make contact earlier

[SilenceMonkey]

You may want to make contact first with a lama in the US that has a connection to somewhere you want to study. Just showing up somewhere with no introduction or background in their lineage is a lot harder than being introduced by a lama of the same lineage who knows you.

Sometimes you can just show up too. You might be able to speak with the abbot or lama and ask how to begin practice.

Sure, of course. But if he has ideas about where he wants to go, and they have outposts in the country he’s in, why not make contact earlier

It's good advice.