marpahouse, Author at Marpa House

Prayers and Practices and visiting the House

by marpahouse | Mar 25, 2026 | Rinpoche

After yesterday’s incredibly sad news of our beloved teacher’s peaceful passing into Parinirvana, we would like to share details of the prayers and practices we’ve been recommended to do, and the arrangements for visiting Marpa House.

Prayers and Practices

Kyabje Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche has advised us to do additional Vajrasattva prayers with our regular practices. In addition, Lama Kunga Dorje has advised us to practice the Four Session Guru Yoga.

The daily schedule at Marpa House will continue unchanged. The Tara and Chenrezik pujas and periods of silent meditation will take place at the usual times.

We will be livestreaming our regular online Chenrezik practice on Thursday 26th March at 8 pm from the shrine room.

Texts are screen-shared

Please just click the button below to request the link to join or email mail@marpahouse.org.uk

REQUEST LINK

On Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th March, we will hold in-person only practice sessions at 2.30 pm in the shrine room, and every Tuesday from 31st March at 2.30 pm until Tuesday 12th May.

Visiting Marpa House

Everyone is welcome to visit between 7:00 am and 10:00 pm to use the shrine room and support one another at this sad time. However, we regret that we are unable to accept overnight guests.

We are unable to offer meals to day visitors – please bring a vegetarian packed lunch if you wish. Please also be aware that parking is limited at Marpa House, and if you have to park in the village, please respect our neighbours and help us to maintain the good relations we have with them.

Latest Information

For the most up-to-date information, please refer to our website and Facebook page, which will be updated regularly.

The Marpa House phone is currently set to voicemail, and we will respond to any messages as soon as we are able. Alternatively, you may contact us by email at mail@marpahouse.org.uk. Thank you for your patience.

Memorial for Rinpoche

A memorial ceremony to honour Rinpoche’s extraordinary life and legacy will be held at Marpa House at a suitable time in the future. Further details will be shared once arrangements have been made.

Supporting each other at this time

Thank you for all your heartwarming messages of sympathy and support.

For more than sixty years, Rinpoche demonstrated wisdom and compassion through his enlightened activity, offering a perfect example to all of us.

However painful this time may be, Rinpoche often reminded us of our “great heart” and we trust that together we will continue to meet these current circumstances with loving-kindness and inspiration – as ‘one sky, one mind’.

Finally, we extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Rinpoche’s family and respectfully ask that their wish for privacy be honoured at this time.

May all beings be peaceful and happy. May all be auspicious.

The Trustees of The Dharma Trust, Marpa House.

Kyabje Chime Rinpoche (1939-2026)

by marpahouse | Mar 24, 2026 | Rinpoche

Kyabje Chime Rinpoche (10.10.1939 – 24.03.2026)

To our dear Dharma brothers and sisters around the world who have a connection with our precious teacher, Kyabje Chime Rinpoche.

It is with unbearable sorrow and deep regret that we inform you of the passing of our beloved teacher.

Rinpoche passed into Parinirvana this morning, 24th March 2026, the sixth day of the second month of the Fire Horse Year in the Tibetan calendar. Although physically unwell for some time, Rinpoche’s mind remained lucid and clear to the end.

Rinpoche’s vast compassion, loving kindness and timeless wisdom touched all our hearts. To find such a realised and perfect teacher is precious beyond words, and we offer our love, devotion and heartfelt wish for Rinpoche to swiftly be reborn. We are blessed beyond words to have been part of Rinpoche’s enlightened activities in establishing the essence of the authentic teachings of the Vajrayana here in the West.

In accordance with Tibetan tradition, we will be performing prayers and practices here for him at Marpa House. Further details will follow soon.

With immense sadness,

The Trustees of The Dharma Trust, Marpa House.

DOWNLOAD ANNOUNCEMENT

Prices to stay at Marpa House from 1st April 2026

by marpahouse | Feb 24, 2026 | Pricing

New accommodation prices from 1st April 2026

We review our prices at Marpa House annually and do our very best to keep any increases to a minimum. As a result of this review, from 1 April 2026, our accommodation prices will be slightly increased, broadly in line with inflation, while meal prices will remain unchanged.

This will be only our second price increase since 2022, despite the significant rise in the cost of living and ongoing maintenance costs for an old building.

Our aim is to ensure that Marpa House is as accessible as possible to all without compromising your experience during your stay.

For those of you who are unable to afford a retreat at Marpa House, there is still time (until 28th February) to apply for funding through the Marpa House Retreat Scheme, which is designed to make retreats accessible to everyone, regardless of financial circumstances. Click here for more details.

Updated rates, effective 1 April 2026, are detailed below.

Thank you for your continued support of Marpa House, and we look forward to seeing you soon.

ACCOMMODATION & MEAL PRICES

FROM 1ST APRIL 2026

All accommodation prices include access to all facilities in the house and gardens, as well as three vegetarian meals per day.

Weekly stays are charged at a reduced rate, and tariffs for longer stays can be agreed by arrangement with the secretary/trustees.

House Prices

Shared room in the house: £44.00 per night | £265.00 per week
(meals included)

Single room in the house*: £46.00 per night | £276.00 per week
(meals included) *subject to availability

Meal Prices for Day Visitors (no change)

Breakfast: £5.00
Lunch: £7:00
Tea: £5:00

Retreat Prices

Single room: £46.00 per night | £276.00 per week (meals included)

For long-term retreats, there are reduced rates available (payable in advance):

Over 4 weeks: £270.00 per week
For a full 3 months: £230.00 per week
Over 3 months: At the discretion of the trustees.

Valid from 1st April 2026

ADDRESS

Marpa House,
Rectory Lane, Ashdon,
Saffron Walden, Essex
CB10 2HN
United Kingdom

CONTACT

T: +44 (0) 1799 584 415
E: mail@marpahouse.org.uk

“One sky, one mind”
Kyabje Chime Rinpoche

DONATE

Marpa House is conducted by The Dharma Trust, a company limited by guarantee (no. 04332473) and registered with the Charity Commission (no. 1090628).

LATEST NEWSLETTER

Preparing for our own Death

by marpahouse | Feb 21, 2026 | Articles

Be more alive

Recently, I have found myself listening to the Bardo Thodol (often called The Tibetan Book of the Dead) and wondering how best to prepare myself for death.

There has been a temptation to assume that the older I get, the more complex preparing for death is. I am now far more aware than I was ten or twenty years ago of the power of my habitual tendencies and how they have driven my life. I am equally more aware of just how difficult these patterns are to change – how much have I really reduced my anger? Is my meditation practice stable enough, or at all? It is easy for this kind of reflection to create despondency – if I didn’t get out of Samsara at the ends of my other innumerable lifetimes, is there any chance I could during this death?

Quite apart from the question of spiritual preparation, ageing has vastly complicated the mundane preparation needed for death – pensions, life insurance, funeral wishes, powers of attorney, statements of wishes, giving away dharma items, donations to charity, possible guardians for my son, distribution of property and who would look after the cats. Twenty-year-old me (who had no money or children) never worried about any of this. Lucky him.

Enter the Bardo Thodol. For me (and this is only a personal reflection), the text’s key message is confidence. Over and over again, we are reminded that every stage of the after-death process represents a chance for total enlightenment and complete liberation. The death process, the peaceful deities, the knowledge-holding deities, the wrathful deities, the bardo of becoming, the process of rebirth – all are replete with opportunities to recognise the nature of our mind. Moreover, the text repeatedly reminds us that our mind will be far more lucid and powerful after death than in the everyday state, and that our meditation will be the same. Most of all, the Bardo Thodol makes absolutely plain that what we do in this life – all our actions of body, voice and mind – have the power to help us after death. Good habits and tendencies count as much as bad ones.

The text also provides practical advice about how to deal with mundane attachments – don’t worry about your possessions because you can’t possess them after death anyway. Your relatives will give your goods away, and you have no power to determine who will ultimately get hold of them or how they will be treated. Therefore, my personal choice is to give items to practitioners I know, with no expectation of what they will do with them.

Overall, for me, the Bardo Thodol has lifted my heart and reinforced some of our precious Kyabje Chime Rinpoche’s teachings – let go of things you don’t need and have confidence.

Ben Henriques

NOTICE – DONATING ITEMS TO MARPA HOUSE

Many members of the Sangha generously donate Dharma objects to Marpa House upon their death. However, please be aware that the House can very rarely accept such gifts due to a lack of space, and they usually have to be given away to other practitioners.

We are deeply grateful for everyone’s kindness, but would encourage people to make arrangements to donate Dharma items to friends on an individual basis, where possible, or check with us first.

We are always very honoured and touched to include your loved ones who’ve passed away in our Chenresik practice and Dewachen prayers for 49 days.

Losar Tashi Delek!

by marpahouse | Feb 18, 2026 | Activities

Happy Tibetan New Year 2153!

The Year of the Male Fire Horse.

We wish everyone a healthy, happy, and peaceful Tibetan New Year! Losar Tashi Delek!

This date marks the beginning of the Year of the Male Fire Horse (2153 in the Tibetan calendar), a year believed to bring intense, transformative, and active energy, occurring only once every 60 years. May ignorance and suffering swiftly be transformed into loving kindness and wisdom.

Thank you all so much for your generosity, involvement and support over the last year. It is greatly appreciated.

May you and all beings be peaceful and happy, and may compassion and wisdom flourish everywhere. We wish you a joyful and auspicious year ahead.

With love from The Trustees

CELEBRATE WITH US ON 18.2.26

CELEBRATE WITH US ON 21.2.26