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At a glance
What you’re coming into
Seven days of complete silence in the Latvian countryside — held within the framework of the Ripa Awareness Meditation (RAM) program. No prior experience needed. No religious background required. Just a genuine wish to know your true mind nature a little better.
"In repose, in space, in silent time, answers can come.
Wisdom and insight wash away problems.
Transformation occurs in stillness."
— GYETRUL JIGME RINPOCHE
Wisdom and insight wash away problems.
Transformation occurs in stillness."
— GYETRUL JIGME RINPOCHE
The method
Ripa Awareness Meditation (RAM)
RAM is a structured meditation method created by Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche in 2015, rooted in the wisdom of the Ripa lineage. It was developed precisely because ancient contemplative practices work — It was developed to make ancient contemplative practices accessible in a clear and structured way. RAM is that door.
It is not a religious practice. It draws on two pillars of classical Buddhist meditation and brings them into a sequence that anyone can follow — regardless of belief, background, or prior experience.
It is not a religious practice. It draws on two pillars of classical Buddhist meditation and brings them into a sequence that anyone can follow — regardless of belief, background, or prior experience.
Samatha
Calm abiding · "mental calm"
Using the breath as an anchor, the mind learns to settle — not to stop thinking, but to stop being driven by thought. This is the foundation: a stable, quiet place to stand.
Vipassana
Penetrating vision · "seeing clearly"
Insight is introduced as a way of seeing experience more clearly. This clarity allows us to respond rather than react.
Emotional awareness
Transformation through awareness
Difficult emotions aren't suppressed or bypassed — they're made the object of practice. The retreat offers concrete tools to meet anger, anxiety, grief, and fear with steady, open attention.
Integration
From cushion to daily life
RAM was designed to live in the world. Each session connects practice to ordinary circumstances — relationships, work, the small moments that make up a life.
The training path
This retreat is also the first step
For those who feel called to go deeper — this 7-day silent retreat counts as the prerequisite for the certified Ripa Awareness Meditation (RAM) teacher training path.
It is the required foundation for anyone who may later wish to continue into the full RAM training program and explore the possibility of becoming a certified RAM instructor.
You don't need to decide now.
This retreat is open to everyone — beginners, experienced practitioners, and those simply wishing to spend seven days in silence. But if you sense that RAM may become part of your longer path, this is where that path begins.
It is the required foundation for anyone who may later wish to continue into the full RAM training program and explore the possibility of becoming a certified RAM instructor.
You don't need to decide now.
This retreat is open to everyone — beginners, experienced practitioners, and those simply wishing to spend seven days in silence. But if you sense that RAM may become part of your longer path, this is where that path begins.
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7-Day Silent RAM Retreat
1 step · 10 − 17 October 2026 -
Further RAM Training
2 step · Dates and locations to be announced
(estimation around easter 2027) -
Practice, Mentoring & Integration
3 step · Requirements to be confirmed by the RAM training team -
Certified RAM Instructor Path
4 step · For those who did the full training process
WHY COME
Six reasons this matters
Attending counts as the first module of a certified RAM teacher training program. For those who want to go further — the full course and certification details will be announced here.
THE GUIDES
Those holding the space
Dungsey Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche
LINEAGE HOLDER · SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, RIPA INTERNATIONAL CENTER
Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche is the holder of the Ripa lineage — an ancient Tibetan tradition of wisdom teachers — and a recognized master of both the Kagyu and Nyingma schools. Born in 1970 in Odisha, India, he received a classical monastic education alongside a secular Master's degree in Buddhist philosophy. He leads monasteries in India and Nepal, oversees a community of over 400 monks, and has built Buddhist centers across Switzerland, France, Germany, Spain, and Japan since 1996.
He is especially valued — by practitioners and newcomers alike — for something rarer than erudition: an ability to make complex inner truths feel immediately personal and workable. His teaching style combines precision with lightness, depth with warmth, and a crisp sense of humour that disarms rather than overwhelms. He is the creator of the RAM program and the author of Being Sincere with Our Emotions, among other works.
He is especially valued — by practitioners and newcomers alike — for something rarer than erudition: an ability to make complex inner truths feel immediately personal and workable. His teaching style combines precision with lightness, depth with warmth, and a crisp sense of humour that disarms rather than overwhelms. He is the creator of the RAM program and the author of Being Sincere with Our Emotions, among other works.
Geneviève Hamelet
LEAD TEACHER · CO-DEVELOPER OF RAM · MBSR INSTRUCTOR & TRAINOR
Geneviève is a longtime student of Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche, as well as his French interpreter since 1996 and helps developping the RAM program alongside him.
She teaches meditation in traditional settings, such as the Ripa International Centre founded by Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche in 2012 in Switzerland and also in the Tarab Institute, where she holds a « Semrig Thablam Mawa degree » in UD « Inner Science of Mind and Phenomena » since 2005, and has been translating Tarab Rinpoche and Lene Handberg since 2001.
She is also an MBSR instructor and trainer certified by UMass Medical School and Brown University, and a member of the GMC (Global Mindfulness Collaborative), international network of MBSR trainers. She has also been trained in MBCT by one of the founders, Zindel Segal, and taught it for 6 years.
She is the co-founder of ADM in France (Association for the Development of Mindfulness) , where she trains MBSR instructors, and of the IMF (Initiative Mindfulness France), within which she could lead MBSR programs with MPs in the National Assembly. She is also part of Mind And Life Europe.
Vice-president of the association « Compassion-Paris-2003 », she had the great privilege to co-organize the teachings of the Dalaï-Lama during a whole week in the stadium of Paris-Bercy
She teaches meditation in traditional settings, such as the Ripa International Centre founded by Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche in 2012 in Switzerland and also in the Tarab Institute, where she holds a « Semrig Thablam Mawa degree » in UD « Inner Science of Mind and Phenomena » since 2005, and has been translating Tarab Rinpoche and Lene Handberg since 2001.
She is also an MBSR instructor and trainer certified by UMass Medical School and Brown University, and a member of the GMC (Global Mindfulness Collaborative), international network of MBSR trainers. She has also been trained in MBCT by one of the founders, Zindel Segal, and taught it for 6 years.
She is the co-founder of ADM in France (Association for the Development of Mindfulness) , where she trains MBSR instructors, and of the IMF (Initiative Mindfulness France), within which she could lead MBSR programs with MPs in the National Assembly. She is also part of Mind And Life Europe.
Vice-president of the association « Compassion-Paris-2003 », she had the great privilege to co-organize the teachings of the Dalaï-Lama during a whole week in the stadium of Paris-Bercy
where
Porto Resort, Lilaste
Between the lake and the sea · Full board · sauna · 23 KM from Riga
A quiet lakeside property on the Latvian coast, about 30 minutes from Riga. It sits between Lake Lilaste and the Baltic Sea, surrounded by pine forest.
Comfortable shared double or triple room with private bathroom, wholesome food, access to the lake, and the kind of natural quiet that begins doing the work before the retreat has officially started.
Comfortable shared double or triple room with private bathroom, wholesome food, access to the lake, and the kind of natural quiet that begins doing the work before the retreat has officially started.
Support
Help make this possible
This retreat is made possible not only through participation, but also through the quiet support of people who feel connected to this work.
If you resonate with what we are creating, you are welcome to support in a way that feels natural to you:
If you resonate with what we are creating, you are welcome to support in a way that feels natural to you:
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Marketing & promotion
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Participant scholarship
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Financial donations
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In-kind contribution
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Event organisation
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Local partnership
Questions
Things people often ask
None at all. The retreat welcomes complete beginners — in fact, many participants find that an open, untrained mind is an advantage. Geneviève's teaching style is specifically designed to be accessible from the very first session.
Noble silence means setting aside unnecessary conversation — not for suppression, but so that the inner process has room to unfold. Practical communication (asking for what you need, questions to teachers in designated sessions) is always fine. Phones and social media are asked to be set aside during the retreat. Most participants report that the silence becomes a relief within the first day or two.
Please read full retreat participation terms before you book your spot.
Please read full retreat participation terms before you book your spot.
No. The RAM method is rooted in a Buddhist lineage, but the practice works with universal aspects of human experience — the nature of mind, emotion, and awareness. No religious belief or identification is required or assumed. People from all faiths and none attend.
No — the retreat is residential and must be attended in its entirety. This is a structural requirement, not a rule for its own sake. The seven days work as a single arc: each day builds on the one before, and the depth that becomes possible in the second half depends on the ground laid in the first.
Accommodation at Porto Resort, all vegetarian meals, and the full 7-day teaching and practice program. Travel to and from Latvia is not included.
Fill in the registration form. Your place is confirmed once advance payment is received — details are sent by email after you submit. The balance is due 4 weeks before the retreat begins. Places are limited.
The advance payment is non-refundable but can be transferred to a future event if you notify us in advance.
Yes. This retreat is designed as the first module of an upcoming certified RAM course. Details about the full course structure and certification path will be shared here when available. Attending this retreat counts as the foundation module of that program.
"A calm mind is like smooth water — it reflects the truth."
