Becoming A New Saint: Emerging As Warriors From Our Broken Hearts

A 4-Day Silent Retreat led by Lama Rod Owens

Thurs July 31st - Sun Aug 3rd

Sanctuary Farm

8519 Pickards Meadow Road Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Group photo from a previous Dharma Gates retreat led by Lama Rod

Lama Rod Owens

Retreat Overview

In a world struggling through injustice, uncertainty, and collective grief, the time has come for a new kind of spiritual warrior—one who leads with love, stands in their truth, and walks with compassion. “Each of us can be a new saint,” says Lama Rod Owens. “In our pain, our trauma, and all our complexity, we all can—and must—awaken the virtue of our compassion for the benefit of our communities, our planet, and our own souls.”

Inspired by Lama Rod’s book The New Saints, this retreat invites us to reimagine sainthood not as beings of stained glass or carved stone, but through a lived presence and deep commitment to awakening amid the chaos of modern life. Through spiritual teachings, contemplative and somatic practices, ritual, and honest community, we’ll explore how to show up for ourselves and each other with courage, accountability, and radical presence.

This retreat is for anyone ready to reclaim their power and live into their calling—not as saviors, but as sacred disruptors rooted in love. We'll ask: What does it mean to be a new saint in the midst of it all? How do we become sanctuaries for others while not abandoning ourselves? This work reinforces the truth of our interdependency—allowing us to be of service to the collective well-being, and to call on the support and strength of the countless beings who share our struggles and hopes. 

Retreat Logistics & Information

Commuter Retreat

This retreat will be a “commuter retreat” — there will not be overnight accommodations. If you are coming in from out of town, we encourage you to find a hotel or AirBnB nearby that suits your needs. There are plenty of options around the Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh areas. If you have any questions about where to stay, please reach out to us directly via email (benjamin@dharma-gates.org).

Schedule & Dates

Dates

The retreat will begin on Thursday, July 31st at 9:00am and conclude at 2:00pm on Sunday, August 3rd. Each day will begin at 9:00am and finish at 5:00pm.

Daily Schedule

*note: this is approximate, this schedule might change slightly

  • 9:00am - 10:30am Group Session #1

  • 10:45am - 12:15pm Group Session #2

  • 12:15pm - 1:30pm Lunch Break

  • 1:30pm - 3:00pm Group session #3

  • 3:15pm - 5:00pm Group session #4

Food

Dharma Gates will provide a nourishing lunch each day to participants. There will also be plenty of coffee and tea, water, and snacks throughout the day. Breakfast and dinner will not be provided — you will be on your own for breakfast and dinner. The food will be vegan and will be sourced as much as possible from nearby farms. It will be whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and some vegan sources of protein. If you have specific allergies or dietary needs, please let us know in your registration form.

The retreat is run entirely in the spirit of dāna (generosity).
Find out more about dāna here

“There’s no liberation without actually leaning forward and looking at the things that we habitually run away from, in order to see things as they really are, not as we have imagined them.” - Lama Rod

About the Teacher

Considered one of the leaders of the next generation of Dharma teachers, Lama Rod Owens has a blend of formal Buddhist training and life experience that gives him a unique ability to understand, relate and engage with those around him in a way that’s spacious and sincere. His gentle, laid-back demeanor and willingness to bare his heart and soul makes others want to do the same. Even when seated in front of a room, he’s next to you, sharing his stories and struggles with an openness vulnerability and gentle humor that makes you genuinely feel good about who you are, with all your flaws and foibles, you’re lovable and deserving of happiness and joy. He invites you into the cross sections of his life as a Black, queer male, born and raised in the South, and heavily influenced by the church and its community.

Lama Rod Owens was officially recognized by the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism after receiving his teaching authorization from his root teacher the Venerable Lama Norlha Rinpoche (below) when he completed the traditional 3-year silent retreat program at Kagyu Thubten Chöling Monastery (KTC) outside of New York City.

Lama Rod has a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice. Author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors and Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care. Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself. Lama Rod co-founded Bhumisparsha in 2018, a spiritual community with a mission of making tantra accessible and inclusive for North American practitioners while serving as a catalyst for transformative social change.

Location & Retreat Center

This retreat will be at Sanctuary Farm outside of Chapel Hill, NC. The address is 8519 Pickards Meadow Road Chapel Hill, NC 27516.

Sanctuary Farm grew out of the founder Meg and Tim Toben’s deep love for the Earth and their belief in the importance of Sanctuary. Inspired by the work of EF Schumacher, Thomas Berry, Joanna Macy and Indigenous Elders, the Tobens formed The Eco-Institute.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • No. All experience levels are welcome, including beginners.

  • Nope. You do not have to be Buddhist to participate in this retreat. Guo Gu’s teachings are deeply rooted in the classical Chan Buddhist tradition and include beliefs that may be challenging for some. We invite you to encounter the teachings with an open, discerning, and inquisitive mind.

  • The retreat is run on a donation basis in the spirit of dana. There is no required attendance fee. We ask that participants give a deposit of $100 in order to claim your place at the retreat. This deposit is returned back to you at the end of the retreat unless you choose to donate it. We keep your deposit in the case that you don’t show up.

    We ask you to donate the amount that feels appropriate and generous for you, given your situation and desire for Dharma Gates to continue to exist in the future.

  • The food served at the retreat will be vegan. If you have specific allergies or requests, please let us know. We do our best to able to accommodate all dietary requests.

  • The 5 precepts are training guidelines as the foundation of sīla (ethics) in Buddhism. Throughout this retreat we will all be maintaining the 5 precepts so that we can we can practice in harmony. The 5 precepts are:

    1. I will not engage in physical violence or intentionally cause bodily harm to myself or others

    2. I will not steal or damage other people’s property.

    3. I will refrain from forced, coercive, or non-consensual sexual contact or any other form of sexual harassment against others. For this retreat we will be practicing celibacy.

    4. I will not intentionally insult or verbally abuse others.

    5. I will not consume intoxicating substances including, but not limited to, alcohol, marijuana, psychedelics or any other illegal substances.

  • Dharma Gates wholeheartedly welcomes people of all cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities. There will be gender neutral bathrooms available and we may be able to provide single rooms if that would make you more comfortable. Our aim is to make retreat practice accessible to all young people—if there’s something we can to do help you feel comfortable to attending, please do not hesitate to reach out to us (team@dharma-gates.org.)

  • We are no longer require testing for Covid-19. We are still committed to the safety and health of the retreat container. The intention is to move towards a culture of taking care of ourselves and others by self-monitoring symptoms, and reducing transmission of any possible sickness.

The ‘meditation hall’ where we will be together for this retreat, in a loft of a barn.