George Wiegand

George Wiegand is our well-known and loved meditation teacher and volunteer at Ratna Ling. He  has been a student of our Founder Tarthang Tulku and a full-time volunteer in Nyingma organizations for 40 years, as a chef, baker, kitchen manager, temple builder, book binder, and pressman.
He earned his Masters of Education in Counseling in 1974. After teaching high school while in the Peace Corps, he served as a Counselor at a Catholic high school before moving to California in search of a meditation teacher. He intensively trained in Tibetan Yoga (Kum Nye) from 1982-1986 at the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, and then moved to the Odiyan country center.
George describes his daily practice as meditation in action, working on projects in the Nyingma community, cooking, baking, building temples, printing, binding books, and teaching Tibetan meditation. His active meditation has been a solitary practice, internally studying the working of his own mind as he performs dharma activities. Some of his greatest lessons have come from caring for a dying parent and teaching communication to teenagers at a mindfulness-based youth treatment center.

His hobbies include bread baking, basketball, and choir singing.

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Upcoming Programs by George Wiegand

Relaxation - SPECIAL PRICING

Also With Karmyn Ojeda and Renate Marx

July 10 - 12, 2026

Join this special offering by Ratna Ling Resident Teachers for a weekend of exploring relaxation techniques, as taught by Tarthang Tulku. Do you continuously experience stress or overwhelm? Do you have a hard time letting go and softening? If you are needing a space to take a breath and to slow down, this weekend was […]

Sustained Awareness: A Meditation Retreat

Also With Karmyn Ojeda

September 17 - 20, 2026
For those interested in deepening their Meditation practice, Ratna Ling has designed three annual retreats for folks at different stages of the meditation path. This retreat is designed for those who seek more calmness and stability in the mind.

Joy & Appreciation - A Thanksgiving Retreat

Also With Linda Copenhagen and Karmyn Ojeda

November 27 - 29, 2026
For this special retreat, we are offering a sliding scale to allow you to give what you can. We hope you can join us! This Thanksgiving retreat is offered as a way to support folks who need some peace and quiet during this holiday. We invite you to take a sacred pause, to sit, to lay down, to be in nature, to meditate, and to come back to center.