The Five Houses

Wisdom

in the Times

of Chaos

Door to the Diamond Way 2

geshe michael roach

in-person &
Online event
July 18 - 21, 2025
Mexico City

Wisdom

in the Times

of Chaos

Wisdom in the Times of Chaos/Door to the Diamond Way  2 continues our new beginning to Geshe Michael Roach's exciting teachings! We finished a 14-year odyssey through Pabongka Rinpoche's masterpiece on the lam rim last December in Kyoto, Japan, and Geshe Michael has an amazing new journey planned for us--preparing us in loving detail for the Diamond Way teachings he has offered to teach in 2026!

In addition to the exciting offering of Je Tsongkapa's A Song of My Spiritual Life, Geshe Michael will continue teaching us An Angel Debates the Devil in July April. This is the wonderful and funny debate created by Lobsang Chukyi Gyeltsen, the first Panchen Lama, in the 17th century. It's all about emptiness, and is even more relevant today than it was when it was written.

Join us for Wisdom in the Times of Chaos/Door to the Diamond Way 2, July 18-21! We're looking forward to seeing you in person at Mexico City or online!

In Person
retreat package

Early bird prices (till June 1st) - Prices Per Person (U$D)

FULL PACKAGE 

  • Admission to the open talk by Geshe Michael Roach on Friday, July 18, 2025

  • Long weekend program, July 19-21, 2025

  • Four nights at the Camino Real Santa Fe Hotel

  • Breakfast and lunch at the hotel

    Note: The retreat package includes your hotel stay from the afternoon of July 18 through the morning of July 22 (after breakfast).

today

after June 1st

Double Room
with two twin beds
(2 person)

Double Room
with a king bed
(2 persons)

$859

$859

$ 988

$ 988

Single Room
with a king bed
(1 person)

$1321

$ 1519

Don't delay. Secure your place in Geshe Michael's promised 2026 teachings of the Diamond Way by registering for Wisdom in the Times of Chaos/Door to the Diamond Way 2 right now.

Friday 18th: Conference
Saturday 19th: Day 1
Sunday 20th: Day 2
Monday 21st: Day 3

SCHEDULE

VENUE

Camino Real Santa Fe Hotel
México City (CDMX)
México

Requirements
for Diamond Way Participation

To take Diamond Way in 2026, each of us is required to prepare. This means we each must attend—in person or online— all four ACI events in 2025. The four 2025 events will each feature Geshe Michael teaching an amazing lam rim work written by Je Tsongkapa. Titled A Song of My Spiritual Life, it is Lord Tsongkapa's touching memoir of his spiritual journey. Lam rim is Tibetan for steps on the path to enlightenment. In our tradition, studying lam rim is one of the two main ways to prepare for Diamond Way teachings (the other way is to complete all requirements for the 18 ACI Foundation Courses).

online retreat packages

Gold
$149

If you can't afford $149, we are offering the full Gold Package for the donation amount of your choice. Even $1 works!

If you can't afford even a $1 donation, just put $0 in the donation box, and someone will pay it forward for you.

The Gold Package includes:

  • All Geshe Michael's classes

  • Diamond Cutter Classics classes

  • Meditations 

  • Symposium by ACI teachers + Q&A

  • Five Houses Workshops

  • Good seeds to help Asian Classics Institute keep the doors open and the dharma flowing

We honor and thank you for your $149 contribution; it will go a long way to help us with the increased costs of technology, staff salaries, travel, and communications.

Plant wonderful good seeds for many great things--spreading the precious wisdom around the world to those who need it; your own ability to attend future dharma events easily and frequently; the relief of suffering for all living beings; and more.  

Diamond
$499

The Diamond Package includes:

  • The seeds to help a couple of other students who can't afford to attend get a scholarship (What will planting these seeds do for you?)

  • The seeds to help Asian Classics Institute keep the doors open and the dharma flowing

  • All Geshe Michael's Classes

  • Diamond Cutter Classics classes

  • Meditations 

  • Symposium by ACI teachers + Q&A

  • Five Houses Workshops

  • A free copy of Song of my Spiritual Life, a book by Je Tsongkapa

We are truly grateful to our Diamond Package participants! Your help in going beyond the basics makes us able to offer scholarships to other students who don’t have the ability to pay to participate, keeping our mission of offering the dharma free to everyone who needs it alive and well! 

Please celebrate the great good seeds you are planting—helping other students in a very practical way, keeping Asian Classics Institute going, smoothing your own path to attend future events, spreading the dharma around the world, relieving suffering for living beings—every day in your coffee meditations, and accept our warm and heartfelt thanks for your extraordinary support.

Please make your 2025 plans accordingly.

The four 2025 ACI events where Geshe Michael will teach A Song of My Spiritual Life, which are required to be eligible for Diamond Way teachings in 2026, are:

  • The New Beginning/Opening the Door to the Diamond Way, April 17-27, Diamond Mountain Retreat Center in Bowie, Arizona, USA—this event has already taken place.

  • Wisdom in the Times of Chaos / Door to the Diamond Way 2, our event in Mexico City July 18-21.

  • Our October event in Phoenix, Arizona.

  • Our December event in Kyoto, Japan.

Diamond Way is coming in 2026,

and you need to prepare in 2025!

FAQ

Many people have been asking questions about the upcoming teachings with ACI/Five Houses that are a preparation for Diamond Way. Below are a few questions & answers that should help to clarify the policies and directions that we are taking.

  • The short answer is Yes. The longer answer is that you will need to attend all of Geshe Michael’s 2025 classes on the Lam Rim live—either in person, online, or during the official rebroadcasts. The additional classes and workshops offered during the programs are for enrichment, but are not necessary as a prerequisite for taking Diamond Way classes with Geshe Michael.

  • No. Just like any serious preparation for Diamond Way—including De Lam, the first three traditional Diamond Way courses—you must be taught by a live person to receive the oral transmission. We will offer catchup courses led by senior teachers if classes are missed. This will happen later in 2025 as a second chance to qualify. Also, if a student joins after the first course or later on, they may join these catchup courses to qualify as well.

  • Yes. There will be a homework and a quiz for each of the required Lam Rim classes, and a final exam at the end of the 15 preparation classes that are being taught over the next year or so, prior to empowerment. The homeworks and quizzes will be available following the end of each course.

  • Geshe Michael would like everyone to study the Lam Rim with him this time, even if you have studied Lam Rim or De Lam previously or have an empowerment already from him or from any other teacher. It’s not that Geshe Michael’s presentation would be deemed better than any other lineage presentation of these teachings, but rather that the Lam Rim is meant to be a lifelong practice and study. It is the traditional preparation for Diamond Way, according to many great teachers including Pabongka Rinpoche and others. Geshe Michael himself was taught Pabongka’s Lam Rim three times by his teacher—we studied it only ONCE with Geshe Michael for over fourteen years—and so it would be natural to review once again prior to receiving Diamond Way from Geshe Michael, whether for the first time or afresh.

  • Geshe Michael is very clear: keep studying with your teacher. These teachings from him will be a delicious dessert, alongside the primary guidance and teachings you are already receiving from your teacher.

  • Not at all. Geshe Michael encourages everyone to keep up with their studies and practices from those 18 courses. This advanced 18 courses of study is the most comprehensive curriculum ever developed, covering all the essential points of the Diamond Way practice. Each student should find a teacher to guide them through those courses when they are prepared and ready. The depth and beauty of those courses is immeasurable, and we encourage everyone to spend as much quality time as possible with these priceless teachings.

  • The normal pathway to enter the advanced teachings is to complete the 18 course foundational series. These cover all the practices and knowledge base one needs to understand all the steps of the path. Additionally, the student needs permission from their teacher to join the advanced courses, which includes an evaluation of their preparedness, understanding, and integration of the learnings in the 18 foundation courses.

WE TRULY APPRECIATE ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE!

By joining us for Wisdom in the Times of Chaos, you're not only investing in your own spiritual growth but also supporting the continuation of these precious teachings.

As a not-for-profit organization, Asian Classics Institute also is asking for financial support to make this event as affordable as possible for anyone to attend. With your help, we can offer scholarships and work-study positions.

Additionally, we have sponsorship opportunities to cover major expenses during the event:

  • Technology fees (equipment, Zoom fees, and dedicated staff)
    Goal: $5,000

  • Teacher support (food and transportation, as ACI teachers, including Geshe Michael, do not get paid for their teaching services)
    Goal: $12,000

  • Scholarships (for online and in-person attendance)
    Goal: $10,000