Dharma Ocean Foundation

What Dharma Ocean Foundation does

Dharma Ocean Foundation is a US-based nonprofit religious and educational organization headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, with operational facilities at the Blazing Mountain Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado. It transmits the "practicing lineage" of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche — particularly his Vajrayana dharma — into a contemporary format emphasizing somatic (body-centered) meditation, anchoring awakening in embodied experience rather than purely intellectual study. The organization's intellectual property is a four-stage training path (Ground Yana, Meditation Yana, Yana of Great Compassion, Yana of Somatic Descent) and an archive of more than 25 years of teachings from Dr. Reginald A. Ray and Caroline Pfohl, comprising hundreds of hours of audio and over 60 archived teachings.

The product surface spans a tiered membership subscription model ($10-$40/month Sustaining; $50-$1000/month Foundation Yanas; $108/month Tantrikas), self-paced online courses, teacher-led/facilitated online programs, residential retreats at Blazing Mountain Retreat Center, an e-commerce audio download store ($27 per title), a podcast, and donation options. A distributed Meditation Instructor network provides personalized practice support to members. Distribution is community-led and self-serve via the website (English and French), complemented by social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), email newsletter, and an events calendar; geographic reach extends to the USA, France, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Switzerland.

Revenue mechanics combine recurring membership subscriptions, one-time digital purchases, residential retreat fees, and donations. The customer base consists of individual practitioners — from curious beginners to advanced Vajrayana students — with no enterprise or B2B segment, and no external equity, parent company, or venture funding disclosed.

Name

Dharma Ocean Foundation

Legal name

Dharma Ocean Foundation

Website

https://dharmaocean.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dharma Ocean Foundation is a US nonprofit that delivers somatic meditation and Vajrayana Buddhist teachings via tiered memberships, online courses, a retreat center, and an audio download store, serving global individual practitioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Spiritual and Meditation Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Meditation Apps, Digital Courses & Online Communities (HSADAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Meditation Retreats, Workshops & Immersive Programs (HSADAJAF), Mindfulness-Based Coaching & Training (MBSR/MBCT-style) (HSADAJAB), Mindfulness, Meditation & Stress Management Education (EDAAAHAD)

Keywords

• Somatic meditation programs
• Vajrayana buddhist teachings
• Online meditation courses
• Residential meditation retreats
• Spiritual education platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Coushatta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Tiered monthly and annual membership subscriptions providing access to curated teaching content, practice resources, instructor support, and discounts on programs and products. Three tiers: Sustaining ($10-40/month), Foundation Yanas ($50+/month), and Tantrikas ($108/month).
2. Audio Downloads: One-time purchases of individual audio programs including Dathün volumes and retreat recordings at $27 per title. Available through the Dharma Ocean Audio Store.
3. Donations: One-time, monthly, and yearly donation options allowing supporters to contribute financially to the organization's mission of making Vajrayana teachings accessible.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Dharma Ocean Foundation delivers somatic (body-centered) meditation training rooted in the Vajrayana Buddhist lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It sells tiered memberships (Sustaining, Foundation Yanas, Tantrikas) that unlock an audio archive, guided practices, and instructor support; offers self-paced and teacher-led online courses; hosts residential meditation retreats at its Blazing Mountain Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado; and sells individual audio downloads through its Dharma Ocean Audio Store.

Product overview

Dharma Ocean Foundation offers a multi-tiered membership-based learning platform centered on Somatic Meditation and Vajrayana Buddhist teachings. The core product is a membership subscription system with three tiers: Sustaining Member (entry-level, $10/month), Foundation Yanas Membership (core training tier, $50/month or $600/year), and Tantrikas Membership (advanced Vajrayana, $108/month). Supporting these memberships is a digital audio store selling downloadable retreat recordings (Dathün series, Meditating with the Body series, $27 each). The organization also provides self-paced online courses, teacher-led facilitated programs, and in-person residential retreats at Blazing Mountain Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado. Additional offerings include a podcast, published articles, audio programs, and donation options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dathün: Rigorous meditation retreat format designed by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, taught by Dr. Reggie Ray
• Meditating with the Body
• Advanced Meditating with the Body
• The Body Loves

Products and services

• Sustaining Member Subscription

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Calm: Subscription meditation, sleep, and wellness app with a large consumer subscriber base; broad incumbent in the meditation category that competes for the same end-user attention and discretionary spend as Dharma Ocean.
• Insight Timer: Large free and subscription meditation app marketplace hosting thousands of teachers including Buddhist teachers; comparable distribution channel for meditation content with consumer subscription model.
• Headspace Health: Mass-market consumer meditation and mental health app with subscription pricing and corporate B2B channels; broadly incumbent in the same meditation category but oriented to secular mindfulness rather than Vajrayana lineage instruction.

Direct peers

• Insight Meditation Society (IMS): Barre, Massachusetts-based nonprofit offering residential retreats, online courses, and a global community in the Theravada/Insight tradition; structurally similar operating model combining donation support with retreat and digital programs.
• Spirit Rock Meditation Center: Woodacre, California-based nonprofit operating residential silent retreats, online courses, and teacher-led programs in the Insight Meditation tradition; directly comparable to Dharma Ocean in combining retreat-center operations with subscription digital content.
• Upaya Zen Center: Santa Fe-based Zen Buddhist nonprofit operating a retreat center, online programs, and a rigorous teacher-training path; comparable lineage-rooted meditation education with residential and digital touchpoints.
• Tara Brach / Insight Meditation Community of Washington: Highly regarded meditation teacher offering podcasts, online courses, retreats, and a meditation community; similar teacher-led model with branded digital programs and residential retreats.

Others

• Shambhala Publications: Independent publisher of Buddhist and contemplative titles with retail distribution and digital formats; already a commercial ally of Dharma Ocean via Reggie Ray's titles, and an adjacent rather than competitive market player.
• Wisdom Publications: Nonprofit publisher of Buddhist books and digital learning content serving the same practitioner audience; adjacent, enabling, and thematically related rather than directly competitive.
• Tricycle Foundation / Tricycle: The Buddhist Review: New York-based nonprofit media organization publishing Buddhist teaching content, online courses, and magazine features; comparable nonprofit educational mission serving the same dharma-interested audience via digital channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCv9C_QDHRbyhAycmsYourag/f
• Facebookfacebook.com/dharmaocean
• Instagraminstagram.com/dharma_ocean_foundation
• Xx.com/practicelineage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dharma Ocean Foundation