Determined to start students eager for the teachings on the path without any delay, His Holiness pushed his monk staff and a handful of volunteers to their limits in order to hold a retreat the first year. Tents were cast for a shrine, kitchen and living quarters; two mobile homes were rented, one for dorms and the other for use as a bathhouse. A small group of thirty-five students gathered for the one-month retreat to receive the Foundation Teachings (Ngondro) and commentaries directly from His Holiness, with translation by Khenchen Tsewang Gyasto Rinpoche.