With Pema Khandro, Father Francis Tiso, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Shugen Roshi, Julie Rogers, Jim Tucker, M.D., Koshin Paley Ellison and Dr. William McGrath
Open Dates
Teachings on Death and Dying Facing realities of dying, death, and grief are central to our human experience. This program offers practical instructions for helping others in the process of dying and an overview of essential knowledge on death, bardo, and rebirth. This includes self-paced lectures on dying, loss, grief, and illness from Lamas and scholars of Buddhist Studies. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
With Dr. Nicole Willock, Julie Regan, Ph.D., Pema Khandro, Lama Willa Miller, Amy Langenberg , Dr. Ann Gleig, Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, Lama Rod Owens, Dr. Jim Hopper, Dr. Elizabeth Call and Damchö Diana Finnegan
Open Dates
Join Pema Khandro and a group of esteemed Buddhist Studies scholars for an exploration of the history of Buddhist Sexualities from celibacy, to sacred sexuality in Buddhist Tantra and a simple approach to embodied integration with nature in Dzogchen. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
This course on Buddhist Ethics goes through the Five Buddhist Precepts. The five precepts form the basis of a Buddhist way of life and the vows that Buddhists Seek to follow. The Five Precepts are a discipline of freedom, honor, and precision that cover the potent themes of life from the extraordinary perspective of non-duality. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for these precious teachings. Your contribution, big and small, helps makes in-depth Buddhist training and education more accessible for all. May the teachings spread and flourish!
With Holly Gayley, Judith Simmer-Brown, Sarah Jacoby, Amy Langenberg , Damchö Diana Finnegan, Venerable Karma Lekshe Tsomo and Pema Khandro
Open Dates
This is the missing history of women in Tantric Buddhism. This course addresses the fascinating story of nuns, mothers, teachers, consorts, prophets, and disciples. Taught by scholar-practitioners whose groundbreaking research on women and Buddhism has changed the way we think of Buddhist history. This course will address the history of women in Buddhism, the history of yoginis and dakinis in India and Tibet, the stories of important Buddhist women, Buddhist philosophy on gender, sex, and sexuality, and the role of the consort in historical Tibet, and contemporary manifestations and so much more. Support the Buddhist Studies Institute by donating for…
Breakthrough Retreat Online with Pema Khandro June 27-29. 9am-12 pst, each day. In the protected space of retreat, we will investigate the essence of Breakthrough—learning to allow thoughts and emotions to self-liberate without suppression or engagement, discovering the spaciousness that remains when we release our habitual grasping. This retreat will be led online by Dzogchen teacher and scholar, Pema Khandro. Each day will include study and practice of breakthrough practice, Trekchö (ཁྲེགས་ཆོད་, sometimes transliterated as “tekcho”), from the Heart Essence of the Dakinis
Ngondro means ‘before going.’ In traditional Vajrayana practice, it represents the cognitive, physical, emotional and philosophical components which are keys to the practice of liberation. It is the basis for all Vajrayana practice and thus it is used as a the pre-requisite for the great practices of the Vajrayana tradition. However, ngondro itself is a beloved meditation series for its own sake. It is often practiced many times throughout a life cycle by great yogis of the Nyingma tradition such as Patrul Rinpoche (eighteenth century). Pema Khandro offers Ngondro teachings for serious students who wish to do intensive contemplative…
Ngondro provides a comprehensive introduction to the foundational practices of Buddhist psychology, addressing essential aspects of identity, relationships, forgiveness, and empowerment. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies Institute for a transformative journey into the heart of Vajrayana meditation, beginning January 27, 2025.
Course Overview Ngondro, often referred to as the preliminary practices of Tibetan tantra, is designed to reorient both body and mind, fostering a deeper understanding of oneself, one’s purpose, and the interconnected nature of our existence built on altruism. This training offers a gateway to the profound meditative practices that underpin Vajrayana Buddhism, including refuge, bodhichitta, mandala offerings, deity yoga, and empowerment.
Community Practice Engage with an international community of like-minded practitioners in a series of meditations that are both deeply transformative and accessible. This course simplifies the complexities of ngondro, ensuring a supported, direct experience that opens the path to profound spiritual growth.
Course Structure This one-year training is divided into four modules, each dedicated to a major aspect of the Ngondro practices, taught in their essential, concise form suited for yogis, householders, and lay practitioners outside traditional monastic settings.
Module 1: Field of Buddhas
Start Date: January 27, 2025
Focus: Purification of speech, generating a refuge field, and cultivating enlightened intent.
Module 2: Purifying the Mind
Start Date: April 14, 2025
Includes Vajrasattva meditation for clearing karma and amending past misdeeds.
Module 3: Mountain of Jewels
Start Date: June 30, 2025
Focus on mandala offerings and practices of radical generosity paired with Vajrayogini practice and the Seven Line Prayer.
Module 4: Intrinsic Wisdom
Start Date: September 8, 2025
Focus on empowerment and experiencing the indestructible nature of buddhanature through key Vajrayana themes.
Learning Resources and Support
Philosophy: Self-paced learning segments.
Weekly online practice groups and accountability partnerships.
Quarterly live webinars with Pema Khandro for in-depth exploration and Q&A.
Practice text provided for essential Ngondro practices.
Recommended reading: Longchen Nyingthig Preliminaries, The Excellent Path to Omniscience by Jigme Trinley Ozer.
Get Started Register now to begin your journey with the first live webinar class. Receive oral transmission from Pema Khandro at the start of the live class to formally initiate your practice.
This training is not just an introduction but a profound deep dive into the spiritual practices that prepare you for the higher teachings of Dzogchen, as revealed by the great 18th-century Nyingma yogi Jigme Lingpa. Embrace this opportunity to ground your spiritual practice in the profound wisdom of the Nyingma tradition.