“I take refuge in emptiness, luminous awareness and compassion.”
Dear Friends,
This is a line from the Ngondro meditation, one that is part of the refuge formulations in Dzogchen nying thig tradition. They refer to the refuge in the three jewels but also the many other ways of understanding refuge.
The one from the Dakini’s Heart Essence gives a very long formulation:
I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
I take refuge in the Lama, Yidam, and Khandro.
I take refuge in the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya.
I take refuge in emptiness, lucid presence and compassion.
I take refuge in the dharmakaya buddha.
I take refuge in the Sambhogakaya.
I take refuge in the compassionate nirmanakaya.
I take refuge in my own kind root teacher.
I take refuge in the lineage lamas, the source of blessings.
I take refuge in the compassionate teachers who give me guidance.
I take refuge in the yidam and the divine assembly of its mandala.
I take refuge in the warriors, dakinis, and dharma protectors.
But the Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse is an essential version of the Dakini’s Heart Essence and the Dzogchen Nyingthig teachings, so it presents something more pithy. It says:
I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and Sangha
I take refuge in the Lama, Yidam and Khandro
I take refuge in the channels, winds, centers, and their nature, the bodhicitta,
I take refuge in emptiness, lucid presence and compassion
These prayers represent a reorientation that happens through Ngondro training. There is a change from seeing oneself as alone and rootless to seeing oneself as deeply connected, particularly connected to one’s lineage, to the buddha-nature of the body, to the wisdom intrinsic to the phenomenal world. It is not just a sense of refuge that comes from externals, but it is ultimately a sense of refuge that comes in the very wisdom of one’s own body and natural mind. To develop such a sense of refuge is an essential part of Vajrayana training, because it is a matter of a sense of one’s roots, a sense of having resources in the most profound sense.
I am reminded of Garchen Rinpoche’s lovely analogy – there is a difference between a flower that has been picked and a flower that has its roots in the ground. The flower that has been picked and now lives in a vase, inside the house, will perish very easily. Whereas the flower that is still in the ground, its roots in the earth, can withstand winds, rains, hot and cold.
What is that intangible quality of feeling that one has roots? The feeling that one knows one’s place in this world? It seems to be missing in our scientific studies of the benefits of meditation for the very reason that we cannot quantify it. Yet it is a matter of ultimate importance and something that Ngondro meditations address very directly.
This Monday, I am looking forward to leading another module of Ngondro Training, the section on purifying the mind from the Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse Ngondro series. New students can join in on the class, so I am looking forward to seeing old friends and new friends.
Happy lunar new year to you, and may health and wisdom prevail,
It is possible to join Ngondro Training at any time, and it can be taken in any order. Join current modules live and take previous modules at your own pace. This module will focus on Purifying the Mind including Vajrasattva Meditation and Purification of Karma.
Ngondro are the foundational practices for purifying, training and empowering the body-mind. They form the basis of Vajrayana meditation and serve as the foundation for the highest practices of the nature of mind. Ngondro means ‘before going.’ In traditional Vajrayana practice, it represents the cognitive, physical, emotional and philosophical components which are keys to the practice liberation.
This Ngondro training focuses on the foundational esoteric practices of the Nyingma tradition, of Tibetan Buddhism which emphasizes reliance on intrinsic wisdom, through its highest teaching, Dzogchen. The Heart of the Vast Expanse is a cherished cycle of the Nyingma lineage. It is also known as the Longchen Nyingthig, (klong chen snying thig). This is a cycle revealed by the brilliant eighteenth century Buddhist yogi, Jigme Lingpa, poet, leader, historian, and treasure revealer, whose texts synthesize Longchenpa’s teachings.
Pema Khandro reserves Ngondro teachings for serious students who wish to do intensive contemplative training. Dedicated to training yogis, householders and lay people outside of the monastery, Pema Khandro presents these practices in their concise, essential form. This comprehensive course on Ngondro will be taught in four modules to support the accomplishment of practice over the period of one year, with the training modules completed in nine months.
Heart of the Vast Expanse – 4 Modules
Module 1: The Field of Buddhas (Self-paced Course)
Module 2: Purifying the Mind
Module 3: Mountain of Jewels
Module 4: Intrinsic Wisdom
Module 1: The Field of Buddhas (Self-paced Course)
Purification of Speech
Generating A Refuge Field
Raising Enlightened Intent
Module 2: Purifying the Mind
Vajrasattva Meditation
Purification of Karma
Module 3: Mountain of Jewels
Mandala Offering
Vajrayogini Practice
Seven Line Prayer
Module 4: Intrinsic Wisdom
Receiving the Four Empowerments
Merging into Buddhahood
ONLINE OPEN TEACHINGS
*All times are listed in Pacific Time UTC-8 (Timezone Converter)
The 100 Days of Practice is being extended year round!
Daily Meditation
Join our certified meditation instructors for a short free daily practice online. Each day meditation is followed by conversations about Buddhism.
Thursdays – Through April, 8am
A Course in Valid Cognition with Geshe Sonam
Winter Pramana Study
Feb 22-24, 1-3pm
Ngondro Training
Purifying the Mind: Vajrasattva Meditation & Purification of Karma
Mar 8, 1-3pm
Laughter of the Dakinis: Dakini Day Chod
Meditation and instructions on letting go of fictions and self-deception in Tibetan Chod meditation.
Mar 17, 6pm
Being with Illness & Dying, with Pema Khandro
By Donation. A free event open to the public.
Mar 19-21, 10am-6pm
The Bardo Retreat with Pema Khandro
Pema Khandro will teach on the six bardos, Buddhist instructions for how to live wakefully in the phases of change within our lives.
Apr 23-25, 10am-6pm
Pema Khandro teachings on Longchenpa’s Finding Comfort and Ease in the nature of mind.
April 25
Pema Khandro and Lama Willa in the Dharma Dialogue Series on Women in Buddhism.
MEMBERS-ONLY CLASSES
3rd and 4th Wednesdays – Ngakpa Training with Pema Khandro
DAKINI MOUNTAIN NEWS
Seeking Land Manager for Dakini Mountain
Seeking a land manager for twenty hours a week in exchange for someone who wants to do off grid living with your own self-sustaining mobile home/RV system on Dakini Mountain property and free Buddhist Studies Institute courses. No RV hookups are here but it is the one of the most beautiful places on earth. Applicants must have farm experience, landscaping skills, construction, building knowledge, handyman skills etc, as well as capacity to be self-motivated, self-starting, work with others, take direction well and problem solve. Past experience as well as three employment references are required. Please send your resume, a photo, along with the name and contact for three employment references to Info@DakiniMountain.org.
Do you have Business and/or Real Estate Expertise?
Seeking conversation partners in reshaping the future of Dakini Mountain – seeking to converse with people with experience in real estate and running businesses as we re-vision how Dakini Mountain will take shape during the pandemic and beyond. Contact Info@DakiniMountain.org.