Introducing the Three Doors

A Letter From Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Dear Beloved Sangha and Friends,

Since coming to the West over 20 years ago to share the teachings of Bon Buddhism, I have seen many people benefit in their personal, relational and professional lives from Bon's legacy of wisdom and compassion. Over those two decades I have continually worked on how best to present the teachings coherently and effectively in a cultural context so different from my own. Almost without exception, the teachings and practices for healing body, speech and mind (The Nine Breathings of Purification, Tsa Lung, Five Warrior Syllables, and Fivefold Teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen) have been the most useful and transformative.

With the blessings of Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche and His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, a meditation program is being created to present the pith teachings and practices of body, speech and mind to the public at large. This program, called The Three Doors, will be shorn of all religious and cultural contexts. This is necessary in order to make the medicine of these practices available to those who would otherwise find these teachings and practices too foreign or inaccessible.

In order to take these teachings into the world, we have created a comprehensive three-year training program for sangha members who feel called to be Three Doors teachers. Trainees in this program will be sangha members who integrate The Three Doors Practices into their lives and long to share their benefit with others. This training, called The Three Doors Directors Academy, will begin in the United States and Europe in 2011.

The three-year Directors Academy is an experiential, in-depth training in which you will learn how to transform your life using the Three Doors Practices (The Nine Breathings, Tsa Lung, Five Warriors Syllables, and Fivefold Teachings). You also will learn how to present these practices to others. After graduating from the Directors Academy, those who become certified as official teachers will be Three Doors Directors, authorized by me to teach programs for the public anywhere in the world. These public programs, The Three Doors Seminars, are weekend training programs that introduce the practices to the public in a secular form. Graduates of the Directors Academy may also choose to take these teachings to the world in other ways, for example, through hospitals, educational organizations, or business environments.

If you are interested in learning more about The Three Doors or the Directors Academy, I cordially invite you to visit the Website www.the3doors.org or write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For information about the European Directors Academy, visit the Website or write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Yours in the Dharma,
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Photograph by Rose Lettiere