Teaching Issue
Volume 13, Number 3 / June 2013
Letter from the Editors
Teachings on Impermanence!
Hello Everyone,
Thank you, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Marcy Vaughn, for the wonderful teaching excerpt below taken from Rinpoche’s recent Spring Retreat at Serenity Ridge on “Embracing Impermanence.” Such a beautiful teaching and practice. We hope you all enjoy it!
And we have other news, as well, of an impermanent nature. On behalf of Rinpoche and Ligmincha’s Board of Directors, we would like to thank Dave Liden, who has retired as Ligmincha’s webmaster. Dave has been the webmaster for Ligmincha since 2007. He also created the VOCL website and has helped in the planning stages of the new website for Ligmincha. Dave has been invaluable to Ligmincha and has always been there to help with any problem or need that arose. He was devoted and tireless in his efforts in this volunteer role. Jeff and I also were lucky to have him help us when we first started sending our fancy email VOCL a few years ago. Thanks, Dave and all the best wishes!
And now we welcome Ligmincha’s new volunteer friends who have taken on website responsibilities. Cynthia Allison is Ligmincha Institute’s new webmaster and Mark Hammons is webmaster for VOCL. It’s great to have you both on board!
Summer will be a busy time at Ligmincha Institute at Serenity Ridge, as you can see in the articles below. We encourage you, if you can, to attend the annual Summer Retreat, which will include a special visit from His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche; participate in the special fundraising banquet to benefit Tibetan orphans supported by His Holiness; and to attend or contribute to Ligmincha Institute’s annual fundraising auction.
Be sure to read on as there is more news, many great retreat offerings, webcasts and online workshops announced below!
Happy summer, and best wishes to you all,
Aline and Jeff
Guided Meditation of Inner Refuge—Embracing Impermanence
An Edited Excerpt from Oral Teachings given by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Spring 2013
The following teaching, excerpted from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's April 13, 2013, morning talk during the spring retreat, was edited by Marcy Vaughn. The retreat topic was "Embracing Impermanence—Inner Refuge in the Face of Change." (The Refuge Prayers below are copyrighted by Tenzin Wangyal; please do not copy or distribute without permission.)
First refuge:
The center of the victorious mandala, one's own body,
The source of all positive qualities without exception,
Is the expanse within the three channels and the five chakras.
I take refuge in this body of emptiness.
Gradually draw your attention inward. Be fully aware of your body. Feel that stillness in your body. From the soles of your feet to the crown of your head, feel stillness in every cell in your body and in the flow of movement within your body. Just be more conscious of your entire body, more connected with your entire body, and be aware of the stillness in your body. Gradually feel a deep inner stillness.
Finally, through inner stillness, be aware of the first refuge, the unbounded sacred space, the body of emptiness.
When you find or see the inner sacred space of the first refuge, feel as the priest who sees Christ in a vision or a Buddhist monk who sees Buddha in a vision after a period of longing; experience the joy and respect and tears of your genuine heart opening. Many deep experiences can happen. Be open.
These experiences are self-realization, self-knowing, self-seeing, self-encountering, knowing your true self, knowing who you are, knowing the truth. Knowing the inner refuge means all this.
Second refuge:
All the gathered clouds of suffering and misery
Are completely cleared by the wisdom wind,
Revealing the unelaborated, primordially pure expanse of the sky.
I take refuge in this body of light.
Listen and hear the silence within. Feel and connect with inner silence. Hear the inner silence not only from your ears or somewhere in your head, but hear through your entire body and entire existence. Feel that silence at your crown, in your throat, your heart, your navel chakra, and in your secret chakra. Feel the silence in the flow of your blood and pulse of your veins. Hear the silence in the movement of your breath.
Gradually feel a deep sense of peace in that silence. When you hear the silence in all your existence, you feel a deep quiet. You feel peace. This silence is the absence of agitation, thoughts, emotions, which are like clouds in the sky. When the clouds disappear, the sun shines. Allow that inner sun. Be aware of that inner sun. Awareness is the inner sun. There is a sense of presence in that inner silence and peace. Recognize that sense of knowing, sense of being, sense of being awake, sense of being alert, sense of being present. This is the famous presence that everybody talks about. Present in that openness is what we are actually referring to when we are talking about presence. It is experiential, this second refuge. Recognize that.
If you feel it, if you are aware of it, that is the body of inner light. Once again, be like that priest, monk or shaman, and feel the devotion, trust and joy, like a lost child reuniting with the mother again. There is joy in recognition. You are that child; that sacred space is your mother. The child would be full of joy and excitement, liveliness and fullness—a peak state of consciousness. Allow that experience.
Third refuge:
From the pavilion of the five wisdom lights,
Rays of non-dual spheres of light emanate,
Clearing the webs of the darkness of ignorance.
I take refuge in this body of great bliss.
Be aware of that spaciousness, openness in your heart, in your mind. Be aware of that union of space and light. Be aware of that warmth coming from that open space and the infinite light of awareness. As you discover the warmth and the joy of being, it is like opening the treasury of a king. You are opening the treasury of your inner kingdom. Everything that you will ever need is here. Infinite joy is here; infinite strength is here; deep compassion is here. An ultimate sense of balance is here. The peace that everyone searches for is here. The support that we seek in our life is here in the inner refuge. This is our best friend. There is no reason to feel alone or lonely. You belong. You are part of it; you are it. All that we seek through our outer situations and relationships and all that we do to find inner meaning, all those states of consciousness already exist in us more powerfully than those conditions which are temporary and vulnerable. This discovery is changeless and ceaseless. It is a great discovery. Be aware and feel like you are discovering the treasure of an inner kingdom.
Now gradually reflect in your life upon the changes that are difficult to process; reflect upon the impermanence that you are facing or are afraid of facing. In that vast space, in that infinite awareness, in that incredible capacity of hosting your experience with warmth, just be conscious without analyzing or judging. Just be aware of what is happening. I am afraid. I feel insecure. I don't know what is going to happen or why it is happening. Whatever your thoughts and feelings are, don't judge them but be aware as they are. Be aware of what is happening. We don't need a second thought to judge them; we only need one awareness to know them and host them and care deeply by being. Hosting in that warmth is the definition of care here rather than verbally saying, "I care." It is an ultimate meaning of care rather than a conventional meaning of care. A conventional meaning of caring is when ego is saying, "I am going to care," and yet is confused about what that means and is unable to truly do so.
Just host in that warmth whatever is happening like a great powerful compassionate mother when her child is in pain and crying. Be like this loving mother—steady, strong, caring, nonjudgmental, present. Be like this mother toward yourself, because you are that child who is suffering, the one who says, "I feel difficulty facing these changes; I feel difficulty processing these challenges; I have a hard time accepting these impermanent situations." That "I" needs care and attention and healing, and you are that healer; that mother space of the inner refuge is the healer.
When you are truly able to connect in this way with the one who is facing difficulties with change and impermanence, you will heal. You are able to help yourself. This sacred inner space within will clear and open and guide and show what to do. It will grow you, because in some way, every pain helps us to grow. For every being who has achieved enlightenment, their pain helped them to grow step by step.
We might think something is changing, something is being lost, but actually, there is no change happening, there is nothing we are losing. For sure, we are experiencing we are losing, we are experiencing we are changing, we are experiencing it might be terrible. But we are not this change—and our journey is to discover that we are not change. Our challenges are like a test or an exam, testing your strength and testing your connection to the inner refuge. What shakes you tests your capacity to trust in the inner refuge and to trust yourself.
Just for a moment, reflect upon your past when you experienced change or separation or a threat occurred. You may not remember everything clearly, but perhaps you remember some of your emotions, thoughts and interactions, and perhaps you thought very similarly to what you are thinking now of these challenges. You may feel completely lost or scared, and it looks like there is nothing clear about your future. Perhaps you even thought, "This will destroy me completely." None of those fears are true. Did those experiences allow you to grow, be more aware, more realistic, more open, more considerate, more respectful of others? Did it expand your consciousness and awareness? Then you were much younger and less mature. Now that you are more mature, these changes might benefit your development all the more. Because of your exposure to the teachings and practices and your experiences of life, you are so much richer. Allow that possibility of growing through challenges with the support of these beautiful practices of the inner refuge and your own inner strength and trust.
Participate in Annual Summer Fundraising Auction at Serenity Ridge
An Opportunity to Give and Receive
We invite our worldwide sangha to participate in Ligmincha Institute's upcoming annual fundraising auction, set for Friday, July 5, at Serenity Ridge. The auction will be held during the 21st annual Summer Retreat, scheduled for June 23–July 13. This summer's auction will be especially festive because H.H. Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche—spiritual head of the Bon tradition and abbot of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India—will be at Serenity Ridge during this time.
The auction is Ligmincha Institute's main fundraiser for the year. We are gathering many wonderful Bon ritual and other dharma-related items to inspire our practice and connection to the precious teachings we receive from Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and other lamas and teachers. Included in the auction will be calligraphy from Tenzin Rinpoche, malas, statue, thangka and much more.
We invite all local sangha, friends and all who are attending the Summer Retreat, to join us. If you live at a distance and are unable to come, you can bid on a few special items listed on the Serenity Ridge website.
You can participate in the following ways:
- Place an absentee bid on specially selected items. Absentee bids must be submitted by July 1.
- Donate a dharma-related practice item. Auction items are still being accepted until Sunday, June 30, 2013.
- Make a general donation.
- Attend the auction in person, if you are able. (Friday, July 5, 3–5:30 p.m., Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, 554 Drumheller Lane, Shipman, VA 22971)
The summer auction will be followed immediately by a fundraising dinner to benefit Tibetan orphans in the care of His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche at the Yungdrung Bon Monastic Center in Dolanji, India. His Holiness will be in attendance.
As we bring together different auction items over the next few weeks, we'll post them on the Serenity Ridge website. So check back from time to time—you may find something that will be perfect for your shrine, home or personal use.
All proceeds from the auction will be used to help further Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's vision and mission of Ligmincha Institute, to preserve the teachings of the Bon Buddhist Tradition of Tibet through retreats, webcasts, research, translation and study. Ligmincha Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Online Ligmincha Learning Course Begins June 22
‘Introduction to the Five Elements: Healing with Form, Energy and Light’
Ligmincha Learning will offer a six-week online course, "Introduction to the Five Elements: Healing with Form, Energy and Light," June 22–Aug. 3, 2013.
The five natural elements—earth, water, fire, air and space—pervade our lives, are the essences of our being and can be sources of profound healing. The course is based on a series of instructional videos in which Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche explores how each of the five elements relates to our daily experiences, emotions and relationships.It features video teachings, guided meditations, meditation assignments reading assignments, a personal journal and weekly online discussions where participants have the opportunity to interact with senior mentors and classmates from around the world.
'Tibetan Dream Yoga' Online Workshop Starts June 8
Four-Week GlideWing Workshop with Rinpoche Begins Soon!
The next GlideWing online workshop with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, "Tibetan Dream Yoga," begins Saturday, June 8, 2013. Learn and practice from your own home, at your own schedule, with personal guidance from Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.
In this four-week workshop (June 8–July 7), students will explore and practice the ancient Bon Buddhist teachings of Tibetan dream yoga. The workshop provides detailed instruction for dream yoga practice, with discussions of the relationships between dreaming and waking and between dreaming and death. Rinpoche also will provide instructions for foundational practices done during the day and for the uses and methods of lucid dreaming.
Learn more/view introductory video
In the near future, an online three-week GlideWing workshop, "Tibetan Sound Healing,' will be offered Aug. 3–25.
Thanks and All the Best to Bo Holland
For Serving as Manager of Ligmincha Institute’s Bookstore & Tibet Shop
We'd like to thank Bo Holland for her cheerful, unruffled presence as Ligmincha Institute's Bookstore & Tibet Shop Manager at Serenity Ridge. She left her position at the end of April. Bo, who has been a student of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for a number of years, became manager of the Bookstore and Tibet Shop in March 2012 and ran both the physical facility and the online store. Bo has assured us that she'll still be attending retreats, so there's no need for goodbyes.
The Bookstore and Tibet Shop will continue to fill online orders and be open during major retreats, with the help of existing Ligmincha Institute staff and volunteers. We wish Bo all the best as she begins the next phase of her life!
His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche to Offer Dzogchen Initiation at Serenity Ridge
Joining Rinpoche During Part of Summer Retreat for Teaching and More
We are pleased to share that His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizin, will join Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche during part of the Summer Retreat, which is scheduled for June 23–July 13, 2013. His Holiness also will give a special dzogchen initiation on July 7.
His Holiness, the spiritual head of the Tibetan Bon Buddhist lineage and abbot of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India, will offer teachings during the last few days of Week 2 of the retreat and the first few days of Week 3. He will participate in the first part of a free full-day webcast on July 6, broadcast live from the summer retreat. (This will be on the last day of Week 2). His Holiness also will be giving a special dzogchen initiation on July 7, the first day of Week 3.
During the three-week Summer Retreat, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will focus his teachings on one of the most esteemed dzogchen texts within the Oral Transmission of Zhang Zhung, the Twenty-One Nails. It is among the innermost secret cycles of dzogchen, directly cutting through doubts about one's natural state of mind by tracing the nature of mind back to its source.
Attend Fundraising Banquet with H.H. Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche
To Benefit Tibetan Orphans in His Holiness’ Care
Ligmincha Institute invites you to join us on July 5 for a special fundraising dinner and evening of entertainment in support of the Tibetan orphans in the care of His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, spiritual head of the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition.
Date and Time: Friday, July 5, 2013–6:30 p.m.
Location: Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Nelson County, Virginia
Tickets: $75 per person; $35 for students attending an academic program at least three-quarters time
Register now
HH Lungtok Tenpai Nyima, the 33rd abbot of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India; monks from Menri Monastery; Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; and other special guests will assemble for a feast of traditional Indian cuisine and diverse entertainment. This is a unique opportunity to spend a special evening with His Holiness and other spiritual masters of the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition in the beautiful natural setting of Serenity Ridge.
All funds raised from this event will be offered to His Holiness in support of the Tibetan refugee children in his care at the Yungdrung Bön Monastic Center.
More than 400 orphaned or semi-orphaned Tibetan children in the village of Dolanji are in desperate need of basic necessities such as food, bedding and clothing. Every month, more children arrive unannounced. The Yungdrung Bön Monastic Center, founded by His Holiness, accepts them all. Monks and nuns at the monastery work together to attend to the children's daily needs. The children are also provided with a rare opportunity to receive a modern education that encompasses their native language and religious culture. His Holiness has stated that he believes the future of Bön depends upon its children, and it is essential they are raised with an awareness of their cultural heritage.
We hope you will take part in this extraordinary evening and support the tireless work of His Holiness in preserving and passing on the precious teachings and culture of the Bön tradition. It is a great honor that His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche is taking the time from his busy schedule to travel so great a distance for a rare visit to Serenity Ridge.
Only 150 tickets are available, so register early to reserve your seat. The registration deadline is June 28, 2013. (The fundraising dinner is included for those who register for Week 2 of the Summer Retreat; in addition, there will be an opportunity to donate to the orphans at the end of Ligmincha's annual fundraising auction.)
To purchase your ticket, register below, email the
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call 434-263-6304.
Registration deadline: June 28, 2013
Not able to attend?
If you are unable to attend the dinner, you can still support His Holiness and the work of the Yungdrung Bön Monastic Center by making a tax-deductible donation. Make checks payable to Ligmincha Institute and indicate "Tibetan Refugee Children" in memo field. To pay by credit card, please email or call the office (see information above).
Cost of the fundraising dinner is $75 per person, or $35 for studens (at least 3/4 time)
Register for fundraising dinner
Remember—Rinpoche’s Next Full-Day Webcast will be July 6
His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche to Participate
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche warmly invites the worldwide sangha, friends and all who are interested to participate in the second free full-day live webcast on Saturday, July 6, 2013. The webcast will be broadcast live from Ligmincha Institute at Serenity Ridge during the second week of the annual Summer Retreat.
His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, who will be at Serenity Ridge during a portion of the summer retreat, will join Rinpoche in offering teachings during the first session of the day. For those not able to attend the summer retreat, it will be a wonderful opportunity to see His Holiness online and receive his teachings. Because of the large number of participants attending the Summer Retreat, those not attending the retreat will not be able to join the webcast onsite.
The free live webcast will begin at 9 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and end at 3:30 p.m. Tenzin Rinpoche will offer two 90-minute teaching sessions. In addition, two 60-minute guided meditation practices will be broadcast. Questions from online participants around the world will be taken during the teaching sessions.
Real-time translation in multiple languages will again be available. The first free all-day live webcast on March 23 was a great success, and Tenzin Rinpoche is pleased to keep the momentum going.
Listen to Free Online Conversation with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Part of Hay House World Summit Starting June 4
Listen to a free hour-long conversation with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche online from June 4–10. Rinpoche will talk about "Awakening to the Peace Within."
Tenzin Rinpoche's conversation is part the Hay House World Summit, which is bringing together 110 hour-long conversations with world renowned experts from the personal growth field to share the practical, applicable ways in which they incorporate their teachings into their own lives. The free interviews will be posted online beginning June 1, and at least 10 audio teachings will be released each day.
Rinpoche's conversation will be available starting June 4. He teaches how groundedness, confidence and inner peace are the benefits of meditation and a spiritually centered life. He also leads listeners through a meditation that helps them acknowledge and process the challenges they are facing in this moment as a way to begin awakening the mind.
You must sign up below before you can listen to the teachings. Then sign in using the same link to access the teachings at any time through June 10.
Sign up for Hay House World Summit
Spring Issue of Ligmincha Europe Magazine now Online
Featuring Triten Norbutse Celebration and more!
Read about the celebration at Triten Norbutse, meet the Dutch sangha, learn how Lishu Institute is welcoming practitioners and more.
Registration Now Open for Newly Added Retreats
Trul Khor and Tibetan Sound Healing (Five Warrior Syllables)
You can now register for two more upcoming retreats at Serenity Ridge. Tibetan Bon Buddhist Yoga (Trul Khor) is being offered Oct. 31–Nov. 3, 2013. The Sound Healing teaching of the Five Warrior Syllables will be held Nov. 16–17, 2013. See the Upcoming Retreat listing below for more details.
Upcoming Events
Ligmincha’s Serenity Ridge Retreat Center
The retreats described below will take place at Serenity Ridge, Ligmincha Institute’s retreat center in Nelson County, Va. To register or for more information, click on the links below, or contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 434-263-6304.
June 9–22, 2013
Summer Work Retreat at Serenity Ridge
Learn more or register
June 23–July 13, 2013
Summer Retreat—The Twenty-One Nails, Part 1
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and honored guest H.H. Lungtok Tenpai Nyima
Join us for one, two or all three weeks.
Learn more or register
Sept. 13–15, 2013
The Three Heart Mantras and Ma Tri Initiation
with H.E. Menri Lopon Trinley Nyima Rinpoche
Learn more and register
Oct. 9–10, 2013
Special Conference 2013: New Dialogs Between Buddhism and Science
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Renowned Researchers
(to be followed by annual fall retreat; consider registering for both)
Learn more and register
Oct. 11–13, 2013
Fall Retreat—The Open Heart: Healing in the Dzogchen Tradition
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and H.E. Menri Lopon Trinley Nyima Rinpoche
Learn more and register
Oct. 31–Nov. 3, 2013
Tibetan Bon Buddhist Yoga (Trul Khor) Training, Part 3
with Alejandro Chaoul-Reich
Prerequisites required
Learn more and register
Nov. 16–Nov. 17, 2013
Tibetan Sound Healing—The Five Warrior Syllables
with John Jackson
Prerequisites required
Learn more and register
Dec. 27, 2013–Jan. 1, 2014
Winter Retreat—Dzogchen Practice Retreat
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Open to all, from those new to meditation to those who have attended any part or all of the Experiential Transmission or any other dzogchen teachings.
Learn more and register
To register for any of the above retreats, or for more information about teachings in the Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 434-263-6304, or visit the Serenity Ridge website or the Ligmincha Institute website.
