Teaching Issue
Volume 15, Number 5 / October 2015
Letter from the Editors
Our Safest Haven
Dear Friends,
In this issue, read a wonderful excerpt from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's latest book, The True Source of Healing, published in July 2015 by Hay House. Rinpoche encourages us to rest in our inner refuge, our safest haven, because "As the inner refuge, you are whole and complete in each moment."
Rinpoche's ceaseless passion to share the ancient wisdom of Tibetan Bon Buddhism with an ever-growing worldwide community of practitioners has manifested once again in another beautiful way. The new Ocean of Wisdom website, a Ligmincha International project initiated last winter by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, has been launched and is gaining altitude. Read an interview with the lead volunteer on the project, Paris Smithson, about the extraordinary new ways that the website allows students from all over the world to connect with Rinpoche's teachings. The details that Paris shares include: 51 volunteers from all over the world are now working on translating the audio portion of the 147 video segments of Rinpoche's teachings that are currently archived on the website; as a result the teachings are now available to be viewed with subtitles in 10 different languages. Fantastic work! Maybe you, too, would like to be of service on this wonderful project.
We have more great articles to share. Read the good news about His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche's improved health. There are two new live webcasts right around the corner in October. Mark your calendar for October 10 and October 24 and find out the details below. Read Rob Patzig's article about the summer retreat at Chamma Ling Poland, which marked the 20th anniversary of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche teaching there. Upcoming retreats at Serenity Ridge through the fall and winter include the annual Fall Retreat on The Five Elements, beginning October 21, followed by an opportunity to be of service (and receive discounted fees on the retreat) with a new Fall Work Retreat – it is such a pretty time of year at Serenity Ridge, so if you can, this would be a lovely opportunity! Also, Trul Khor Part 5 Advanced Training is coming up in November. The annual Winter Retreat is December 27, 2015–January 1, 2016 on the topic of “The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2: Introduction to the Nature of Mind,” is open to those who have received the Part 1 teachings. In January, two different Practice Retreat options are offered on the same subject. If you can't make the Winter Retreat Part 2 in December, it will be offered again on February 24–28 with Geshe Tenzin Yangton. A new GlideWing online workshop will be offered beginning November 14 on “Healing From the Source.” Have you seen the introductory video from the Sept. 12 live webcast? It's a treat for the eyes and ears – you can find the link below and enjoy! See the article with the links to the Spanish and Portuguese translations of the Voice of Clear Light August issue, and don't miss our announcement requesting international sangha members to submit articles and pictures to VOCL about their sanghas. Please find a few moments to share with all of us!
Best in Bon,
Aline and Jeff
Your Safest Haven
An Excerpt from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's Latest Book, The True Source of Healing
Photo by Anja Benesch
There is no better protection than the refuge of unbounded sacred space, infinite awareness, and genuine warmth. Any external source of refuge is ultimately unreliable. Looking for refuge in money or material possessions cannot protect you from the pain of loss, because everything you have will be lost to you someday. No matter how good your health insurance is or how healthy your lifestyle, sooner or later you will suffer from injury or sickness; eventually you will die. Finding your perfect soul mate cannot protect you from someday losing your beloved through separation, divorce, or death.
With the inner refuge, you are not depending on someone or something outside you to make you feel secure. The first refuge, unbounded sacred space, is a true support because it is unchanging, indestructible, beyond birth and death, eternal. Whatever difficulties you face, the first refuge supports you in allowing your experiences and hosting them fully. The second inner refuge, the light of awareness, can never be diminished or extinguished by any cause or condition. Inner light is unceasing – forever luminous and clear. Even in the darkest of circumstances, you can trust that it is always there. You can also trust that the warmth of the third refuge is within you. It spontaneously arises from the union of openness and awareness.
There may be moments when you feel emotionally cold and dark, when it seems that all the light has gone from your life. But your experience and inner truth are not in sync – the light is always there. At these moments, access to the inner refuge may seem distant, but a sense of trust may bring you a glimmer of the inner refuge that can lead to a shift in the darkness of your experience. Trust is a necessary companion on the path. There is no situation so bad that you can't turn toward the three doors. As you become more familiar with entering and abiding in the inner refuge, you will begin to trust in its healing presence.
We all long for that inner connection, just as a lost child longs to reunite with his or her mother. When you connect with the inner refuge, you can rest in that space just as a child rests in his or her mother's loving arms, feeling protected, safe, secure, complete.
Beyond the Ego
There is a Tibetan joke about a yogi who leaves his hermitage to get supplies. Afraid of getting lost in a crowded marketplace, he ties a red ribbon around his leg. As long as the ribbon is there, he feels secure. But at one point he looks down and notices that the ribbon has fallen off. He frantically runs back and forth through the market, yelling, “I'm lost! I'm lost! Did anyone see me? I'm the one wearing the red ribbon around his leg.”
His reaction may seem quite silly to us, but most of us react in a similar way. We lose our job, or an important relationship comes to an end, and we feel lost. Who am I? We forget where we put our cell phone, and we panic and feel disoriented. Where am I? We have all experienced losing the red ribbon. But the truth is, we are never lost.
Drawing attention to stillness, silence, and spaciousness shifts your focus from feeding the insecurity of the ego to connecting with pure being. Anytime you identify with a sense of “I” – “I feel something”; “I have lost something”; “I am lost” – you are identifying with the wrong person. You are identifying with the ego, with your pain body, not with your true nature.
Being aware of the three doors is not work. In fact, the more effort you put into connecting with stillness, silence, and spaciousness, the more elusive the inner refuge seems. Connecting with the inner refuge is simply a matter of shifting your attention. If you are already still, be aware of stillness. When you are silent, hear the silence that is already there. Notice the spaciousness at the very center of your being. As you rest in awareness, you connect with your authentic self. The effort of seeking dissipates, and you are unbounded sacred space, infinite awareness, and genuine warmth – you are the inner refuge. The inner sacred space is so simple and close that if we search for it, we cannot find it. But it is always there for you, the source of all the elemental qualities you need. As the inner refuge, you are whole and complete in each moment.
(You can order your copy of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's new book, The True Source of Healing: How the Ancient Tibetan Practice of Soul Retrieval Can Transform and Enrich Your Life, Hay House, July, 2015, from Ligmincha's Tibet Shop.)
His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche’s Health Improved
Please Continue To Do Long Life Mantra
We are happy to share the good news that the health of His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizin, is improving. Please continue to do the Long Life Prayer and Long Life Mantra for His Holiness.
Menri Monastery and Bon practitioners around the world have been conducting rituals and prayers for His Holiness since late August, upon the advice of His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, the most senior teacher in the Bon tradition. His Holiness reports that his health is back to normal and that he is resting well at Menri.
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche traveled to India on Sept. 28 to visit and spend some time with His Holiness. "When I first heard about His Holiness’ health condition, which now seems more stabilized, I felt a wish to visit and spend some time with him,” Rinpoche said.” "I plan to offer the practice of tse thar (life Liberation), and to do long life rituals and prayers for His Holiness. I know that our Ligmincha sangha members worldwide are continuing to accumulate the Long Life Prayer and Mantra for His Holiness."
The heartfelt prayers and practices of everyone for His Holiness’s healing are deeply appreciated. Everyone is encouraged to continue to recite the Long Life Mantra and Long Life Prayer for His Holiness and to submit their accumulations at the end of each month to their local sangha or online through the end of the year.
Learn more about accumulations
Read update from Bon Shen Ling and Chongtul Rinpoche
Upcoming Webcasts with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
October 10 and October 24
Please join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for the ninth in the yearlong series on Soul Retrieval: "Nourishing Your Inner Being: Questions and Answers." It will take place on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, 3–4:30 p.m. Eastern time U.S. (New York time).
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guides a meditation for “nourishing your inner being”—cultivating the enriching experiences of body, energy and mind that arise from a clear, open state of being. The remainder of his webcast will be devoted to answering questions, submitted in advance, about the practices of soul retrieval.
To submit a question please email it no later than October 7, 2015, to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Only a limited number of questions can be answered during the webcast. Rinpoche asks that submitted questions, on the practice of soul retrieval, be kept as brief and clear as possible.
This webcast is Part 9 of a free, yearlong course in soul retrieval and is open to all. (Viewing Parts 1 through 8 is not required).
Register now for the Oct. 10 webcast
Oct. 24, 2015, 3–4:30 p.m.: Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for a free live webcast (not part of Soul Retrieval series) on “The Five Elements: Connecting with the Living Universe.” It will be broadcast live from Serenity Ridge Retreat Center in Nelson County, Virginia (not a public talk).
Registration opens soon for October 24 webcast
Learn more about the free yearlong Soul Retrieval course
Mark your calendar for the next webcasts:
- Saturday, November 14, 3–4:30 p.m., Eastern time U.S.: Part 10: The Power of Warmth: Physical Healing Through Meditation
- Saturday, December 12, FULL-DAY LIVE WEBCAST, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.: The True Source of Healing, Part 11: “Healing from the Source: Cutting the Root of Your Pain.”
Please note that the Soul Retrieval series of webcasts will continue through January 2016.
View past webcasts
Ligmincha's Ocean of Wisdom Website Growing Internationally
An Interview with Paris Smithson
Ocean of Wisdom is a Ligmincha International project and is the initiative of Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. The project aims to blend the power of technology with the knowledge and wisdom of Tibetan Bon Buddhism. It is a new way to unite the worldwide sangha and to bring Bon teachings into the modern information era under the guidance and blessings of the tradition, its living masters and historical lineage.
Visit the website
Paris Smithson
Paris Smithson is currently the lead volunteer, developer and designer for the Ocean of Wisdom website. He lives in Mexico, and we caught up with him recently to get the inside scoop on some of the details of this wonderful new project.
VOCL: Paris, would you please introduce us to Ocean of Wisdom? What is it and how did it originate?
Paris: Sure! Ocean of Wisdom is a website, and as such it is a door – a door to the teachings. It’s a wonderful door because it’s free. It’s always online, always available for you. It’s a door to unlock our own inner potential.
So how do we link the potential of the teachings with a website? The first task seems to be to find a master who has the method and wisdom to unlock his own inner potential, and who has the capacity to teach this method to others, and who actually decides to spend his precious time doing this selfless service. For practitioners of Tibetan Bon Buddhism, we have found such a master in Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.
Rinpoche offers his teachings in many ways, but sometimes there are obstacles for people who cannot travel to retreats or don’t speak English or Tibetan. That is where Ocean of Wisdom comes in, along with its technology and its volunteers. We are removing the language barrier by translating into subtitles all of Rinpoche’s videos, all done with volunteers helping us through an automated system. Anyone with an Internet connection can now access the teachings anytime, all in one place. We have many more barriers we plan on removing and addressing.
So far we have focused only on Rinpoche’s teachings and on the video format. So that is what you will find on the site now. With time we will add more teachers and more teaching formats. You can expect sound recordings very soon, for example, of all the essential mantras and prayers.
Now to your second question, how did it originate? Ocean of Wisdom originated during a Zhang Zhung retreat on the Six Lamps in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, in 2012. I approached Rinpoche and offered a website to help aid in fundraising for the monks and children in Nepal and India. Rinpoche replied that he preferred help in developing a website where the teachings can be distributed and more of their potential unlocked. Some time passed and eventually the conditions were met, some obstacles where liberated and Ocean of Wisdom was launched this year, 2015, near Losar.
VOCL: Can you please describe how the cornerstone of this Ocean of Wisdom project is a wonderful collaboration of volunteers from around the word?
Paris: Volunteers are truly the cornerstone of our project. We could not achieve our vision without them. They are very important and play an essential role. In a way even Rinpoche is a volunteer. In a way even the liberated lineage masters are volunteers! (Laughter).
We currently have 51 volunteers from all over the world, and they all joined us within the past eight months. We have 147 video teachings online, and our volunteers have completed and published exactly 200 video subtitle translations. The team has an additional 57 video translation subtitles in progress. We have published subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Danish, Russian, Hungarian and German. So that’s 10 languages so far.
Incredibly, we have been visited by 107 countries in the world since we started tracking this. Many of them don’t return because the site is not in their language. So definitely we have a lot of room to grow and improve. It’s still a bit erratic but our traffic continues to grow at an averaged steady pace. This is exciting for me because we have not even begun our marketing efforts.
VOCL: I’m really struck by the response so far. How may others contribute?
Paris: People can contribute by sharing the site on their social networks, especially Facebook and Twitter. Another way to help is to sign up in our system and translate videos into your language, or to transcribe English audio into text. Yet another way is to surprise us. What can you do to help? Reach out and share your ideas!
Finally we can all contribute by taking care of our own practice. When we practice and improve our life, we can inspire others to do the same. We can then suggest that they visit Ocean of Wisdom. And they, in turn, can improve their life and inspire others. They might even volunteer, too!
VOCL: The various aspects of presenting authentic masters’ teachings and transmission over the Web is still in its beginning stages, and Rinpoche seems to be at the leading edge of that development. Will Ocean of Wisdom be breaking any further new ground in that regard?
Paris: Our precious human life is quite short. Assuming we have a long life, then yes! We think we can continue to innovate. We have an extremely long list of things to do (laughs), but here’s a little scoop into what’s coming soon: A new lama will join Rinpoche in publishing material. We will add a new format besides video. We will make it easier to filter content by topic and language. We will automate our sign-up process. We will make it easy to report errors on our translations. We will implement a social sharing strategy. And we will continue to make our volunteer system more efficient and easy to use. These are a few of the near-term items!
Anyone can see what our progress is in technical terms by visiting our Development Blog.
VOCL: Thank you so much, Paris. Would you like to add any concluding remarks?
Paris: I just wanted to use this opportunity to publicly thank Rinpoche. No matter what I do, I can never repay your kindness. What you have given me is so much more valuable than anything I could give you in return. I dedicate my contribution to Ocean of Wisdom for the benefit of sentient beings.
Visit the website
A Request to International Sangha Members
We Would Love to Hear From You!
Please consider sharing news about your sangha in the Voice of Clear Light newsletter! We would love to hear from you and VOCL readers would, too. Our international family is united in many ways and although far apart in distance, we are together in spirit. Sharing an article about your sangha could help others to find the teachings, as well!
Are there any new or noteworthy developments happening in your local sangha that you'd like to share? Do you have a picture or two that you could send?
Send us an email to submit an article for possible consideration in VOCL or let us know if you have any questions. Thanks!
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Chamma Ling Poland 20th Anniversary
Celebrating a Milestone During Summer Retreat
Rob Patzig, president of Ligmincha International and chair of the Ligmincha International Board of Directors, attended the recent retreat at Chamma Ling Poland, a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s first teaching in Poland. Rob shares his experience with some beautiful pictures, too!
2015 marked the 20th anniversary of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s teachings in Poland. In the past two decades, the Bon community has grown and the teachings spread. There are several sanghas in Poland. Chamma Ling, the retreat center located in Wilga, which is about an hour south and east of Warsaw, has hosted as many as 400 people at a single retreat. This year, about 200 people from many different countries came to attend Part Three of Rinpoche’s teachings on the 21 Nails. And, more than 40 people stayed for the first year of Trul Khor (Tibetan Yoga) training with Alejandro Chaoul-Reich. It was wonderful to have many young people at the center, including children. One young woman, Laura, is 16 and has spent her whole life as a sangha member!
Most people arrived on Monday, and many quickly got involved in helping prepare for Rinpoche’s arrival Tuesday morning and the beginning of the teachings later that day. It seemed that almost everyone was lending a hand: cleaning, laying out cushions, setting up the store, etc. Preparations went late into the night, but in the morning the gompa and whole center were beautiful and ready to receive Rinpoche.
Rinpoche, supported by Chamma Ling Poland’s resident lama Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso, umdze Ryszard Adamiak and translator Jarek Kotas, gave the explanation of the final “Nails” of the teaching and led practices that included the Nine Breathings, Tsa Lung, Inner Refuge and the Invocation of Tapihritsa.
With warm days, blue skies and cool evenings, practitioners found many occasions to practice, socialize and eat outdoors.
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Sangha sharing in Poland is a very lively event. It began with a large bonfire after dark. Many songs and skits were performed in many different languages: Polish, English, Czech, French and Ukrainian. It was an early evening this year, however, wrapping up a bit before 1 a.m. Last year, the sharing is rumored to have gone on until around 4 a.m.!
Ligmincha Poland Board President Justyna Przondo
The Polish sangha’s fundraiser also took place during the summer retreat, with many beautiful items being sold to raise money first to support the retreat center, but also to support Jacek Trzebuniak, who is among the first class of students attending Lishu Institute’s three-year program. And finally there was a catered lunch of vegetarian momos. The mayor of Wilga and his wife both came to Chamma Ling for the first time that day, had a tour, were received by Rinpoche and stayed on for lunch.
Following Rinpoche’s retreat, Alejandro Chaoul-Reich introduced the A Tri Trul Khor to new and experienced students. Bartek Jacyna served as his translator, and Darek Orwat, Anna-Kaisa Hirvanen and Rob Patzig assisted Ale, leading the morning practices.
Everyone looks forward to both Rinpoche’s and Ale’s return to Poland next year!
View short clip from Chamma Ling Poland Summer Retreat
Ligmincha Poland website
Ligmincha's Annual Fall Retreat at Serenity Ridge
Still Time to Register for October 21–25 Retreat!
Ligmincha's Annual Fall Retreat at Serenity Ridge on "The Five Elements: Connecting with the Living Universe" with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will be held October 21–25, 2015. The early-bird registration will go until September 22.
According to the ancient Tibetan spiritual traditions, the five natural elements of earth, water, fire, air and space are fundamental aspects of a living universe. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will guide practices through which we can deeply connect with the elemental essences, and nourish and restore health and vitality.
New Fall Work Retreat at Serenity Ridge
October 26–29, 2015
Join us at Serenity Ridge following the annual Fall Retreat (Oct. 21–25) for a special work retreat. Starting Oct. 26, you can work for up to four days, six hours per day, with a 10 percent discount off the cost of registration for each day worked.
Meditation as Medicine
Reflections on a New Online Workshop with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Photo by Janine Guldener
We tend to view emotional and physical pain as the enemy. A new online workshop with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche reveals why we shouldn’t—and shows us how meditation practice can transform our own pain and sickness through the healing warmth of loving-kindness. Polly Turner explains.
In my year and a half as a volunteer at a local teaching hospital, many of my encounters with patients were mundane. But several were quite powerful.
For example, there was the time I peeked through an open doorway to see a gray-haired, gray-faced woman plastered with tape, gauze and a maze of wires and plastic tubing. Her head was propped on two pillows. Her hands and arms were bruised from blood draws, and they were tugging reflexively at the lines bringing fluids in and out of her body.
It was almost too painful to watch. I introduced myself, asking if she might like a friendly visit from a volunteer. At her invitation I pulled up a bedside chair.
“It looks like you’re having a hard time,” I said with a smile.
Thus began our conversation. As she continued to tug and squirm, she told me about her agonizing itching and discomfort, her despair about her condition, and how desperately she missed her home. I listened openly, occasionally offering a tactful question or warm acknowledgement. And it wasn’t long before the topic flowed to fond stories about her family.
In time we were sharing humor. Then, we were breaking out in laughter. We started having a good time, like old friends. Suddenly, halfway through a sentence she paused. Her eyes grew wide.
“I don’t hurt anymore!” she exclaimed.
All her tubes and wounds had been forgotten. For perhaps 10 minutes, she had neglected to tug, scratch or squirm. She was a completely different person than the one I’d seen from the doorway. She seemed 10 years younger. Her face was glowing.
I’ve witnessed similar transformations among other suffering patients I’ve sat with in open, caring attention. Nearly all the hospice and hospital volunteers I’ve met have told me the same. My meditation teacher, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, uses the term “giving a spacious, luminous, warm hug”—when you give this kind of virtual hug to others, spontaneous healing can happen.
But in his teachings, and in particular in a brand new workshop offered through GlideWing Productions, Rinpoche is not referring so much to what we should give others, or even to what we wish others would give us—but rather, to what we should routinely be giving ourselves.
It’s human nature to keep picking at our own physical, emotional and mental wounds. Whether we’re sick in a hospital bed or have just woken up on the wrong side of the bed, we tend to self-criticize and punish ourselves for our bad feelings. We scratch at our itches, curse at our arthritis, tug at our anger and blame our anxiety on others. We busy our minds to avoid depression. Disturbing emotions can even make us sick, or sicker. Western research has shown a powerful link between unhealthy emotions and a weakened immune system, as well as a wide variety of other physical problems.
We do our best to deny or rise above pain. But throughout, pain is the enemy. We seldom give pain our loving attention, simply let it be and allow it to naturally express itself—as a loving mother would allow her needy child to whimper in her arms. If we can do this, the pain naturally lessens or even disappears, Rinpoche explains. If we don’t, physical discomfort or deeply rooted emotional pain is more likely to insist on acknowledgment. It creeps into all our actions, thoughts, and conversations. When not driving our dreams at night, it keeps us awake with racing thoughts.
New ‘Healing from the Source’ Workshop
Tenzin Rinpoche has been teaching the “spacious, luminous, warm hug” in nearly all his talks, retreats and webcasts these days, in one form or another. But now he is offering a new online workshop that focuses specifically on cultivating loving-kindness as a means for preventing and healing both physical and emotional pain. Entitled “Healing From the Source: Meditation as Medicine for Body and Mind,” the three-week course begins November 14, 2015.
Based on ancient teachings of dzogchen from the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition, the new course helps one discover the “great healer within.” The core teachings of dzogchen introduce us to the nature of mind, to our own inner refuge, the true source of healing. Everyone has access to this source through the “three doors” — the stillness of the body, the silence of speech and the spaciousness of the mind. These “three precious pills” are a powerful medicine you can take at any time, with no side effects, to help divert you from your self-punishing tendencies, clear pain and negativity, cultivate awareness and ultimately access the healing qualities that spontaneously arise in that space.
The three precious pills serve as the foundation of the main practice in this new workshop. Their healing effects come from resting deeply in the space that opens, then gradually bringing awareness to your emotional or physical discomfort. In that unconditional openness, the pain or discomfort naturally dissolves. In time you may become aware of positive qualities naturally arising within, such as loving-kindness, joy, equanimity or compassion. As you allow those qualities to mature, you can feel their warmth.
Warmth is the active ingredient. You are encouraged to apply it as a spacious, luminous, warm hug to yourself and to the presence of the lingering emotional or physical discomfort. Your pain or illness needs this hug, and it wants it to continue. By acknowledging, accepting, respecting and connecting through the warmth, you can feel the dissolution of any negativity, self-judgment or self-criticism you may be harboring.
Nearly anyone who has attended retreats and workshops with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche knows how skillfully and lovingly he guides his meditations, and how clearly and directly he transmits to others — newcomers and experienced students alike — his own, deep connection with the healing source within. His video-based online teachings are studied and practiced during normal life, so they are an ideal support for applying not only on the meditation cushion, but also throughout your workday, family engagements and personal time.
In the new GlideWing workshop a series of instructional videos are introduced in progression throughout its three weeks. Every few days a new set opens to course participants, allowing them to view and practice on their own schedule. Each teaching session concludes with a guided meditation, along with an MP3 audio version that can be downloaded and kept for ongoing practice. Rinpoche encourages free use of the private, protected discussion forum where participants from around the world can share experiences in writing, discover commonality in their challenges and successes, and support each other in applying the practices.
The Best of Who You Are
As Rinpoche explains in his latest book, The True Source of Healing, on which this workshop is based, “Conventional treatments often play an important — even life-saving — role in symptom relief and healing, but if you can harness the power of practices that connect with primordial awareness, you have the potential to go directly to the root of physical pain and illness.”
Through Rinpoche’s gentle guidance and support, this workshop has life-changing implications for those who can devote time and space for its practices. It’s not just about easing pain; it’s about becoming the best of who you are.
Whatever challenges or pain you face, when you go deep enough into the three precious pills, you can witness that pain dissolving into a fresh, new space. In that space, a new you emerges—one who is more relaxed, comfortable, open, clear, connected and more in touch with the spontaneous joy that comes with that connection.
Polly Turner assists with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s GlideWing online workshops as well as his regular live webcast teachings. A freelance writer and editor, she served as editor for two of Rinpoche’s recent books, including The True Source of Healing: How the Tibetan Practice of Soul Retrieval Can Transform and Enrich your Life. Hay House, July 2015.
Learn more about the new GlideWing workshop
Learn more about Rinpoche's in-person and online teachings
Trul Khor Part 5: Postgraduate Training November 5–8 , 2015
New Series of Trul Khor Will Begin in 2016
Join Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D., and honored guest Geshe Tenzin Yangton for the Tibetan Bon Yoga Postgraduate Retreat to be held at Serenity Ridge Nov. 5–8, 2015. This retreat is open to only those who have completed the Trul Khor training (Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4).
Deepen your training in the ancient practice of yoga (trul khor) from the Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet as we explore the body's energetic dimensions and integrate the practice with everyday life. Open to all who completed the training and received the certificate after Part 4 of the Tibetan Bon yoga from Ligmincha since 2002.
Learn more
Coming in 2016: Trul Khor Part 1 – open to all. Details coming soon!
Winter Retreat at Serenity Ridge
The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2: Introduction to the Nature of Mind
Join Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for Part 2 in the Experiential Transmission series, the centerpiece of Rinpoche's dzogchen teachings. Part 2 will focus on “Introduction to the Nature of Mind.” Completion of Part 1: Ngondro is a prerequisite.
Learn more
A Practice Retreat will be offered in January 2016, immediately following the Winter Retreat, for anyone who has completed Part 2 of the Experiential Transmission.
Learn more
***Please note: An additional retreat on “The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2: Introduction to the Nature of Mind” will be offered February 24–28, 2016 with Geshe Tenzin Yangton, resident lama at Serenity Ridge. Because of the high interest in this five-part series, and the large number of people already registered for the December Zhang Zhung Part 2 retreat, we are offering this additional retreat. All participants will be able to attend Zhang Zhung Part 3 in December 2016.
Learn more
Enjoy Introductory Video from September 12 Live Webcast
Nourishing Your Inner Being
Have you seen the beautiful introductory video, just over three minutes long, from the September 12 webcast with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche? The images, words and music come together beautifully in this inspired video based on Rinpoche's book, The True Source of Healing, with video and editing done by Salvadore Espinosa.
View YouTube video
View Sept. 12 recorded webcast with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche on “Nourishing Your Inner Being”
Order your copy of The True Source of Healing from Ligmincha's Tibet Shop
Spanish and Portuguese Translations of VOCL
Links to August Issue Now Available
Read VOCL in Spanish
Read VOCL in Portuguese
Upcoming Retreats
Serenity Ridge Retreat Center
The retreats listed below will take place at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, headquarters of Ligmincha International, located in Nelson County, Virginia. 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.
Oct. 21–25, 2015
Fall Retreat – The Five Elements: Connecting With the Living Universe
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Learn more/register
Oct. 26–29, 2015
Fall Work Retreat
More information/application
Nov. 5–8, 2015
Trul Khor Part 5: Post-Training
with Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, Ph.D., and honored guest Geshe Tenzin Yangton
Learn more
Dec. 27, 2015–Jan. 1, 2016
The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2: Introduction to the Nature of Mind
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Prerequisite: Completion of Part 1: Ngondro
Learn more
Jan. 1-3 or January 1-9, 2016
2016 Winter Practice Retreat: Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2
with Geshe Tenzin Yangton
Prerequisite: Completion of Part 2: Introduction to the Nature of Mind
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Feb. 24-28, 2016
Special Zhung Zhung 2 Retreat: The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2: Introduction to the Nature of Mind
with Geshe Tenzin Yangton
Prerequisite: Completion of Part 1: Ngondro
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To register for any of the above retreats, or for more information about teachings in the Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet, please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 434-263-6304, or visit the Serenity Ridge website.
