Voice of Clear Light - August 2020

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Volume 20, Number 4 / August 2020

Letter from the Editors

Adapting in Unusual Times

tree adapt

Dear Friends,

These are unusual times for all of us, and while the pandemic continues to affect the world, we are learning to adapt in new ways. From social distancing and quarantining at home, to attending online teachings and meetings, to simplifying our lives, to expressing our grief and our care and compassion for others, we are all learning how to live more in the present moment as we face these undeniable lessons of impermanence and change.

Since in-person retreats and gatherings are still not possible, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is coming to us more and more – through Zoom retreats and offerings, through his Facebook Live webcasts, also available on cybersangha.net, through his online courses, through his poetry and photographs and videos, through music and mantra, through conversations, through worldwide practice days and through new Instagram posts – all with the help of lots of volunteers! So very fortunate to have such a modern lama. (Find the upcoming happenings below!)

The attendance at the recent online summer retreat showed people's great need for connection and support, with more than 600 people attending from around the world. There were live translations going on in multiple languages. The daily offerings of teachings, Tibetan yoga and meditation practices manifested magically on all of our screens over the course of two weeks, and they did so due to so many people's joyful efforts. This extraordinary opportunity to all be together sharing the space of a beautiful sacred cyber-gompa, where we could all receive teachings and strengthen our practices, arose as Rinpoche's heart response to the Covid-19 global crisis.

Our excerpt is from Rinpoche's oral teachings during this first-ever online summer retreat. His message was so relevant to the times: our being fully in the world is the greatest gift that we can give, and it arises naturally from resting in the space of who we truly are. What great news! Enjoy.

There are many announcements to share from Ligmincha International:

H.H. Lungtok Dawa Dhargyal Rinpoche, the 34th Menri Trizin and spiritual leader of the Tibetan Bön tradition, gave teachings during Ligmincha's recent online summer retreat. We have an excerpt for you to enjoy.
Read about the new Code of Conduct that the Ligmincha International Board has developed, in close collaboration with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, for sanghas worldwide.
Ligmincha Poland is hosting two online retreats through Zoom with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Choekhortshang Rinpoche, one starting SOON – July 31. An in-person retreat with Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung is planned for September at Chamma Ling Poland. See all the details below.
Find out about Ligmincha's online Fall Retreat & Serenity Ridge Dialogues, both happening in October.
We welcome Ton Bisscheroux, new international correspondent for VOCL, with his first article for the VOCL on how the Covid-19 pandemic is impacting Ligmincha sanghas and organizations.
NEW: A new Instagram page launched by CyberSangha that features short teaching videos and photos of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.
You can always find the latest webcasts and online events on cybersangha.net as well as an archive of past talks, videos, music and more. Coming up: August 3 is a 24-hour Full Moon practice beginning at 10 a.m. New York time on Zoom. The Mantra of Liberation will be the practice. Mark your calendar for August 16 at 10 a.m. New York time for a Facebook Live conversation with Tenzin Rinpoche and teachers from six spiritual traditions of Tibet on “Pain as a Path to Freedom.”
The 3 Doors brings us news about a new online nine-month Compassion Project, as well as other online courses beginning in September.
Ligmincha Learning has several upcoming online courses. “Transforming Our Emotions Through the Six Lokas” begins August 14, “Sherap Chamma” begins August 22, and a NEW course: “Sleep Yoga: The Yoga of Clear Light” begins September 19. You can join the ongoing “Ngondro: Foundational Practices” at any time.
This month's international sangha sharing features a poem by Hira Hosen inspired by Rinpoche's teachings.
In the Student and Teacher article, Rinpoche answers a question about recognizing how we understand the boundaries we make.
View the translation of the June VOCL in Spanish.

In Bön,
Aline and Jeff Fisher

The Gift of Resting in the View

An Edited Excerpt from Oral Teachings Given by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, June 2020

Rinpoche prayer I have been teaching on The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen, a text by Drenpa Namkha, who lived in the eighth century. He was one of the great masters present at the moment of a great transition in the history of Tibet when a new religion was coming in and the old religious tradition was having difficulty surviving. During some of the conflicts of the time, he was trying to preserve many of these teachings. As a result, later on these teachings became more available.

The essence of The Seven Mirrors teachings is not so different from other teachings such as The Twenty-One Nails, The Six Essential Points from the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyüd, The Six Lamps, The Four Wheels, and so on. Every teaching, every doctrine, centers around the core principles of view, meditation and conduct. What defines each of these teachings are their different means of instruction, different approaches to awareness, different forms of discipline and their slightly different practices, all of which are taught in order to accomplish the same view.

No matter what the cycle, all of the dzogchen teachings are trying to establish a grounding in the boundless view. No matter how they do it, no matter what kind of meditation is taught, no matter what approach it is, in the end it is a grounding in the same view. That is the main point here. Clearly The Seven Mirrors has beautiful teachings and messages to do the same thing. And we have been going deeply into practices of the nine breathings and tsa lung, as well as practices dealing with the dissolution of the inner subjective ego and the dissolution of our body in order to experience the view more directly, more deeply.

The body is one of our main places of attachment due to our pain identity, which on the surface is manifesting many blockages and pain and sicknesses, enough so that worry becomes the samsaric story of life. When that story has been running, then even when it is ready to leave, we don't want it to leave. It becomes a big source of attachment. And that big source of attachment in some way is what is preventing our connecting with this boundless view.

What does view mean in relation to your perception of yourself? Although you are always looking outward, chasing outward, and acting outward, the truth is that where you are looking, and how you're looking, and what you are chasing, what you are running away from, and what experiences you are avoiding, and what experiences you are longing for – these all have to do with your perception of self. In fact, all of the experiences of your life have to do with how you see yourself.

Let’s say it this way: the view that is being established in your practice is one of complete openness to yourself even though you have many different experiences. You may at times feel that you are father, or mother, or doctor, or lawyer, or you feel that you are man or woman. Whatever you feel, you can have so many identities, and that's completely okay. But you must not get stuck with one identity, that's not okay, no matter how good that identity is. You can feel anything, but you really don't want to feel any one thing too strongly. Why? Because anytime that you feel one thing too strongly, then that identity will become the issue of your conflict and the source of your suffering.

Throughout history you can see that. Look around you now and you'll see that. Look at yourself and you can see that, you can feel that. If you are identifying too much as a mother or as a father, then clearly you will have issues with the children. You are not only a mother or father, you're not only a teacher, you're not only a husband or wife. You're more than that.

In other words, you are even better than your identities, greater than them. You are potentiality! Not only potentiality, you are infinite potentiality. What does that mean? Infinite potentiality means that you will be able to be joyful when you are sad as well as when you are joyful; you will be able to be grateful when you have nothing as well as when you have everything; you will feel rich when you have a lot of money and you will feel rich when you have nothing. You'll feel every enlightened quality without needing any particular condition in your life for it to manifest.

When you are feeling very open and not getting stuck with one identity, then that is the right approach to the view. It is not the ultimate view, but it is the right approach toward the view. Meditation, then, is when you are able to experience that directly. And the best meditation is: I am no one. I am no one. Ahhh. I'm no one. It's quite liberating. How many feel that it's liberating? How many people feel a little bit uncomfortable or a little bit scared? Try saying it again: I am no one. Meditation comes when we really investigate and feel into the view: I am no one. Wow, so I don't have to protect so much? I don't have to defend so much? I don't have to work so hard? Ahhhh, I am no one. The meditation is when you feel this sense of freedom because of being no one. Ahhhh. [Rinpoche exhales]

This expression of Ahhh, that's the sound of your meditation, freeing, relaxing, releasing, clearing, resting . . . Ahhh. Effortless. That's meditation – when you are aware that you are no one. When you are aware that for every label you have put on yourself, you are not that. When you realize that, when you are aware of that, that is the meditation.

When you look at yourself and see that I am no one, I am not this pain identity related with specific experiences, I am not that, then it immediately frees you up, and you feel a lot of space there, you feel a lot of awareness there. When you feel a lot of space, it is the experience of view, and when you feel a lot of awareness, you are having an experience of meditation. In that experience of space and awareness, what do you see? You experience the potentiality. You experience anything there. Anything. I can be anyone. I can do anything. I can feel anything.

Over the last four or five years I have been engaged in writing some poems in Tibetan just for fun and creativity. Most of the time it's deeply connected with the teachings and what I have learned from my teachers, my lineage, my practices and my experience of how these teachings are manifesting in my life, how they are experienced in everyday life, socially speaking. These are the things that I've expressed in poems.

Not long ago I wrote a poem, “Who Am I?” It was written in Tibetan and also was translated into English. It's a poem about who I am. And basically, I am no one – just remembering that I am no one. Even if we might think that we are someone special, someone very important, not getting into that trip and simply remembering that I am no one. Recognizing that being no one is the greatest gift that you can have.

[Marcy Vaughn reads the poem “Who Am I?” to the group.]

Now let's just reflect and rest deeply in this poem, realizing that there is more of a sense of who you are by being no one. Recognize that your power lies in being no one, not in trying to be someone or in trying to hold on to someone; that is not the source of power. Many of your sufferings and pains arise by your grasping onto being someone. The ability to let go of being someone is your freedom from the suffering of that grasping mind.

In the name of love, we try to demand of someone to become someone else. We lose loved ones not knowing who they are and, instead, ask them to be someone they are not. We lose them. We lose ourselves in not knowing who we are. We lose ourselves in trying to be someone, all the while not knowing who we are. So just for a moment try to recognize that our strength is who we are, not what we are trying to become.

Our great relationship with others arises in our knowing who they are, not who they should become. Our richness is in what we have, not what we are longing for. Recognizing what we have is where our wealth is, not in longing for what we don't have.

Our joy is in engaging with what is present in our life, not in our getting lost in missing something, That's not the source of joy. As we pray in Guru Yoga all the time, please help me, bless me in the most important thing: to know who I am. The moment that I know who I am, it will answer all of the unanswered question of my life. Bless me to recognize that I am no one. Bless me to recognize all of the power in being no one. Bless me to recognize the potentiality of being no one, the potentiality of being able to be anyone or anything.

Let's listen to the SA LE Ö mantra and just feel the power in being no one. The creativity is there in your being able to be anyone. When you are no one, then what can you be afraid of? When you are no one, then what is there to lose? When you are no one, what is there to protect? Feel the power in being no one, feel the creativity in potentiality; just feel that as you listen to the SA LE Ö mantra.

This sense of letting go is sometimes painful, probably because sometime somebody told you, You are no one. Even you yourself have had the feeling that you are no one. And maybe that was painful because of our upbringing. If we had had a different upbringing, it could actually be a great joy if somebody were to tell you that you are no one.

Obviously, sometimes we have a little negative relationship with this idea of being no one. What I am trying to do here is change your view. In our retreat on The Seven Mirrors, we've been talking so much about the view, and meditating so much on view, because we are trying to change the view. Changing the view involves not trying to grasp onto who you think you are, and not trying to be who you are not, and not being so protective of something that you have nothing to do with, not investing energy so much. That is what the teaching is trying to say.

Instead, feel joy. It's so heart opening, it's so liberating, it's such a blessing to have even a glimpse of this sense that I am no one. Truly try to feel joy. Grasping onto who you think you are has not produced joy; protecting who you think you are has not given you joy. Nor has it given other people joy or given them freedom.

So at least try a new thing now! If joyfulness cannot arise from who you think you are, then try feeling joy in not being that! I guarantee you that you'll be much happier being free from who you think you are, which, as you have clearly witnessed over so many years, has produced suffering. I clearly guarantee that that will be a day of your liberation, a day of your joy – the greatest gift that you can ever get in your life. Not only the greatest gift that you can get in your life, it will be the greatest gift that you will be able to give to others in your life, those who are seeking something from you.

There are so many people in life who are asking for something from you. They've been asking for love that you've not been able to give. They've been asking for acknowledgment that you've not been able to give. They've been asking for respect that you've not been able to give. They've been asking for freedom that you've not been able to give. They've been asking for space that you've not been able to give. They've been asking for silence that you've not been able to give.

Why are you not able to give these qualities? It's because, honestly, you're not feeling these qualities much in yourself, either. However, that's not the logic that you use in telling people. You do not say to them, “Sorry I cannot give you joy because I am not feeling it myself.” Rather, you tell them, “I am feeling so much joy in my life, but I don't want to give it to you. You don't deserve joy from me, love from me.” You may say that, but that's not the truth. The reason you are not able to give joy is that you're not feeling joy. You are not able to give love because you are not feeling love enough in yourself. And the root of all that is that you are trying to be someone you are not. When you are free from that, then it is the greatest gift to yourself and for others. It's a liberation, it's a joy. In short, what I'm really trying to say here is very simple: being no one is a great source of joy, individually and collectively.

That's what the poem is about. I am no one. And because of that, because of the power of that, because of the blessing of that, then whomever you want me to be, I can be that. That's the way that I can be a good friend to you; the only way that I can be a good resource to you; the only way that I can be a healer to you; the only way that I can be a guide to you, by my being no one. My strength is in being no one, because it gives me the opportunity to be anyone. I can be anyone for you.

Also if you're no one, then you can have more fun in life. If you're no one, then you can enjoy simply being a good tourist throughout all your life, seeing everything freshly. My prayers are there, and my blessings are there for you to be able to live so much more fully in your life as a good tourist, and to be able to gain so much power to fully let go of who you think you are and to gain this inner freedom and be able to be anyone. So enjoy that freedom in your ability to be anyone. Enjoy that. And enjoy being free from the suffering of trying to be someone.

Right Conduct During This Time of the Pandemic

A Message from His Holiness Lungtok Dawa Dhargyal Rinpoche

During Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s two-week online summer retreat on the topic “The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen,” attended by more than 600 participants from around the world, we were honored with the presence of His Holiness Lungtok Dawa Dhargyal Rinpoche, the 34th Menri Trizin. His Holiness offered blessings and teachings on the final day of each week, with Tenzin Rinpoche translating. Here is an edited excerpt of His Holiness’ teachings from the first week, on June 26.

HH Screenshot summer retreat 2020 His Holiness teaching during the summer retreat

Hello everybody, with my love. Greetings to all of you. Today’s subject of teaching here is on right conduct, positive behavior. I felt I wanted to share this. This principle is regardless of whether or not you believe in religion; right conduct is something that everybody needs to do, to understand and to follow.

Everybody seeks happiness and wants to avoid suffering, but we need to understand that this depends on our human conduct or behavior. During this pandemic time, globally we are suffering so it is necessary for everybody to work together to overcome this collective issue.

Seeking happiness and trying to avoid suffering is basic human nature. We all seek that. Whether or not we have it depends on our individual behavior. We must try to be more inclusive, try to bring more concern to other people, particularly during this time of the pandemic. There is no way to overcome this global issue unless we collaborate with each other. When we are only focused on ourselves, we have problems.

In the Yungdrung Bön tradition, we follow the teachings about view, meditation and conduct. That’s how we are trying to overcome our suffering and tendencies. The understanding of impermanence, sem mi tak pa, and belief in causes and conditions, karma, and the consequences of samsara and the benefits of virtues – these are the principal practices that we apply.

The first teaching, on impermanence: we all hear it and can intellectually understand it, but if we don’t practice it, it will not be helpful in everyday life. If we practice with maturity and some familiarity in hearing, reflection and meditation, and then apply it in our practice, we are prepared and won’t face that much pain and suffering. We understand this is happening, so it is not a total surprise. We will have our own experience of impermanence and so during these times we will not be challenged as much or suffer as much.

The four human sufferings – birth, aging, sickness and death – are part of our existence and our life. Intellectually we can know about it, but when we truly know about it, during this time if we do actually face sickness and death, we will be less challenged. We know this is part of our life and not something totally separate from our life. True realization about the message of these teachings and experiences is very important.

This investigation and analysis and awareness we need to have. We have heard the teaching and learned about it and know about it. If we are suffering as normal that tells us that what we know was not realized in ourselves. That is a message to say we have to really understand it experientially. What you hear from teachers has to be realized.

The knowledge of impermanence and meditation on impermanence are part of the practice. The practice of impermanence is important in our teaching. We have the view, meditation, result and conduct in the Seven Mirrors. Impermanence is part of the view. Everything is interdependent; nothing is solid inherently.

The practice of compassion and love are part of the conduct. Refuge also is very important. Whether you are a follower of a certain teaching or not, refuge defines it and also is an important part.

We talk about four refuges in Yungdrung Bon tradition: lama (master), sangye (buddha), Bön (dharma) and shenrap (bodhisattvas). Buddha, one who is free from all afflictions and fully perfected by all enlightened qualities, is a very important part. Buddha is the model we look up to and follow. What we are trying to achieve is to be like a buddha, free from all our afflictions and trying to perfect all our enlightened qualities. Bodhisattvas are the ones who are giving these teachings and instructions, and the Bön is the instruction itself, the knowledge we are learning. These all are a place of refuge, a place of trust, and that is important.

Just as impermanence is part of the view, refuge and bodhicitta are part of our conduct. It is very important to have refuge and bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is really like caring for others’ enlightenment.

Having this deep understanding of impermanence as view, and understanding refuge and bodhicitta as conduct – these define being a Yungdrung Bön practitioner or not. It is also very important to understand the teaching of this precious human life. It is very precious to be born as a human and something you don’t want to waste. Not wasting precious life means applying these views and practices of meditation like refuge and bodhicitta.

All our experiences with birth, aging, sickness and death – the four sufferings – are part of our samsara, part of existence. Don’t be too surprised when you are suffering. How you can overcome these sufferings is to have the right view and conduct. Applying these practices toward liberation is the only way to overcome these sufferings and achieve enlightenment.

I am trying to remain with the pith instructions, the main essential points, without elaborating too much so everyone can understand. We talk about le jung de, karma, causes and conditions; our parents always talked about this when we were children. Don’t steal, there is a karma for that. Don’t kill. Don’t be mean to someone, there is a karma for that. Whatever you do there are consequences for that. So be aware of your actions. This is what we were all taught growing up. All the virtues we do bring more happiness in our life. All nonvirtuous actions bring more suffering. If you want to be happy, virtuous actions are necessary. If you are producing negative actions, the consequences are unavoidable. To achieve results, we have to pay attention to the causes.

When talking about causes and conditions and karma, this coronavirus pandemic – the suffering and pain caused by the virus – is also our karma. The cause has been before and now the result is manifesting. And humans, we are very individualistic and egoistic; we think of ourselves so much more than other beings, and there are consequences. We are paying for that.

The main point is there are causes and conditions, and impermanence is part of our view, and refuge and bodhicitta are part of our conduct, and suffering is part of life. Nobody wants to suffer and everyone wants to be happy. There are consequences of karma. That means there is something we can do in this special precious human life that we have. If you want to overcome suffering and the causes of suffering, it means not wasting this precious human life. You don’t easily get this life, so don’t waste it. That is very important.

There also is khor wé ne jung, basically getting tired of suffering. Are you tired of it? Is it enough suffering? It is enough; I need to do something different. What you can do differently is engage in the practices of bodhicitta, refuge, impermanence and the view. That’s the only way you can stop suffering. There is no other way. Don’t waste your precious human life. Practice to overcome the suffering you don’t want. This is the essence. Thank you, everybody.

Ligmincha’s New Code of Conduct

An Inspirational, Aspirational and Prescriptive Guide for Ligmincha’s Worldwide Sanghas

Ligmincha International logo The Board of Ligmincha International is pleased to announce that after almost two years of work, Ligmincha has developed a Code of Conduct. The code, available here, was written in close collaboration with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and extends to all Ligmincha centers and sanghas worldwide.

The new document is based on the ten perfections of Yungdrung Bön and provides guiding principles regarding how Ligmincha Personnel (staff, teachers, instructors, volunteers) and practitioners should aspire to conduct themselves in body, speech and mind. This final version includes many hours of Rinpoche’s personal attention to each line. As reflection on our own behavior is an essential part of practice, we encourage everyone to read this Code of Conduct carefully and reflect on how these qualities might live within oneself.

Rinpoche and the Board believe it is essential that each of our centers and practice communities ensure a safe environment for visitors, sangha members, teachers and staff, free from discrimination, and this document is meant as a support. In the US the rise of the Me-Too movement in response to sexual harassment, and the Black Lives Matter movement in reaction to pervasive, institutionalized discrimination and racism, symbolize so clearly the need to articulate our values and enact them. The devastating effects of gross and subtle forms of bias, discrimination and abuse of power in dharma centers, religious institutions, corporations and society at large have become abundantly clear. The Code of Conduct is not a response to these movements, but it speaks to them.

“I am happy that we finally have something in writing that is a clear expression of what conduct means for us,” said Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. “I hope it will help us all to deepen our spiritual growth individually and collectively. I think it is important that we have done this.”

The Code of Conduct is meant to function at several levels. It is meant to be inspirational: inspiring us to be our best selves at all times. It is meant to be aspirational: as we work to transform our own embodiment of the five poisons into expression of the five wisdoms, in liberating our own being, may we benefit others. It is also prescriptive: these are the values that define the community of practice that is Ligmincha. These values are what we have a right to expect from one another.

“Rinpoche is so often guiding us to realize that our conduct – how we present ourselves to the world, engage with it and with other living beings – is the expression of practice,” said Rob Patzig, Ligmincha International’s president. “It is really important for an organization to be transparent about what it stands for, about what everyone has a right to expect. We want each person attending a Ligmincha event to feel welcome and valued as a part of our community. Each of us may have very different roles and responsibilities and experience, but our right to be treated with respect and dignity, kindness and integrity, is always the same. The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to support our holding sacred space.”

Each country in the mandala that is Ligmincha is being asked to translate the Code of Conduct into its own language and make it available to all. Centers and national sanghas may add additional and/or sangha-specific provisions, provided that nothing in the code is nullified by such additions. Each center and practice group is being asked to make the code publicly available.

Because it is also important to have clear procedures in place for reporting, investigating and resolving breaches of these policies, we are developing specific procedures for reporting perceived violations of the code in the coming weeks and will share those as they develop. The Board will appoint a Conduct Council to receive, review, investigate and work to resolve any concerns or complaints related to the Code of Conduct. Ligmincha will include this code as a part of teacher training and staff development, and will work to continually improve how we can express these values in all that we do.

We welcome any comments or suggestions as we move forward. Please write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Upcoming Retreats Hosted by Ligmincha Poland

Two Online and One In-Person Retreat Coming Up

Ligmincha Poland at Chamma LingLigmincha Poland will host two online retreats in July and August, with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and with Choekhortshang Rinpoche. Both retreats will be held on Zoom. In addition, Ligmincha Poland is planning an in-person retreat in September with Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, abbot of Triten Norbutse Monastery in Nepal. All are welcome to attend.

Ligmincha Poland website

July 31–August 2, 2020: Yeshe Walmo – 'The Healing Power of Wrathful Wisdom'
with Nyima Woser Choekhortshang Rinpoche

Choekhortshang Rinpoche headshot Choekhortshang RinpocheYeshe Walmo is an enlightened deity within the Yungdrung Bön tradition who acts to protect the religious tradition and its practitioners. Yeshe Walmo maintains balance in our lives and environment by removing obstacles resulting from negative actions.

Teachings will be in English, with translation into Polish, Italian, Hungarian, Spanish and Russian. Online via Zoom. This will be Ligmincha’s second online European retreat.

Learn more/register
Read bio of Choekhortshang Rinpoche

August 11–16, 2020: 'Body of Light'
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

TWR2 cropped Tenzin Wangyal RinpocheEvery one of us has the possibility of becoming more open, aware and creative by lightening the densities that prevent us from experiencing ourselves as we truly are. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will teach practices that guide us towards this essential state of pure space and awareness, the body of light. These practices take us through the layers of our pain identities as they manifest in body, speech, mind, positive qualities and spontaneous creativity. As we release first the gross and then the subtler blockages, we discover the body of light that becomes accessible.

There are no prerequisites to attend these teachings. Everyone is welcome. Teachings in English, with translation into various languages. Online via Zoom.

Learn more/register
Read bio of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

September 17–20, 2020: 'Heart Drops of Dharkmakaya – Powa and Bardo'
with Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche

Chamma Ling Retreat Center, Wilga, Poland

Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung RinpocheThe nature of our own mind is obscured by clouds of thoughts and emotions, until the master shows us the source, the essence, "a drop of heart." This is the direct introduction to dzogchen, the highest and most subtle path of meditation in the Bon tradition. During this retreat, Khenpo Rinpoche will teach about powa (transference of consciousness during death) and bardo (teachings about death and afterlife).

The text Heart Drops of Dharmakaya was written by Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen, who at the time of his death in 1935 attained the rainbow body. These essential teachings are presented in the book Heart Drops of Dharmakaya, with commentary by Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, widely revered as the greatest living dzogchen master of the Bön lineage.

Learn more/register
Read bio of Khenpo Rinpoche

Two Special Retreats with Tenzin Rinpoche on Zoom in October

‘Serenity Ridge Dialogues: Body, Breath & Mind’ and ‘Fall Retreat: The Five Elements’

Join us online via Zoom for two special online retreats in October. Starting October 10, join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, leading scientists and physicians for dialogues related to body, breath and mind. The annual fall retreat on the topic of “The Five Elements” begins October 21. Both retreats are sponsored by Serenity Ridge Retreat Center and Ligmincha International, and all are welcome.

October 10–12, 2020: Serenity Ridge Dialogues: Body, Breath & Mind

SR Dialogues photo space When we bring our attention to our body, our breath and our mind, what happens and why? How does our relationship to sensations, thoughts and perceptions change through spiritual or energetic practices? Can science and medicine inform what and how we practice? Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, leading scientists, physicians and practitioners for deep conversations on these and other questions at the intersection of scientific and spiritual knowledge about body, breath and mind.

Medicine, philosophy, neuroscience, physiology, yoga and other movement-based and contemplative traditions are at the heart of this event. The symposium begins with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche guiding meditation and then talking with Daniel Aitkin, CEO of Wisdom Publications – one of the event’s cosponsors—about the role that our embodied, breathing being has on mind and spirit, and vice versa.

Each session the following two days includes a presentation on recent scientific or medical findings, a moderated discussion, and time for questions and answers. Meditation and movement practices reflecting what is being discussed are interspersed throughout each day. This event builds and expands on the science and spirituality conferences that Ligmincha International has hosted since 2010. Registration is expected to open by August 15.

Learn more

October 21–25, 20: Fall Retreat on The Five Elements

According to the ancient Tibetan spiritual traditions, our planet is alive and sacred. The five natural elements – earth, water, fire, air and space – can be considered fundamental aspects of a living universe. All of our experiences, from the sensations of the physical body to the emotions to the most fleeting of thoughts, are said to be composed entirely of these five elements in interaction.

Rinpoche will guide us in connecting with the elements to support us in internalizing their essential vital qualities. Through practices and meditation, we will be guided to retrieve and deeply connect with the elemental essences and to nourish and restore health and vitality. Registration is expected to open by August 15.

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How Is Covid-19 Affecting Our Community?

A Report from Ligmincha’s Worldwide Sangha

Covid-19 has caused a massive collective disruption all over the world. To get an impression of how the coronavirus has affected the communities of Ligmincha International, founded by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Ton Bisscheroux, VOCL’s new international correspondent and former editor of Ligmincha Europe Magazine, surveyed groups around the world. They include international sanghas; Serenity Ridge and Chamma Ling retreat centers; The 3 Doors, a nonsectarian program founded to explore the transformative practice of meditation; and Lishu Institute, established for more long-term study of Bön. Below is a summary of his findings.

Ton Ton Bisscheroux

Is there less or more contact in your sangha since the virus outbreak?

With some people there is more contact and with others less, and this mainly depends on "internet affinity" or "internet dislike." In most sanghas, practice groups have moved online. For all the sanghas, in-person retreats with Rinpoche are important events where sangha members meet. Most of these retreats have been cancelled this year and people have missed that in-person meeting and greeting.

There has been more contact and connection among sanghas from Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary and Poland. In response to Covid-19, two European sanghas initiated a daily online practice from March through July with recitation of the Yeshe Walmo mantra. Similarly, the sanghas from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Portugal also are making an effort to offer more online classes. Since May there has been a weekly online Sipé Gyalmo practice led by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , resident lama of Ligmincha Texas.

How have teachings changed?

Sanghas that had invited various teachers to come in person converted to online retreats when possible. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche cancelled almost all of his in-person retreats through the end of 2020 and is on sabbatical. However, he held Serenity Ridge’s spring and summer retreats online and plans to offer three more online retreat this year. The change to online retreats offered through Zoom has enabled many more people to participate. The first online retreat in April was attended by more than 700 people, and the online two-week Summer Retreat had more than 600 participants. Rinpoche’s upcoming online Zoom retreats include “Body of Light” August 11–16, sponsored by Ligmincha Poland; “Serenity Ridge Dialogues: Body, Breath & Mind” October 10–12; and “Fall Retreat: The Five Elements October 21–25, sponsored by Serenity Ridge and Ligmincha.

In addition, Rinpoche continues to offer many Facebook Live teachings and conversations with well-known people to a growing cyber sangha of students around the world. In all these online retreats there were simultaneous translations into different languages.

Other Bön teachers throughout the world also are offering online teachings. Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, abbot of Triten Norbutse Monastery in Nepal, converted his previous teaching to Ligmincha’s Helsinki, Finland sangha on “Heart Drops of the Dharmakaya” to an online retreat that drew about 50 participants from Finland and nearly 300 more from around the world. Earlier this spring he offered two online retreats on "The Twenty-One Nails” broadcast from his monastery outside Kathmandu and which included talks by H.E. Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, the senior teacher in the Bön tradition, along with supportive teachings and rituals from monks at Shenten Dargye Ling in France. Instead of in-person teachings this summer, Khenpo Rinpoche is continuing his online teachings on "The Twenty-One Nails" during two weeks in July and August, plus another dzogchen meditation retreat the week August 25–30.

The 3 Doors held its April retreat for members of the ongoing North American Academy 5 on Zoom instead of in person. Senior teachers in The 3 Doors now regularly offer online meditation sessions open to the general public. The 3 Doors Presenters – graduates of 3 Doors Academies who bring the teachings into their work or community – also offered more online meetings, both during the Covid-19 isolation and in response to the protests regarding racial injustice that began with George Floyd’s death on May 25. From March to June they held more than 500 Zoom meetings, with a total of almost 10,000 participants in all these meetings.

The situation is different at Lishu Institute, a relatively isolated retreat center in rural India. They are not able to organize retreats in India, and they have to work on a stable internet connection before they can go online. Lishu is currently closed during the pandemic.

covid 19

How does the virus outbreak affect people in the sangha?

People have become more aware of issues such as impermanence, being in the moment, not knowing what comes next and supporting others. Many sangha members said that the teachings and practices give them the perspective to be with the emotions that are coming up during the crisis without being overwhelmed. Sangha members reported that Rinpoche’s more frequent online teachings have been a great support.

At the 3 Doors Academy retreat held online for the first time, some participants reported grieving: for people retreatants knew who died; for the people all over the world who are suffering or struggling with the unrest that the virus has caused for systems and organizations; and the personal grief of not being able to be together. In an in-person Academy participants face the teachers or sometimes sit in a circle. But online everybody watches everyone else’s face on the screen. Participants felt close as they talked through their tears, pain and compassion, as well as their joy at being together. It created a deep feeling of solidarity that some people felt they did not have before.

What are the financial consequences?

Most individual sanghas haven’t suffered too much from this crisis, and if sangha members have financial issues, they can participate in many online retreats by paying what they can afford. For Ligmincha’s retreat centers it is a different story, because their income is vastly reduced while they continue to have ongoing costs for maintenance. Serenity Ridge Retreat Center – headquarters of Ligmincha International – organized and held its yearly auction online and also is currently asking for donations. The Chamma Ling centers in Colorado (US), Mexico and Poland have similar challenges. The 3 Doors generates more income because it is offering more online programs.

What issues need attention in these changing times?

Some sangha members feel that there is less opportunity to discuss and reflect on the teachings and practices with fellow practitioners and teachers since they are not able to meet in person. And since international programs online are growing, new questions arise, such as how to bring offerings to people’s attention and how to stay in contact with sangha members who don’t participate in the online programs.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and other teachers throughout the world continue to pray for students and to offer online teachings as they can. His Holiness Lungtok Dawa Dhargyal Rinpoche, the 34th Menri Trizin, entered into a two-month retreat at his residence at Menri Monastery in India from July 10–September 10. He is performing sadhanas (daily spiritual practices) of different deities for the benefit of all sentient beings and with the hope that the coronavirus pandemic will be over soon.

CyberSangha Launches New Instagram Page

An Interview with Daniel Conover

More than 42,000 people now follow and benefit from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s free live teachings on Facebook and cybersangha.net. With help from Daniel Conover, the newest member of Rinpoche’s core CyberSangha team, CyberSangha has now launched an Instagram account featuring short videos from Rinpoche’s teachings, plus photographs. We asked Daniel to say a bit about how we can all benefit from this new social media offering.

FirstPost Instagram

CyberSangha: Why Instagram?
Daniel Conover: Meditation and spirituality are becoming more popular on Instagram, and I feel that Rinpoche has a lot to offer for that space. He can reach so many people who are looking for information and support in their practice. Rinpoche has a vision for building an online community of people who can connect with the teachings and each other, and Instagram is another avenue for doing that.

CS: How will CyberSangha Instagram differ from Rinpoche’s Facebook presence?
Daniel: With Instagram, we plan to synthesize Rinpoche’s most recent Facebook Live teachings by offering short and long video excerpts and quotes that point us to the essence of the teachings, along with recent photographs Rinpoche has taken. There’s a younger crowd on Instagram we hope to reach. The content there is shorter and more quickly digestible and accessible — it’s just right there for you. Instagram was made to be used on a smartphone, and the app has a better mobile interface than Facebook’s.

Daniel Conover screenshot

CS: What is your personal vision in doing this?
Daniel: I think people really need to hear the message of love and wisdom that Rinpoche has and to feel the support he offers just by his speaking and being himself. I have received that myself, and just want to give that to other people. Also, I have so many friends who ask me where to start with meditation or who want to get into spiritual practice. Now I can say, “This is something you will like. Just go here and click follow.” No one is going to say no to that. There’s so much negative conversation happening on social media these days; there needs to be more love in it.

I’d like to see Rinpoche have a million followers, because that’s the kind of world I’d like to live in. His message is universal and has the potential to reach so many people. When he speaks about what’s going on in our world, it’s so honest, true and clear. When he guides a meditation, he is helping you to be honest and true with yourself. We need more truth in the world.

Visit the CyberSangha Instagram page (@cybersangha)
If you send message through the app, Daniel will be happy to answer.

Upcoming Full Moon Practices on the Heart Mantras

And Don’t Miss August 16 Conversation with Six Spiritual Leaders

Full Moon Tonpa Shenrap Miwoche 1 On August 3, 2020, and each subsequent full moon of 2020, join us online for a guided meditation followed by a 24-hour mantra recitation session. Upcoming sessions focus on the Heart Mantras of Bön.

The August session offers a precious opportunity to engage in reciting and connecting deeply with the Mantra of Liberation, or the MA TRI mantra, one of the Three Heart Mantras. The September 2 Full Moon session will focus on the Mantra of Purification, or the DU TRI SU mantra. On the full moon of October 21, the 24-hour practice will focus exclusively on resting deeply in silent contemplation.

The sessions begin at 10 a.m. New York time on the day of the full moon and ends at 10 a.m. the following day. Each 24-hour session begins with a visualization guided by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche or Marcy Vaughn, and is followed by alternating periods of mantra recitation and silent contemplation, as well as additional periodic guided visualizations. We will be supported by Ligmincha International’s global community of practitioners.

Unlike Rinpoche’s CyberSangha® Facebook Live broadcasts, the 24-hour full moon practices take place via Zoom, in an online meeting space. There is no cost to participate, but registration is required in advance of each 24-hour session.

Learn more/register for the August 3 session

August 16: Facebook Live Conversation—“Pain as a Path to Freedom”

In a Facebook Live conversation hosted by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, esteemed teachers from six spiritual traditions of Tibet discuss how any experience of life – even the most challenging moment of physical illness or mental distress – can become a path toward personal growth and spiritual enlightenment. The discussion is in Tibetan with simultaneous translation into English and many other languages. Joining the conversation are:

Yangten Rinpoche (Gelug)
Gyaltsab Rinpoche Choekyi Nangpa (Jonang)
Khenpo Gyurmey Dorjee (Sakya)
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (Kagyu)
Sogan Rinpoche (Nyingma)
Pönlop Trinley Nyima Rinpoche (Bön)

Learn more
Visit the CyberSangha website

Taking Care of Yourself and Others

3 Doors Online Programs Beginning September 2020

The 3 Doors is offering several online programs beginning this September to support both new and existing practitioners. Join 3 Doors senior teachers Marcy Vaughn and Gabriel Rocco for a nine-month online Compassion Project program and gather in small groups with others from around the world to share experiences and learn how to apply 3 Doors practices in your daily life.

In addition, 3 Doors senior teacher Raven Lee, Ph.D., will be offering a three-week immersion into “Walking the Healing Path” and senior teacher Laura Shekerjian will be offering a new four-week course called “Deepening the Flow of Interconnectivity.”

The 3 Doors Compassion Project Live Online

Warmth1 3 doors This is a difficult time, with suffering present in so many forms. Home quarantine as a result of Covid-19 may bring loneliness if you’re alone, or may be overwhelming if you’re with family. You might be a frontline worker who can’t self-quarantine, which can bring on fear and worry. The thorny political climate can cause anxiety or depression regardless of personal views.

According to a May 2020 National Opinion Research Center survey of 2,000 respondents, adults are more unhappy and lonely than they’ve been in half a century. This survey was completed even before the events that led to the current state of civil unrest in the US. Only 14 percent of American adults said they’re very happy, down from 31 percent in 2018; half said they felt lonely, almost twice as many as reported loneliness two years ago.

If you, too, are experiencing increased suffering, do you become frustrated by it or impatient with yourself? If so, what would it be like to offer yourself kindness instead? Are you able to access compassion for yourself?

The next 3 Doors Online Compassion Project will begin in September 2020 and run through May 2021. It will be facilitated by senior teachers Gabriel Rocco and Marcy Vaughn. The husband-and-wife team developed the Compassion Project with the support of 3 Doors founder and Tibetan meditation master Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Initially the course was offered to people in the helping professions, but its appeal quickly spread. Now anyone who wants to expand their capacity for caring for self and others can participate.

Like The 3 Doors Academy on which it was modeled, the Compassion Project is grounded in ancient Tibetan Bön Buddhist teachings, reframed to address the pressures of life today. The power of the program – and the way we realize personal growth – is in connecting with the openness that allows our natural compassion to arise.

The program uses practices of body, speech and mind to support personal transformation and the emergence of positive qualities in relation to self, family and community. Through personal reflection and meditation, participants develop skills to renew energy, reduce stress and respond to others from a place of compassion. The focus on these practices and the length of the program – which includes multiple large and small group sessions, guided recordings for practice and a full day retreat – support the gradual unfolding of this powerful experience. The strong focus on group interaction in the form of personal sharing supports a sense of being together on this path of discovery with like-hearted individuals.

Given the amount of time many of us are now required to spend online, some may be deterred by the thought of another online program. The Compassion Project, however, is not just another online program. The warmth and grace of these senior teachers and their ability to hold a steady presence and safe space foster a true community experience. Many previous participants have commented on the comfort level they experienced as well as their ability to feel connected to fellow participants in the online space.

Angie, a mindfulness meditation teacher, reflects on her Compassion Project experience: “Over time, I was able to more easily recognize the positive qualities in me. Learning that I already have everything I need within me helped reduce the constant fear I realized I had been living with for so long. I was also really surprised how I was able to be comfortable and even feel a connection with others through my computer.”

Learn more and register for the Compassion Project and other upcoming courses by visiting The 3 Doors.

Ligmincha Learning Upcoming Online Courses

'The Six Lokas,' 'Sherap Chamma' and NEW 'Sleep Yoga'

LigLearning Ligmincha Learning is pleased to offer several upcoming online courses with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche or senior teacher Marcy Vaughn. Courses feature beautiful video teachings, guided meditations, readings, journal writing activities, and the opportunity to interact with senior mentors and classmates from around the world.

August 14–October 3: “Transforming our Emotions Through the Six Lokas” with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. At one time or another each of us suffer strong emotions that throw us off balance, cause us to act in ways that we later regret, and make us lose touch with our true nature. Centuries ago the masters of the Bön lineage developed the meditations of the Six Lokas specifically to remedy this situation, to help us live our lives in a balanced and relaxed way.
Learn more/register

August 22–September 20: “Sherap Chamma, Mother of Wisdom and Love” with Marcy Vaughn. In many cultures the primordial female energy is seen as the origin of existence and the source of all positive qualities. Sherap Chamma, Mother of Wisdom and Love, is the source of wisdom, and her medicine is love and compassion. The teachings of Sherap Chamma comprise one of the most important tantric cycles of the ancient Bön tradition.
Learn more/register

September 19–October 18: NEW “Sleep Yoga: The Yoga of Clear Light” with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. We spend one-third of our life in sleep, yet for most people sleep is a period of unconsciousness. Through the practices of the Yoga of Clear Light we can learn to be completely aware during out sleep, open, clear, resting in deep meditative presence. This course will introduce simple techniques to enter into sleep in a healthy, balanced way and includes meditations for waking up. This is supported by breathing techniques, physical postures and guided visualizations. Through these simple practices we can transform our sleep to be one of tranquility and awareness.
Learn more/register

Ongoing & Free Courses: Ligmincha Learning offers several ongoing, free courses. They include “Star ting a Meditation Practice, Parts 1 & 2"; “The True Source of Healing”; “Living with Joy, Dying in Peac e”; and “Transforming Your World Through Service.”

International Sangha Sharing

Poetry from the Heart

The poem below by Hira Hosen was inspired by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s online teachings. The mantra is that of Khandro Kyema Otso from the Bön Mother Tantra.

sunrise SO OM A HRI MA TI DAKINI HUNG PÉ

In this precious moment, I ask for your support.
I’m entering the roots of my pain without blame or self-pity.
Knowing all doors are wide open, I feel paralyzed, insecure and vulnerable. Unable to move freely, I feel like an outsider, excluded, alone, left out, shy and helpless like a small child.
Tormenting myself with ideas of not being good enough. Not being good. Not being enough. Not being good enough to be myself, accepted and included.
I am conditioning my true identity, taking pride in what I think I am. I’m believing I’m the center of it all.
I am compromising my truth and frequently repressing and criticizing my true feelings and emotions, like frustration, bitterness and confusion.