Teaching Issue
Volume 10, Number 12 / December 2010
Awakening the Sacred Body
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An Excerpt from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s New Book
According to the wisdom tradition of Bon, by nature the mind is open and clear. This is who we are, fundamentally. Openness is the source of our being, and in openness we are connected to all of life. What obscures us from recognizing this source is similar to the way clouds obscure the sun. The sun is always shining, but from our vantage point – namely, our identification with our problems – we don’t recognize the radiance. We are simply more familiar with identifying and dwelling on problems, and we’re used to solving them with our conceptual mind. But it is through nonconceptual awareness that we are able to directly experience the mind’s openness. The purpose of this book is to support you in becoming more familiar with the power of nonconceptual awareness, so that you can recognize the source within you and the positive qualities that flow from it.
In society today, we elevate the status of our conceptual mind and seek change through our intellect. But how we experience the mind itself is a product of wind, or lung. (The “u” is pronounced like the “oo” in the word look.) In other Eastern cultures, lung is referred to as prana, qi, or chi’i. The mind’s capacity for either subtlety and clarity or confusion and turbulence is all dependent upon lung. In the wisdom traditions of India and Tibet there is a vast knowledge about lung that has not fully taken root in the West. How can we have access to this wind? It is not through the conceptual mind, but through our direct, nonconceptual awareness. We access the wind by connecting directly with our body, our speech, and our mind – known as the three doors in both Bon and Buddhism. I am particularly interested in how our relation to the internal winds can improve health of mind and body and bring change in one’s own life and in society, ultimately liberating the suffering of cyclic existence, or samsara, altogether. Emptying samsara may be the larger goal, but emptying your anger toward your partner has immediate relevance. It is important that we work with our conditions as we experience them now. And in this work, wind plays a very important role in transforming suffering. I am confident that by deepening your understanding of wind, you will greatly enhance your ability to make important changes in your life.
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s new book Awakening the Sacred Body with accompanying DVD (edited by Marcy Vaughn; Hay House, January 2011) is now available for early purchase online at Ligmincha Institute’s Bookstore & Tibet Shop >
‘A Dream Come True,’ by Lourdes Hinojosa
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Reflections on the Inner Consecration of the Great Bon Stupa for World Peace
On December 4, 2010, as many as 1,000 people attended the celebration of the Internal Consecration of the Great Stupa for World Peace in Chamma Ling, Valle de Bravo, Mexico. In the days before the event nearly 700 people attended dzogchen teachings on Heart Drops of Dharmakaya in Mexico City with Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Lourdes Hinojosa, Mexican sangha member and long-time student of Tenzin Rinpoche, served as Spanish-English translator during these events; below, she shares her personal reflections.
My experience of the consecration of the Great Bon Stupa for World Peace at Chamma Ling, Valle de Bravo, Mexico, is not easy to express with words …
Being in the presence of my Teachers … many of them! Gathered for such a special occasion …
Our dearest Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche … Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche … My dearest root lama, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche … Tulku Jorge René … and many visiting bonpo lamas, teachers and monks such as Lama Khemsar from England, Sangye Mon Lam from France, Geshe Tenzin Yeshe, Lharila Kalsang Nyima, Geshe Yongdong from Canada, Namkha Wangyal Rinpoche from India … Samte … among others … Receiving their blessings … a moment worth living.
Also, representatives from different groups and lineages from the Buddhist community in Mexico were invited to this great event. It was so beautiful, all together, with open hearts, sharing our joy.
Hundreds of people gathered, coming from Mexico and all over the world … The international sangha … people visiting from Germany, Poland, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, the United States … among others.
Tenzin Rinpoche was so very happy … radiating joy like sunshine in all directions … in the presence of his beloved Teacher … rendering before him the offering of his sangha: the magnificent 36-meter-high stupa.
But to me, the greatest gift was Yongdzin Rinpoche´s smile: the most beautiful smile … the smile of accomplishment … the purest perfect joy … (Please take a look at the image at the bottom of this article: the moment when Yongdzin Rinpoche cut the five-colored ribbons at the entrance of the stupa) … You could see it, you could feel it … all over … permeating pure joy, happiness … No words could ever explain this … our hearts — about one thousand people — were beating as one and sharing one single taste: the pure offering of seven years of continuous joyful effort, of the Mexican Bon sangha with the help and support of many people and practitioners from the international sangha, through our root lama, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, to the one who gave us it all: Yongdzin Rinpoche — as Tenzin Rinpoche said the previous weekend during teachings in Mexico City: “Yongdzin Rinpoche has been my teacher, my friend, my inspiration for 40 years now … all I have done is because of him.”
Also present on stage along with our Teachers were our dearest Khandro Tsering and Senghe Wangyal, Marcy Vaughn and Gabriel Rocco, as well as Alejandro Chaoul.
Gabriel shared some moving words on behalf of the international sangha … Carlos Madero, Garuda Mexico´s general director, presented all the Teachers and special visitors, and offered words of gratitude and appreciation to all of them as well as the event´s organizers … and Jorge Valles — father of Tulku Jorge Rene — who was in charge of the stupa construction, also shared — in a very moving way — the chronicle of the whole construction process …
Many were crying tears of joy … taking pictures … sealing the sacred memory in our hearts.
Now, the next step: the sacred art inside the stupa. Two Bonpo artists will arrive at Valle de Bravo shortly and stay for about a year, to continue with this sacred work until its final completion.
E MA HO!— Lourdes Hinojosa
View a video message from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, including a photo montage of the arrival of Yongdzin Rinpoche in Mexico and other recent activities >View a very brief interview by iCNN with Tenzin Rinpoche and Yongdzin Rinpoche at the recent dzogchen teachings in Mexico City >
Learn more about the stupa and how you can donate >
The Three Doors Update
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Application Period for Directors Academy Has Been Extended Until Jan. 21
We recently discovered that many people who are interested in applying to the three-year Directors Academy training in the United States didn’t receive the updated application information. So, we have extended the deadline for submitting your application online until January 21.
The first meeting of this training group will be in April 2011 at Serenity Ridge in Shipman, Virginia. The program will be taught by Marcy Vaughn and Gabriel Rocco. For more specific information, visit our Website, www.the3doors.org.
The application is detailed and requires some time and thought to complete, so if you’re interested in applying, you may want to get started soon. When you go to the Website look at the Application Process and Application Form pages.
If you plan to apply, please contact Tharina Crafford at
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to let her know you are in the process of applying.
If you have any questions about the Directors Academy in general, visit www.the3doors.org or email
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.
More about The Three Doors >
International Sangha News
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Students Report From Around the World
Sangha member Natali Hromin of Croatia responds to VOCL’s invitation to students to share their experiences in relation to the question: Have you ever experienced someone’s death and dying in a way that was a real teacher for you, as a way to open the heart?
Hello, greetings from Croatia! First of all, I’d want to express my gratitude for Rinpoche's recordings being available online. Thank you very, very much.
I feel compelled to answer your question about experiencing someone's death. My father's death was an enormous, overwhelming experience for me. This is why I would like to share a little bit of it. It is not possible to express all the subtle parts with words only. But in short: I can say that now, I deeply understand an inner interconnectedness of all beings. I am convinced that I was actually sharing his own experiences and feelings while he was getting to the other side.
I have experienced his diving into the universe and enormous sadness so vividly and clearly as though it was my own. I realized that I am not sad just because my father passed away. That was also my father’s sadness, felt when he encountered vast regions of the universe that seemed almost hollow and empty, and endless, that seemed more a kind of remorse. He felt a deep regret for not understanding his real nature during his lifetime.
It was like he was going far, far away, or falling down long and deep. In my inner vision I could see and feel the stars and galaxies passing by.
He was an atheist and he did not believe in the afterlife and things like that. I feel deep in my heart that he felt awe and he was taken aback, so to speak. I was crying with him, not only for him.
In time these strong feelings and sense of traveling through the universe ceased. But after a month I knew that I would meet him in my dreams. He did appear as I expected. And he told me: "That wasn't me, you know. That wasn't me." I understood, instantly that he was referring to his inability to express his true nature during his lifetime.
Thank you for the opportunity to share this little part of my overwhelming experience with you.
Natali Hromin, Zagreb, Croatia
Editors’ note: Ligmincha’s annual Spring Retreat at Serenity Ridge, scheduled for April 13-17, 2011, will focus on issues related to death, dying, and joyful living. Find out more >
Photograph by M.E. McCourt
End-of-Year Reminder
Make the Most of Your Gift Giving
As the year’s end approaches, we offer a brief reminder that Ligmincha Institute is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization. We rely on the generous support of sangha and other friends to continue our work to preserve the sacred teachings of the Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet. Your donation of any amount is most welcome and is tax deductible.
Donate now/learn more >
Upcoming Retreats
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.
Dec. 27, 2010 - Jan. 1, 2011
Dzogchen: The View, Meditation, Behavior, and Result
The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 3
With Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
The Experiential Transmission of the Zhang Zhung Masters is the centerpiece of Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s dzogchen teachings and is presented at Serenity Ridge each year at our winter retreat. Prerequisite: Practitioners who have already received the Part 2 or higher-level teachings in a previous cycle of these teachings are warmly invited to attend this retreat.
Learn more or register >
Extend your stay! You may stay up to three days after the winter retreat for personal retreat time. For more information or to register for an extended stay, contact the Ligmincha office at
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or 434-263-6304.
April 13 - 17, 2011
Living With Joy, Dying in Peace
Gaining Comfort and Intimacy With the Dying Process
Annual Spring Retreat With Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Denying our own mortality not only separates us from the vibrancy of living in the moment, it also leaves us ill equipped for the critical moment when death comes to ourselves or to our loved ones. The Bon Buddhist tradition is rich with knowledge and methods for using this Great Moment wisely. Through teachings and guided meditations, in this five-day retreat Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will help us to: recognize death as a doorway to opening the heart and achieving self-realization; prepare for our own death; and learn how to promote a more peaceful, uplifting dying process in others.
Learn more or register >
May 18 - 22, 2011
Self-Purification Through the Five Enlightened Bodies
With Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche
Please join us this May for these special teachings with Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, abbot (khenpo) of Triten Norbutse Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal. A powerful means of purifying oneself on all levels of experience, these teachings from the ancient Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyu cycle of dzogchen teachings have never before been offered at Ligmincha.
Learn more or register >
June 11-24, 2011
Summer Work Retreat
Free of charge. Whether you join us for one afternoon, one day, one week, or the entire two weeks, this is a wonderful time to share with sangha and to be of joyful service. Our work retreat includes vigorous work periods, daily meditation practice, and ample time for a swim in the pool or a walk along the Rockfish River. Participants are provided with free air-conditioned accommodations in Garuda House and free meals. For those who participate in one full week, there will be a 50 percent discount on one week of the summer retreat. If you participate in both full weeks of the work retreat, there will be a 50 percent discount on two weeks of the summer retreat.
For more information or to register, please email Ligmincha at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 434-263-6304.
June 24, 2011 (Friday), 4-8 p.m.
Fundraising Dinner at Serenity Ridge
A special evening with His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche
and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Proceeds from this dinner will benefit the orphans under the care of His Holiness at Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India.
Learn more or register >
June 25 - July 15, 2011
A View From the Heart: Purifying Your Vision Through the Practice of the Six Lamps
Annual Summer Retreat With Honored Guest H.H. Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche
and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Online registration is now open! Everyone is cordially invited to join us this summer for a rare and unique opportunity to receive teachings and transmissions from His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizen; and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha Institute. Ligmincha's annual Summer Retreat is open to newcomers and longtime students alike. You may attend one, two, or all three weeks of the retreat.
Learn more or 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
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or 434-263-6304, or go to: