Special Announcements Issue

Volume 9, Number 9 / November 2009

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A Note From the Editors

Welcome to the New Voice of Clear Light!

Hello everyone! We hope you enjoy your new Voice of Clear Light, a newly ornamented and beautified version of our old-faithful text email newsletter! With many hours of work and dedication by a team of Ligmincha volunteers, this lovely fruit has manifested and now has arrived in your e-mailbox. We all thank Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for the inspiration!

VOCL will continue to come monthly, alternating between issues devoted to teachings/inspirations and special announcements issues such as this one.

Ligmincha Institute has significantly reduced its print mailings, so VOCL is now the primary way to learn about teachings and live Webcasts by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, retreats with Rinpoche or other Bon Buddhist instructors, and other news and updates. If you have never received VOCL before and you’re wondering why you are now, it’s because you’ve either requested information from Ligmincha, registered on our Web site (Ligmincha.org), subscribed to one of our other email lists, or attended a retreat at our Serenity Ridge retreat center. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of any VOCL email.

To our faithful VOCL followers, we know we’ve trained you all well during these first eight years of publication by requiring you to read through an entire issue of text to find the information you most want. Now you have graduated to easier reading pleasure with delightful photographs and a format that is bound to improve your experience. You can still read or print out the entire issue all at once by clicking on: Read Full Issue at the top of the home page.

Thanks to everyone for your support, and special thanks to David, Lee, Mary Ellen, Polly, and Sue!

Jeff and Aline Fisher, Editors

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We’ve Moved

Ligmincha Institute Relocates Its Offices to Serenity Ridge

When the lease at Ligmincha's downtown Charlottesville, Va., meditation center expired earlier this year, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche chose to move our downtown administrative offices and Tibet Shop to our Serenity Ridge retreat center in Nelson County, Va.

Because our retreats and other events at Serenity Ridge have multiplied over the past few years, making the retreat center the focus of our administrative activities is sensible for a variety of practical and other reasons. This very positive move allows us to concentrate our presence and energy at the retreat center, better accommodate our expanded retreat schedule, and significantly lower our ongoing administrative costs. This consolidation of resources will expand and support Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's dream for Serenity Ridge as a home for the Bon Buddhist spiritual and cultural traditions in the United States.

Please note our new address and telephone numbers:

Ligmincha Institute
554 Drumheller Lane
Shipman, VA 22971
Office: 434-263-6304
Fax: 434-263-6355

Ligmincha Institute’s Bookstore & Tibet Shop
Telephone: 434-263-6305
Toll-free: 866-522-5269

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Guided Practice Online

View a Recording of Oct. 11 Internet Broadcast by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

On Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche gave his first live Internet broadcast from the Serenity Ridge retreat center in central Virginia. Rinpoche guided the Sherap Chamma practice, a meditation that permits a deep, transformative connection with the qualities of love and wisdom. The approximately 90-minute broadcast was recorded and can be viewed by going to: https://www.ligmincha.org/retreats/live-internet-teachings-oct.-11-2009.html >>

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Retreat Preview

‘The Three Doors’: Ligmincha’s 2010 Summer Retreat

In recent years Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche has become renowned for making the esoteric teachings of Bon — one of the world’s most ancient spiritual traditions — highly accessible and relevant to Western audiences. His 2010 Summer Retreat at Serenity Ridge, open to new and longtime students alike, heralds a new level of accessibility. The letter of invitation below from Gabriel Rocco to Rinpoche’s students gives a taste of what’s to come.

Register now for the summer retreat >

Greetings,

On behalf of Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, I am pleased to invite all members of his worldwide sangha to attend next summer's groundbreaking retreat at Serenity Ridge, Virginia, entitled “The Three Doors,” June 27 through July 17, 2010. The focus of this retreat is transformation: personal, interpersonal, and societal.

Rinpoche's teachings have always engaged the three doors of tsa (the body's chakras and channels), lung (the subtle energy affecting breath, speech, and emotions), and tigle (mind). Opening these three doorways opens the potential for healing and positive change within the individual, in relationships, and in society. The methods for transformation we will explore in depth — the Nine Breathings of Purification, five Tsa Lung exercises, Five Warrior Syllables Practice, and the Fivefold Teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen — while very simple to learn, are profound in their power to heal deep-seated disturbances of body, energy, and mind and to bring about significant changes in one's life.

It has long been Tenzin Rinpoche's vision, expressed through his books, CDs, DVDs, YouTube videos, and live Internet teachings, to bring these powerful healing practices out of their religious context and to make them available to a broader audience. A successful pilot program conducted at MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas, researching the secular presentation and practice of the tsa lung exercises with cancer patients, went on to earn a $2 million grant for further study from the National Cancer Institute. There are so many possible beneficial applications of these simple and profound practices.

Clearly there is a need for change in our world. Rinpoche would like to encourage members of the worldwide sangha to extend this letter of invitation to friends and family members who might not attend a healing retreat taught within a religious context, but who would certainly benefit from learning these practices and using them to promote desired changes in their personal or professional lives, to enhance their relationships, and to support positive qualities to come into expression in conventional worldly life. In addition, persons who are experiencing illness or are chronically stuck, unhappy, or anxious are also welcome to learn and explore these healing practices this coming summer.

Finally, for students who have already received and have been practicing the Nine Breathings of Purification, the Tsa Lung movement/awareness exercises, the Five Warrior Syllables Practice, and the Fivefold Teachings of Dawa Gyaltsen, attending this retreat offers the opportunity to deeply explore these practices in a retreat setting and to learn more about benefiting both self and others.

Ligmincha Institute's 2010 Summer Retreat, “The Three Doors,” held at beautiful Serenity Ridge, will launch a new series of seminars taught by Tenzin Rinpoche and senior students trained by Rinpoche who will present these practices in a secular fashion. Those interested in learning these methods for personal use, those wanting to increase their depth of practice and understanding in order to teach these methods to others and thereby bring these methods to a broader public, and those who wish to undergo further training in order to eventually train future instructors are warmly encouraged to attend this groundbreaking retreat.

Registration for the 2010 Summer Retreat is now open at www.Ligmincha.org.

With warm regards,

Gabriel Rocco
Chairman of the Board, Ligmincha Institute

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Benefiting the Land Fund

Calligraphic Artwork by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche available for special purchase

By popular request, additional copies of artwork available at the 2009 Serenity Ridge Land Fund auction are now available for purchase. This artwork contains signed calligraphy by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and sacred text from Bon dzogchen teachings. Please see the letter from Candace Byers below.

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Dear worldwide sangha,

Last summer Mary Ellen McCourt created three wonderful pieces of sacred art for the 2009 Serenity Ridge Land Fund Annual Auction. Each artwork combined a copy of an original calligraphy by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche with text excerpted from a sacred and profound Bon dzogchen text. Each piece was personally signed and thumb printed by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.

Because the artwork was very popular, after the auction we were asked if additional copies of the artwork could be made available at the price of the winning bids. Therefore, Mary Ellen has generously agreed to custom print and mat additional copies of each artwork for anyone willing to match the winning bids at the 2009 auction. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche has also offered to sign and thumbprint each one.

The average price of the winning bids at the auction was $1,000. The funds go directly to the Land Fund of Serenity Ridge, the center founded by Tenzin Rinpoche as a home for the Bon tradition in the West.

The available artworks (in 16" x 20" mats) are:

• Calligraphy: Rigpa (Innate Awareness). Text: 10th Nail from The 21 Nails
• Calligraphy: "A". Text: From the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyu
• Calligraphy: Tigle Nyachik (Single Sphere). Text: From The Stages of A-Khrid Meditation

Orders placed by Dec. 15, 2009, will be ready by Dec. 31, 2009.
Orders placed by Dec. 15 will be ready for Tenzin Rinpoche to sign and seal at this year's Winter Retreat. They will come matted but unframed. The shipping will be extra. If you have an interest, please see instructions for donating >

Images of the artwork, plus the full text that accompanies each calligraphy, can be viewed below

With gratitude,

Candace Byers
Ligmincha Institute

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Text and Images for Each Piece of Artwork

	Rigpa The rider — the mind of innate awareness — Is mounted on the horse of mindfulness. Propelled by the wings of the unimpeded wind, It moves through the path of the bodhicitta central-channel And arrives at the secret door of bliss at the crown. The king of innate awareness nakedly arises. Concepts — the veil of the intellect — are removed. Self-arising primordial wisdom sees its own face. Ignorance — the darkness of delusion — is lifted. The three realms and nine grounds are shaken from their depths. The continuity of the five poisons of the disturbing emotions is broken. The ocean of the six realms of samsara is dried up. The four types of birth — the portals of samsara — are emptied. The seal of the self-arising three bodies is opened. — From The Twenty-One Nails
	A Impurity having been dissolved in the void, purity shines in luminosity. The garment of intellect having been taken off, the mind shines forth nakedly. The clouds of discursiveness having disappeared, wisdom shines without the covering of obscuration. Thus, in the consciousness of one and all, is the mind which exists according to its own self. Spontaneous wisdom is like the sun shining forth from between the clouds. It arises free from obscuration in stainless luminosity. — From The Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyü
	Tigle Nyachig The wisdom of self knowledge does not arise from without; nor does it arise from within; it arises by itself, in itself. — From The Stages of A-khrid Meditation

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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, 2009 - Jan. 1, 2010
The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2
Annual Winter Retreat with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
This retreat is full. To join our waiting list, contact Ligmincha at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Feb. 5 - 7, 2010
Zhine: The Medicine of Tranquility
With Gabriel Rocco
The annual zhine practice retreat affords an opportunity to step out of the stress and demands of daily life and come home to yourself. Zhine is a form of meditation that enhances your ability to maintain focused attention and abide in clear, open awareness. You can relate to zhiné as a medicine, a tonic of tranquility that helps you disengage from the destructive mental patterns that obscure your true nature.
Learn more or register >>

April 14 - 18, 2010
Sacred Waters: The Healing Practice of Sipe Gyalmo
With Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Join Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche at Serenity Ridge this spring when he offers a special healing experience for the general public, health care professionals, and anyone who is currently encountering illness.
Learn more or register >>

June 2 - 6, 2010
Introduction to the Nature of Mind: The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2
With Menri Lopon Trinley Nyima Rinpoche
This year we are again very fortunate to have Menri Lopon Trinley Nyima Rinpoche, the head teacher of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India, teaching these beautiful and essential practices to us. The concise and essential practice manual of the Experiential Transmission, the Chag Tri, provides pith instructions for those who aspire to practice dzogchen, the path of self-liberation.
Learn more or register >>

June 20 - 26, 2009
Summer Work Retreat
Free of charge. Whether you join us for one afternoon or the full week, 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 tenting and meals, and for those who participate in the entire work retreat there will be a 50 percent discount on one week 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 us at (434) 263-6304.

June 27, 2010 - July 17, 2010
‘The Three Doors’ — 19th Annual Summer Retreat
With Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Our own body, speech and mind can offer direct access to profound inner transformation. The keys to effectively unlocking these three doors are found in the ancient Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet, whose powerful meditation practices help to remove physical, energetic, and mental blockages that keep us from achieving our highest potential. Join us for a unique, life-changing opportunity to discover your unbounded being, the source of authentic joy.
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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 434-263-6304, or go to:
https://www.ligmincha.org/retreats/retreats.html

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New From the Tibet Shop

Ligmincha’s 2010 Wall Calendar, Book on Chod by Alejandro Chaoul

Now available: Chod Practice in the Bon Tradition by Alejandro Chaoul, forward by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; and Ligmincha Institute’s 2010 Wall Calendar, featuring full-color photographs from international Bon sanghas, photos of important masters of the Bon tradition, and Tibetan Bon and Buddhist auspicious days

 

Celebrating Our International Bon Sangha — Ligmincha Institute’s 2010 Wall Calendar: Tibetan Bon and Buddhist Auspicious Days. $14.95.

This beautiful, full-color 11" x 8.5" calendar is filled with photographs from different international Bon sanghas and includes photos of important masters of the Bon tradition. Locations represented include:

• Holland, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Poland
• Menri Monastery, Dolanji, India
• Triten Norbutse Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal
• Shenten Dargye Ling, Blou, France
• Lishu Institute, Dehradun, India
• The Great Bon Stupa for World Peace, Valle de Bravo, Mexico
• Ligmincha Institute's Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Virginia
• Chamma Ling Retreat Center, Crestone, Colorado

The calendar features:

Months, days and dates in both English and Tibetan Bon and Buddhist auspicious dates including

• Full and new moons
• Spring and autumn equinox, summer and winter solstice
• Birthday of H.H. the Dalai Lama and the anniversary of the day he received the Nobel Peace Prize
• Anniversary of Birth and Death of Tonpa Shenrab
• Anniversary of Birth and Death of Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen (first abbot of Menri Monastery)
• Birthday of H.H. Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, 33rd Menri Abbot
• Birthday of Yongdzin (Lopon) Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche
• The four major celebrations of the life of the Buddha Shakyamuni
• 2010 spring, summer, fall, and winter retreats with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche at the Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Virginia, U.S.A.
• Major U.S. and Mexican holidays
  
  
For more information or to order online, visit Ligmincha’s Online Bookstore or go directly to: https://www.ligmincha.org/store/by-type/calendars/625-2010-calendar-celebrating-our-international-bon-sangha.html

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Chod Practice in the Bon Tradition
New! Just published July 2009!

By Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, with forwards by Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.

This book is the first to trace the history of chod practice in Tibet's indigenous Bön tradition. Chod ("cutting through") is a meditative practice in which the practitioner imagines offering his or her body in sacrifice through elaborate contemplative visualization. Although a meditative practice, chod is not traditionally done sitting comfortably on a cushion in a shrine room, but instead is often practiced in terrifying places like cemeteries or charnel grounds. The feelings of fear that result are used by the chod practitioner to "cut through" his or her own ego. Chod contains elements of early shamanism, of sutric and tantric teachings also found in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, and of the Tibetan highest school of Dzogchen.

Read an excerpt from the book >>

"In the last few years the interest in chod has suddenly re-emerged, and a few books have been written about it from the Buddhist perspective. Chaoul's work on chod from the Bon's perspective could not be more timely. His thorough analysis of this syncretic and fascinating religious practice and the use of the metaphor of cutting as a way to go beyond assumed boundaries, provides a broader picture of chod and sheds light on the interrelation of Buddhism and Bon."—Giacomella Orofino, University of Naples

Alejandro Chaoul obtained his Ph.D. at Rice University and has also completed the seven-year program at the Ligmincha Institute for the Study of the Religions and Cultures of Tibet. He is assistant professor at the John McGovern Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit in University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where he also teaches meditation and yoga to patients.

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Ligmincha Institute's
BOOKSTORE & TIBET SHOP

Visit our online store, www.ligmincha.org/store, for:

• A unique selection of books on Tibetan Buddhism, both new and hard to find
• Transcripts and audio CDs of teachings by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and other Bon lamas
• Ritual items: traditional bells, drums, incense, malas, singing bowls, butter lamps and prayer flags
• Gift items: earrings, pendants, handmade journals, traditional Tibetan-style shirts and coats, Tibetan music CDs
• Wall hangings, thangkas, and statues
• Meditation cushions and Tibetan rugs

Ligmincha Institute's Bookstore & Tibet Shop
554 Drumheller Lane
Shipman, VA 22971
Telephone: 434-263-6305
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web site: www.ligmincha.org/store