Teaching Issue
Volume 11, Number 2 / February 2011
Letter From the Editors
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Enjoy, Share, and Celebrate!
Dear Friends,
Here’s a special photo collage created by Bogusia Dausend in honor of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s 50th birthday. Enjoy! See the photo >
Many lucky people from around the world are presently gathered in India for teachings at Lishu Institute and for a visit to Menri Monastery, and soon many will also go on to Nepal to join in the celebration of Rinpoche’s birthday on March 6 and 7. We can’t all be there, but we can all join in sending love and good wishes to him for a splendid birthday that will usher in many spectacular years ahead!
In upcoming issues of VOCL, we look forward to sharing the personal experiences of those who are going on this sacred pilgrimage. So please share photographs and writings from this journey by emailing them to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Serenity Ridge will be hosting a Losar celebration with local sangha, family and friends on March 5 and all who can come are invited. Find out more >
Also, don’t miss the “What’s New in the Tibet Shop” column of this issue, in which Melissa O’Neill tells about more happenings to come.
All our best wishes,
Aline and Jeff Fisher
Editors, Voice of Clear Light
‘The Forecast: Sunny and Clear’
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An Excerpt From Awakening the Sacred Body, by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
The awareness of openness is like the sun shining in a clear sky. If the sun is shining, there is warmth in the space. If there is awareness of openness in the central channel, there is warmth in the central channel, in the core of your being. When there is warmth in the core of your being, that warmth gives birth to positive qualities that flower internally and benefit your life. The longer you are able to remain in meditation while being open and aware, the more you will feel the warmth of awareness in that open space. The more warmth you feel, the more chances that positive qualities will manifest.
As we release anger, we develop love and other positive qualities. As we release attachment, we connect with the inherent richness of our being. As we release doubt, we develop confidence. Confidence flowers as a result of becoming aware of and trusting the clear opening within you. Imagine sunshine coming through a window where a plant grows. The sun is not saying, “Please open the window. I need permission to talk to the flower. Maybe the flower does not want me to shine on it.” The sun has none of those doubts, nor does the flower. Through stillness, through silence, and through pure nonconceptual, thought-free awareness you make genuine contact with the sky of your being. Your recognition of this inner spaciousness is the sun that shines. As you are able to increase the time of that recognition, of that contact — as you are able to abide, or rest, in that spaciousness — the flower of your being grows. The internal warmth of your clear and open awareness allows the flowering of infinite positive qualities in your life.
From Awakening the Sacred Body, by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Marcy Vaughn, Ed. Hay House, 2011. Available from Ligmincha Institute’s Bookstore & Tibet Shop >
Accumulating Long-Life Mantras
Please Report Your Totals by March 3
As of Feb. 19 more than 2.5 million long-life mantras and prayers have been recited in honor of Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s 50th birthday. The total count will be presented to Rinpoche during his birthday celebration in Nepal on March 6 and 7. Maybe we can reach 3 million by March 3, the last day to add to the count and report your accumulated prayers. You can learn more about logging your accumulations at: http://lishu.org/bon-buddhism-tibet/long-life-mantra-rinpoche.html
We hope someone will send us a good photograph of Rinpoche´s smile when he receives all our mantras and prayers, so we can share it with all. Photos can be emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
New Online Course on the Five Elements Begins in March
Registrations Now Being Accepted
Ligmincha Institute is pleased to offer a new seven-week online course, Introduction to the Five Elements: Healing With Form, Energy and Light. The course will take place from March 12 through April 23, 2011. It is based on a series of instructional videos, specifically produced for the purpose, in which Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche explores how each of the five natural elements — earth, water, fire, air, and space — relates to our daily experiences, emotions and relationships.
This is the first course offered through our new Tibetan Meditation: Online Meditation Instruction from Ligmincha Institute. Learn more or register >
European Bon Garuda Newsletter
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Announcing the First Issue!
We are happy to announce the premier issue of the European Bon Garuda Newsletter. A joint venture of the community of European students of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, this online publication was created with the encouragement of Rinpoche and the board of the European Bon Garuda Foundation.
This colorful newsletter is written in excellent English and is recommended reading for anyone (not just Europeans!) with an interest in Bon Buddhism and the teachings of Tenzin Rinpoche. The first issue includes in-depth information about the ngondro teachings, the Mexican stupa, the Three Doors program, past and future retreats, and more. Between the lines are the beauty, openness, and generosity of the international sanghas. Editors Ton Bisscheroux of the Netherlands, Anja Benesch of Germany, and Jitka Polanská of the Czech Republic have done a wonderful job in making the newsletter not only beautiful and interesting but also user friendly. A second issue is planned for autumn 2011.
Read now >
New Gem of a YouTube Video
A Montage of the Great Bon Stupa Consecration in Mexico
Don’t miss this awesome new video with wonderful highlights of the internal consecration of the Great Bon Stupa for World Peace held in Mexico last December. Rinpoche recently shared on his Facebook page the news of this 10-minute video, edited by Enrique Garcia; and a link also appeared on Ligmincha's Facebook page.
See the video now >
Ligmincha’s Prison Project
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An Update by Hannah Lloyd
Ligmincha Institute’s Prison Project continues to develop and we are pleased to offer this update on its progress.
The Prison Project, now in its second year, is a member of the Prison Dharma Network. It consists of three modules of simplified basic meditation practices that are presented to inmates who have committed to participate in a 12-week program. These practices are:
- The Nine Breathings of Purification
- Sitting in the Nature of Mind
- The Tsa Lung practice
- The Five Warrior Syllables practice.
The project includes pre- and post-evaluations. Once we have amassed enough data, we will submit a report to keep everyone informed as to effectiveness.
Excellent research exists regarding the long-term benefits of such meditation practices for stress reduction as well as regarding their relationship to improved ability to function both while incarcerated and upon release into the community.
Ligmincha’s Prison Project now hosts active programs in Europe, Poland, Mexico City, and the United States (Oklahoma and Virginia). We have established initial contacts and are making progress toward getting approval from correctional systems in California and Massachusetts, as well. Programs also are being developed in Germany, Denmark, and Finland. Twenty-six active volunteers are communicating with each other via an email listserv.
We are especially grateful to the sangha members who have assisted in developing this project, including John Jackson, Mary Ellen McCourt, Lee Hartline, and Marcy Vaughn, among many others.
Besides the volunteers who assist with the teaching modules, there are several others who are taking the time and energy to act as spiritual pen pals for those who write to Ligmincha asking for assistance while incarcerated.
As our infrastructure develops we are looking for volunteer Website developers, media experts, translators, instructors, pen pals, regional coordinators, and fund-raisers.
We look forward to further developing the Prison Project and welcome volunteers. If you are interested in joining our effort, please email Hannah Lloyd at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
It is a joy to be a part of this process.
In Bon,
Hannah Lloyd
Ligmincha Prison Project Coordinator
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.
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
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 >
Oct. 18 - 23, 2011
The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 3
Dzogchen Teachings With H.E. Menri Lopon Trinley Nyima Rinpoche
We are honored by this special opportunity to receive dzogchen teachings from His Eminence Menri Lopon Trinley Nyima Rinpoche, the head instructor of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India.
Prerequisite: Participants must have received the teachings for Parts 1 and 2 of the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung in order to attend these teachings.
Learn more or register >
Dec. 27, 2011 - Jan. 1, 2012
The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 4
Annual Winter Dzogchen Retreat With Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Prerequisite: Participants must have received the teachings for Parts 1 and 2 of the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung in order to attend these Part 4 teachings.
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:
