Volume 22, Number 3/ June 2022
Letter from the Editors
The Mirror in Dzogchen
Dear Friends,
Pointing to what is beyond understanding of the conceptual mind, symbols and images can inspire us or lead to an Aha moment, and even to a deep recognition of our own true nature. In Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's newest book, The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen, based on a profound text on the nature of mind by Bon master Drenpa Namkha, the mirror signifies much more than a looking glass; rather, it is a powerful symbol pointing us toward who we truly are! In this issue we include an excerpt from the first chapter titled The Heart Mirror of the View, in which Rinpoche describes the way of viewing our world through the lens of openness and clarity, accepting and accommodating all, just as a mirror does.
In a related excerpt from the winter retreat in 2021, Rinpoche addresses a student's question in the Student and Teacher article about stability in practice and how we all can expand our ability to accommodate the challenges we face, as we integrate practice with life.
Summer retreat at Serenity Ridge starts soon! A picture says a thousand words, so watch the video montage of images from Serenity Ridge as it captures the beauty and sacred space of Ligmincha's mountaintop home in Virginia. Join Rinpoche this summer!
Also in this issue:
- See Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's latest teaching schedule.
- Read a letter from Ligmincha President Rob Patzig requesting funding for Serenity Ridge projects.
- Ton Bisscheroux interviews Polish and Hungarian sangha members to see how Ligmincha continues to support Ukrainian refugees.
- Geshe Denma Gyaltsen offers a special teaching on Yeshe Walmo June 5. Attend in person at Serenity Ridge or online.
- Upcoming free CyberSangha events with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche include an online teaching June 12 and a June 18 conversation on Challenges of a Tibetan Female Journalist, plus more.
- The 3 Doors celebrates 19 new teachers and announces an International Practice Day on June 12.
- Check out the next GlideWing online workshop, Who Am I? A Journey to Self-Realization, beginning June 11.
- Two online courses through Ligmincha Learning are offered beginning in July. Meditation, Breath and Movement starts July 1 and Sleep Yoga starts July 8.
- The free interactive course offered through CyberSangha is on Discovering Your True Voice.
- Spanish translation link for the April VOCL.
In Bon,
Aline and Jeff Fisher
The Heart Mirror of the View
An Excerpt from The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
The mirror of the view is boundless, naturally clear, and unchanging. It has the ability to accommodate and fully connect with appearances no matter what is happening, particularly when we feel what is happening is challenging or not good. The ability to open, accommodate and connect is the view, the first mirror.
Having a boundless view is difficult, almost impossible for us. Who has a completely boundless view? I don't. My practice in this life, in one single word, is to open, more and more and more. That is my practice. Our true nature is boundless; our experiences are bounded. When we are able to understand one boundary and clear it, we are getting closer to our boundless nature.
The view says that our true nature is open. Often we close, though, because we fear losing something and want to protect ourselves. We may be facing a particular challenge, and there is some pain and effort related to it. But that doesn't mean we have to stop opening our heart. This is what I always tell myself. Our heart, our attitude toward other people, our approach to life, what we do, how we do it, closing is not an option. We can have some compassion for ourselves and take a break. But we have to come back and open our heart.
Recognizing who we are, our true nature, is not easy. Even having a teacher introduce or point out your true nature might not help. It depends on your readiness. This is why we speak about pain identity. Pain identity is who you are not. Each time you recognize a pain identity, you begin to realize its limitations and the possibility that it can be overcome. With every specific situation you can see how open you are and how closed you are. You realize there is a way to let go of the pain identity, and then you realize there is something bigger and wider and more boundless than that. This is spiritual development. You are going deeper into that boundless essence, who truly you are, a place where you are free from your own created conditions.
It is very important to bring awareness and understanding of the view into our own lives. We are not trying to learn philosophy. We are trying to be more open in all areas of our lives.
Kuntu Zangpo, All GoodThe text of the first mirror begins with these words: Homage to the Self-Liberated and Supremely Realized Teacher, the ever excellent one, Kuntu Zangpo. In the Tibetan Bon tradition, Kuntu Zangpo is known as the primordial Buddha. The ancient texts refer to Kuntu Zangpo as being primordially pure, naturally clear self-awareness, the unity of emptiness and awareness. This is the dharmakaya (bon ku), the true nature of who we are. Kuntu Zangpo means all good, the sense that we are naturally clear and pure, impartial, and unbiased. In this nature of great wisdom, even samsara and nirvana have no root.
We are not talking about something outside ourselves here. The teacher within is Kuntu Zangpo. In the dzogchen teachings this is really important to understand. We are not separate from the essence, from reality, society, or collective unbounded consciousness; we are one with that. Being more open means being unbiased rather than separate and destructive and egoistic. We are meant to be open, connected, and self-healing, to help others.
I'm not saying there is no value in connecting to outer refuge and outer deities or teachers. We don't want to connect with any teacher, though, and lose connection with ourselves. The whole reason a teacher is here is to help you so you can connect with yourself. Every good teacher would say the same thing. Your own experiences, regardless of how difficult they are, can teach you far more than advice from anyone else, if you are a good learner. Advice from other people is their experience of what is right. Since it might not be your experience, it doesn't help as much. But if you realize something from an experience you consider challenging, it has so much more power, so much more blessing, so much more capacity to teach you.
For the past couple of years I have been thinking a lot about Kuntu Zangpo. Even if a situation looks dark and difficult, something is good in that situation. What has been challenging to you recently? Can you see any good in that challenge? If you focus on what the situation is trying to teach you, you will learn so much. Whatever your experiences are at this very moment, someone is being difficult, or a situation is difficult, or you, yourself are being difficult, look at how focused you are on trying to see something wrong with that situation. Can you see that pattern?
You may think, Oh, I get it, but you have no idea what I'm going through. We all have gone through a lot. If you really see the goodness in it, or at least are more open to it, in that very moment you are opening the door. It is becoming a mirror. You are seeing something in yourself that you have not seen before. That seeing, that knowing, by itself will open up more space.
Awareness of the space of being is the greatest processor of things. Whatever experiences are happening, self-arising, and staying, if you don't grasp they go away. Whatever your experiences, are you able to rest in the nature of mind and not be affected by them?
We often hold the idea that something is inherently wrong or bad. How can something be fundamentally wrong? It is wrong only when we cannot accommodate it. All species, all trees and flowers, have friction among themselves when they are not able to diversify or accommodate each other. Not one is wrong fundamentally. It is the same with a virus; we are trying to develop immunity. From the dharma point of view, we are trying to be immune to our ignorance, our ego, our pain. We are trying to be immune to all the difficult situations in life. These challenging situations don't have to destroy you; they have the potential to make you stronger and clearer, to open up more possibilities.
In order for that to happen, we must follow this important instruction: leave it as it is. All the experiences you are going through at this particular moment, leave them as they are. There is something good in them. Maybe it is difficult to do, but at least try to see how fixated you are on seeing something wrong in them.
Look at the experiences in your life. Don't look at anybody else, your kids, spouse, boss, other people. I'm not talking about other people; I'm talking about you. Have these experiences been a mirror to see yourself, who you are, more clearly? Or perhaps they have been like a mirror to see who you are not. Either way is great if you are really seeing yourself. Also pay special attention to all the effort to avoid, to run away, to hide, to connect, to feel or not feel. Pay attention to your relationship to all the appearances, experiences, and efforts in your life. Bring more light and awareness to them.
(The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen is published by Sacred Sky Press, a division of Ligmincha International committed to making the sacred teachings and practices of the Tibetan Bon Buddhist tradition more widely available. It is available at the Ligmincha Online Store.
The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen Practice Retreat
Summer Retreat at Serenity Ridge and on Zoom June 19-July 2
Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for the annual two-week Summer Retreat at Serenity Ridge in Virginia or online via Zoom. The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen is an essential text of the Tibetan Bon dzogchen tradition, which directly introduces us to the clear, open awareness that is our true nature and offers methods for maintaining a connection to the natural state.
Week 1: June 18-25, 2002.
Week 2: June 26-July 2, 2022
Live simultaneous translation will be available in Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.
The text of the Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen was composed by Drenpa Namkha, a great Tibetan meditation master of the late seventh/early eighth century. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche has offered teachings from this text on several occasions, including his 2020 summer retreat, and has published a book of commentary on the Seven Mirrors based on his 2020 teachings.
In the two-week retreat this summer, Rinpoche will guide us to recognize and rest in our true nature, engaging selected practices and meditations. Newcomers and experienced practitioners are equally welcome! The emphasis on practice will allow experiences and realization to deepen in the warmth of our collective practice.
Due to Covid-19 protocols currently in place, onsite participation at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center is currently limited to 50 retreatants total, and a Covid policy is in place. More information is provided during the registration process. Preregistration is required for both in-person and online retreats.
Recommended reading The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen: Treachings and Commentary on an Ancient Dzogchen Text by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (2022, Sacred Sky Press)
Learn more/register for in-person retreat
Learn more/register for online retreat
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's Upcoming Teaching Schedule
June Through December 2022
Here is Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's teaching schedule for the remainder of 2022. Rinpoche will offer three more seasonal retreats at Serenity Ridge in Virginia this year, both in person and online, as well as other retreats in Europe, Colorado and California. Many of his retreats will be offered both in person and online.
You can find the latest listings and any changes in the Events section of the Ligmincha website or the Serenity Ridge website. Please register for these online retreats through the specific Events box on the website.
- June 4-6, 2022: Pont-la-Ville, Switzerland: The Heartdrop of Chamma
- June 19-July 2, 2022: Serenity Ridge Summer Retreat: The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen Practice Retreat
- August 8-14, 2022: Buchenau, Germany: The Essence of the 21 Nails (Practice Retreat)
- August 16-21, 2022: Chamma Ling Poland, Tummo Part 2
- September 2-4, 2022: Budapest, Hungary, TBD
- September 23-25, 2022: Chamma Ling Colorado, A-tri Dzogchen Retreat Part 2
- October 11-16, 2022: Serenity Ridge Fall Retreat, TBD
- October 28-30, 2022: Berkeley, California: The 21 Nails (Part 2 of 6)
- December 26, 2022-January 1, 2023: Serenity Ridge Winter Retreat, Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 3
Serenity Ridge Needs Your Help
Please Consider Donating to Complete Important Projects
Dear Sangha and Friends,
Ligmincha, as a community, has grown so much over the past two years. Under Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's always inspiring example and guidance, we have learned that our different languages, locations, experiences and interests don't divide us, they bring us together and enliven us! And as we are leaving the Zoom-only world for retreats and events that take place both at our retreeat centers and online, Serenity Ridge needs your help.
There is something uncomfortable about asking for your financial assistance to repair and improve Serenity Ridge Retreat Center in Virginia, headquarters of Ligmincha International. In 2021 we collectively raised $100,000 for Covid-19 relief efforts for India and Nepal. In 2022 the generosity of practitioners all around the world raised more than $40,000 for Ukrainian refugee aid and relief. Ligmincha Poland opened its retreat center as a warm and welcoming place for Ukrainians needing a place to stay and is continuing to provide aid in other ways. In Hungary, sangha members have crossed the border into Ukraine to bring needed supplies to orphanages. The greater Ligmincha community has come together to support those in need, yet the world continues to be in turmoil. The needs of people who are displaced, homeless and sick desperately need our time, money and attention.
And yet we also need your help. Focusing on the needs of others is a deep part of our practice, but the absence of retreats during the epidemic has left Serenity Ridge in need of many unfinished repairs and improvements. We need to complete projects that were just starting in 2020. The highest priority items include:
Reducing water consumption by bringing gray-water lines from rain cisterns to locations around the center. Cost: $1,500- Installing 15 prayer wheels donated in 2019 by a sangha member (see photo below). The estimated cost: $4,500
- Repairing the gompa, Serenity Ridge's original and main meditation hall. We have replaced the gutters, but need to replace the doors and rotten wood on the exterior, repaint the exterior and make minor repairs to the interior. Estimated cost: $15,000.
- Dig a new well. We hope that the center will be at full capacity by 2023, able to support 100-plus attendees at each retreat. But to do this, we need a new well. This is the most expensive of our needed capital expenditures and could exceed $40,000.
There has been such an outpouring of support for Ligmincha's relief efforts over the past two years. When we initiated them, we never imagined how successful they would be! Now, we ask you to consider a gift to support repairing and improving Serenity Ridge. Ligmincha's retreat centers are at the heart of our mission: creating an enduring home for the teachings of Yungdrung Bon in the western world so that future generations can receive the gift of the teachings that we have already discovered for ourselves.
You can donate here.
In service,
Rob Patzig
President, Ligmincha International
Supporting Ukrainian Refugees
Polish, Hungarian Sanghas Offer Help
Ukrainian refugees at Chamma Ling Poland in Wilga with Pawel Witak (second from left), caretaker at the timeSince the start of the conflict in Ukraine, many women, children and elder people have left their homes or country to move to a safer place. Three million refugees from Ukraine have gone to Poland; and as well, many Ukrainian men living and working in Poland went back to Ukraine to defend their country. Many Ukrainians have fled to western Ukraine, where many people originally from Hungary live.
Both the Polish and Hungarian sanghas of Ligmincha International have been providing support for refugees and others impacted by the war. They have been helped by donations from an internal fundraising campaign organized by Ligmincha International. (You can still donate through Ligmincha International, Ligmincha Poland or Ligmincha Hungary.)
To find out more, Ton Bisscheroux talked with members from Ligmincha's Polish and Hungarian sanghas: Barbara Baczyńska, secretary of the Board of Ligmincha Poland and coordinator of support for the Ukraine refugees; Agnieszka Kutyłowska, a member of the Polish sangha who worked with the refugees; and Balazs Balogh, a member of the Hungarian sangha.
Barbara, can you talk about the Ukraine refugees who came to Poland, and especially to Ligmincha's Chamma Ling center in Wilga?
During the first month of the war, we had about 30 refugees in Wilga. Wilga is a very small village in a forest, and our center was a great place for them to rest. After a few weeks these people went to bigger cities in Poland, or to other countries. They wanted to find work and to send their children to a school. Six weeks after the war started, they had all left Wilga. We are still open to receive them, but now there are no longer refugees staying at Chamma Ling Poland. We still get a lot of questions, but when they find out about our location, they are not coming.
Is it possible for them to find work in the cities?
Our language is quite similar, and before the war a lot of Ukrainian men worked in Poland in the confection industry. They left and went home to defend their country, so Ukrainian women found jobs quite easily.
In what ways have you been supporting the refugees?
We provided the refugees with food, clothing and shoes. We helped them to find a place to go to, and paid for train tickets for those who wanted to go to other places in Poland or abroad. On our webpage refugees can read that they are welcome at Chamma Ling.
We collected a lot of money, and we have supported some humanitarian organizations. One is called Polish Humanitarian Action, a Warsaw-based international nongovernmental organization (NGO) which for more than 20 years has been providing assistance to civilians suffering as a result of armed conflicts, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters in more than 40 countries worldwide. We donated $14,000 to them, and another $10,000 and to another nonprofit organization called A Place at the Table. This organization started two days after the war began, and every day they have been cooking thousands of meals at the border for free. We supported an organization called Centaurus Foundation with $2,500. They help evacuate animals and their caretakers from Ukraine to Poland. We supported the printing of booklets with the title "Heroes Cry Too," to be given to Ukraine children. These booklets are prepared by psychologists and are therapeutic.
We still have money to spend and will plan other actions. Our sangha members privately help or host refugees, and they asked Ligmincha to help them find shoes and clothes and toys for the children.
We are now also making it possible to invite refugees with children to Chamma Ling for free holiday stays. We are talking about this with Ukrainian House in Warsaw and with Happy Kids family orphanage, which took in 1,400 orphans from Ukraine.
Did the refugees ask for mental or spiritual support?
They did not want to talk about what happened. So we did not offer them any spiritual or psychological help. But there are organizations in Poland that offer mental health support.
The war is a horrible situation, and for me the only way that I can deal with it is to do something and help. It is heartbreaking that I am living in a peaceful part of Europe, and they are in a war they did not ask for.
How much financial support did you get from Ligmincha?
Ligmincha Poland received the following donations from other Ligmincha sanghas: $22,000 from Ligmincha International, $6,500 from Ligmincha Germany, $3,000 from Ligmincha Switzerland, $1,100 from Ligmincha Austria and $550 from Ligmincha Finland, plus $2,000 from Polish sangha members.
Agnieszka, can you talk about your experiences working with the Ukraine refugees?
I met three families. The first was a mother, Sasha, with her daughters Luba and Liza, 8 and 11 years old, from Donetsk. Luba was a very lively child and full of energy. Liza kept more to herself. They fled their hometown twice. The first time, in 2014, when their city was occupied by Russians, they went to Kiev. And now they had to escape again from Kiev to Poland. They all went through terrifying experiences, and in Wilga they could relax. Sasha can sew and embroider beautiful things. We gave her a sewing machine so she can earn a living in Poland. They stayed in Wilga for one month. then we helped them find a new place to live in Milanowek, a small city near Warsaw.
Another family I met was an older couple, Sasha and Lena, who are 75 years old, and who came with their son Andrej. They told me that they had been on the run for 10 days. Before they arrived in Wilga, they stayed in big dormitory with many people, where they felt lost. Soon they began looking for family somewhere in Poland. They had health issues and we took them to the doctor, where they got a prescription for medicines. The couple stayed in our center for one month and then went to Warsaw because Andrej found a job there as physiotherapist. They liked Wilga very much, but they wanted to be close to their son.
The third family I met consisted of six people: Ira is 45 years old, Veronica 16, Maxim 17, and Sniezhana 26, with two daughters Zlata, 4 years and Pola, 11 months old. They all came from Zhytomyr. The first days in Wilga they were very stressed. After a few days they opened up and began to talk more. They also went to our gompa [meditation hall] to pray. First, they went to the Warsaw, but after four weeks they decided to go back to Ukraine, because Ira's boss told her to come back to Ukraine. She had a good job, and she did not want to lose it.
How was it for you when you met the refugees?
It was difficult to hear their stories. I felt their sadness. The people I met are very thankful for everything. We tried to give them something so they would stop thinking of their traumatic experiences. All the people I met want to go back to Ukraine, even though they worry about people who are now in Ukraine.
Balazs, can you talk about what the Hungarian sangha has been doing for the Ukrainian refugees?
A delivery from Hungarian sangha to UkraineWe do not host refugees in Hungary. We help refugees in their mother country, Ukraine. In the western part of Ukraine, called Subcarpathia, many people live who are originally from Hungary. They are the fifth largest national minority in Ukraine.
We established a close relationship with 2 NGOs helping refugees directly, VARDA Tradition Preserver and the Ukrainian Gracious Foundation. In a warehouse they collect money, clothing, food and other things refugees need and distribute them in Ukraine. Some of their members have easy access through the border, and they have bilingual volunteers from Subcarpathia.
We have passed the border with them twice; the third truck of donations is being prepared to be delivered in a week. When we go with them, passing the border from Hungary to Ukraine is easier and we are able to reach more towns, villages, schools and orphanages in Subcarpathia. Numerous refugees from the eastern part of Ukraine have gathered there. Mainly women and children are coming, staying there for a while, and then trying to pass the border. Orphans come from the war-torn areas, and some find a place in a Hungarian orphanage. They need all the help (clothing, food etc.) we can provide.
Helping organize donated supplies for UkrainiansWe got in contact with a food wholesaler in Hungary, who offered us a discount of 15 to 20 percent. We ask the NGOs on the field what they need the most at the moment, get it at wholesale price and take it personally to places needed. We also work with a Calvinist priest, who divides our donations among people and institutions (orphanages, hospitals, etc.) in need.
Did you meet the refugees?
No, we meet with the volunteers, so we do not have stories from refugees. Once as we were distributing a truckload of stuff at a school and we had a glimpse at how people live there. We were driving five trucks that day to different places in Ukraine. Around 100 refugees were sheltering in that school at the moment, but we did not have time to speak with them. We were driving more than 800 kilometers and started the day at 7 a.m. from Budapest and arrived home after midnight. We were just taking the food out and waving goodbye. The volunteers and the director of the school tried to keep us there for dinner or at least a coffee, but we really had to go.
How long will you continue with your support?
Our aim is to provide continuous and long-term assistance even when people are "getting used to" and becoming less sensitive to the news about the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the crisis seems to be prolonged for a while, so those who are fleeing from the war now, and those who will be fleeing later, are waiting and counting on our help in the future as well.
How much financial support did you get from Ligmincha?
Ligmincha Hungary started a fundraising call to provide direct assistance to those in need in Ukraine close to the border and for those who are fleeing from Ukraine to Hungary. Ligmincha Hungary has received donations of $4,000 from Ligmincha International, $3,000 from Ligmincha Switzerland, $500 from Ligmincha Peru, $1,300 from Ligmincha Austria, $500 from Ligmincha Finland and $1,800 from individual sponsors. As I said above, our aim is to provide continuous and long-term assistance, so all support is welcomed.
Invocation of Yeshe Walmo
June 5 with Geshe Denma Gyaltsen
Many of our Ligmincha retreat centers and sanghas worldwide close the last practice of each day by reciting the Invocation of Yeshe Walmo. Doing so, we invoke this enlightened protector of Yungdrung Bon to guide and protect us at every level. Join Geshe Denma Gyaltsen, resident lama for Ligmincha Texas, at Serenity Ridge or online on Sunday, June 5, for a special half-day teaching on this practice.
The Invocation of Yeshe Walmo may be new to many who have not been to in-person retreats. If you are not familiar with Yeshe Walmo or with her invocation, we strongly encourage you to attend this event! And if you do know the practice, this is a great time to get closer to her through the deep wisdom and kindness of Geshe Denma, who will be in residence at Serenity Ridge for a number of weeks this summer.
The term invocation generally means to call upon. However, the Tibetan term is kulpa, more specifically meaning to arouse or to call to action. Therefore, this prayer is clearly used to call upon the enlightened protector Yeshe Walmo to quickly act on our behalf.
In the final line of the prayer, Yeshe Walmo is called upon to "pacify all obstacles and causes of disharmony without exception, into the vastness of outer, inner and secret space!" The Tibetan text specifically refers to these three spaces, kha long ying. This indicates the ability of Yeshe Walmo to support the practitioner by destroying obstacles that range from being obvious and external to the subtlest obstacles of mind. Nothing is beyond her capability. That power, combined with the doubtless trust of the practitioner, can bring immediate action and support as expressed in this concise and powerful prayer.
Schedule (New York Time)
Sunday, June 5
10-11:15 a.m. Teaching
11:15-11:45 a.m. Brea
11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Teaching
This event will be held both online and in person at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center.
For those attending the online summer retreat at Serenity Ridge on the Seven Mirrors with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, we warmly invite you to attend the ONLINE Yeshe Walmo retreat for a special discount of $20. Use the discount code SUMMER during the registration process.
Upcoming CyberSangha Events with Rinpoche and Guests
Challenges of a Tibetan Female Journalist Conversation June 18
The CyberSangha team warmly invites you to join in the following new offerings. They include a teaching and guided meditation with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche on June 12 followed by a 24-hour full moon practice on June 13. On June 18, Rinpoche and co-host Jhama Lhamo will discuss Challenges of a Tibetan Female Journalist in an online conversation with two Tibetan journalists.
Sunday, June 12, 2022, 12 noon New York time. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will give a teaching and guided meditation on Realizing Your Full Potential: Clearing Obstacles to Positive Action.
Learn more/view live
June 13, 2022, 10 a.m. New York time. The next 24-Hour Full Moon Practice begins. Hosted on Zoom by Ligmincha International practice leaders around the world, this month's full moon practice focus is on Through Stillness, Awaken Clear, Positive Action, and continues with sessions of mantra recitation, contemplative silence and further guided meditations. Open to all.
Learn more/register
Saturday, June 18 at 11 a.m. New York time. View a live online conversation with broadcast journalists Tsering Kyi and Sakina Batt, hosted by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Jhama Lhamo. This conversation will be in Tibetan language, with simultaneous interpretation into English and other languages. View this broadcast live on the Facebook page of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche or cybersangha.net.
About the panelists:
Tsering Kyi is a journalist, blogger and poet. Born and raised in Amdo, eastern Tibet, she has studied in Tibet, India, England and Germany. While in India she became Miss Tibet in the early 2000s and later traveled to many countries to speak on the life experiences of Tibetan women and children. For the past 15 years she has written poetry, musical lyrics and articles in Tibetan, and published three books of poetry. Tsering Kyi has been a blogger longer than any other female Tibetan and has a readership of more than one million people.
Sakina Batt worked at Tibet TV of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) from 2017 to 2021, where her roles included news anchor, interview host and emcee for official CTA events, as well as script writer, video editor, researcher and documentary filmmaker. Born in Nepal, she was educated in Darjeeling, India. She received her bachelor's degree from Delhi University and her master's in mass communication from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She is the first Tibetan Muslim woman to work at CTA.
Whether you are a longtime meditation practitioner or a novice, you are welcome to attend any or all live broadcasts throughout the year. Except for the 24-hour full moon practices, no advance registration is required. The 24-hour session begins with a teaching and guided meditation at 10 a.m. New York time on the day of the full moon, and ends at 10 a.m. the following day. Participants will be supported by the Ligmincha International global community of practitioners. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and other Ligmincha lamas will take opportunities to join participants throughout the 24 hours.
Unlike Rinpoche's CyberSangha Facebook Live broadcasts, the 24-hour full moon practice takes place via Zoom, in an online meeting space. There is no cost to participate, but registration is required.
MONTH OF THE MIND (May 14-June 11)
The May 14 broadcast on Realizing the Power of Boundless Creativity with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and can be viewed in the CyberSangha archives. A full-moon practice was held on May 15-16.
MONTH OF THE BODY (June 12-July 11)
Sunday, June 12, 2022, 12 noon New York time. Teaching and guided meditation with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Realizing Your Full Potential: Clearing Obstacles to Positive Action.
Learn more/view live
Monday, June 13, 2022, 10 a.m. New York time. 24-Hour Full Moon Practice, Through Stillness, Awaken Clear, Positive Action.
Learn more/register
Tuesday, June 28, 2022, 12 noon New York time. Science & Spirituality Dialog related to longevity, with Stephan Rechtschaffen, MD, Tibetan Dr. Phuntsok Wangmo, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinipoche and host Alejandro Chaoul-Reich. More information to come.
MONTH OF SPEECH (July 12-August 9)
Tuesday, July 12, 2022, 12 noon New York time. Teaching and guided meditation with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Realizing Your Full Potential: Clearing Obstacles to Positive Speech.
Learn more/view live
Wednesday, July 13, 2022, 10 a.m. New York time. 24-Hour Full Moon Practice, Through Silence, Realize Your True Voice.
Registration opens after June 14.
Visit the Cyber Sangha website for complete information and updates.
Celebrating 19 New 3 Doors Teachers
June 12 International Practice Day Open to All
2018 International Retreat in Merida, MexicoThe 3 Doors is pleased to announce the graduation of 19 new teachers from around the world from a new yearlong Teacher Training program. This winter they completed the final stage of the training process with 3 Doors senior teachers and received authorization to teach 3 Doors practices.
This is the first program of its kind since the founding of The 3 Doors in 2011, when Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche personally selected, trained and authorized a group of his students, some of whom became the senior teachers of The 3 Doors.
The new teachers hail from countries including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, Switzerland and the United States. Many have been practicing meditation and guiding practices for years, some for decades.
Their multiyear journey began with participating in a 3 Doors Academy, a two-and-a-half-year program open to all interested in transforming their lives through meditation and integrating its benefits in daily life. A hallmark of this program is the development of a community of practitioners who support each other in meditation and in giving voice to the process of personal transformation. Academies have been held in the U.S., Mexico and Europe, and the sixth North American Academy is currently under way.
Upon completion of an Academy, with an expressed interest in sharing the practices with others, these graduates were invited to join the Presenters Path, a one-and-a-half-year program that provides further training and mentorship to share the 3 Doors view and practices. Finally, early last year, this group of 19 Presenters was invited to join the one-year Teacher Training, where they worked with 3 Doors senior teachers to learn to become 3 Doors teachers themselves. The 19 new teachers are now authorized to teach 3 Doors meditation practices with sponsorship from the organization.
Starting this summer, members of this international group will offer 3 Doors courses, many in their native languages. With an expanding group of teachers, The 3 Doors will be able to serve more people around the world, to help them benefit from the warmth of community and the depth of personal practice.
June 12 International Practice Day for Everyone
On Sunday, June 12, 2022, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., The 3 Doors will host an online International Practice Day, titled Opening the Doors of Body, Speech and Mind to Benefit Others. Participants will have the opportunity to meet three of the new teachers, who will guide the practices. Meditations will be led in English by Tonny Maas from the Netherlands and Phil Tonne from the United States, and in Spanish by Rosario Arellano Rocha from Mexico. In addition to English and Spanish, translation will be available in Portuguese and Hungarian.
Along with practicing together as an entire group, participants will have opportunities to reflect upon and share their experiences of the practice in smaller breakout groups.
All are invited to join this free event, to be held on Zoom, and experience the joy and power of meditation within the warmth and support of a worldwide community.
First in New Free Online Classes Through CyberSangha
Discovering Your True Voice Begins July 20
CyberSangha is happy to announce free online classes beginning with Discovering Your True Voice, a monthlong meditation course for releasing negative speech patterns, resting in inner silence, and realizing your true voice so you may enrich your life and be of more benefit to others. It will be held on four Wednesdays at 12 p.m. New York time, July 20-August 10, with Aleeze Sattar Moss, via Zoom. It is designed to accompany the Month of Speech in the yearlong online program, Bring Body, Speech & Mind to Life. it is open to all but limited to 21 participants.
Aleeze Sattar Moss, Ph.D., is the associate director of The Myrna Brind Center for Mindfulness at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. She is a certified mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) teacher and teaches mindfulness to the public, patients, health care professionals, medical students and employees in corporate settings. She completed the nine-month 3 Doors Compassoin Project in 2016. She has a doctorate in anthropology and conducts qualitative research on the effects of MBSR on physical and psychological health and has published in peer-reviewed journals.
Upcoming GlideWing Online Workshop
Who Am I? A Journey to Self Realization Begins June 11
GlideWing is pleased to offer Who Am I? A Journey to Self-Realization, a two-week online workshop with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche from June 11-26. Participants will practice from their own homes, at their own schedule, with guidance from Rinpoche.
Many of the world's spiritual traditions are founded on a single, fundamental truth, that the source of all suffering in life is a mistaken sense of identity. We are forever searching for the light that can dispel the darkness of our uncomfortable thoughts and emotions, yet we can't see that we already are the light we are seeking.
As Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche explains, who we truly are is limitless love and compassion, beyond any boundaries of identity. With a subtle yet profound shift in how we understand ourselves, we can open up the space that permits us to rise above challenging situations with less fear and anxiety.
Learn more/register
Upcoming: Healing From The Source, August 20-September 11, 2022.
Ongoing: Focusing and Calming Your Mind, The Tibetan Practice of Zhine, a free two-week self-guided online workshop.
Learn more at glidewing.com
Ligmincha Learning's Upcoming Courses
Tsa Lung and Sleep Yoga
Ligmincha Learning is pleased to offer two upcoming video-based online courses that will begin in July: Meditation, Breath and Movement with Alejandro Chaoul-Reich July 1-30 and Sleep Yoga with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche July 8-August 6. Ngondro, The Foundational Practices with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche can be joined through the end of June. These 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.
July 1-30, 2022
Meditation, Breath and Movement: Tsa Lung External, Internal and Secret Practices with Alejandro Chaoul-Reich. Now offered with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
Tsa lung is a series of ancient yogic practices that brings balance and harmony to our physical body, energy and mind. The term tsa lung can be translated as the energy-winds (Tib. lung, Skt. prana, Chinese, qi) in the channels, for these practices are designed to open the subtle channels, guiding the healthy flow of the energy-winds so that we can enjoy good health and reconnect with more calmness to a quiet, peaceful mind. These exercises are easy to perform and are suitable for everyone.
Learn more/register
July 8-August 6, 2022
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 our sleep, open, clear, resting in deep meditative presence. The course will introduce simple techniques to enter into sleep in a healthy, balanced way. Even if we do not consistently enter into clear light sleep, we can benefit from a refreshing, relaxed sleep that gives us deep renewal. This is supported by breathing techniques, physical postures and guided visualizations. Tenzin Rinpoche will also provide meditations to wake up in a beautiful way and step into our day with serenity.
Learn more/register
March 11-December 17, 2022 (ongoing and can be joined through June 30)
Ngondro: The Foundational Practices with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
The ngondro teachings are a set of nine practices that offer complete instructions for taming, purifying and perfecting the suffering mind.
Learn more/register
Learn more at ligminchlearning.com
Student and Teacher
Together on the Path
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche answers a student's question about what stability means in practice and how we all can expand our ability to accommodate the challenges we face, as we integrate practice with life. This is an excerpt from oral teachings, winter 2021.
Student: I would like to understand a little bit more about what stability means in relation to practice.
Rinpoche: Some people can hold so many things and events in their life and feel totally calm and peaceful and cool. And others cannot handle that level. It's not like an objective sense of stability, it's a subjective stability. So for each person, what we need to learn is to be able to expand a little bit more.
For example, when I've been shaken by something, and I have too many thoughts, I feel unstable. But it's not that there are too many thoughts. Rather, it is my lack of ability to integrate with my thoughts that makes me unstable. Thoughts are not the problem. It's my lack of ability to accommodate them. That's where all the practice of integration is coming. Integration practice is not saying thoughts interfere with you so get rid of them. No, it's not saying that. It's saying for a moment you stop thoughts, find your stability and then invite thoughts, dance with your thoughts. Then thought will not take anything away from you. Instead, it will give you more. Then you have stability with the thoughts.
It's like whatever is not disconnecting you, it's stable. Whatever is connecting you, it's stable. Whatever is disconnecting you, it's unstable. And what that is, is a very personal thing.
Because of that, I think the ability to expand is always good to remember. We have been talking about this and personally I have been looking at my own life. As we get older, generally speaking, we tend to retreat, to retire. If you are doing a job you've been doing for 40 years that you hate, then yes, it's good to retire when you can. But retiring from life is not a good thing to do. You cannot retire from life; you cannot retreat from life. You cannot retire from love, joy, compassion, equanimity, creativity.
Remembering as we get older or as we get tired of the world, that we should not to retreat from the world, make the distinction. I'm not tired of loving; I'm not tired of laughing; I'm not tired of living; I'm not tired of creating; I'm not tired of serving. But I am tired of a particular pattern of serving, a particular pattern of loving, a particular pattern involving a lot of effort of doing things. And I will not repeat that again. That's the difference you know? That pattern destabilizes my being, but the creativity enhances my stability. It helps me to stabilize. Making that distinction is critically important. Many times when people get older, they really lose those fun parts of life. They cannot make the distinction between all of their stories and pain, and what lies ahead in the future. They can not separate them. They think it's the same thing; they cut everything.
So make that distinction. It will not take away life; it will give you life. It will not take away fun; it will give you more fun.
Spanish Translation of VOCL
Link to April Issue Now Available
Look for the translations of Voice of Clear Light Newsletters at the top of the VOCL website.
