Volume 25, Number 3 / June 2025
Letter from the Editors
On Solid Ground
Dear Friends,
Although we may find ourselves in turbulent times, our connection to a sacred tradition and lineage, one that we can trust, offers us a solid ground and a pathway to our awakening. In this issue, we highlight a teaching from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, given during a previous summer retreat where he taught alongside His Holiness 34th Menri Trizin, the spiritual head of the Bon tradition. Their teachings illuminate the enduring strength and guidance of the Bon lineage - supporting us as we learn, question, grow, and bring these insights into our daily lives.
We are deeply grateful that His Holiness will return to Serenity Ridge for this year's summer retreat, beginning July 12. Please see below for all the details, and we hope you can join us!
More news and events at Ligmincha:
- Upcoming Serenity Ridge Summer Retreat July 12-26 on Longevity & Vitality Through Self-Realization, with honored guest H.H. the 34th Menri Trizin Rinpoche and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.
- Requesting Bon Dharma donations for Ligmincha's Summer auction.
- Read Rob Patzig's letter on helping support Rinpoche's vision and Ligmincha projects.
- Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's 2025 schedule.
- Ligmincha's Online Store unveils a fresh new look and name: See Windhorse.store!
- An interview with Geshe Sherab Palden, resident lama at Chamma Ling Poland, conducted by Ton Bisscheroux.
- Upcoming free CyberSangha events
- Read about the Soul Retrieval Training Program beginning in October 2025.
- Ligmincha Learning online courses begin June 27 on the Five Elements with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Tsa Lung with Alejandro Chaoul.
- Upcoming GlideWing online workshops with Tenzin Rinpoche on Tibetan Dream Yoga and The Journey to Ultimate Liberation.
- Join The 3 Doors for International Practice Day on June 1; Learn about new Foundational Series & more.
- From the VOCL Archives, read an excerpt from an interview with His Holiness, 34th Menri Trizin, at Serenity Ridge in 2019.
- Spanish translation of the April VOCL.
In Bon,
Aline and Jeff Fisher
Receiving, Protecting and Expanding the Gifts of the Tradition and the Lineage
An Excerpt from Teachings Given by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Summer 2023
I'd like to bring to your attention here the value of the lineage. His Holiness, the 34th Menri Trizin, is on retreat with us, along with all of the visiting lamas. And we are in the presence of this beautiful shrine, with the entirety of canonical texts of the Kangyur and the Tengyur now up in the Garuda House. Add to that all of the transmissions of an unbroken lineage.
It is something that's very, very precious; something that maybe not everybody will understand, or be able to relate to, but we all definitely have this wonderful access to it. And for sure, we are not trying to convince everyone of all that is being taught but rather, it is more important that you know what it is that you are all connected to, and that you appreciate that, right?
So, personally I feel that it's all very precious, even though at times there are things such as some of the practices or teachings that with my ordinary mind it's sometimes hard to make complete sense of. I'm sure there are times when you may feel like that, too. And it doesn't all have to make complete sense. The thing is, though, not to get frustrated when it doesn't make complete sense to you. In those cases, just take a more humble approach to it and simply say, I don't get it, and it's okay. I don't have to get it - there's much out there that I don't get. But I'm so blessed to have exposure to this knowledge. That's especially true given the times we are living in.
I feel particularly like that when seeing so much confusion all around the world, and seeing all of the negative effects that come from it. However, you do have a choice of focusing either on the negative side of things or on the positive side. Because, in this time that we are living in, I also feel that there are so many gifts in our lives to be grateful for. For instance, we have exposure to all of this science - this amazing science - which every year is discovering so many new things. And with all of the new things they are finding, they are actually fueling a lot of new social changes in a very good way with what they have found. However, some of these discoveries may be difficult for us to process, and we may feel threatened by them. For instance the advances in artificial intelligence, and so on.
But at the same time, we can see that this is also reality. It is the dynamic manifestation of infinite possibility, the dynamic manifestation of the nature of mind.
Right now you might say, I'm afraid of artificial intelligence, I'm afraid of this, afraid of that. However, you see too that right now you have no idea what you will be afraid of in fifty years time. So don't be afraid of anything. Rather, simply make the best use of what is available at present, such as technology and science and the ability to bring these kinds of knowledge together. America is one of the countries where people have this kind of self-exploring attitude. People are meditating in classrooms in the universities, for instance, or are exploring novel things like that. There's really a sense of openness, and that was one of the things that really impressed me when I came to America for the first time. I was impressed with their ideas around not always objectively analyzing things from the object side, but rather shifting one's focus and asking questions about the subject. I felt clearly from the start that they were very open to subject analysis.
For instance, let's say that there is a situation in my life which makes me feel a little bit vulnerable, and which feels a little bit threatening. Rather than try to come up with every reasoning that I possibly could to support the idea that the problem lies solely out there, the most important reasoning one can engage in would be to focus on who is it that is feeling the threat. That question is a much better question. You will find a much more enlightening answer with that inquiry than you will by only focusing outside oneself.
We are here in this time and space right now, and we are emersed in this ancient knowledge. However, there is also a lot of danger, a real danger of losing this knowledge. When presented with anything that we don't understand, then there's a tendency in us to ignore it right away, and say, I don't get it! Just like that, rather than respecting it and preserving it. As I have said before, we here at Ligmincha struggle with that sense. You cannot expand without protecting, as well. You can both protect and expand. And that needs to be balanced more. In the same way that method and wisdom should be balanced, as His Holiness was saying earlier.
In order to protect these things, people must be open enough to learn them; open enough to be interested in what may at first seem complicated or foreign. If the number of those interested declines, then that would make it harder to protect these things. At Menri Monastery there have always been five or six hundred monks in residence at any one time, for thousands of years. So at Menri there is no difficulty in protecting those things. First of all, the monks don't have so many competing interests the way westerners do. Rather, that is their sole interest. It's a very simple life.
When people ask me these days what my son Senghe is interested in at college, I really don't know, because he's told me different things. However, if you were to ask me when I was his age and living at the monastery, what I was interested in, I did not know either. I was very interested in just whatever I was doing at the time. But not because it would be a means for my getting something else. No, for half of my life back then, I did everything very diligently, with a lot of effort, but not because I was trying to get somewhere else. Today though, that way of life and that way of applying oneself doesn't work. These days, if you were to ask a person who is going off to college, what are you going to learn, what are you interested in focusing on there? Really, what you're asking is, what are you going to learn that will end up making enough money for you? What subject are you interested in enough to earn a degree?
In today's world, it often comes down to that sort of very mundane thing. That's very different than when I was growing up in the monastery where first off, you are simply put there. I suddenly find myself there, and I find in front of me these books, and I find my teacher there in front of me, too. And then I just embraced every moment and every thing in a full way - very, very engaged.
And I put in a lot of effort too, you know? Memorizing fifty pages of text from the top line down to the bottom of the last page. And we were only allowed three mistakes. After the third mistake, you must get help. And how did we do all of that without an electric light in our darkened room? By using an incense stick (TWR holds an imaginary incense stick up close to the text in front of him, and blows on it). You are sitting in a dark room memorizing lines and blowing on an incense stick. Next line... next line... next line... then back up to the beginning. And I would continue to do that until I arrived at a half of a page. And then I would start on the next half page and continue line by line, reading it again and again stopping only when I could recite from memory starting at the beginning of the first page all the way to the end of the last page. And then at that point, I could go to sleep!
That is just what you do in the monastery. Whether it's one page a day, or two pages a day, or whatever you have promised to do. Then the next morning, the very first thing you do when you get up is to recite it one time again completely all the way through. If you can do that, then you're okay.
I did not know why I was doing any of this. Maybe I know a little bit better now what I was doing. Of course, though, sometimes you don't have to know why you are doing something, if you trust life. Simply be fully present there, and then life will show you; life will guide you.
So, as we are building trust in this rich tradition and this unbroken lineage, and feeling grateful toward it all, we do not have to understand everything that we are doing. Because, think about this - there is so much vastness here to be understood. Therefore, whatever you've come to understand in this particular time and in this moment, and in this life, it is for you. It is your gift. Make the best use of it. Don't always be asking for more, trying to get more. Instead, simply use fully that which you have. That's clear, right?
Okay. Let's do the dedication.
Special Summer Retreat at Serenity Ridge July 12-26
With Honored Guest His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin
Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and honored guest, His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin, Lungtok Dawa Dhargyal Rinpoche, spiritual head of the Bon tradition, for this special retreat, Longevity & Vitality Through Self-Realization. You can attend one or both weeks, either in person at Serenity Ridge or online on Zoom. We hope you can join us!
Week 1: July 12-19, 2025
Week 2: July 19-26, 2025
Join us for one or both weeks for a transformative retreat focused on restoring and revitalizing our life force through self-realization. This retreat shares the teachings, transmission, and Long Life initiation of Tsewang Rikdzin - an ancient longevity practice from the Bon tradition of Tibet.
This retreat includes:
- Transmission of ancient Tibetan wisdom in modern and accessible ways and with direct guidance on integrating these practices into daily life.
- Long Life Initiation - a powerful and ancient method to extend lifespan, deepen awareness and reconnect to our vital essence.
- Exploration of the stories and identities that restrict our ability to fully engage with life and how to work with them for personal growth and transformation.
- Transforming self-destructive behaviors into actions that promote well-being and positive outcomes.
- Opportunities for overcoming self-grasping by understanding how attachment leads to suffering, dis-ease, and constriction of one's true self.
Core Teachings & Practices
- Cultivating longevity through inner clarity.
- Recognizing and resting in the ever-present nature of awareness.
- Cultivating resilience in body and mind to break free from self-deception.
- Transforming the five poisons of anger, desire, pride, envy and ignorance into the wisdom of the five Buddha families.
- Restoring our life force through the five elements of space, air, fire, water and earth.
Through authentic initiation, direct transmission, practical instruction and guided practice, this retreat offers a rare opportunity to realize your true self, cultivate longevity, and live with greater awareness, vitality, and strength.
Special note: Saturday morning, July 19, His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin Rinpoche will offer the Tse Drup (Long Life) Initiation for those attending in person and online.
We invite those who are registering for only the second week of the summer retreat to attend the Tse Drup (Long Life) Initiation July 19. (Your accommodations at Serenity Ridge will begin the night of July 19, so if you are traveling from a distance and need accommodations for the night of July 18, you'll need to make those separately. We will supply a list of nearby accommodations for you to consider.)
Suggested reading in advance of the retreat: Indestructible: The Longevity Practice of Lama Tsewang Rigdzin, translated and annotated by Raven Cypress Wood.
Requesting Bon Dharma Donations for Ligmincha's Summer Auction
To Be Held July 18 at Serenity Ridge and Online
Dear Sangha and Friends of Ligmincha,
During this year's summer retreat with His Holiness Lungtok Dawa Dhargyal Rinpoche and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, we are holding the Ligmincha Summer Auction on July 18, an opportunity to come together in support of our practice community and the preservation of the precious Bon tradition.
We warmly invite you to contribute by donating Bon-related Dharma items for the auction. If you are moved to offer an item, please contact us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. We kindly ask that all donations be submitted by June 15, 2025.
Suggested offerings include:
- Sacred texts, statues or thangkas
- Ritual items such as drums, bells, or malas in good condition
- Artwork or shrine items
- Handcrafted spiritual objects, or unique Tibetan cultural items
- Services or experiences related to practice or wellness
This auction will support improvements to Serenity Ridge Retreat Center and, in particular, the Lama House (Rinpoche and our visiting lamas' residence at the center. Proceeds will directly benefit Ligmincha's ability to offer authentic teachings and practice opportunities in a supportive environment.
Auction Date & Time: July 18, 2025, 3:30 p.m. New York time
Location: at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center and Online (we will share the link in early June)
Contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We kindly ask that all donations be submitted by June 15, 2025.
Items can be mailed to:
Ligmincha Auction
554 Drumheller Lane
Shipman, VA 22971
Your generosity is deeply appreciated. Together, we help sustain the ancient wisdom of Yungdrung Bon for future generations.
With heartfelt thanks and blessings,
Rob Patzig
Ligmincha International
Letter from Ligmincha President Rob Patzig
Help Support Ligmincha International & 2025 Projects
Dear Sangha and Friends,
The Bon teachings, especially in the way Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche presents them, give us the tools that bring peace, joy and meaning in our lives. His unwavering dedication to preserve the Yungdrung Bon teachings for future generations and share them in ways that positively impact our world is the foundation of Ligmincha. Our mission is to teach how a kind mind, soft and open heart, and strong spirit can counter the stress, anxiety, insomnia, depression and troubles of our times.
This mission is only possible through the generous support of our global community. Your donations sustain retreat centers, support teachers and staff, develop programs, and implement technologies that help us reach more people. They also help us navigate the lasting effects of the covid era - rising costs, maintenance needs, and evolving community needs.
For the generosity of those who have given in the past, we offer our deepest gratitude and thanks!
In recent years, annual donations have dropped from $570,000 to under $200,000, limiting our ability to fulfill Rinpoche's vision. This year, we aim to raise $250,000 to continue to support and expand our work.
Our 2025 projects include:
- Improving support for retreat participants
- Creating a scholarship fund for broader access
- Expand online offerings
- Repairs and improvements at Serenity Ridge
- Expanded communications and outreach to support our diverse community
Thank you for considering a gift to support these projects and our shared journey of growth, connection and service. Learn more at Ligmincha.org/donate.
With gratitude,
Rob Patzig, President
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's Worldwide Teaching Schedule
Upcoming in 2025
Here is Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's upcoming teaching schedule. Rinpoche continues to travel and teach in Virginia, Germany, Poland, France, Colorado and California in the upcoming months.
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. Updates will be provided on the website as they become available.
- May 30-June 1, 2025. Bulle, France. Six Lamps. Ligmincha France & Suisse Romande
- July 12-26, 2025. Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Shipman, Virginia. 2025 Summer Retreat with special guest, His Holiness 34th Menri Trizin Lungtok Dawa Dargyal Rinpoche. Summer Retreat
- August 11-17, 2025. Buchenau, Germany. Discover Your Inner Light, Part 3. Ligmincha Germany
- August 19-24, 2025. Wilga, Poland. Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 1. Ligmincha Poland
- August 30-31, 2025. Bourg-en-Bresse, France. Light and Awareness. Ligmincha France & Suisse Romande
- September 5-7, 2025. Podebrady, Czechia. Sherap Chamma
- September 12-14, 2025. Shambhala Center, Boulder, Colorado. Dzogchen Teachings
- October 7-12, 2025. Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Shipman, Virginia. Serenity Ridge Dialogues: Powa
- November 3-7, 2025. Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California. Sleep Yoga
- January 2-10, 2026 or January 2-4 (weekend only option). Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Shipman, Virginia. Winter Dzogchen Practice Retreat
Ligmincha's Store Unveils a Brand New Look!
Explore Our Remodeled Store at Windhorse.store
After months of planning and designing, and acquiring new inventory, Windhorse.store is now open at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center and online! Our shop is not new, but it is extensively remodeled and renamed. This is the first major revision to our store since 2001 when we first went online. We invite you to come visit online at any time and to visit in person during any Serenity Ridge retreat or by appointment.
In Tibetan, lung means air or wind, and ta means horse. So, Lungta is a windhorse - a divine and mythical creature who lifts up our energy and life-force, and carries our messages to the enlightened beings, gods and deities to enlist their support on our behalf. In Tibetan Buddhist traditions the windhorse is the central figure of many prayer flags which can be found all across Tibet and the Himalayan region. We chose this name because it inspires us, as we hope our products will help inspire your practice.
Our revamped shop has expanded our selection of thangkas, statues, malas and many other dharma related items. The new website has new clear images, better organization, and offers a much easier shopping experience. We also have added new descriptions for many of the dharma items. This is something that we will continue to expand, as part of Windhorse's mission is not only to provide quality dharma items, especially from the Bon tradition, but to provide education about the items we have available.
Many products are purchased directly from monasteries as a way to support their work. Other items are purchased with the help of our resident lamas directly from artists and craftspeople in Nepal, ensuring that they are fairly paid for their labor, skill and time. We also sell a wide variety of books from distributors around the world.
Our biggest change to the store is the addition of our dedicated shopkeeper, Jenn Rockwell. Jenn joined us last year and cares for the store with deep respect, wishing all to have a great experience and leave the shop feeling happy. She cares deeply for the tradition of Bon, and enjoys being immersed in the lineage, she values her time in the shop, getting to know folks during retreats, and spreading the dharma! It is Jenn who has re-organized the whole of our physical shop!
Windhorse.store not only supports practitioners by providing high-quality practice supports, but all profits go to fund the work of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche through Ligmincha International and Serenity Ridge Retreat Center in Virginia. Windhorse helps keep the cost of Serenity Ridge retreats, both online and in person, lower than they would otherwise need to be, and our contributions help maintain our retreat center. Your support enables us to make a lasting impact on the many individuals and their communities.
Geshe Sherab Palden's Journey
From Menri Monastery to Chamma Ling Poland
In 2023, we published Geshe Sherab Palden's story about his journey from Dolpo to Menri. Since then a lot has changed: in 2023, Geshe-la was assistant to His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin, and traveled a few months through Europe. Now he lives as resident lama in Europe at the Chamma Ling Retreat Center in Poland. Ton Bisscheroux interviewed him again, and here is the latest in his story.
Ton: Geshe-la, first I want to ask you to clarify something you said in the 2023 interview. You said that in 1992, you received an ordination by His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizin, and in 2005 you became a monk. What is the difference between an ordination and becoming a monk?
Geshe Sherab Palden: Ordination means that His Holiness cuts the hair, and then at the ceremony you are given a name. I got my ordination and my religious name at Triten Norbutse Monastery, when H.H Menri 33rd visited us. However, I did not take any monk vows then.
Ton: When did you arrive in Poland, to live there as resident lama?
Geshe Sherab Palden: I came here at the Summer retreat in August 2024.
Ton: How did you become resident lama in Poland?
His Holiness 34th Menri and Geshe Sherab Palden in PolandGeshe Sherab Palden: In 2019, H.H. Menri 34th was invited to several countries in Europe. At that time I was his assistant, and I dealt with all the sangha members who wanted to make an appointment with His Holiness. That year, board members of Ligmincha Poland asked me if I wanted to come here as a resident lama. I politely turned down their request. In August 2023, I came here a second time, while travelling with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and they asked me again. I did not give them an answer. Back in India, I discussed the issue with His Holiness, because the service contract with Menri Monastery had almost expired. I also talked about it with my relatives, and asked Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for their opinion. When Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche agreed, I came to Poland.
Ton: What is your daily schedule now?
Geshe Sherab Palden: I wake up at 5 or 6 a.m., and I go to bed somewhere between 8 and 10 p.m., because there is no fixed time for me here. I have two scheduled practices. Every day at 10 a.m. I do the Sang ritual. We do it at that time, so sangha members can join us for this practice. At 7 p.m. I do the Sur Chod practice. In the morning, I do my personal meditation and daily prayers. I also study texts of rituals, because we did not learn the details in the monastery. Here I sleep more than I did in the monastery. I walk a lot, and sometimes I go cycling.
When Rinpoches come here for a retreat, I support them. And during the weekends, I sometimes do rituals, or make a small program with practice. I also watch broadcasts of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche on a big screen together with sangha members.
Ton: Do you also teach at other places?
Geshe Sherab Palden: I gave teachings in Warsaw and Białystok. They always invite me, but because of my health issue, and appointments for the surgery and the doctor, I haven't been able to go there often. Also, other sanghas in Europa, like Germany, Hungary and Austria, have asked me to come. When my eyes are better, I will go there more often. Tenzin Wangyal and the Board told me that my health issue now has the highest priority, and when my eyes are good, then we can organize the programs.
Ton: Please tell us something about your health issue.
Geshe Sherab Palden: I've had a glaucoma eye disease since I was young. I was not aware of it, but in 2017 I had an issue. In 2023, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche advised me to do a medical check-up in a hospital in Poland, and I found out what the problem was: a nerve was blocked, and did not transmit the signal from the eye to the brain. They advised me to do a surgery.
Back at Menri Monastery, the doctors in India advised me not to do a surgery. They said, if something goes wrong, you will be completely blind. So, every month I went to Delhi for a doctor's prescription for eye drops. I had some pain, and my eyes were getting warm. Then I put a lot of water on my eyes. I don't know if it was a good idea, but I did.
In March 2025 in Poland, I first had a surgery on the worse eye, and after that went well, I also had a surgery on the other eye. The surgery was successful. Right now, I still have some difficulties because my sight is not good yet when I look far away, and I have some issues with the sunlight. So, traveling is quite difficult.
Ton: How has it been for you to come to Europe and be a resident lama? Because now you have a completely different task than you had at Menri Monastery, and you are living in quite a different society.
Geshe Sherab Palden: I have always lived in social communities, and I love socializing. When there are no retreats here, it is very quiet. So, after the summer retreat, during the first weeks it was quite difficult to manage myself. I had a lot of time to myself. In the monastery we work a lot, so there is very little private time. So now, I read books, practice more, learn Polish. Actually, I feel very good here, and the Board members take good care of me. I did one Namjom healing retreat for my eyes for one week in Wilga. Sometimes, when I do retreats for myself, I close the door, and don't want to talk to anyone, and do my practice.
Ton: Is it a scientific kind of study that you do?
Geshe Sherab Palden: I am not ready for doing scientific research at a university. I do a lot of research in the basic rituals from Tantra and Sutra. I order medicinal substances from Nepal for the rituals. For every ritual you need a lot of substances. In the West, people don't know about that, and it is difficult to collect them. In the monasteries in India, they prepare it themselves. So, I tell people how to make it, and that the ritual becomes more powerful when you do it the right way. It is like a medicine, when you want to make it, you need the formula. If you put the right ingredients in the medicine, the pill will be more effective. It is the same with rituals. When you participate in these retreats, and you buy the ingredients with Ligmincha Poland online or in the shop, there is a description in the box on how to prepare and use the substances.
Ton: Is there something else that you'd like to say to conclude this interview?
Geshe Sherab Palden: I want to add that even though I am living in Poland now, I still help H.H Menri 34th. This year His Holiness is coming to visit Europe, and I am in contact with him and the sanghas in different countries in Europe, and I communicate with the Office of His Holiness.
Upcoming Free CyberSangha Events
With Marcy Vaughn, Aleeze Sattar Moss, and Others
CyberSangha is excited to announce our summer program of free online events. Open to all!
24-Hour Full Moon Practices - June and July 2025
Join us on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 10-11, as we support each other in discovering the space of inner refuge, the ultimate sense of protection and compassion. At 10 a.m. New York time on Tuesday, Lourdes Hinojosa guides us in the opening session. The practice then continues non-stop for a total of 24 hours, with periods of silent contemplation alternating with guided meditation.
Our next monthly 24-hour Full Moon Practice begins July 10 at 10 a.m. New York time, with Marcy Vaughn guiding the opening session.
The practices are open to all and are free to attend!
Learn more and register
Live Broadcast and New Interactive Course: Resting in Inner Refuge with Marcy Vaughn - Thursdays in July, 2025
Welcome to our new series of free live internet broadcasts and classes supporting our 24-hour full moon practices. The series will launch this summer as senior teacher Marcy Vaughn leads a special live broadcast, Embracing Refuge Within, on July 3 from 1-2 p.m. New York time. During the broadcast, Marcy will share teachings and guide a meditation. Following the Full Moon meditation on July 10-11, Marcy will lead a three-part online class, Resting in Inner Refuge, on July 17, 24, and 31, from 1-2 p.m. A senior student of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Marcy brings more than 45 years of experience in Tibetan Buddhist practice and contemplative psychotherapy and is known for her work as an editor and teacher in the field.
Other senior teachers will have similar offerings as our series continues. Stay tuned for more details!
View the July 3 broadcast
Learn more about the course and register now
Meditation Series with Aleeze Sattar Moss Beginning August 2025
Starting in August, Aleeze Sattar Moss, Ph.D., will guide a new series of free meditations via Facebook Live, open to everyone. Each live session will last about 20 minutes and will be offered once or twice a month, with dates announced in advance. This series will include mindfulness practices in support of the inner refuge meditations. Aleeze is the associate director of the Myrna Brind Center for Mindfulness at Thomas Jefferson University and a certified mindfulness-based reduction teacher, bringing deep expertise and a passion for sharing the transformative benefits of meditation.
Soul Retrieval through Spiritual Practice & Ritual
A Soul Retrieval Training Program in the Yungdrung Bon Tradition
Ligmincha is pleased to offer a new training program in Soul Retrieval at Serenity Ridge beginning in October, 2025. The Soul Retrieval training program will be taught by Lama Kalsang Nyima, resident lama of Mexico, assisted by Khandro Tsering Wangmo Khymsar.
This an opportunity not only to deeply commit to one's personal healing and transformation, but an opportunity to benefit others. Students who successfully complete this two-year program will be able to do this ritual and practice for themselves. Those who pursue the certification track and pass the final examination will also receive authorization to perform the ritual and practice on behalf of others.
Soul retrieval is one of the most powerful methods for restoring vitality, joy, and spiritual harmony. When we experience trauma, shock, or prolonged emotional pain, parts of our la - the soul's vital essence - can become lost, damaged or stolen. The practice of Soul Retrieval, La Lu, offers a way to compassionately call these aspects home and integrate them for healing at every level.
Drawing from the rich, ancient Yungdrung Bon tradition - the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet - this two-year program offers a grounded, accessible path into the practice of Soul Retrieval. These teachings and practices offer powerful tools to those who feel called to help restore themselves and others to wholeness by working with the subtle energies of the soul. Join us for this special training program!
You'll be guided step by step through traditional soul retrieval techniques that have been used for centuries in Tibet and Nepal to help people heal from trauma, reconnect with their vitality, recover from illness and rediscover the power of living fully.
No prior experience with Tibetan practices is required - just an open heart and curious mind.
Click here to watch Lama Kalsang talking about Soul Retrieval practice, its benefits, origins and power.
You will receive teachings from experienced teachers trained in the Bon tradition on:
- Soul loss: how it happens and how it can be healed
- The nature of the soul (la), life-force (sok), and the five elements
- The integration of ritual, mantra, visualization and meditation
- Build relationships with the deity of longevity, Tsewang Rikdzin, worldly protectors, and elemental spirits
- Study and work with tormas (ritual offerings), phurbas (ritual daggers), namkha (thread-crosses), and other kinds of offerings
- Prayers from The Longevity Practice of Tsewang Rikdzin and their meanings
- How to play Tibetan instruments used in this ritual (Conch, drums and bells), and learn the chanted melodies of each practice
- Signs of a damaged, diminished or exhausted soul and/or life-force
- Signs of a successful retrieval and/or reinforcement of the soul and/or life-force
Whether you're a longtime practitioner, energy worker, or new to the Bon path, join a supportive learning community of kindred spirits in this deeply grounded training program of Bon healing methods for personal transformation and service to others. You will leave with the tools, confidence, and blessings to skillfully engage in this sacred work.
Ligmincha Learning Courses Begin June 27
Five Elements with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche & Tsa Lung with Alejandro Chaoul
Ligmincha Learning is pleased to offer Five Elements Healing with Form, Energy and Light, an online course with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche beginning June 27 and Meditation, Breath and Movement: Tsa Lung External Internal and Secret Practices with Alejandro Chaoul starting June 27. Ligmincha Learning's online 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.
Five Elements Healing with Form, Energy and Light
June 27-August 10, 2025
The Five Elements pervade our lives, are the essences of our being, and can be sources of profound healing. We will explore the elements affect within your being, and how to work with them to regain a beautiful balance and poise within your life. Based upon almost seven hours of educational videos created by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, this course works through many levels and techniques to support your self discovery and realization.
Learn more/register
Meditation, Breath and Movement: Tsa Lung External Internal and Secret Practices
June 27-July 27, 2025
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 (Tibetan: 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 excercises are easy to perform and beneficial for everyone.
Learn more/register
Free courses; enroll at any time. Starting a Meditation Practice; The True Source of Healing; Living with Joy, Dying in Peace
Learn more at ligminchalearning.com
Upcoming GlideWing Online Workshops
Tibetan Dream Yoga, The Journey to Ultimate Liberation
GlideWing is pleased to offer these upcoming online video workshops with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche: Tibetan Dream Yoga, a four-week online video workshop from June 6-July 7, 2025 and The Journey to Ultimate Liberation, a three-week online video workshop from July 19-August 10, 2025.
Tibetan Dream Yoga
June 6-July 7, 2025
In this four-week workshop, students will explore and practice the ancient Bon Buddhist teachings of Tibetan dream yoga. The workshop provides detailed instruction for dream yoga practice, with discussions of the relationships between dreaming and waking and between dreaming and death. Rinpoche also will provide instructions for foundational practices done during the day and for the uses and methods of lucid dreaming. Spanish subtitles available.
Learn more/register
The Journey to Ultimate Liberation (formerly called The Truth That Sets You Free)
July 19-August 10
Through guided practices of sleep yoga and other dzogchen meditations, this three-week workshop supports you in becoming liberated from fear and other disturbing emotions so you may live more fully and genuinely in all aspects of life. Ultimately, the course is about achieving final liberation, or enlightenment.
Learn more/register
Upcoming: Tibetan Sound Healing; A Journey to Self-Realization - Dates TBA
Ongoing. Focusing and Calming Your Mind, The Tibetan Practice of Zhine, a free two-week self-guided online workshop.
Learn more at glidewing.com
From the VOCL Archives: Sharing the Timeless Joy
A Memorable Encounter with His Holiness 34th Menri Trizin at a Summer Retreat
We fondly revisit a special interview the VOCL team conducted with His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin during the summer retreat of June 2019. At that time, our dear colleague Vickie Walter was still an integral part of the VOCL team. We continue our work in her loving honor and memory. The full interview reflects the profound joy, wisdom, and kindness that His Holiness graciously shared. It was originally published in the August 2019 issue of Voice of Clear Light.
VOCL: We are not here at Serenity Ridge and Ligmincha International because we are enlightened. We all need to work on ourselves. What advice do you have for best doing that as practitioners?
His Holiness: With hard work, honesty, sincerity and a good motivation, and being very harmonious.
VOCL: We are very attached to the ego here in the West. What do you prescribe for breaking this attachment, which blocks our progress on the path?
His Holiness: The opposite of the ego is peace. So if you think that you are getting agitated or very upset, you have to recognize that, and you have to control yourself and have patience.
VOCL: What is your vision for the spreading of Bon in the West?
His Holiness: My vision is to help others and to support others to be better, and to better bring peace and harmony into this world through the Bon teachings.
VOCL: You came to Serenity Ridge back in 2013, and now you are here again. How has your experience of being here changed since your first visit?
His Holiness: The difference is that when I came here in 2013, I came as attendant for the 33rd Menri Trizin, and now I come as the 34th Menri Trizin! I am very happy to see all of the progress and development here - the new buildings, all of the surroundings. When I was here as an attendant in 2013, I was not paying very much attention to how people were practicing. Now, I am paying special attention to how people are practicing and how they are taking the teachings. It's very interesting, and I am very happy with how we are all doing the practices and meditation. I am very happy to see that!
VOCL: Thank you so much for traveling so far and wide to be with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's students. Please know that you are always welcome here, and that we would love to see you again whenever you can possibly make the trip back.
His Holiness: The way that I feel is that I am not even 50 yet, and as long as I have the energy I will come and visit! I will go wherever people invite me. When I get to Yongdzin Rinpoche's age, then I might be a little challenged to travel. Until then, though, wherever I am invited, I will go! [smiles]
VOCL: Thuk-je-che! (Thank you!)
Opportunities for Renewing Your Meditation Practice with The 3 Doors
Free International Practice Day is June 1, More
The 3 Doors is an international nonprofit organization founded in 2010 by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche with the mission of transforming lives through meditation practices grounded in wisdom and compassion from the Tibetan Bon tradition. Upcoming opportunities include: New Foundational Series with 3 Doors Senior Teachers; Free International Practice Day; The 3 Doors Latin American Academy begins in September in Brazil.
The 3 Doors International Practice Day
Sunday, June 1, 2025, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. New York time on Zoom
This online event is free to attend and open to all. Come together with the 3 Doors community. Experience the joy and power of collective support as we deepen our capacity to reflect upon our lives and rest and renew in the refuge of being present in community. Three guided meditations will be led by 3 Doors Teachers. There will be opportunities to meet in small groups for sharing our experiences of bringing practice into our lives.
Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Learn more/register
Discovering the Capacity of the Open Heart
This new foundational series began online in May with Senior Teachers Gabriel Rocco and Marcy Vaughn. It continues in June with Senior Teachers Alejandro Chaoul and Raven Lee. In each half-day online retreat you will learn and engage with a core 3 Doors practice.
Taught in English with Spanish Translation
Here are the next half-day online retreats in the series:
Tsa Lung
Saturday, June 14, 2025, 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. New York time
with Senior Teacher Alejandro Chaoul
Uniting body, breath, and mind for transformation and well-being
Taught in English with Spanish Translation
Learn more/register
Inner Refuge
Sunday, June 22, 2025, 11:00 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. New York time
with Senior Teacher Raven Lee
Connecting to Stillness, Silence, and Spaciousness Within and Around Us
Taught in English with Spanish Translation
Learn more/register
The 3 Doors Academy in Latin America
September 2025-August 2027
The 3 Doors is delighted to offer the 3rd Latin American Academy in Curitiba, Brazil. The first retreat of this training begins September 27, 2025 at a Retreat Center in Curitiba, Brazil with teachers Alejandro Chaoul, Rosario Arellano, Lourdes Hinojosa, Patricia Vigil, and Carlos Villarreal.
Offered in Spanish and Portuguese
Learn more/register
8th North American Academy
The 3 Doors is just beginning to plan the next North American Academy. If you are interested, please reach out to Emily Light, Program Coordinator, at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
to express your interest and be added to the list to receive future updates.
The Compassion Project
SAVE THE DATE: October 15, 2025 to June 10, 2026
Online via Zoom. Open to all.
This October, the Compassion Project will begin its tenth year. This nine-month program was originally developed by 3 Doors Senior Teachers Gabriel Rocco and Marcy Vaughn for those in caregiving roles. It now supports anyone interested in compassion and embodying the practices and teachings of The 3 Doors in everyday life. Participants will be supported to discover how to open to their inner wisdom to make real personal transformations, enabling greater compassion for self and the lives of others.
Sign up for updates
To see the entire list of 3 Doors programs visit: https://the3doors.org/program-calendar/
Spanish Translation of VOCL
Link to April 2025 Issue Now Available
Look for the translations of Voice of Clear Light newsletters at the top of the VOCL website.
