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Ligmincha’s 2010 Wall Calendar, Book on Chod by Alejandro Chaoul
Now available: Chod Practice in the Bon Tradition by Alejandro Chaoul, forward by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; and Ligmincha Institute’s 2010 Wall Calendar, featuring full-color photographs from international Bon sanghas, photos of important masters of the Bon tradition, and Tibetan Bon and Buddhist auspicious days
Celebrating Our International Bon Sangha — Ligmincha Institute’s 2010 Wall Calendar: Tibetan Bon and Buddhist Auspicious Days. $14.95.
This beautiful, full-color 11" x 8.5" calendar is filled with photographs from different international Bon sanghas and includes photos of important masters of the Bon tradition. Locations represented include:
- Holland, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Poland
- Menri Monastery, Dolanji, India
- Triten Norbutse Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Shenten Dargye Ling, Blou, France
- Lishu Institute, Dehradun, India
- The Great Bon Stupa for World Peace, Valle de Bravo, Mexico
- Ligmincha Institute's Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Virginia
- Chamma Ling Retreat Center, Crestone, Colorado
The calendar features:
Months, days and dates in both English and Tibetan Bon and Buddhist auspicious dates including
- Full and new moons
- Spring and autumn equinox, summer and winter solstice
- Birthday of H.H. the Dalai Lama and the anniversary of the day he received the Nobel Peace Prize
- Anniversary of Birth and Death of Tonpa Shenrab
- Anniversary of Birth and Death of Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen (first abbot of Menri Monastery)
- Birthday of H.H. Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, 33rd Menri Abbot
- Birthday of Yongdzin (Lopon) Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche
- The four major celebrations of the life of the Buddha Shakyamuni
- 2010 spring, summer, fall, and winter retreats with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche at the Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Virginia, U.S.A.
- Major U.S. and Mexican holidays
Chod Practice in the Bon Tradition
New! Just published July 2009!
By Alejandro Chaoul-Reich, with forwards by Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.
This book is the first to trace the history of chod practice in Tibet's indigenous Bön tradition. Chod ("cutting through") is a meditative practice in which the practitioner imagines offering his or her body in sacrifice through elaborate contemplative visualization. Although a meditative practice, chod is not traditionally done sitting comfortably on a cushion in a shrine room, but instead is often practiced in terrifying places like cemeteries or charnel grounds. The feelings of fear that result are used by the chod practitioner to "cut through" his or her own ego. Chod contains elements of early shamanism, of sutric and tantric teachings also found in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, and of the Tibetan highest school of Dzogchen.
Read an excerpt from the book >>
"In the last few years the interest in chod has suddenly re-emerged, and a few books have been written about it from the Buddhist perspective. Chaoul's work on chod from the Bon's perspective could not be more timely. His thorough analysis of this syncretic and fascinating religious practice and the use of the metaphor of cutting as a way to go beyond assumed boundaries, provides a broader picture of chod and sheds light on the interrelation of Buddhism and Bon."—Giacomella Orofino, University of Naples
Alejandro Chaoul obtained his Ph.D. at Rice University and has also completed the seven-year program at the Ligmincha Institute for the Study of the Religions and Cultures of Tibet. He is assistant professor at the John McGovern Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit in University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where he also teaches meditation and yoga to patients.
Ligmincha Institute's
BOOKSTORE & TIBET SHOP
Visit our online store, www.ligmincha.org/store, for:
- A unique selection of books on Tibetan Buddhism, both new and hard to find
- Transcripts and audio CDs of teachings by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and other Bon lamas
- Ritual items: traditional bells, drums, incense, malas, singing bowls, butter lamps and prayer flags
- Gift items: earrings, pendants, handmade journals, traditional Tibetan-style shirts and coats, Tibetan music CDs
- Wall hangings, thangkas, and statues
- Meditation cushions and Tibetan rugs
Ligmincha Institute's Bookstore & Tibet Shop
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Shipman, VA 22971
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Web site: www.ligmincha.org/store