Announcements Issue
Volume 15, Number 6 / December 2015
Letter from the Editors
Gratefulness All Around
Dear Friends,
It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since the first webcast in the free, monthly soul retrieval series that Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche has been offering. What a great series this has been! If you’ve missed any of the webcasts, you can find them all archived and available on Ligmincha's website, along with details about the upcoming December 12 daylong webcast on “Cutting the Root of Your Pain.” Rinpoche encouraged in his latest webcast that we all try to set aside this day in December to devote ourselves to the teachings and to practicing with the cybersangha if at all possible. What a gift to ourselves and others – a day of practice with our teacher and sangha at this busy time of year!
We have a full issue of exciting news and announcements. Read the end-of-year letters from both Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Rob Patzig, president of Ligmincha International. See the update about the improving health of His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche. In addition to the announcement about the next two soul retrieval webcasts, find out about the NEW six-month series of free webcasts announced for 2016 on the topic of “Transforming Your World Through Service.” In addition, there is the next Ligmincha Learning course, beginning in January, which focuses on the Six Lokas, as well as an article on the Ligmincha Learning's first large-scale free online course connected with the Soul Retrieval webcast series. Bravo! You can see the yearlong schedule of next year's GlideWing online workshops. There is still space available at Serenity Ridge to attend January and February Zhang Zhung retreats. Mark your calendar for the four seasonal retreats to be held at Serenity Ridge in 2016 so that you can make your plans early! Thanks to all the organizers and planners that make all of this information available to us, and of course our thanks to Rinpoche for his constant devotion to his students.
Also, there is an announcement about the new YouTube videos that Rinpoche has made on the topic of Enlightened Leadership, which is also the topic of the spring retreat for 2016. Read about the amazing lives of the two resident Bon lamas in France and Poland. And see an inspiring clip from the very first webcast in the Soul Retrieval series. Last, find the link for the beautiful Autumn issue of Ligmincha Europe Magazine, and as always, the links for the translations in Spanish and Portuguese for the October issue of the Voice of Clear Light.
Love and peace,
Aline and Jeff
A Letter to the Sangha
Reflections and Appreciation from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Dear Sangha,
I hope that this letter finds all of you well and happy, and that your spiritual practice is developing.
As many of you know, I traveled to India in October to visit His Holiness at Menri Monastery, the dialectic school and students at Lishu Institute, and also to spend some time with the Bön students at Central University of Tibetan Studies at Sarnath, Varanasi.
Departing from my home and family in California to travel to India, I had a chance to reflect on the Bon teachings and tradition on how much has happened in all these years since my teachers first arrived in Dojani, India from Tibet. Menri Monastery has grown so much and is flourishing thanks to the unwavering and tireless support of His Holiness. The monastery now supports the education of 148 monks and 75 nuns at Menri Redna Menling Gompa, as well as 200 children. While I was there I saw my dharma sister, with whom I did Powa. She is now in her late 90s. She is one of the few alive from her generation.
After many years of planning a center that would support the education and practice of Western students of Bon, Lishu Institute opened this year, offering a three-year academic and practice program. I am pleased to see the dedication of the teachers and students there. My first few days in India were spent at Lishu, and then the students and teachers joined me for the trip to Menri.
At Menri, I spent some time with His Holiness. I offered Tse Thar (animal release ritual) for his long life. His health now is continuing to improve since I was there, and he is again joining the community and is active.
Both at Menri’s dialectic school and again at the university in Sarnath, where I traveled next, I gave a talk sharing some of my experiences of teaching in the West. I also shared my experiences of how valuable Westerners see and experience the Bon teachings.
Through the Internet courses and online webcasts, our cybersangha has developed. From so many of you I hear how these teachings and practices help and bring benefit to your life and the lives of those around you.
So many people in so many places have helped in so many ways. If I tried to name everyone, the list would be very, very long. There are many who have been active in the past. There are many of you presently active in the organization or in your sanghas in different ways. Without all of the support and assistance over all these years, the precious Bon teachings could not now reach so many people. We now have five Ligmincha retreat centers worldwide, and about 30 centers and practice groups, and six resident lamas. We have also opened the door and given support to other Bon lamas who are now teaching in the West and opening their own centers.
As I reflect on this year for our Ligmincha organization, we can celebrate many wonderful events. I named Rob Patzig as the president of Ligmincha International. I’m sure you will be hearing more from Rob and the Ligmincha International Board in this coming year as they help to guide the organization forward. This year we have shared the first yearlong webcast on Soul Retrieval. With the help of its many organizers and translators, we’ve seen these teachings translated into 12 languages. As I already mentioned, this year we welcomed our first students to Lishu. The Ocean of Wisdom website began and has continually been growing due to the dedication of a small group of people. I traveled and taught in Budapest, Hungary this year for the first time. And The Three Doors Academy in the U.S. began its third program, with the second U.S Academy graduating in spring 2015 and the third Academy beginning in the U.S. in spring 2015.
From deep in my heart I feel much appreciation for all for all the work that you are doing to support each other, and to support the preservation of the Bon teachings through your work with your sanghas, and your personal practice.
With my appreciation and blessings,
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Reflections at Year’s End
A Letter from Ligmincha International President Rob Patzig
Rob Patzig
It has now been almost 18 months since Ligmincha sanghas from around the world joined together to create an international organization. In that time many things have changed, and other things have not changed. Our mission, to preserve and present the teachings of Tibetan Bon Buddhism, especially as they are taught by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, has not changed. This mission is our purpose, the reason we exist as an organization. It doesn’t change.
However, the ways in which we serve that mission do change — they evolve according to the needs of both teachers and students. An example is the online course offered this year on “Soul Retrieval.” This is the first free and the first yearlong course that Rinpoche has offered. The live teachings were supported by translations into 11 languages, and supplemental material and moderated discussion groups were provided on LigminchaLearning.com. Each month, anywhere from 540 to 1,500 computers or other devices were viewing the teachings at any given moment of the webcast. Next year we will continue to provide free, live monthly teachings with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and will look for opportunities to expand our online programming. As our world becomes more and more “virtual” we will look for opportunities to present the Bon teachings there as well.
As powerful a tool as the Internet is, though, it cannot replace the value of extended retreats and group practice. Stepping out of our daily lives and into an environment supportive of stillness, silence and spaciousness is invaluable. So is the opportunity to be surrounded by other dharma practitioners. If you have not had the opportunity to experience one of our retreats (3, 5, 7 or 14 days are offered), I strongly encourage you to attend one in 2016. Rinpoche teaches globally in many locations, and Ligmincha has retreat centers in the Mexico, Poland and the United States. See the Ligmincha International website.
Behind the scenes there has been a great deal going on within Ligmincha. At Serenity Ridge, our international headquarters and one of our five retreat centers, we are preparing for construction of a new dining hall, practice space, offices and bookstore. Construction should begin in spring 2016. Many people have been and continue to be involved in this project.
Much of what has occurred organizationally in the past year is planning and preparation for new projects. Our resident lamas are meeting regularly and reviewing the texts of all of our prayers and practices. Many of our senior teachers are now also meeting regularly, and they are working directly with Rinpoche to create new practice materials, including more online guided meditations as well as instructions on some of our main practices. We will begin to make new, revised materials available in the coming year.
None of our activities, or our support of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s activities, would be possible were it not for our amazing volunteers, including Ligmincha International Board members, who give so much of their time and effort to realize his vision for a more enlightened world. Nor would it be possible without your financial support. You can help us with the projects described in this letter and many more by making a year-end, tax-deductible (in the U.S.) contribution to Ligmincha International here. If you live outside the United States, please consider making a donation to your local sangha.
May all beings be happy. May all beings be well. May all beings benefit from the fruit of our efforts, one and all.
Yours in Bon,
Rob Patzig
President, Ligmincha International
December 12, 2015: ‘Cutting the Root of Your Pain’
Free, Full-Day Live Webcast with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Alejandro Chaoul-Reich
Join us from your home computer or other device! On Saturday, December 12, you are invited to participate in a free, daylong webcast event with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and senior student Alejandro Chaoul-Reich.
Date: Saturday, December 12, 2015
Time: 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Eastern Time U.S. (New York time)
Topic: Healing from the Source: Cutting the Root of Your Pain
Register to attend
According to the ancient dzogchen teachings of Bon Buddhism, the cause of all pain — whether emotional or physical — is ignorance of your true self. When you recognize the unbounded space that is beyond delusion, you cut pain at its root. In this free live webcast, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche teaches and guides a meditation practice that helps you to discover and clear the mistaken sense of identity that is grasping pain, creating conflict and tension, and contributing to sickness. Senior student Alejandro Chaoul-Reich will guide two additional meditation sessions as part of the day’s event.
This webcast is Part 11 of a free yearlong course in soul retrieval and is open to all (viewing Parts 1 through 10 is not required). The course is based on Rinpoche's newly released book, The True Source of Healing: How the Ancient Tibetan Practice of Soul Retrieval Can Transform and Enrich Your Life, Hay House, 2015.
Learn more about the yearlong course
This daylong webcast event takes place in four sessions, as shown below. All times are Eastern Time U.S. (New York time). You may attend any or all sessions.
9:00–10:30 a.m.: Teaching with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.: Guided Practice with senior student Alejandro Chaoul-Reich
1:15–2:45 p.m.: Teaching with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
3:30–4:30 p.m.: Guided Practice with Alejandro Chaoul-Reich
When you register for the daylong webcast, you will automatically receive your own, unique viewing link for Session 1. For Sessions 2 through 4, look for an email 15 minutes before each session is scheduled to begin, containing your unique link for the coming session.
Register now
Group webcast viewings may be available in many locations worldwide. Contact your nearest local center or sangha to inquire about any group screenings or guided meditations they may be hosting related to this True Source of Healing course.
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, is an acclaimed author as well as a highly respected and beloved teacher to students throughout the world. He is the author of The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep; Tibetan Sound Healing; Wonders of the Natural Mind; Healing With Form, Energy and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen; Unbounded Wholeness (with Anne Carolyn Klein); Awakening the Sacred Body; Tibetan Yogas of Body, Speech and Mind; Awakening the Luminous Mind; and The True Source of Healing: How the Ancient Tibetan Practice of Soul Retrieval Can Transform and Enrich Your Life.
Alejandro Chaoul-Reich is director of research for Ligmincha International, a senior student of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and a teacher for the Three Doors Academy. Since 1995 he has been leading meditation and trul khor (Tibetan yoga) retreats for Ligmincha throughout the United States, Latin America and Europe.
His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche's Health Improving
Please Continue to Do Long Life Mantra
We are happy to share the good news that the health of His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, the 33rd Menri Trizin, continues to improve. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche shared the news that His Holiness's health is better now than when he visited His Holiness in October. Tenzin Rinpoche also shared that His Holiness recently met with a local group of people and distributed food and gifts. Tenzin Rinpoche requests that we continue reciting the long life mantras and prayers for His Holiness.
A total of 531,244 Long Life Mantras for His Holiness were accumulated in the month of October and 372,695 in November by the Ligmincha International sangha, in addition to the accumulations for September. The totals were sent to Menri Monastery, where they are collecting the information from all of the different sanghas and communities around the world.
The heartfelt prayers and practices of everyone for His Holiness’s healing are deeply appreciated. Everyone is encouraged to continue to recite the Long Life Mantra and Long Life Prayer for His Holiness and to submit their accumulations at the end of each month to their local sangha or online through the end of the year.
Video of Long Life Prayer/Mantra recitation
Submit mantra accumulations
2016 Schedule of Live Webcasts with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
New! Free Six-Month Course on ‘Transforming Your World Through Service’
Great news about upcoming free live webcasts with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche! See the full schedule below.
Two More Webcasts in the Soul Retrieval Series
If you’ve been following Rinpoche’s 2015 yearlong course in Soul Retrieval, “The True Source of Healing,” you’re already anticipating the two final webcasts in the series: The December 12 daylong webcast event titled “Healing from the Source: Cutting the Root of Your Pain,” and the final webcast of the series, “Soul Retrieval as a Lifetime Practice,” scheduled for January 9, 2016. As with all of Rinpoche’s coming webcasts, these broadcasts are free and open to all — there’s no need to view any of the previous webcasts in the series to enjoy and benefit from these teachings and guided meditations.
Learn more
New: ‘Transforming Your World Through Service’
We’re excited to announce a brand-new, six-month Internet course with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche that begins February 13, 2016. The topic is “Transforming Your World Through Service.”
Serving others is fundamental to our personal spiritual development. Our commitment to making a difference for others and the world can fill our life with love and joy, but it requires a strong foundation of wisdom and compassion. This free, six-month course will support you in becoming as effective as possible in your service to others. You will learn:
- The fundamentals of enlightened leadership.
- Meditation practices for cultivating wisdom and compassion.
- How to rise above your ego to connect with a sense of collective purpose.
- The best ways to inspire others to serve.
The free course will include everything from free monthly live webcasts (listed further below) to a discussion forum, recorded webcasts, MP3 audio recordings and downloadable print materials. Stay tuned for information on how to register for the first live webcast on February 13 and for the six-month course with its full support materials, offered through Ligmincha Learning.
Live Broadcasts from Serenity Ridge Retreats
Each year, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche teaches four seasonal retreats at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, headquarters of Ligmincha International in central Virginia. (See dates and times below.) As he’s done in the past, Rinpoche plans to broadcast one teaching session from each of these retreats, giving everyone an opportunity to receive his instruction and engage in a guided meditation from the comfort of their home computers or other devices.
Full Webcast Schedule for 2016
So you don’t miss any of these coming free webcasts with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, mark your schedule now! Each webcast takes place on a Saturday, except as shown; all times listed are Eastern Time U.S. (New York time).
- January 1, 2016 (Friday), 11 a.m.-12 noon. Guided Meditation from the Experiential Transmission Teachings, Part 2. Broadcast live from the Winter Retreat at Ligmincha Institute at Serenity Ridge, Nelson County, Virginia (not a public talk, but webcast is open to all)
Learn more - January 9, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. The True Source of Healing, Part 12: Soul Retrieval as a Lifetime Practice
Learn more - February 13, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Transforming Your World Through Service, Part 1: The Value of Enlightened Leadership
- March 12, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Transforming Your World Through Service, Part 2: Cultivating Wisdom
- April 2, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. “Enlightened Leadership.” Broadcast live from the Spring Retreat at Ligmincha Institute at Serenity Ridge, Nelson County, Virginia (not a public talk, but webcast is open to all)
Learn more - April 9, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Transforming Your World Through Service, Part 3: Generating Compassion
- May 14, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Transforming Your World Through Service, Part 4: Service and Spirituality
- June 11, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Transforming Your World Through Service, Part 5: Inspiring Others to Serve
- June 25, 2016, 12 noon-1:15 p.m. “Sleep Yoga.” Broadcast live from the Summer Retreat at Ligmincha Institute at Serenity Ridge, Nelson County, Virginia (not a public talk, but webcast is open to all)
- July 9, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Transforming Your World Through Service, Part 6: Questions and Answers
- August 13, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Topic to be announced.
- September 10, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Topic to be announced.
- October 8, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Topic to be announced.
- October 15, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. “The Practice of Chod.” Broadcast live from the Fall Retreat at Ligmincha Institute at Serenity Ridge, Nelson County, Virginia (not a public talk, but webcast is open to all)
- November 12, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Topic to be announced.
- December 10, 2016, 3-4:30 p.m. Topic to be announced.
- December 31, 2016, 9-10:15 a.m. “Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 3.” Broadcast live from the Winter Retreat at Ligmincha Institute at Serenity Ridge, Nelson County, Virginia (not a public talk, but webcast is open to all)
Answers to commonly asked questions about live webcasts with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche can be found on the webcast FAQ page. Information there includes:
- How to stay informed about upcoming webcasts.
- Where to find video recordings of previous webcasts.
- How to access simultaneous translation into as many as 12 different languages.
All these free offerings are made possible through the generosity of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and an international team of dedicated volunteers. Ligmincha International pays a fee to maintain the advertising-free webcast service. If you would like to support these efforts, donations are most welcome.
We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming webcast!
Ligmincha Learning First Large Scale Free Online Course a Success
Future Courses Planned for 2016
To celebrate the publication of his latest book, The True Source of Healing, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche chose to offer Ligmincha Learning’s first large-scale free online course, which has been amazingly successful.
Ligmincha Learning has been offering online courses for many years. Previous courses, though, have all been four to seven weeks in length, with a mentor answering participants’ questions each day, for a modest registration fee. “The True Source of Healing” course was designed from the beginning as a free offering to practitioners around the world, and would encompass an entire year of teachings based upon the practices described in the book, with participants supporting each other through discussion forums.
The project required coordination and dedication of many volunteers from around the world. Polly Turner, editor of The True Source of Healing book, produces the live webcasts each month. This is more complicated than it sounds, for with Tenzin Rinpoche’s demanding travel schedule, he has hosted webcasts from many different locations worldwide, while Polly manages the technical coordination, as well as content issues and online communications, from South Carolina. A variety of other volunteers worldwide, most notably Nick Block and Scott Clearwater in California, provide Rinpoche with onsite technical assistance. Lourdes Hinojosa in Mexico coordinates the live translation of the webcasts, with translators across the Americas and Europe providing as many as 12 languages in live translation streams. Lourdes also helps to implement the international promotion of the webcasts in teamwork with Polly, Vickie Walter in Maryland and Florencia Fernandez in Mexico, along with invaluable support of many other dedicated volunteer coordinators around the world. Salvador Espinosa in Mexico creates original videos that introduce each webcast; and after the completion of each broadcast, Salvador creates video segments from the recorded webcast and Scott edits the audio recordings. John Jackson in Virginia pulls together all the recordings and translations and posts them into the online course, along with any written support materials, links and instructions. Online forums are provided for participants to discuss and clarify the teachings within each section of the course.
The course has been immensely popular, with more than 2,550 people enrolled from countries all around the world, and with new people continuing to join. People in many locations have created practice groups that gather together regularly, and warm friendships have formed within our cyber-sangha. We very frequently hear from people how much they value and appreciate this free offering of the teachings.
The last installment of the course will be added in January 2016, and the materials will remain freely available for some time afterwards.
With the popularity of this course, and the continuing popularity of the other online courses offered through Ligmincha Learning, we are now planning to expand course offerings further in 2016. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche plans to develop two more free courses, and we also have plans to produce two more mentored courses. Ligmincha Learning also is moving its learning management system to a more robust hosting system, and will involve more teachers and support staff in the creation and management of online learning.
Ligmincha Learning’s next course offering, “Transforming Your Emotions through the Six Lokas,” will begin January 16, 2016. (See the article below.) You’ll be seeing announcements of these new offerings in future issues of Voice of Clear Light and on the Ligmincha International website. To view upcoming course descriptions visit Ligmincha Learning.
You can order Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's book, The True Source of Healing: How the Ancient Tibetan Practice of Soul Retrieval Can Transform and Enrich Your Life. Hay House, July, 2015, from Ligmincha's Tibet Shop.
Transforming Our Emotions Through the Six Lokas
Ligmincha Learning Online Course Begins January 16
Ligmincha Learning is pleased to offer a seven-week online course on “Transforming Our Emotions Through the Six Lokas” from January 16–March 5, 2016. The course will give participants a thorough introduction to the Six Lokas practices of the Tibetan Bon Buddhist tradition.
At one time or another, each of us suffers strong emotions that throw us off balance, cause us to act in ways that we later regret and make us lose touch with our true nature. Centuries ago the masters of the Bon lineage developed the meditations of the Six Lokas specifically to remedy this situation, to help us live our lives in a balanced and relaxed way.
The meditations focus on the root causes of our suffering: anger, desire, greed, ignorance, jealousy, pride and laziness. Through each meditation we examine our habitual patterns so that we may recognize them, then through the enlightened energy of the Buddhas to purify and transform them so that we and all other beings might not continue to suffer in this way. The practices have a deep healing and transformative power, and are traditionally practiced at length as a preliminary to dzogchen contemplation.
The course features:
- Teaching videos and meditation videos with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
- Meditation assignments including formal and informal practices
- Personal journal
- Reading assignments
- Online discussions with your classmates facilitated by John Jackson, director of the Chamma Ling Colorado retreat center
The course is structured in seven parts, with five days devoted to each section. Students can study at their own pace and have access to all materials as they are released.
Topics for each section are:
- Introduction to the Six Lokas
- The Hell Realms: Transforming Our Anger into Love
- The Hungry Ghost Realm: Transforming Our Greed into Generosity
- The Animal Realm: Transforming Our Jealousy into Openness
- The Demigod Realm: Transforming Our Pride into Peacefulness
- The God Realm: Transforming Our Laziness Into Compassion
Several Upcoming Winter Retreats Still Open
Focus on Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung: Part 2
For those of you who wish to participate in Part 2 of the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung or gain further experience, two upcoming options are available at Serenity Ridge. They include a Practice Retreat in January and another Zhang Zhung 2 retreat in February for those who are not able to participate in the December retreat. (The December retreat is now full.)
The five-part series is the centerpiece of Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s dzogchen teachings and is presented each year at Serenity Ridge’s winter retreat. A new series began in December 2014 with Part 1: Ngondro.
Participants in Part 2 of the Experiential Transmission series, “Introduction to the Nature of Mind,” must have completed Part 1: Ngondro of the Zhang Zhung series any time in the past.
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will teach Part 2, "Introduction to the Nature of Mind," at Serenity Ridge’s annual Winter Retreat from Dec. 27, 2015–Jan. 1, 2016.
Learn more
Join Geshe Tenzin Yangton for this year's Winter Practice Retreat: Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2, at Serenity Ridge. This is open to anyone who has completed Part 2 of the Zhang Zhung Experiential Transmission series in 2015 or any time in the past. Two options are available: January 1–3 or January 1–9.
Learn more
Because of the high interest in this five-part series, and the large number of people already registered for the December Zhang Zhung Part 2 retreat, we are offering a second retreat on the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2 with Geshe Tenzin Yangton, resident lama at Serenity Ridge, from February 24–28. Prerequisite: Previous completion of Part 1 of the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung series.
Learn more
2016 Retreats Scheduled at Serenity Ridge
Includes Four Seasonal Retreats with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Serenity Ridge Retreat Center’s four seasonal retreats with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in 2016 have been scheduled, along with a special weekend retreat with Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, abbot of Triten Norbutse Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Serenity Ridge is the headquarters of Ligmincha International and draws participants from all over the world to Rinpoche’s seasonal retreats.
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s four seasonal retreats are:
April 1–3, 2016
Spring Retreat: Enlightened Leadership
June 19–July 2, 2016
Summer Retreat: Sleep Yoga. (Participants can attend one or two weeks.)
Oct. 12–16, 2016
Fall Retreat: The Practice of Chöd
Dec. 27, 2016–Jan. 1, 2017
Winter Retreat: The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 3: The Path. (Prerequisite: Previous completion of Part 2.)
In addition, Serenity Ridge is delighted to welcome Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, abbot of Triten Norbutse Monastery in Khatmandu, Nepal, for a two-day retreat on May 21–22, 2016. The topic is still to be announced. Triten Norbutse is one of the two main Bon monasteries outside of Tibet.
Details of the retreats will be added to Serenity Ridge’s homepage as they become available.
New YouTube Videos on Enlightened Leadership
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche Offers Series of Nine Short Videos
A new series of short videos by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche on the topic of Enlightened Leadership is now available on Ligmincha YouTube. Rinpoche especially encourages sangha members throughout the world to view the videos.
The nine videos range in length from about three to seven minutes each and cover the following topics:
- Introduction
- What is Enlightened Leadership?
- Self-Realization Through Service
- Making Decisions from the Space of Awareness
- Serving with Joy
- With Appreciation to Ligmincha International
- Staying Connected
- Preserving Bon
- Dharma Practice and Service
View the videos
Ligmincha YouTube
The videos also can serve as a preface to this year’s Spring Retreat at Serenity Ridge, whose topic is “Enlightened Leadership.” The three-day retreat will be held from April 1–3. As we awaken to our true nature, each one of us can become an agent of change that benefits ourselves, others and society. Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will guide participants in engaging in dzogchen meditation practices that offer direct instruction to access the spaciousness of being.
Learn more about Spring Retreat
Seven GlideWing Workshops Planned for 2016
Workshops Include Personal Guidance from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Seven online workshops with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche are planned for 2016 through GlideWing productions.
The workshops allow participants to learn and practice from their own homes, at their own schedule, with personal guidance from Rinpoche.
Upcoming workshops are:
- January 16–February 7, 2016: Awakening the Sacred Body
- March 5–April 3, 2016: Tibetan Dream Yoga
- April 30–May 22, 2016: Tibetan Meditation—Achieving Great Bliss Through Pure Awareness
- June 11–July 10, 2016: Awakening the Sacred Arts—Discovering Your Creative Potential
- August 6–28, 2016: Tibetan Sound Healing
- September 17–October 16, 2016: Tibetan Dream Yoga
- November 12–December 4, 2016: Healing from the Source—Meditation as Medicine for Body and Mind
The online workshops feature:
- Personal guidance and support provided by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, as you work with the practices
- Instruction via Internet-based video
- No set class times; instructional videos remain available throughout the course
- Practice in the comfort of your home, on your own schedule
- Easy-to-use course site
Learn more by clicking on the links above.
View Highlight from Earlier Webcast
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche on Reconnecting with Your Joyful Essence
Ligmincha's webcast coordinator, Polly Turner, posted a link to this gem from the first webcast in the Soul Retrieval Series given by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche last January, 2015. Full of wonderful inspiration and reminders!
Meet Resident Lamas for Ligmincha Poland and Ligmincha France
Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso in Poland and Geshe Khorden Lhundup Gyaltsen in France
Meet Ligmincha International’s two resident lamas in Europe: Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso, resident lama for Ligmincha Poland, and Geshe Khorden Lhundup Gyaltsen, resident lama for Ligmincha France. These articles are condensed from interviews conducted by Ton Bisscheroux, editor of Ligmincha Europe Magazine. An interview with Geshe Lhundup appeared in the Autumn 2015 issue.
Look for an article about Geshe Denma Gyaltsen, the new resident lama of Ligmincha Texas, in the February issue of Voice of Clear Light.
Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso, Resident Lama, Ligmincha Poland
Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso
Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso has been the resident lama of Ligmincha Poland since last March. He lives in the Chamma Ling Poland center in Wilga, near Warsaw.
Geshe Gyatso was born in 1980 in Tra village in the Vijer area, in Dolpo, where the oldest Bon monastery, Dolpo Samling, is located. The monastery was founded by Yangton Gyaltsen Rinchen, an important lineage master in the Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud. His great-grandfather founded the Tashi Namgyal Monastery.
His father was a Nagpa, a Bonpo lay practitioner, and a doctor of Tibetan medicine. His mother is a Nyingma practitioner, and from childhood he heard and learned many Nyingma prayers. Geshe-la’s birth name was Tsewang Gyaltsen, and he received the name Yungdrung Gyatso (“Ocean of Immortality”) when he took his monk vows with His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, the most senior teacher of thre Bon tradition.
Geshe Gyatso stayed in his village until he was 9 years old. From age 5, he spent his summers taking care of sheep and yaks. The winters he spent mostly with his fathers in a monastery. There he learned Tibetan reading and writing, recited mantras and sometimes helped his father prepare tsok offerings.
When Geshe Gyatso was 9 years old, his oldest brother, a student at Menri Monastery in India, sent their parents a letter asking them to send his younger brother to Triten Norbutse Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal.
“My father wanted to send me, but my mother objected, because she wanted me to live with family,” he recalls. “So one day I went with my father to a neighbor village, and from there we left for Kathmandu. During our journey my father told my mother he was bringing me to the monastery.”
After they arrived in Kathmandu, Geshe Gyatso and his father spend one and a half months near the Boudhanath Stupa. His father expressed his wish that his son become a monk, but he left the decision to the child, who also had to choose between a Bonpo, Nyingma or other monastery. Geshe Gyatso chose to study in the Bon tradition, because he connected deeply to Bon through tantric yogas and his time at Samling Monastery. So in 1990 he became one of the first monks to begin study at Triten Norbutse Monastery in Kathmandu. Sadly, his father died in an avalanche on his way home from Kathmandu.
“His Eminence Yongdzin Rinpoche gave teachings in the morning, and in the afternoon we did reading and writing,” Geshe Gyatso remembers. “At that time we did not have a dialectic school, or philosophy school, or meditation group, but we practiced as much as we could.” In 1994 a new large temple was finished, and His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche was invited for the consecration. After that, the dialectic school and meditation group started, and Geshe Gyatso joined the dialectic school, along with about 60 other monks.
In the dialectic school, Geshe Gyatso learned sutra, tantra, Dzogchen and all the Tibetan sciences such as grammar, Tibetan history, astrology, poetry, mathematics, drawing, painting, calligraphy and ritual chanting. He received his Geshe degree at Triten Norbutse in 2009.
“I am very thankful for H.E. Yongdzin Rinpoche for all his loving kindness in teaching me directly during these years, and my other teachers also,” he said. “Yongdzin Rinpoche took care of me and raised me like my parents.”
During this time he performed different roles, serving as president of the dialectic school and as guest manager of the Triten Norbutse Monastery for three years. During one year I worked as managing director of The Bumshi Medical School and also as a teacher of tradition and religious science. He served a secretary of the Bonpo Foundation and Triten Norbutse Monastery. He participated in several conferences and seminars devoted to Bon tradition, Tibetan and Himalayan culture, environment and monastery management.
Geshe Yungdrung Gyatso
Triten Norbutse Graduation, 2009
After receiving his Geshe degree, Geshe Gyatso taught younger monks and lay people different subjects connected with Bon tradition. He also was responsible for editions of Dreypoi Beltam, a magazine of Triten Norbutse Monastery, for 10 years, and has been the magazine’s main editor since 2010.
During his studies at Menri, he had two opportunities to visit Europe when the monastery sent a cham dance group to France, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. After receiving his Geshe degree, he was again invited to visit several countries in Europe, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Poland, where he gave public talks and some teachings. During his third visit to Europe in 2013, he spent one month in Vienna, Austria, making Bonpo tormas and conducting rituals and a cham dance. Then he began traveling and teaching throughout Europe.
In 2010 and 2011, while he was a member of the board of Triten Norbutse Monastery, Geshe Gyatso got to know Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche well because Rinpoche visited regularly. During his third visit to Europe he met Rinpoche in Berlin. In 2013 Tenzin Rinpoche asked Geshe Gyatso if he wanted to stay in Poland and teach in the Polish sangha, and other European sanghas. Since Geshe Gyatso was then still secretary of the Triten Norbutse Monastery, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche talked with Yongdzin Rinpoche and Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche. In January 2015 Geshe Gyatso came to Chamma Ling Poland, and officially became resident lama of Chamma Ling Poland in March.
Since that time, several retreats have been held in Wilga, along with teachings and practices in different cities in Poland. Every day the sangha has morning and evening practices, which anyone can attend. People also invite Geshe Gyatso to conduct special rituals and visit their homes.
Although Geshe Gyatso would like to visit his family again in Dolpo (he has not seen his mother since 2011), his commitment now is to stay in Chamma Ling Poland. Contact with his family in Dolpo is difficult, but sometimes he talks with his brother and sister who live in Kathmandu.
Geshe Gyatso extends good wishes to the worldwide sangha: “I wish all the students of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and all the other Bonpo sanghas, to develop and continue their own practice, so it will be helpful for our own life and to reach enlightenment, and that the practice will benefit other beings, too.”
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Geshe Khorden Lhundup Gyaltsen, Ligmincha France
Geshe Khorden Lhundup Gyaltsen
Geshe Khorden Lhundup Gyaltsen is the resident lama of Ligmincha France. He lives and teaches in Paris.
Geshe Lhundup was born in Tibet in a very small village called Damranji, in Kham, about 375 miles from Lhasa, to a nomad family. Although his father was not very interested in the dharma, his mother was a serious practitioner. When he was about 6 years old he began to tend the yaks and sheep. At about age 12, he made the decision to become a monk (all of his brothers and sisters also became monks or nuns) and went to Patsang Monastery in Kham. Patsang is one of the lineages of important Yungdrung Bon families.
His first master, Rashitogden Rinpoche, lived about 60 miles from Geshe Lhundup’s home. The master was from the Nyingma lineage and also a lineage holder of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen, a great Dzogchen master of the Bon tradition of Tibet. Geshe Lhundup learned much from his master, who spent his life in dzogchen meditation. He spent a year in the mountain with his second master, Berutogden Rinpoche, learning dzogchen and tsa lung. From his third master, Togden Sherab Phuntsok Rinpoche, Geshe Lhundup received, along with about 200 monks from all over Tibet, transmission of all of Shardza Rinpoche’s texts, plus trul khor and dzogchen teachings.
Geshe Lhundup was already a monk when, taking the advice of his uncle, a Phatsang lama who left Tibet in 1959, he decided to leave Tibet to study in India. In 1993, along with a group of 29 people (including four Bonpo monks) he escaped by traveling through the Himalayas, which included a month’s walk from Mt. Kailash to Nepal. “The journey was very stressful,” he recalls, “because we were afraid to meet the Chinese or Nepalese police, who would have sent us to jail.”
H.E Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, most senior teacher in the Bon tradition and founder of Triten Norbutse Monastery in Nepal, was there to meet them when they arrived in Kathmandu. After offering them lodging at Triten Norbutse for a week, Yongdzin Rinpoche encouraged the monks to continue on to Menri Monastery in India, where they could study for the Geshe degree.
Geshe Lhundup studied at Menri Monastery from 1993-2009, progressing through the eight levels in the Bon dialectic school. The traditional course of study for all the monks included sutra, tantra and Dzogchen, and also Tibetan grammar, poetry, astrology, medicine, mandala painting, yoga and meditation.
Geshe Lhundup Gyalsten
Menri Graduation
A typical day began with a 6 a.m. meditation, followed by breakfast and morning teachings by His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, H.E. Yongdzin Rinpoche and H.E. Menri Lopon Rinpoche. Mornings included learning and teaching young monks. After lunch all came together for study and prayer, followed by learning medicine, grammar and Tibetan culture. After that was the study of philosophy, and after dinner the monks had to memorize texts on their own.
“This we did every day till we reached the Geshe degree,” says Geshe Lhundup. “We had two exams every year, and after 15 years of study we graduated.”
After leaving Menri, Geshe Lhundup went to Dharmsala, India to learn English. (At Menri monks did not learn a second language because His Holiness wanted to maintain traditional Tibetan teachings and culture.) After about a year, Tibetan friends in Europe advised him to go to France, which was hospitable to Tibetan refugees. He quickly got a residence card, and began working in a bakery, where he remained for a year.
About two years ago he began working with the Ligmincha sangha in France. “When I was in France in 2010 Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche contacted me,” Geshe Lhundup recalls. “For a long time I had been thinking how to start teaching in France, but that was very difficult because I did not speak good French. Rinpoche advised me in many ways and told me that teaching in the West would be different from the monastery. He also offered that we could work together for the Ligmincha sangha.”
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche had students in France, but when he visited Paris for a third time, Ligmincha France board members say, there was still no sangha. It was clear that for Rinpoche’s teachings to bear fruit, more was required than a weekend retreat once a year. So students began a small practice group. Two years ago, Tenzin Rinpoche suggested that they contact Geshe Lhundup. They helped him get a small apartment, found money so he could take French lessons, and suggested that he begin teaching yoga, which he did.
Things changed for the French group when Geshe Lhundup began working with them. The group met for trul khor three hours each week, where sangha members helped him develop the French vocabulary of anatomy to get him familiar with Western students. Geshe Lhundup also worked on a one-year meditation program so people with no prior meditation experience could progress.
What began as a small group of five to six people has grown to a sangha of about 25, and the group has met in a new location since September. In addition to leading the Ligmincha France sangha, Geshe Lhundup also has taught several times in Germany, has been invited to teach in the Netherlands and expects to visit other countries in Western Europe.
Ligmincha Europe Magazine – Autumn 2015
Another Wonderful Issue!
Spanish and Portuguese Translations of VOCL
Links to October Issue Now Available
Upcoming Retreats
Serenity Ridge Retreat Center
The retreats listed below will take place at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, headquarters of Ligmincha International, located in Nelson County, Virginia. To register or for more information, click on the links below, or contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 434-263-6304.
December 27, 2015–January 1, 2016
The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2: Introduction to the Nature of Mind
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. (This retreat is full. Consider attending the February 24–28 retreat on the same topic.)
Learn more
January 1–3 or January 1–9, 2016
2016 Winter Practice Retreat: Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2
with Geshe Tenzin Yangton
Learn more
February 24–28, 2016
Special Zhung Zhung 2 Retreat: The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 2: Introduction to the Nature of Mind
with Geshe Tenzin Yangton
Learn more
April 1–3, 2016
Spring Retreat: Enlightened Leadership
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Learn more
May 21–22, 2016
Special Weekend Retreat: Topic To Be Announced
with Khenpo Tenpa Yungdrung Rinpoche, abbot of Triten Norbutse Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal
June 19–July 2, 2016
Summer Retreat: Sleep Yoga. Attend one or both weeks.
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Visit the Serenity Ridge website for the full schedule
To register for any of the above retreats, or for more information about teachings in the Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet, please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 434-263-6304, or visit the Serenity Ridge website.
Flight of The Bön Monks
Chod Drum
Melong
Picture Jasper Mala
