Dear Friends,

In this issue’s wonderful teaching excerpt from the recent summer retreat, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche inspires us to see more clearly how the peace, joy, or a sense of purpose that we may be struggling to find in our lives, or that we feel we are missing or wanting to change, is really closer than we think. Thank you, Rinpoche!

Lots of great retreats are coming up! During August and early September, Rinpoche will be teaching in five countries throughout Europe, then back to the U.S., first at Chamma Ling Colorado, and then to Serenity Ridge for three retreats early this fall. Find out more below.

More news and events at Ligmincha:

• Registration is now open for three retreats at Serenity Ridge with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in late September and early October.
• August 29-30, 2026 online retreat with Menri Shedrup Khenpo Nyima Dhondup Rinpoche: The Five Wisdoms and the Five Elements.
• Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s 2026 retreat schedule.
• Upcoming free CyberSangha events.
• Healing From the Source, September 12 – October 4, 2026, an online workshop with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche through GlideWing.
• Ligmincha Learning’s upcoming courses include Transforming our Emotions through the Six Lokas beginning September 4 and Three Heart Mantras beginning October 2.
• The 3 Doors events & programs include an Advanced Tsa Lung Course, Compassion Project and more.
• Spanish translation of the June VOCL

In Bön,
Aline and Jeff Fisher

In terms of the teachings and practice, it’s very simple. I’m going back to this idea that I shared yesterday of peace and joy and purpose in life. Universally, we all want peace. We all want joy. We all want to be meaningful in our lives. The wonderful thing about peace, joy and purpose is that you don’t have to go very far away to find them. Just think about that. I’m trying to make it very, very practical here. I think it’s important to make it very practical, because these three things, peace, joy and purpose are connected – they’re absolutely connected. If you see the meaning of these in your everyday life, then you will also be able to see their meaning on higher levels as well – in visions, in sound, in light and in rays, in Sherap Chamma, in the Ma Gyud, and on and on in that way. However, first you have to see their meaning in the most basic places. Let’s consider peace, joy and purpose in that way.

Let’s consider peace. Think about your own peace, your own peace of mind. You all want to have peace in your life, whether intentionally, unintentionally, consciously or unconsciously. However, only in times of struggling or fighting does that fact become crystal clear to you, oh I need to find peace. So right now in this moment, are you aware that you are looking for peace? Someone may answer, oh yes I’m really looking for peace now. Then others might be saying, no my life is quite peaceful, so my level of peace is okay.

Let’s jump to the next quality, joy or happiness. As far as joy or happiness is concerned, I can see clearly that everybody can have some more joy, more happiness in their life, isn’t that right? When you hear that, do you say, what do you mean? I would answer, just look at your face. [laughter] That’s what I mean. We all need more joy.

Lastly, let’s look at purpose. As we get older, we all want to be useful, we want to be helpful. Just simply surviving is not good enough; we want to somehow be impactful in others’ lives – for our children, our family, our friends, our relatives, our community. Fundamentally, deep inside, everyone has the desire or the need to be helpful. However, the degree to which you awaken to that desire within you is a different story for each individual. And then the degree to which you are actually able to manifest that or not is also a different story. Some people are very gifted at that. They are naturally able to do a lot for other people. While others, although they are supposed to be doing something for their close ones, when the moment actually arises, they miss the opportunity.

But, universally we all want peace, and we want joy, and we want to be meaningful in our lives. So stop for a moment and take a look at which of those three you are most wanting to find more of at this particular time in your life. And then the question that I would ask you is, what are you doing for attaining that? Those of you who are searching for peace, I ask, what are you doing to achieve your peace? Those of you who are searching for joy, I ask how are you currently struggling to increase your joy? And for people who are trying to find more purpose, more meaning in life, then I ask you, what are you doing to feel more purposeful in your life?

In one way, the answer is similar for all of these questions. Peace is already there. Peace is the nature of the six lamps that we are talking about in this retreat. Peace is the inherent quality of who we are. It’s there. It’s like saying light – it’s the same thing – it’s always there. According to these teachings, we are that light, that peace.

So what are you doing for peace? Very often it’s a matter of, what you are not doing for peace. Can you see that? In other words, if you are mainly looking for having peace, then the best approach would be to be like the example of the mirror. [Rinpoche picks up the melong (symbolic mirror) sitting on the small table in front of him.] Looking at the reflections arising in this mirror, we simply accept what appears –you’re young, you’re old, you’re struggling, you’re feeling like life is challenging, whatever it is. Just as the mirror effortlessly accepts what arises in it and simply shows clearly what is, without rejecting or grasping, we come to see what is and accept it as, this is what it is.

Whatever is happening in your life, there is so much good reason as to why it is happening in this life. Nothing accidentally happens. Nor is anything created overnight by some secret demons or ghosts that are making some magical plan for your life, and then the next day something happens as a result of that. No, it doesn’t happen like that; often you are the one who is responsible. Or it could be that collectives are also responsible, and those may be generational. Or it could be caused from deep karmic traces, from your parents, your grandparents, your ancestors, your cultural history, or from a lineage.

So if you are wanting to blame someone, there’s actually not one particular person or group to blame, because there are too many involved. Nor can you put the blame on one particular situation, because there are too many situations as well. You cannot even blame one particular period in your life, because the time involved is too long. It’s nothing like that. So, out of all of those myriad conditions, we now come into this moment and this experience of whatever you’re presently going through. You are meant to go through it. It is clearing a process which has gone on for all of these years and possibly generations.

Something is being processed. And so we look at it like that. Something is happening and meant to be happening. And we approach it with the attitude of I should be fully present there and try to make it happen in the best possible way that it can happen. I’m not trying to stop it, rather I am trying to make it a good one. How do you make it a good one? By accepting it, not interfering with it and trying to be open to it, trying to have more awareness in it, trying to guide it whenever it is something that you can guide in the direction of it not becoming too disturbing for yourself and for the people around you who are trying to go through it, too. When you do that fully, then you have peace with that. Because peace is already there. However, your non-acceptance, your non-understanding of why it’s happening and all of the resistance, rejection, denial, ignorance, and even lack of awareness of it – all of those things, are what makes it hard for yourself and others.

But the moment that you understand and get it, then there’s a peace there. And it’s important to recognize that there’s a peace there, and it has appeared not because the situation has changed, rather there’s a peace there because your understanding has changed of that situation. Most of the time, the reason why you don’t have peace, or why it is so difficult to have peace, is because you are trying to change everybody else rather than recognizing that it’s a matter of changing your view. So again, peace is already there.

Now let’s consider those of you who are primarily looking for joy. Some people might not be looking for joy, saying I’m so busy with suffering, so why should I be looking for joy – unless of course it brings more suffering, then I can be interested? [laughter] We know that joy is not complicated. Joy is found in very simple things. For instance, Christopher mentioned the experience he had, while care-giving for his aging mother, when suddenly all of his pain stories dropped away for a moment, and he saw freshly the shining face of his dear mother. Beautiful. To simply pause and look at the face of your mother and see and feel it, recognizing that this woman has suffered, this woman has cared, this woman has given so much, and now this woman who cared for me, is still here with me. How many women are there in the world who would do that for you? Not that many. So when you see that shining face, you don’t need any more than that to be feeling joy; the presence of that simple recognition alone is enough. Somebody’s alive, somebody exists.

And your joy could naturally lead you to doing something fun in that situation, couldn’t it? To play effortlessly – maybe share a cup of coffee, have a glass of wine together. I don’t know- doing whatever it is that’s cherishing, nourishing, and celebrating that connection and that presence with someone. That’s a joy. And what does it require? Nothing. It’s not complicated at all. Joy is very simple. So you look from this place of, I’m alive, I’m breathing, I’m healthy enough, I have enough time, the universe has given me enough; I need to do something meaningful, I need to share joy. Just that simple recognition – it’s a joy. Joy is there.

Now for those of you who are primarily looking for finding more purpose in your lives right now, I ask you, what are you doing to have more of a sense of purpose? In one sense, we are doing a lot of things; we sacrifice; we take care of our families, and it’s not easy. We take care of our children. No matter where they are, we are at least psychologically and emotionally present with them all of the time. We care about our neighbors, our community. Everyone does a lot on that level. So the first step in finding purpose is to see how much you already do. And then, not blame yourself that you don’t do enough; recognize that you already do a lot. And then bring together the peace and the joy and the purpose as you provide those services. The only time that a joy goes away, or a peace goes away, or a sense of purpose goes away, is when the pain identity interferes too deeply with these three processes. Then that pain identity messes them up.

The other day I mentioned my 24-hour a day plan or project that I engage in everyday. To recap, my main project each and every day focuses solely on the goals of: to be happy and playful and to serve during the daytime, and to have a peaceful, restorative and sufficient sleep in the night. That’s seriously the only plan that I have each day. And with that as a good base, then naturally all of the other big fancy projects and plans will come out of a that.

If any day I have not accomplished this 24-hour plan well, then the big project plans won’t arise. That’s because I am not ready to do anything, because I’m tired and therefore not motivated. I cannot see big enough, I don’t have clarity enough, the precision enough, the courage enough to take those actions and make decisions. But if I am able to take care of these 24 hours well within my disciplines, then the rest will flow. Why is that? Because, if one is feeling so much energy, then who’s not going to go ahead and use it for good purposes? If one is feeling so much joy and happiness, then who’s not going to express it? You find that you cannot not express your joy – it just comes out naturally.

And that’s a nice bridge back to the main point here; that it all starts with this idea of accepting and the peacefulness that comes with not trying to change something. Even if you want to change something, the change still has to start with accepting first. You may very well still try and change something, but first you have to accept what is, and then it’s much more likely that the ability to change will come, and it will be a better change as a result of your first accepting what is. But if you don’t accept what it is, then any change that comes out of that disconnection from the truth of what is, the disconnection from the mirror-like wisdom, may bring some sort of temporary happiness for a short time, but it will not last. That seems clear, doesn’t it?

Join us at Serenity Ridge or online for three upcoming retreats in late September and early October with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche! All are open to beginners and experienced meditators. You can attend in person at Serenity Ridge or online on Zoom. We hope you can join us!

September 30 – October 4, 2026
The Sleep Health Retreat: Science, Rest, and Renewal
With Danny Lewin, PhD, Ed O’Malley, PhD, and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Learn more/register

October 1–4, 2026
Sherap Chamma: The Divine Feminine in the Bön Tradition
With Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Learn more/register

October 6–11, 2026
Being Present to the Moment of Death: Wisdom, Medicine, and the Journey Through the Bardo
With Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Special Guests
Learn more/register 

Join Menri Shedrup Khenpo Nyima Dhondup Rinpoche for a special online retreat exploring the Five Wisdoms in the Bön Buddhist tradition of Tibet, with particular attention to their relationship with the Five Elements.

These teachings offer a profound way to understand the qualities of the awakened mind and how the elemental energies of earth, water, fire, air, and space can support greater balance, clarity, compassion, and well-being in daily life.

Times: 9:30–10:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET
Learn more/register

Menri Shedrup Khenpo Nyima Dhondup Rinpoche is abbot of the Bön Dialectic School at Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India. He was born in 1978 in Delhi, India. His birth name, Tsering Dhondup, was bestowed on him by Tsondue Rinpoche, one of the greatest Bön masters of the 20th century. After completing more than 15 years’ study of Bön sutra, tantra, dzogchen and the five major and minor sciences of the Bön tradition, Nyima Rinpoche received his geshe Degree in the spring of 2006. In 2008 Rinpoche was enthroned as Menri Shedrup Lopon, the principal master of the Bön Dialectic School at Menri Monastery, where he has been teaching for more than 15 years.

Here is Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s upcoming teaching schedule for 2026. You can find the latest listings and any changes in the Events section of the Ligmincha International or Serenity Ridge websites. Updates will be provided on the website as they become available.

• August 11–16, 2026: Gyalwa Chaktri, Part II: Introduction to the Nature of Mind – Ligmincha Poland
• August 17–23, 2026: The Journey of the Elements – Ligmincha Germany 
• August 29–30, 2026: Embracing the Unknown: A Journey of Trust and Transformation – Ligmincha France & Suisse Romande 
• September 5–6, 2026: Dream Yoga – Ligmincha Hungary
• September 18-20, 2026: Tummo, Part 2 – London, UK
• September 25–27, 2026: Sky Gazing and Sun Gazing – Chamma Ling Colorado
• September 30-October 4, 2026: Sleep Health Retreat – Serenity Ridge Retreat Center
• October 1–October 4, 2026: Meditation Retreat on the Divine Feminine, Sherap Chamma – Serenity Ridge Retreat Center
• October 6–11, 2026: Being Present to the Moment of Death: – Serenity Ridge Retreat Center
• October 16–18, 2026: Chöd, Part 2 – Ligmincha Berkeley
• November 2–6, 2026: Sleep, Dream, Death and Liberation – Esalen Institute

CyberSangha’s online events are always free and open to all. Here’s what’s coming up in August and beyond:

Friday, August 7, at 12 noon New York time
“Seeing the Unseen: Hidden Water & Hidden Mind” 
Huge amounts of water are needed to create everyday things like buildings, roads, clothing, and food. Join us for a fascinating science & spirituality dialogue featuring Benedetta Tagliabue, Jampel Dell’Angelo, and host Alejandro Chaoul. Their conversation will explore how scientific insight and meditative awareness can make this “hidden water” more visible and open the door to clearer perception, more conscious choices, and a deeper sense of interdependence.
Learn more and view live

Thursday, August 20, at 12 noon New York time
“Resting in Being: A Guided Mindfulness Meditation, Part 9”
Join us for Part 9 in a series of short guided mindfulness practices led by Aleezé Sattar Moss, in support of the inner refuge meditations we engage in each month during the 24-Hour Full Moon Practice.
Learn more and view live

Begins Thursday, August 27, at 10 a.m. New York time
24-Hour Full Moon Practice, “Finding Refuge Within”
Join us via Zoom at any time during the 24 hours — drop in whenever you can, for one or more practice sessions — as we acknowledge both personal pain and our collective challenges, all while abiding in the open, clear warmth of presence. This is a chance to discover the space of inner refuge: the ultimate protection and a source of genuine compassion.
Learn more and register now

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, September 9-11, at 1 p.m. New York time
Three-Part Series, “The Medicine of Breath & Awareness”
Join Marcy Vaughn for a three-part live online series exploring the medicine of breath and awareness through the traditional practice of the Nine Breathings of Purification. Together, we will discover the refuge of the openness of being, develop stable attention, and learn to rest without interfering with the flow of experience. Exploring the “three poisons” as we work skillfully with the body’s subtle channels of light, we will soften habitual reactions to rediscover the inherent resourcefulness of our natural state.
Learn more and view live

Join the Community!

CyberSangha’s community app, our dedicated social media platform, serves as a primary gateway for meeting like-minded individuals, staying updated on upcoming teachings and other events, and accessing live and recorded broadcasts, free classes, and more. Feel free to explore the app’s features, engage with content, share feedback, and participate in polls.
Explore or join the app now

Ligmincha Learning is pleased to offer these online guided courses beginning in September and October, as well as several self-paced courses and free courses, open at all times. These 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. See the entire 2026 Course Calendar. We hope you enjoy the changes on the Ligmincha Learning website!

GUIDED COURSES

Transforming Our Emotions Through the Six Lokas
September 4 – October 25, 2026 with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
At one time or another each of us suffer 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 Bön 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.
Learn more/register

Three Heart Mantras
October 2 – November 8, 2026 with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
The Three Heart Mantras are used in many different meditations in the Bön tradition, and play a major role in the ngondro practices. They are said to be the essence of enlightenment in sound and energy, and as we sing or chant the mantras our awareness is transformed to be in union with the buddhas. They are used for purification, protection and as primary practices toward self-realization.
Learn more/register

SELF PACED COURSES

Tibetan Sound Healing
Who Am I: A Journey to Self-Realization
Raising Lungta with Prayer Flags
Treasures of Bön: History, Lineage & Practices

FREE COURSES

Starting a Meditation Practice, From the Bön Tradition of Tibet, Part 1
Starting a Meditation Practice, From the Bön Tradition of Tibet, Part 2
The True Source of Healing
Living with Joy, Dying in Peace

Learn more at ligminchalearning.com

We tend to view emotional and physical pain as the enemy. This three-week online workshop, Healing From the Source, September 12 – October 4, with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche reveals why we shouldn’t, and shows us how meditations based on ancient Tibetan dzogchen teachings can transform or heal our own pain and sickness through the warmth of loving-kindness.
Learn more/register

Upcoming: October 10-November 8, 2026: Awakening the Sacred Arts
Learn more/register 

Ongoing: Tibetan Sound Healing is a self-guided course available now; A Journey to Self-Realization is a self-guided course available now. Focusing and Calming Your Mind, The Tibetan Practice of Zhine is a free two-week self-guided online workshop.

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 Bön tradition. Upcoming opportunities include: Tibetan yoga and the 5 Elements, the Compassion Project, Fall Online Event with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and 3 Doors Teachers, 3 Doors Academies in North America and Europe.

Tibetan Yoga and the 5 Elements
Exploring the Doorway of the Body, Going Deeper with Tsa Lung
September 15, 2026 – November 10, 2026
Taught by Founding Teacher, Dr. Alejandro Chaoul, developed in partnership with Tibetan Yoga Wellbeing
4 Live Zoom Classes, with access to our online course platform for additional video and audio recordings and class discussion board
Available in English, with Spanish translation

A new and special opportunity for practitioners who are already familiar with the Tsa Lung meditation practice.

In this new advanced course, developed and taught by 3 Doors Senior Teacher Alejandro Chaoul, you are invited into a profound experience of embodiment. Through the Tsa Lung practice, you will learn to sense and inhabit each energy center, allowing the qualities of the five elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space) to come alive as felt, lived experience. By connecting with the elements—part of your very makeup—you will deepen your sense of connection to the world around you. As the doorway of the body opens to the space of Inner Refuge, greater awareness and resourcefulness naturally become available, both in your meditation practice and in your life.
Learn more/register

The Compassion Project
A comprehensive 9-month meditation program that transforms your capacity to care for yourself while caring for others. 
Taught by Founding Teachers Gabriel Rocco and Marcy Vaughn, and 3 Doors Teacher-in-Training Rebecca Ergas
October 2026 – June 2027
Online via Zoom
Open to all
Available in English
Learn more and register

Embracing Our Living Questions
3 Doors Online Weekend Retreat and Dialogues with Founding Teachers and Founder, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
November 21-22, 2026
Online via Zoom
Open to all 
Available in multiple languages
Learn more

The 3 Doors Academy
The 3 Doors Academy is The 3 Doors’ signature program, an immersive 2 ½ year course that provides participants the opportunity to engage deeply in the process of self-discovery and transformation. Participation involves both online and in-person components, including monthly group Zoom sessions, individual mentor sessions with the teachers, personal retreats, and six in-person week-long group retreats. 

8th North American Academy
We are excited to announce the dates for the next North American Academy. The six retreats will take place at Serenity Ridge in Virginia. 

• Retreat 1: April 27 – May 3, 2027
• Retreat 2: October 26 – November 1, 2027
• Retreat 3: April 25 – May 1, 2028
• Retreat 4: October 3 – October 9, 2028
• Retreat 5: April 24 – April 30, 2029
• Retreat 6: October 23 – October 29, 2029

Learn more and sign up for updates

4th European Academy
We also have dates for the next European Academy beginning in the spring of 2028 at Chauteau Frandeux, Rochefort, Belgium. 

• Retreat 1: April 21 – 28, 2028
• Retreat 2: September 29 – October 6 2028
• Retreat 3: March 16 – 23, 2029
• Retreat 4: September 28 – October 5, 2029
• Retreat 5: March 15 – 22, 2030
• Retreat 6: September 13 – 20, 2030

Learn more and sign up for updates

See the entire list of 3 Doors programs here

Read VOCL in Spanish
View all translations