POSTPONED: Introduction to Ngöndro: The Kagyu Preliminary Practices
February 28 @ 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Dear Sangha–Rinpoche has asked to postpone this teaching to a later date. Sorry for the late notice, and thank you for understanding!
Introduction to Ngöndro: The Kagyu Preliminary Practices
Saturday, February 28, 2026
following meditation from 10:00am to 11:00am
11:00am to 11:30pm–tea/coffee/snacks available/set up Luckypot
11:30am to 1:30pm–teaching
1:30pm to 2:30pm–Luckypot (pot luck)
Manjushri Dharma Center
In-Person and on Zoom
Donations of any amount welcome, no one turned away for lack of funds
No registration needed–just show up!
About the Event
Our mind has the potential to bring forth a bountiful harvest of wisdom and compassion, but for such seeds to grow, the ground needs to be properly prepared. Preliminary practices serve to purify negative karmic imprints, enrich our mind with positive potential and blessings, and connect us to a long lineage of practitioners. Engaging in the preliminary practices serves as an invaluable tool to both create a firm foundation for practice and deepen our path. Khenpo Karten Rinpoche will present an overview introduction to the Kagyu preliminary practices known as Ngöndro along with an oral transmission blessing. Please bring a dish to share for a “Luckypot” luncheon on after the teaching (breakfast items welcome!). Consecutive interpretation will be provided by David Molk aka Jampa Tharchin.
Text
Resources for Ngöndro Practice:
- Turning Confusion into Clarity: A Guide to the Foundation Practices of Tibetan Buddhism, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (print or audio book)
- Ngondro: Karma Kagyu Preliminaries, DVD–By: Lama Karma Wangdu
- Torch of True Meaning: Instructions and the Practice for the Mahamudra Preliminaries–By: Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
- Ngondro for Our Current Day: A Short Ngondro Practice and Its Instructions–By: Seventeenth Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
- Ngondro Commentary–By: Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
- Mandala supplies (purchase at Vajra Collection or other retail store selling items from Nepal/Tibet/India)
- Kagyu Refuge Tree Guru lineage poster
About Ngöndro
Source: Adapted from Wikipedia
The Tibetan term Ngöndro refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational practices common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bon. Each tradition will have a variation on the practice. The version we will learn in this retreat is the Karma Kagyu practice. The term ngöndro literally denotes meanings in the range of “something that goes before, something which precedes.” The preliminary practices establish the foundation for the more advanced and rarefied Vajrayana practices of Dzogchen, Heruka and Mahamudra. Nevertheless, Vajrayana masters are careful to point out that “foundational” does not mean “lesser,” that the practice of Ngöndro is a complete and sufficient practice of the spiritual path, and that it can take the practitioner all the way to full enlightenment.
Outer and inner preliminaries
In general the preliminary practices are divided into two sections or kinds: the first are the common or ordinary kind of preliminary practices, and the second are the special or extraordinary kind of preliminaries.
Outer preliminaries
The common or ordinary preliminaries consists of a series of deep reflections or contemplations on the following four topics:
the freedoms and advantages of precious human rebirth
the truth of impermanence and change
the workings of karma
the suffering of living beings within samsara
The above four contemplations are sometimes referred to as “the four reminders” or “the four mind-changers” or “the four thoughts which turn the mind towards Dharma.” Additional reflections may be included in the specific instructions on the outer preliminaries within different lineages, but the above four topics are the main reflections.
Inner preliminaries
The special or extraordinary kind of preliminaries consist of :
taking of refuge in the three roots in conjunction with the performance of prostrations (purifying pride)
cultivation of bodhicitta (purifying jealousy)
recitations of Vajrasattva’s hundred-syllable mantra (purifying hatred/aversion/harsh words)
mandala offerings (purifying attachment)
guru yoga practices (purifying delusion)
These practices purify negative deeds and accumulate merit. Traditionally ngöndro practice is done for the enlightenment of the spiritual aspirant and for the benefit of all sentient beings. That is, the merit of doing the practices is dedicated to all sentient beings. These practices are typically done to reach a certain goal (100,00 prostrations, 100,000 Vajrasattva recitations, etc).