Volume 18, Number 3 / June 2018
Letter from the Editors
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's New Book Available in July!
Dear Friends,
This issue features a special excerpt from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's beautiful new book: Spontaneous Creativity: Meditations for Manifesting Your Positive Qualities, published by Hay House, Inc. The book will be available on July 17. In this excerpt on “Connecting to the Source” Rinpoche reminds us of who we truly are. From that space of the open joy of being, creativity arises in unlimited ways as natural, spontaneous and intrinsically human expression. Thank you, Rinpoche, for your creativity. We can't wait for the book!
We are also happy to announce one other new book, this one by Alejandro Chaoul, senior student and the director of research for Ligmincha International. It is titled Tibetan Yoga for Health & Well-Being. It, too is, scheduled to be released on July 17. Congratulations, Ale!
This spring marked a milestone at Serenity Ridge, Ligmincha International's headquarters in Virginia, with the completion of a beautiful new multipurpose building named Kunzang Khang—House of All Goodness. Many people attended the lovely ribbon-cutting ceremony and dinner in the new building afterwards. If you were not able to be there, we have lots of photographs and details to share about the event and this wonderful new addition to Serenity Ridge that also will benefit the international community.
There's more:
- Read two recent announcements from Menri Monastery in India about honoring the 33rd Menri Trizin and enthronement for the 34th Menri Trizin.
- You can still register for Ligmincha's Annual Summer Retreat, "Tummo: Inner Fire of Realization,” with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Two summer practice retreats also are available following the Summer Retreat, as well as a Service Retreat starting June 18.
- Registration opens June 7 for Serenity Ridge Annual Fall Retreat on "Powa: Transference of Conciousness.”
- View Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's worldwide teaching schedule through September.
- Ligmincha Learning's "Five Elements: Healing with Form, Energy and Light” begins June 22. And look for a new Tibetan language course in September!
- The next GlideWing workshop on "Healing From the Source” starts June 30.
- TWR LIVE: Next Pith Instructions teachings are on June 7. Subscribe to a new email service!
- New research shows that Tibetan meditation improves the lives of cancer patients and caregivers.
- The 3 Doors opens new programs online and in person.
- Lishu Institute in India begins its new curriculum in September.
- Ligmincha Europe Magazine: link to the NEW issue.
- Spanish translation link of April VOCL.
And as always, you can find Rinpoche’s upcoming teaching schedule on the Ligmincha website.
In Bon,
Aline and Jeff Fisher
'Connecting to the Source'
An Excerpt from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s Upcoming Book, Spontaneous Creativity
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s upcoming new book, Spontaneous Creativity: Meditations for Manifesting Your Positive Qualities, published with permission by Hay House, Inc. (www.hayhouse.com). The book will be available July 17, 2018, through amazon.com and other outlets. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied for public or private use without prior written permission of the publisher.
Creativity is the food of joy. When we are creative, we express the joy of being alive. We are all creative at the core.
But what is creativity, exactly? Is it an artist toiling in her loft, a composer hunched over his piano, your grandmother icing a cake, your neighbor planting a garden? Without doubt, these are all creative endeavors. But in the Bön Buddhist tradition creativity is far more than a display of specific skills or talents or behavior. It is an expression of our state of being—who we truly are.
Creativity is often linked to flow—energized focus, effortless expression, total immersion in what we are doing. Both creativity and flow arise from the same source—the fundamental spaciousness of being. The essence of creativity is the spontaneous outpouring of positive qualities from that open source.
The dzogchen tradition in which I practice refers to the space of being as the mother (ma), to the awareness that recognizes that space as the child (bu), and to the union of space and awareness, mother and child, as dynamic energy (tsal). We are not meant to understand this relationship conceptually but to experience it personally. Every moment can be spontaneous, effortless, beautiful, helpful, and life-changing if we are fully connected to the spaciousness of being. When we are living from that connection to the source, qualities we associate with creative activity—joy, playfulness, humor, love, generosity—just naturally arise.
Being creative is intrinsically human. Whether it is an artwork you make, a dinner you cook, or the skillful way you talk your daughter out of doing something risky, it may be creatively informed. When we are aware of and connected to the spaciousness of being that is our true nature, our actions and our expression have the potential to bring good to the world. Artistic expression—indeed, any human activity, no matter what form it takes—that arises from the source is considered sacred. In my tradition this is referred to as trinlé, or enlightened action. When what we express is enlightened action, it will have meaning and purpose and be of benefit to ourselves and others.
Traditionally, the fundamental source of being is described as an inexhaustible spring of pure water for the thirsty; the keys to the treasury of the kingdom for the impoverished; medicine for those who are ill; a home for those who wander; a best friend for the lonely; an inner refuge for those caught in samsara, the wheel of cyclic existence that binds us to suffering. This source is creative potential waiting for us to find some way to express it.
Bön Buddhism takes the view that our nature is primordially pure. So within every living being is this pure source of creativity, which gives rise to the positive qualities and infinite possibilities that are the causes of creativity. Qualities like love, compassion, joy, and equanimity are the spontaneous expression of the source and the essence of creative flow.
Creativity is our birthright, and our nature is expressive. But how do we connect with this creative energy so that we can offer our unique gifts to the world? One of the most effective methods I have found for discovering creativity is through activating the creative potential of five energy centers in the body—what are known as chakras. Briefly, the chakras are portals to a path that begins with the unbounded sacred space that is our creative force and continues to unfold from creative potential to creative manifestation.
Unleashing our creative energy starts with the crown chakra at the top of the head. Here we uncover openness and connect with the confidence to discover our creative potential. If we don’t experience these qualities directly, we can access them through what I call the three doors: the stillness of the body, the silence of inner speech, and the spaciousness of mind.
Buoyed by a sense of openness and self-confidence we connect with the second creative potential through the energy of the throat chakra, awareness. Here we discover our innate worthiness and a sense of belonging, whether to family or community or the human community at large. Significantly, the sense of belonging comes from connecting to our true self and feeling complete just as we are. Fears like I can’t or I don’t deserve it, which block creative expression, dissolve in the warmth of our attention.
The third creative potential we discover is inspiration, the energy of the heart chakra. Here, we discover positive qualities like joy and love. Creativity thrives in a positive atmosphere, both nourished by and nourishing happiness and joy, which are integral to the creative process.
The fourth creative potential, which we discover through the energy of the navel chakra, is the quality of ripening. The focus here is on whatever within us or in our lives is almost ready for expression and just needs a little push, a little attention from us. This is a critical place on the creative path: When a project or an idea is in this state of readiness, it can go one of two ways. If we give it the light and warmth of our attention, it can go to completion, to fulfillment. But if we withdraw our attention, it can end up in the pile of uncompleted projects and abandoned dreams. If nothing blocks our energy at this point, it takes almost no effort for the project or endeavor to complete.
At the fifth chakra, the chakra of manifestation, we go the distance and bring our creative endeavors to fruition. Our creativity is no longer mere potential but is actualized in some form. Its expression can delight and serve others.
So how do we access our creative energy when we feel stuck? How can we rekindle inspiration? Even though we are inherently rich with positive qualities at our core, we may fail to recognize our inner resources. How do we reconnect with the source? Awareness is the key. That means knowing ourselves intimately. Knowledge of our inner essence is not acquired through formal learning. It is not the accumulation of skill or facts. It consists of recognizing openness and being aware of it in any given moment. The open source of being becomes our refuge—support that is always available to us.
The path to accessing creativity and manifesting our positive qualities always comes back to openness. It is the ground, the beginning—not a step we can avoid. Since the natural openness of being is the source of creativity, whatever blocks us from experiencing a feeling of openness blocks our creativity and also our joy. In fact, it blocks all our positive qualities from arising. If you reflect on what is blocking your creativity at any given moment, you are likely to come up with a long list of obstacles: I don’t have enough time to do everything I’m supposed to do, never mind doing something creative. I’m too scattered. I have no privacy. I have bills to pay. After I get off work I don’t have any energy. There are a few people I know who repeat like a mantra, I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I can’t do it. Send yourself a message like that often enough, and creativity doesn’t stand a chance.
There are so many possible blocks to living creatively, so many excuses for not taking action. Resolve one block and clear it off your list, and chances are, you will find another to replace it. Our lists are never-ending in this way. But the items on our lists are not the problem. The question to ask is not what is blocking you, but who. Who is the one who is suffering? How you experience yourself, the identity you create, is the number-one block to accessing the source of creativity within.
Holding on to the sense of an I that is fixed and solid—and will be with you always—is one of the fundamental errors identified in the Bön and Buddhist traditions. We suffer not because of what is happening to us, but because of this I we identify with and cling to so tenaciously. This is the source of our suffering. This I is busy making up a story about how life is, and since human beings tend to have a negative bias, our stories seldom have a happy ending.
There is a way out, however. Through meditation practice we can look inward and explore the fixed I who suffers. When we do that, we come to see that this sense of I can only continue to exist because we maintain it with our thoughts and imagination. When we stop building up I in this way, it loosens its grip. We begin to feel a sense of openness. That narrowly focused self no longer controls our thoughts, no longer blocks access to inner space, to the creative source.
The hitch is that this false I is often hidden, driving our reactivity from just beneath our awareness. We are so used to identifying with it that we act as if it is real. When we expose this I, we may react with attachment or aversion, either clinging to it, unable to imagine life without it, or searching for ways to get rid of it. The world is full of well-meaning advice on how to improve yourself, and many people meditate in an attempt to replace the undesirable self with another, more positive self. But those efforts are fruitless and miss the point. The fundamental issue that is not being addressed is holding on to the ego’s insistence that we have a solid, unchanging identity. Discovering the truth of egolessness or selflessness is a core teaching in my tradition and an essential step on the path to manifesting your positive qualities.
Rather than bypassing or avoiding pain or trying to get rid of it, we need to open fully to our pain and discomfort. Whatever form this I takes—and it can be as changeable as your mood—it is, without doubt, pain of some sort. I call this a pain identity or pain body. Perhaps you meet the I who is insecure, uncertain, or afraid to be noticed. Perhaps you are carrying around an I who isn’t getting the recognition she deserves. Whether your fear or insecurity appears as a critical voice or a quiet feeling of unhappiness, it has probably lived with you for a long time. But if you recognize pain—even entrenched pain—directly, your attention will have the force of an acupuncture needle hitting with precision the right point to release blocked energy. A moment of fear or insecurity, properly encountered, can lead you to the discovery of your true nature.
To bring your awareness to a painful experience, pay attention to the feelings in your body, the emotions that are arising, the thoughts that are coming to mind. Touch your experience directly with unbiased awareness as you open to it. Don’t move away from any part of your experience. Show up. Be there. Don’t abandon yourself or your discomfort.
I often suggest treating pain or fear as you would treat a close friend who came to you fearful and trembling. What would you do? You would be fully open to that person, right? You would not divide your attention at the moment, cell phone in hand, and say, “Oh, wait a minute, I’m getting a text. But go ahead. I’m still listening.” No, you would focus your full attention on your friend. You would be there for her. When you are fully present to someone’s pain, a deep sense of caring and warmth naturally emerges. It is the same with your own discomfort. If you are fully present with it, it will begin to shift. As the pain releases, warmth spontaneously arises from the space of being.
Available July 17: New Book by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche!
Spontaneous Creativity: Meditations for Manifesting Your Positive Qualities
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche’s newest book, Spontaneous Creativity: Meditations for Manifesting Your Positive Qualities, will soon be available. Rather than the standard definition of creativity, the book looks at creativity through a wider lens, as a dynamic force that animates us and connects us with every being on the planet.
According to Rinpoche, creativity is not just a spark igniting the fire of inspiration. It is a way of living spontaneously from the open spaciousness of being—from the source of infinite potential and positive qualities such as love, compassion and joy.
As he says in the first chapter, “Artistic expression—indeed, any human activity, no matter what form it takes—that arises from the source is considered sacred. In my tradition this is referred to as trinlé, or enlightened action.” Expression in any voice, any form that emerges from this core, has the power to heal us and benefit others.
Rinpoche draws on the ancient wisdom of the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition to guide us in developing the ability to show up fully for our lives and clear whatever blocks us from expressing our creative gifts for the greatest good.
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, is an accomplished author as well as a highly respected and beloved teacher to students in 20 countries throughout the world.
Spontaneous Creativity, published by Hay House, Inc., will be available July 17 on amazon.com and other venues. It is Rinpoche’s 10th book in English. Rinpoche’s books have been translated into 19 languages.
New Book by Alejandro Chaoul Also Available July 17
Tibetan Yoga for Health & Well-Being
A new book by Alejandro Chaoul, Ph.D., director of research for Ligmincha International and senior student of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, will be available July 17.
Tibetan Yoga for Health & Well-Being: The Science and Practice of Healing Your Body, Energy, and Mind, focuses on the five principal breaths of Tibetan yoga and how special body movements for each of these breaths engage the five chakras in our body. Photos of each of the 16 movements are provided for reference, as well as tips on how to keep your practice alive in the midst of your everyday life.
Tibetan yoga has been known to slow the effects of aging as well as enhance memory, improve physical strength, and support positive emotional and mental health. It enables practitioners to remove obstacles from their lives and welcome health and well-being.
Alejandro shares his experiences of daily practice in different settings and cultures, with a focus on simplicity, accessibility and ease. Alongside his thorough and clear guidance for Tibetan yoga’s core movements and breathing methods, he provides a contextual understanding of the history and lineage of Tibetan yoga.
The book is available through amazon.com and other venues.
Alejandro Chaoul is a faculty member with the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas; director of research for Ligmincha International; a senior teacher and research team member for The 3 Doors Academy founded by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; and a recently named fellow of the Mind & Life Institute. He is director of the new Mind, Body, and Spirit Institute at the Jung Center in Houston. His previous book, Chöd Practice in the Bön Tradition (with Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak) was published in 2009.
Two Announcements from Menri Monastery in India
September Commemoration for 33rd Menri Trizin and Enthronement for the 34th
H.H. Lungtok Tenpai Nyima RinpocheOn September 3 and 4, 2018, Menri Monastery will host a ceremony commemorating one year since the departure of our great guide, refuge and protector, His Holiness the 33rd Menri Trizin Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche, who passed away last year. His Holiness was the worldwide spiritual leader of the Bön tradition and abbot of Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India. He died September 14, 2017. All followers and disciples are requested to reserve this important date, and are welcome to come to the monastery to pay their respects.
H.H. Lungtok Dawa Dhargye RinpocheOn September 6 and 7, 2018, the grand enthronement ceremony for His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin Lungtok Dawa Dhargye Rinpoche will take place at Menri Monastery. All are invited and welcome to participate in this celebration. Geshe Dawa Dhargye was chosen as the new Menri Trizin on the auspicious day of January 1, 2018, as the throne holder of Menri Monastery and the spiritual leader of the Bon religious tradition.
The Menri Trizin was chosen in the Bön ceremony called Tagdril, which relies on the wisdom of the chief protector deities of Yungdrung Bön in making the proper selection. All members of the Bön community around the world welcomed the new Abbot with flowers and celebrated the fortunate occasion. Then on February 20, 2018, the anniversary of the birth of the founder of Menri Monastery, Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen, a brief enthronement ceremony was held in which His Holiness the 34th Menri Trizin Lungtok Dawa Dhargye Rinpoche was officially enthroned on Nyame Sherab Gyaltsen's throne, a golden throne supported by images of the five fearless lions.
Read the official letters from Yung Drung Bon Monastic Centre Society.
Commemoration ceremony
Enthronement ceremony
Learn more about the Bon Foundation
New Kunzang Khang (House of All Goodness) Opens at Serenity Ridge
Enjoy the Photographs!
After years of planning, fundraising and more than a year and a half of construction, the new multipurpose building at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, headquarters of Ligmincha International, opened its door April 12 with a special blessing and ribbon-cutting ceremony.
View of Kunzang Khang from the Garuda House. Photo by Vickie Walter.
Replacing the existing kitchen and dining hall and outdoor dining area, this facility also provides a new registration and welcome area, a large outdoor meditation deck, a recording studio, office space for Ligmincha International, large multipurpose rooms, indoor practice area and a lounge area for residents.
Gathering for the blessing and ribbon-cutting. Photo by Vickie Walter.
The gold-colored roof shines in the clear sky. Photo by Brian Harris.
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International, was joined at the ceremony by Khenpo Ngawang Dorjee, head of Tashi Choeling Buddhist Center in Charlottesville, Virginia; Rob Patzig, president of Ligmincha International; and a group of excited participants.
The new facility is called Kunzang Khang—the House of All Goodness. Kuntu Zangpo, which translates as “all good,” is the primordial Buddha, representing the open and spacious nature of mind in the Tibetan Bön dzogchen teachings. (Rinpoche gave the facility its new name scarcely an hour before the ribbon-cutting ceremony began. Since last fall, when Ligmincha resident and visiting lamas had been making offerings for the building to Nampar Gyalwa (“complete victory”), the facility had been called Namgyal Khang (Victory House). But a victory, Rinpoche said at the ceremony, usually includes a winner and a loser, and this new building will be inclusive of everyone—all good.
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche speaks at ribbon-cutting ceremony with Khenpo Ngawang Dorjee and Ligmincha President Rob Patzig. Photo by Regula Franz.
Participants watch the blessing ceremony. Photo by Regula Franz.
VOCL editor Aline Fisher (center) and others prepare to throw rice at the celebration.
Ki Ki So So La Gyal Lo! Photos by Polly Turner.
Participants at the ribbon cutting reflected that inclusiveness. Among those at the gathering were Spring Retreat attendees and other sangha members; neighbors; members of the County Board of Supervisors, swamis and residents from the nearby Yogaville community; and builders, engineers and architects involved in the project. Following the ceremony, everyone was invited into the new building for a special dinner in the new dining hall.
Tenzin Rinpoche cuts the ribbon to Kunzang Khang.
Photos by Regula Franz (left) and Brian Harris (right).
Rinpoche welcomes people into the new building. Photo by Regula Franz.
Rinpoche greets guests in the new dining room. Photo by Rob Patzig.
Khenpo Ngawang Dorjee from Charlottesville with Mataji and Swami Dayananda from Yogaville. Photo by Rob Patzig.
Ligmincha's Executive Director Sue Davis-Dill and Norman Dill inside Kunzang Khang. Photo by Polly Turner.
Marcy Vaughn talks with Swami Karunananda from Yogaville. Photo by Rob Patzig.
The first dinner in the new building. Photo by Rob Patzig.
Kunzang Khang is located in the area between the gompa (meditation hall) and the Lama House. Its spacious welcome and registration area, large dining room with windows that offer an expansive view of the hills beyond, and the new state-of-the-art kitchen can easily accommodate all retreat-goers. A large practice and meeting room can be subdivided for smaller groups, and an expansive rooftop meditation deck offers a quiet environment for practice. A professional-quality recording studio is located on the top floor of the building.
Head cook Pat Leavitt prepares dessert trays. Photo by Rob Patzig. 
Rinpoche talks with guests during the first dinner in the new building.
The new building will help meet expanding needs and open up new possibilities for the Serenity Ridge and international communities. It will allow Serenity Ridge to offer smaller retreats on focused topics, including an increasing number of practice retreats. Ligmincha’s resident lama and other teachers will be able to offer regular meditation session for the nearby community even when the center is rented to other groups. More community-building events are being planned. And the new recording studio will allow Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and other Bön lamas to record teachings and practices to better support the cyber-sangha and to help preserve Bön Buddhism for future generations.
Side view of new building. Photo by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.
View from below the building.
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche has been involved during every phase of design and construction, including his choice of the three highest rooftops to be gold and copper colored according to the Tibetan tradition, rather than blue, the original plan. An arts committee is working under guidelines from Rinpoche to decorate the interior of the building, which is still ongoing. Two walls of the main floor in office entrance will contain reproductions of two beautiful mandalas from Mexico, the Bön Mother Tantra and Sherap Chamma, the Mother of Wisdom and Love. Lama Kalsang Nyima and Lama Yungdrung Lodoe, resident lamas for Ligmincha Mexico, will join Serenity Ridge for the Summer Retreat, and also will be doing decorative painting for the new building.
Relaxing on one of the porches. Photo by Regula Franz.
Relaxing in front of Kunzang Khang.
Kunzang Khang at night. Photo by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche.
We are grateful to all those who have helped guide this project to manifest—too many people to name! Thanks to our many generous donors, including sangha members and others, who helped make this dream become a reality, and to others who contributed their time and energy in so many ways. A group of talented architects, engineers and builders took the new facility from concept to completion. Special thanks go to longtime sangha member John Massie, who designed the new building, and to Sue Davis-Dill, executive director of Ligmincha International, who was involved day to day in all phases of the project.
Construction superintendent Grover Harris (yellow shirt) and building designer John Massie (right). Photo by Brian Harris.
Kunzang Khang is currently open under a temporary Certificate of Occupancy as finishing work, walkways and other final elements are completed. It is expected that a permanent occupancy certificate will be in place before the Summer Retreat.
The new building still needs many things to help making it a welcoming place for all. This includes new tables, chairs, china and cutlery for the dining hall, along with audio-video equipment, meditation cushions and yoga mats for the practice areas, and more. Please consider making a donation to help the new facility reach completion inside as well as out. Every contribution, no matter how small, is important.
You can donate directly here.
Summer Tummo Retreat at Serenity Ridge Begins June 23
Registration Opens June 7 for Fall Powa Retreat
There is still time to register for a very special retreat this summer at Serenity Ridge in Charlottesville, Virginia: "Tummo: The Inner Fire of Realization.” The retreat runs June 23–July 7, followed by a five-day practice retreat from July 7–12.
Tummo refers to inner heat, and its teachings are designed to burn away subtle obscurations and cultivate bliss. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will teach from the text Ku Sum Rang Shar (Spontaneous Arising of the Three Kayas), written by Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche, a Bön master who achieved the body of light (rainbow body) in 1934.
You may attend one or both weeks of the retreat. If only able to join one week, Rinpoche advises those new to these teachings to come to week one. The practice retreat is open to anyone attending the second week. This retreat will be extremely beneficial for new and more experienced students alike.
Two Summer Practice Retreats: Following the annual Summer Retreat, continue your stay at Serenity Ridge July 7–12 by attending one of two practice retreats. The Tummo Practice Retreat will focus on tummo practices taught during the previous two weeks. It will be taught by Geshe Denma Gyaltsen, resident lama for Ligmincha Texas. In addition, during the same time the Garuda House Shrine Room will be available for Personal Practice Retreat.
Summer Service Retreat June 18–22: Prior to Summer Retreat, participate in a special sevice retreat to receive a credit of $10 for each hour of service work performed, to be applied toward the cost of the Summer Retreat.
Learn more/apply
Upcoming Fall Retreat October 16–21, 2018: "Powa: The Transference of Consciousness” with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, will help students adopt the right attitude in preparation for death and teach them how to perform the powa practice, which enables the transfer of consciousness at the time of death directly into a pure realm. Registration opens June 7, 2018.
Learn more/register
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's Worldwide Teaching Schedule
Visiting Six Countries from June to September
Rinpoche’s 2018 teaching schedule by date and location is available on the Ligmincha International website.
The schedule includes Rinpoche’s in-person teachings at Ligmincha International retreat centers or other locations throughout the world. It also includes his online teachings offered through Ligmincha Learning and GlideWing, plus information about free TWR LIVE teachings offered regularly through Rinpoche’s Facebook page.
Here is a list of Rinpoche’s retreats and presentations in six countries during the months of June through September. The online schedule will be updated as teachings are added or revised.
- June 1–4: Red Feather Lakes, Colorado: Dream and Sleep Yoga
- June 8–10: Esalen, Big Sur, California: Awakening the Sacred Body
- June 22–Aug. 3: Ligmincha Learning online course: The Five Elements: Healing with Form, Energy and Light
- June 23–July 7: Serenity Ridge Shipman, Virginia: Tummo, Part 1 of 3
- June 30–July 22: GlideWing online course: Healing From the Source
- Aug. 10–12: Helsinki, Finland: The True Source of Healing
- Aug. 11–Sept. 2: GlideWing online course: Tibetan Sound Healing
- Aug. 17–Sept. 22: Ligmincha Learning online course: The Three Heart Mantras
- Aug. 14–19: Wilga, Poland: Dzogchen Teachings of Tapihritsa
- Aug. 21–26: Buchenau, Germany: Twenty-One Nails, Part 4
- Sept. 7–9: Budapest, Hungary: The Practice of the Six Lokas
- Sept. 14–16: Seoul, Korea: The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen
- Sept. 29–Oct. 28: GlideWing online course: Awakening the Sacred Arts
Schedule by date
Schedule by location
Ligmincha Learning's 'Five Elements' Begins June 22
Look for New Tibetan Language Course in September!
Five Elements GoddessesLigmincha Learning will offer an online course on "The Five Elements: Healing with Form, Energy and Light,” starting June 22, 2018. The six-week course with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will continue through August 3.
The five elements—earth, water, fire, air and space—pervade our lives, are the essences of our being and can be sources of profound healing. In this course Rinpoche explains how each of the five elements relates to our daily experiences, emotions and relationships. He guides meditations for each of the elements, designed to help clear our obstacles and bring balance to our lives.
Each section of the course includes videos of Rinpoche’s teachings and a guided meditation; readings from Healing with Form, Energy and Light by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; and assignments for journal writing, discussion, and formal and informal practice. The course is designed so that you may integrate study and practice into your everyday routine, learning at your own pace, while enjoying the support of classmates and the course mentor.
To learn more about the five elements teachings, read Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's book Healing With Form, Energy and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra and Dzogchen.
Coming in August:"The Three Heart Mantras of Bon" with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. This five-week online course runs August 17–September 22, 2018.
NEW! Coming in September: New "Tibetan Language Bön Prayers Course" with Geshe Denma Gyaltsen, resident lama of Ligmincha Texas. Students from aross the international sangha can deepen their connection to the practice and study of Bön by learning the correct pronunciation and melody of Bön daily prayers and encounter their meaning through Tibetan stories and word study. No prior knowledge of Tibetan is needed. Runs September 21–October 22, 2018.
Next GlideWing Course with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
'Healing From the Source' Starts June 30
GlideWing‘s next three-week online workshop on “Healing From the Source: Meditation as Medicine for Mind and Body” will be held June 30–July 22. The focus is on cultivating loving-kindness as a means for preventing and healing both physical and emotional pain.
For those who have participanted in Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's recent Facebook Live series on "Healing Pain Through Meditation," the workshop provides an ideal setting for going more deeply into these teachings and meditations with Rinpoche's personal support and guidance.
Based on ancient teachings of dzogchen from the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition, the workshop helps one discover the "great healer within." The core teachings of dzogchen introduce us to the nature of mind, to our own inner refuge, the true source of healing.
As Rinpoche explains, everyone has access to this source through the “three doors” of body, speech and mind. He describes stillness of the body, silence of speech and spaciousness of the mind as the “three precious pills”—a powerful medicine you can take at any time, with no side effects, to help divert you from your self-punishing tendencies, clear pain and negativity, cultivate awareness and ultimately access the healing qualities that spontaneously arise in that space.
Online Workshop Features:
- Three weeks of 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.
- All you need is a broadband Internet connection, such as DSL or cable.
Coming in August: "Tibetan Sound Healing" with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, August 11–September 2.
TWR LIVE: Next Pith Instructions Teachings on June 7
Subscribe to New Email Service to Stay Informed
TWR LIVE is an innovative way to connect with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, the ancient Tibetan teachings and fellow students around the world through regular live broadcasts that can be easily viewed on Rinpoche’s Facebook page.
All broadcasts are free and open to all – you don’t need a Facebook account to view them. And now there is a new email service to help you stay informed about upcoming TWR LIVE teachings and events.
View next live broadcasts on June 7, 2018, the final sessions of two new series that began in May:
- 1 p.m. New York time: “Healing Pain Through Meditation, Part 5.” A brief teaching plus a deep guided meditation for healing physical and emotional pain.
- 1:40 p.m. New York time: “All-Accomplishing Wisdom." A teaching and guided meditation on this wisdom, which realizes that all phenomena are spontaneously, effortlessly and naturally perfected in the base of self-arising wisdom.
To subscribe to the TWR LIVE Announcements list, send an email to:
twr-live-announcements+subscribe[at]googlegroups.com (please copy and paste the email address into your e-mail application TO, replace [at] with @). You’ll receive a return email (check your SPAM folder if needed); this email will activate your subscription.
Learn more about the teachings on Healing Pain and the Five Wisdoms
More about TWR LIVE and the latest schedule updates
Archive of past TWR LIVE recordings
Video introduction to TWR LIVE
New Research on Tibetan Meditation
Improvement Shown for Cancer Patients and Caregivers
Alejandro Chaoul with cancer patientsAn integrative medicine research study from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center recently concluded that cancer patients and their caregivers had “clinically significant reduction and improvement” in global distress, fatigue, anxiety and shortness of breath when they practiced the Tibetan meditation methods of Nine Breathings of Purification, sacred sounds (A, OM and HUNG) or tsa lung (Tibetan yoga) in a group meditation class.
The study, conducted by Gabriel Lopez, M.D., Alejandro Chaoul, Ph.D., and others is titled “A Pragmatic Evaluation of Symptom Distress After Group Meditation for Cancer Patients and Caregivers: A Preliminary Report.” It was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Pain and Systems Management.
The article also references two books by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, founder and spiritual director of Ligmincha International: Tibetan Sound Healing and Awakening the Sacred Body.
Alejandro Chaoul is a faculty member with the Integrative Medicine Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas; director of research for Ligmincha International; a senior teacher and research team member for The 3 Doors Academy founded by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche; and a recently named fellow of the Mind & Life Institute. He is director of the new Mind, Body, and Spirit Institute at the Jung Center in Houston. His new book, Tibetan Yoga for Health & Well-Being: The Science and Practice of Healing Your Body, Energy, and Mind, is being released this summer.
Read the abstract on Science Direct
Read the report
The 3 Doors Opens New Programs Online and In Person
North American Academy, 5 Wisdom Breath Energies and Walking the Healing Path
The 3 Doors senior teachers (from left) Raven Lee, Alejandro Chaoul, Laura Shekerjian, Gabriel Rocco and Marcy Vaughn
The 3 Doors is pleased to announce several new programs for English and Spanish speakers. The online programs are easy to access – you just need an Internet connection to join the video conference sessions. Class sizes are small to allow personal attention and sharing of experiences.
Check out The 3 Doors on Insight Timer. The collection of free guided meditation practices now includes more offerings led in Spanish.
Next North American Academy in October
Led by senior 3 Doors teachers Marcy Vaughn and Gabriel Rocco, the next North American Academy begins in October 2018. This two and one-half-year program includes six group retreats held at the Serenity Ridge retreat center in Virginia, 63 life transformations, regular daily meditation practice and individual mentorship. Experience how The 3 Doors teachings and the warmth of the practitioner community can support your natural inclination to serve the welfare of others.
Learn more and apply
5 Wisdom Breath Energies – New Online Program in Spanish with English Translation in August
Led by senior 3 Doors teacher Alejandro Chaoul, Ph.D., this four-week online meditation program is designed to wake up your subtle body through breath, simple visualizations and Tibetan yoga movements. Through breath and gentle movements, explore how our channels and chakras support us in connecting to the spaciousness and healing warmth of inner refuge. English translation is available and will be heard only by those who choose this option.
Learn more and register
Walking The Healing Path – New Online Program in September
Led by senior 3 Doors teacher Raven Lee, Ph.D., this three-month online meditation course is designed to support those called to a subtle energy healing path. Throughout the program, you will be supported to connect with the ground of your essential nature – open, aware, dynamically present – which provides a safe container for your own emotional and spiritual development as you engage in your healing work with others.
Learn more and register
Additionally, join a Walking the Healing Path summer retreat on June 16–19 at the Pauenhof Retreat Center, Sonsbeck, Germany.
Learn more
Joy of Embodied Presence –New Online Session in October
Led by senior teacher Laura Shekerjian in English and simultaneously translated into Spanish, a new four-week Joy of Embodied Presence focused on the breath begins in October.
For more information about The 3 Doors, founded by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, please visit the website. Stay connected by signing up for the occasional e-newsletter.
Lishu Institute in India Begins New Curriculum in September
Participants Can Apply for Any 10-Week Cycle
Lishu Institute, Ligmincha’s residential retreat center for intensive practice and study of Bön in Northern India, will complete its first three years of teaching and study in June and will begin a new cycle in September 2018.
The curriculum has been revised, and participants are now able to apply for any of the three 10-week cycles offered during a year, as well as for the entire yearly cycle of study.
The schedule for 2018–2019, including short courses between regular cycles, is as follows:
- September 3–November 9, 2018: Bön Lam Rim (path of enlightenment) and Ngöndro practice retreat
- November 12–25 2018: Short retreat: Yeshe Walmo rituals
- January 7–March 1, 2019: Tummo and Dream Yoga from the Mother Tantra
- March 4–17, 2019: Short retreat: Phowa
- April 1–June 8 2020: Dzogchen Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyüd: 12 Small Tantras
For more information:
Visit the website
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
View Ligmincha Europe Magazine New Issue Online
Featuring Worldwide Sangha News
Download the magazine as a PDF here
Read it on your screen here
Spanish Translation of VOCL
Link to April Issue Now Available
Look for the translations of Voice of Clear Light newsletters at the top of the Voice of Clear Light website.
Read VOCL in Spanish
Upcoming Retreats
Serenity Ridge Retreat Center
The retreats listed below will take place at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Ligmincha International headquarters located in rural Nelson County, Virginia. To register or for more information, click on the links below, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 434-263-6304.
June 18–22, 2018
Summer Service Retreat
Learn more/register
June 23–July 7, 2018
Summer Retreat: Tummo: Inner Fire of Realization
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Learn more/register
July 7–12, 2018
Summer Tummo Practice Retreat
with Geshe Denma Gyaltsen
Learn more/register
July 7–12, 2018
Summer Personal Practice Retreat
Learn more/register
October 16–21, 2018
Fall Retreat: Powa: The Transference of Consciousness
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Learn more
Registration opens June 7 at 5 p.m.
December 26, 2018–January 1, 2019
Winter Retreat: The Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung, Part 5
with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Prerequisite: Previous completion of Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung series.
To register for any of the above retreats, or for more information about teachings in the Bön Buddhist tradition of Tibet, please
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, call 434-263-6304 or visit the Serenity Ridge website.
