Orgyen Khandroling
Buddhist Meditation Center

Ngondro

Ngondro, or “foundational practice,” is an essential part of training to be a serious Vajrayana student, and especially as preparation to receive the lineage teachings of the Secret Mantryana. Ngondro is a series of five practices (Refuge, Bodhichitta, Vajrasattva, Mandala, and Guru Yoga) which are each accumulated 100,000 times.

While some consider the number to be all-important, Anyen Rinpoche emphasizes that accumulating practices this many times enables us to truly focus on and master the skills which are being conveyed through each practice, in addition to giving us vast opportunity to accumulate merit and purify obscurations. When practiced properly, practicing ngondro is a life-changing experience. Day by day, understanding of the practices’ generation and perfection stage begins to dawn in the mind, and we find ourselves thoroughly transformed by richer understanding of what it means to practice the Secret Mantryana.

Our tradition of Longchen Nyingthig relies upon Patrul Rinpoche’s all-important text Words of My Perfect Teacher as the main guide for how to practice ngondro. Additionally, it is important to receive personal guidance from an authentic master when taking up this practice. Individualized consulation and guidance is the best support for beginning and completing ngondro. Additionally, we offer past recordings on ngondro practice on MP3, which can be accessed by (1) obtaining permission from Anyen Rinpoche to listen to the talks and (2) making a donation online. You can explore our media catalog here.