nyingma buddhist meditation and study in austin texas
Practices, Events and News
The Words of My Perfect Teacher
Any Vajrayana practice, including the highest practices of
the Great Perfection (Dzogchen), begin with the set of five preliminaries known
as "ngondro," or "what goes before." These practices
include the sections for taming the mind stream, which are the initial
contemplations known as the Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind, and the sections
for purifying the mind stream, which include the inner preliminaries and the
main practice of Guru Yoga.
In order to properly and effectively apply these practices,
we need to understand the words and meaning of each section. In this first
series of study sessions, we will begin a deeper exploration of the meaning of
the preliminary practices by following the famous commentary by Patrul
Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher, which comments upon the Longchen
Nyingtig Ngondro by Jigme Lingpa.These first study groups will focus on the Four Thoughts That Turn the
Mind and the practices of refuge and bodhicitta, including the most fundamental
teachings, found in all schools of Buddhism, on how to abandon the 10
non-virtues and enact the 10 virtues.
These study sessions are planned with the wish that, by
keeping these instructions in our minds, the strength of our enthusiasm to
benefit self and others might increase like a flowing river.