Build your life on a solid foundation.
Ngondro presents the core practices of Buddhist psychology, working with core needs in identity, relationality, forgiveness and repair, resources and the sense of empowerment. Join Pema Khandro and the Buddhist Studies Institute for a journey into Ngondro, the core practice of Buddhist tantra.

The Tantric Preliminaries- Find Your Way to the Vajra World
The traditional training in Tibetan tantra begins with the series of profound meditations known as ngondro. They offer a reorientation of the body and mind, an opening into a greater sense of oneself, ones purpose and ones resources in an interconnected world built in altruism.

The ngondro series presents all the core practices that permeate Vajrayana, the path of esoteric Buddhism, including refuge, bodhichitta, mandala offering, deity yoga and empowerment.

Ngondro is meant to be done in a community.
Join an international group of like minded travelers on a profound journey into the heart of Vajrayana meditation.

Ngondro meditation is the foundation of a solid experience of spiritual growth. Ngondro refers to a series of meditation practices for purifying, training and empowering the mind & body. 

Ngondro means ‘before going.’ In traditional Vajrayana practice, it represents the cognitive, physical, emotional and philosophical components which are keys to the practice of liberation. It is the basis for all Vajrayana practice and thus it is used as a the pre-requisite for the great practices of the Vajrayana tradition. However, ngondro itself is a beloved meditation series for its own sake. It is often practiced many times throughout a life cycle by great yogis of the Nyingma tradition such as Patrul Rinpoche (eighteenth century). 

Without proper instruction ngondro can be incredibly complex and difficult. This course offers a simple, thorough, direct and supported experience of ngondro – making the heart essence of Vajrayana accessible for serious practitioners.

This Ngondro training focuses on the foundational esoteric practices of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism which emphasizes reliance on intrinsic wisdom, through its highest teaching, Dzogchen. The Heart of the Vast Expanse is a cherished cycle of the Nyingma lineage that prepares for the path of Dzogchen. It is also known as the Longchen Nyingthig, (klong chen snying thig) Ngondro. This is a cycle revealed by the brilliant eighteenth century Buddhist yogi, Jigme Lingpa, poet, leader, historian, and treasure revealer, whose texts synthesize the teachings of Nyingma luminary, Longchenpa.

Pema Khandro offers Ngondro teachings for serious students who wish to do intensive contemplative training. Dedicated to training yogis, householders and lay people outside of the monastery, Pema Khandro presents these practices in their concise, essential form.

This comprehensive course on Ngondro will be taught in four modules to support the accomplishment of practice over the period of one year. Join the Ngondro Training at the first Live Webinar Class of any module. Get support to accomplish the mantra accumulations with a weekly online practice group and an accountability partner. Find clarity by bringing questions to a live monthly class with Pema Khandro.

Each module of the Ngondro course offers the instructions and guided practice for the four major sections of the ngondro.

1. Field of Buddhas. This module focuses on the purification of speech as the basis for Buddhist tantric practice. It then focuses on generating the refuge field. This is a practice of getting resourced, learning one’s own lineage and understanding the field of support for one’s spiritual journey. This section concludes with a focus on raising the altruistic, enlightened intent, bodhichitta. Bodhichitta is the ground, the fuel and purpose of life and it is the essential ingredient in tantric meditations.
2. Purifying the Mind. This module focuses on clearing karma. It contains one of the most important practices of Buddhist tantra – Vajrasattva meditation. This includes a clearing of unprocessed experiences and past misdeeds through the meditation and making amends for wrong doing. Vajrasattva mantras and meditation are introduced and instructed.
3. Mountain of Jewels. This module focuses on the ultimate form of the defining Buddhist principles of letting go and interdependence. The module focuses on the mandala offering, a body- mind practice with mantra, visualization and mudras, to release all neurotic grasping in a practice of radical generosity.
4. Intrinsic Wisdom. This module focuses on the key theme of Vajrayana, which is empowerment, to experience the power of the indestructible buddhanature within oneself. It begins with Vajrayogini meditation and the seven line prayer, a prayer used widely in the Nyingma tradition to supplicate the awakened mind. This is followed by the guru yoga meditation and merging into Buddhahood.

All of the ngondro meditations are highly psychological and psycho-physical. They deal with the fundamental issues of a spiritual life, ones identity, body, relationships, past and future.

Ngondro requires transmission/initiation in order to begin the practice. The oral transmission will be given by Pema Khandro at the beginning of the live class.

Practice text for the essential ngondro will be provided.

Suggested text: Longchen Nyingthig Preliminaries, The Excellent Path to Omniscience by Jigme Trinley Ozer. A Rich Collection of Texts, Commentaries and Prayers for the Practice. Tony Duff.