Ngöndro: Introduction

This presents an explanation of the foundation or preliminary practices in Tibetan Buddhism. There are two parts:

(1) the outer or general foundation (preliminary) practices; and

(2) the inner or special foundation (preliminary) practices.

For those who may wish to go beyond reading the information and descriptions given here, and to incorporate the Ngondro into their daily lives as part of their spiritual practice, it is highly recommended that this be done through the guidance of a Buddhist teacher.

If such a teacher is not readily available in one’s area, there are fine Buddhist instructors whose programs are available on-line and who provide on-going support for one’s practice.

One such such program, among many available, is https://learning.tergar.org/

Finally, peaceful nature scenes are shared on this website with the intent that they may be somewhat conducive to relaxing the mind. Settings in the natural environment can be idyllic for outside meditation. (All photos were personally taken – unless otherwise specified – and may be freely downloaded.)

Alexander Peck

In response to the needs and aspirations of beings of different capacity, the Buddha gave a great variety of teachings, which can be divided into two principal categories: the Lesser and Great Vehicles.

The second of these includes the first, and the two are not in any way contradictory; they both lead to liberation and ultimate enlightenment.

The teachings of the Great Vehicle, limitless as they are, have been condensed by spiritual masters into instructions that are at once profound and easy to practice.

The essential point of these teachings is to put an end to the hatred, attachment and ignorance that bind us to suffering, and to dedicate all our acts to the ultimate happiness of beings.

The vow to perfect oneself in order to perfect others is called the thought of enlightenment, or bodhichitta. This implies that every single action, word or thought, even the most trivial, is dedicated to the good of all beings.

When a genuine altruistic wish arises in you, the thought of enlightenment will be born effortlessly, and when this becomes comes stable, you will have in your possession the root of all vehicles.

Whatever practice you embark on – whether Madhyamika, Mahamudra or the Great Perfection – it will ripen naturally and bear fruit.

Immerse yourself in the meaning of the teachings, day after day, month after month, and the spiritual qualities of a Bodhisattva will develop without difficulty, like honey collecting in the hive as the bees go from flower to flower, gathering nectar.

Before giving or listening to a teaching, master and disciples need to engender the thought of enlightenment and to pray that they may receive the blessings of all the past, present and future Buddhas and of all the spiritual masters of India and Tibet.

It is our motivation that directs our acts, just as an irrigation channel makes water flow where it is wanted. If our acts are constantly inspired by the desire to relieve others of their suffering, in the end this desire will be fulfilled.

But if we ignore this great ideal, and instead limit ourselves to achieving a long, comfortable and prosperous life, we may well get it – but certainly nothing more. It is essential not to devote our lives to vain or unimportant goals.

When we take our first steps on the Path, we are not yet capable of helping others. To accomplish the good of others, we must first perfect ourselves, by purifying and transforming forming our minds. This is the aim of what we call the preliminary practices, which establish the foundations of all spiritual progress.

You may feel like dispensing with these foundations in order to practice teachings that you think are more profound, but if you do so, you are building a palace on the surface of a frozen lake.

Source: Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. The Excellent Path to Enlightenment. Boulder, Colorado: Snow Lion, 1996. (pp. 9-10.)

From Here to Enlightenment:

This website forms one out of a series of four websites with overall themes in a sequence as follows:

Path: http://www.lamrimpath.org/ This website presents the stages of the Buddhist path to enlightenment or awakening, based on the lamrim genre.

The lamrim genre divides beings according to three levels of spiritual motivation in relation to the teachings on the Path:

(1) Those of lesser motivation, who aim to achieve rebirth in the higher states within samsara, as human beings or as gods.

(2) Those of a middle motivation, who seek liberation from samsara for themselves alone.

(3) Those of greater motivation, who are motivated by the desire to lead all beings to perfect buddhahood.

(1) The general foundation (preliminary) practices

(2) The special foundation (preliminary) practices

(1) Growing older

(2) Nearing the end of life

(3) Dying and death

Its purpose is to serve people in preparing for their own inevitable parting from life.

(1) The natural bardo of the present life

(2) The bardo of dreaming

(3) The bardo of meditation

(4) The painful bardo of dying

(5) The luminous bardo of ultimate reality

(6) The karmic bardo of becoming

Path/Practice/Preparation/Parting Correlated with View/Meditation/Action

Note: If any of the material presented in the section “Preparation” (in the table below) does not resonate, then leave it for now. One does not need to master every practice or instruction to prepare for death. The main task is to find a practice (or practices) that you connect with and to develop familiarity with that.

Overall Theme Perspective

Path

(Based on The Jewel Ornament of Liberation)

(1) The Primary Cause: Buddha-Nature

(2) The Working Basis: The Precious Human Life

(3) The Contributory Cause: The Spiritual Master

(4) The Method: Topics (impermanence, the suffering of samsara, karma and its result, loving-kindness and compassion, refuge and precepts, cultivation of bodhicitta, the six paramitas, etc.)

(5) The Result: Perfect Buddhahood

(6) The Activities: Activities of the Buddha

Source: Gampopa. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation

Practice

(Ngondro)