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If the Dzogchen view is like a fire, the preliminary practices are like the wood that feeds the fire…

~ DudjomTersarNgondro
An offering from Heart Teachings by Lama Tharchin for Guru Rinpoche Day, June 5th, 

Wishing you an auspicious and Happy Guru Rinpoche Day!

“The preliminary practices are truly the foundation of all our Dharma practice. [In Dzogchen,] we have this very high view, but everything is based on the preliminary practices. If the Dzogchen view is like a fire, the preliminary practices are like the wood that feeds the fire. They are only going to help your realization of Dzogchen.

As you practice the preliminary practices, you’ll have greater faith in the Three Jewels. Your belief in and attention to karma, to cause and effect, will grow. You’ll develop greater compassion for sentient beings. All of these qualities will increase within your mind. You’ll cultivate the two accumulations [of merit and wisdom]. You’ll purify your mind, and the wisdom realization of your lama will shift to your mind, and you will discover your own indwelling, original enlightenment, that which has always existed. You will not attain an enlightenment coming from outside of you, but rather discover the original enlightenment already within you, through the process of these preliminary practices.

Why are there so few good practitioners these days? Why do they have so many obstacles? It’s through not having taken the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind—the precious human birth, impermanence, karma’s cause and effect, and the sufferings of samsara—to heart. So many obstacles are coming from that alone. Therefore, it is essential to take these Four Thoughts to heart. You can read about them in “The Words of my Perfect Teacher” and so many other texts on the preliminary practices. This point is really so essential.”

– Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, Annual Trekchod Retreat, Spring 2007
Image from Heart Teachings video, Pema Osel Ling, March 24, 2007

 

2016 Annual Summer Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Gyepa Rinpoche 

Due to the Vajrayana Foundation’s annual Summer Retreat, the monthly Dudjom Ngondro schedule will be temporarily adjusted. We warmly invite you to join us for this special retreat—either in person at Pema Osel Ling or via livestream. It’s a wonderful opportunity to deepen your connection to the Dudjom Tersar lineage and engage in transformative practice with our sangha.

As part of the June Ngondro Program offerings, participants will receive streaming links for the following events:

• Troma Ngondro Accumulation Sessions

Two sessions daily, June 9–11

9:00–10:45 AM and 2:30–4:15 PM (PDT)

• Collection of Seven Treasures: Guru Rinpoche Empowerment

June 27, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM (PDT)

Bestowed by His Holiness Kyabje Dungse Namgyal Dawa Rinpoche

• Collection of Seven Treasures: First Teaching of eight

June 28, beginning at 11:45 AM (PDT)

Please watch your email for access details.

The Vajrayana Foundation 36th Annual Summer Retreat offerings:

June 2 – 7: Tseyang Khatrod — Six days of practice focused on the profound liberation instructions of Tseyang Khatrod, emphasizing clarity and fearless awareness. Learn More

June 12 – 20: Troma Nagmo — A nine-day immersion in the fierce compassion of Troma Nagmo, revealing the clarity of mind through cutting attachment. Learn More

June 23 – July 2: Shitro — A complete cycle of practice for the peaceful and wrathful deities, supporting the living and the dead through the bardo. Learn More

July 5 – 13: Guru Rinpoche Drupchen — A powerful group ritual invoking Guru Rinpoche to generate vast merit and awaken compassion through mantra, mudra, and sacred sound. Learn More

Part 4 of The Four-Themed Precious Garland

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

On May 30th @ 5pm, Tulku Thadral Rinpoche will continue with the Public Ngondro Teaching ~ Part 4 of Longchenpa’s The Four-Themed Precious Garland.  “Purifying Confusion into Pristine Awareness” Attendance on site at Pema Osel Ling or via YouTube.

Please note special instructions if you are planning to attend in person. ~~~> Due to a private wedding event, we ask that you do not drive on the land, please park your vehicle in Lot A and only use the facilities at the Shrineroom area. The Dining Hall area is closed for a private dinner. Dharma Treasures Bookstore closes at 5pm, unless you have a prearranged appointment.

Review earlier teachings in the series:

Part 1  | Part 2  |  Part 3 

This teaching from Longchenpa is similar to the famous “Four Dharmas of Gampopa.” It includes teachings on the general Buddhist, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Dzogchen approaches to practice.

“To realize the beginningless purity and perfection of all reality as an indivisible unity of Voidness and appearance is to realize Dzogchen, the Great Completeness. The lineage of this Mahayana system of meditation traces from Shakyamuni Buddha and was taken from India to Tibet by such masters as Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra. It has been transmitted mainly through the Nyingma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and its oral teachings are preserved unbroken until the present day.”

This text is one of the greatest codifiers of the Dzogchen teachings as witnessed by his trilogy “Kindly Bent to Ease Us”, is an exposition on the “Four Themes of Gampopa,“ the author of “The Jewel Ornament of Liberation”. It includes a survey of the nine vehicles to enlightenment as traveled progressively through the sutra, tantra, and Dzogchen modes of approach, as well as a description of the goal.

This is done primarily by expounding the techniques utilized at each of these stages for removing confusion about the abiding nature of reality.”

The commentary of this text was provided orally by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche and Beru Khyentse Rinpoche.

Where can you get this text? 

Slow Download: Digital Copy of the book
https://annas-archive.org/…/0570f33b2dd7083963301a7…/0/2

Amazon Purchase under $20 incudes shipping:
https://www.amazon.com/Themed-Precious-Garland-
Introduction-Dzog-chen/dp/8185102406/ref=sr_1_1

Abe Books: New and used range $10-$15
https://www.abebooks.com/book…/author/longchen-rabjampa/

Tseyang Khatrod Retreat

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

The Vajrayana Foundation begins their summer retreat with the Tseyang Khatrod Retreat—The Union of Long Life and Wealth Practices of Orgyen Khandro Norlha and the Lake-Born Vajra (Tsokye T’huk T’hik)—for several meaningful and interconnected reasons, rooted in both lineage blessings and practical benefit for practitioners:

1. Preparation and Empowerment for the Full Retreat

The Tseyang Khatrod practice serves as an auspicious beginning, providing blessings of longevity and prosperity. These blessings strengthen the life force, vitality, and supportive conditions—physical, mental, and material—so that participants can successfully engage in the more intensive practices that follow in the retreat. It is said that without long life and the necessary conditions, even the most profound practices cannot be completed or sustained.

2. Union of Two Powerful Practices

This retreat unites Orgyen Khandro Norlha, the wealth-gathering aspect of Guru Rinpoche, with Tsokye T’huk T’hik, the long-life practice from the treasure teachings of Dudjom Lingpa and Dudjom Rinpoche. The union of wealth and long life is not for personal gain, but to support Dharma practice and benefit beings. It’s especially meaningful in the Dudjom lineage, which emphasizes integrating both relative support and ultimate realization.

3. Lineage Significance and Blessing Stream

This cycle is a Dudjom Tersar terma and carries the full blessings of Dudjom Lingpa and Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, the two pillars of the Dudjom lineage. Opening the retreat with this practice connects all participants directly to the wisdom mind of the tertöns and lineage masters, establishing the retreat in a field of merit and blessings.

4. Support for the Sangha and Vajrayana Foundation

Practicing Tseyang Khatrod at the start helps generate merit and resources—not only for the individual practitioner but also for the well-being of the sangha and the Vajrayana Foundation. It aligns us with the energy of generosity, longevity, and cooperation, supporting the retreat on both seen and unseen levels.

5. Traditional Tibetan Custom

In many Tibetan communities, long-life and prosperity practices are offered before intensive Dharma activities to remove obstacles and ensure success. This reflects the Tibetan understanding of interdependence: favorable conditions arise through the convergence of wisdom and merit.

Join us in person at Pema Osel Ling or via YouTube livestream for the Annual Tseyang Khatrod Retreat June 2 -7, 2025.

Details and schedule: vajrayana.org/events/266