Month: March 2025

“Karma Can Be Very Subtle and Tricky”

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

Karma Can Be Very Subtle and Tricky

On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the Fire Tiger year—January 14, 1987—His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje turned to those closest to him and said:

“Now I have completed everything. Every prayer that has been asked of me, I have fulfilled. Now I’m going to leave. Please be careful in the future to pay attention. Karma can be very subtle and tricky. We might think something is no big deal, but it may turn out to have serious consequences. So pay good attention to the karmic process. This is what every practitioner needs to pay attention to—even those with the highest realization. I’ve done my part.”

Some of those present thought this was a casual remark. But soon afterward, he became ill and passed into parinirvana.

As Dudjom Rinpoche’s words remind us, karma is not just an abstract concept—it is the very fabric of our experience, shaping each moment and determining the course of our path. Ngondro, the essential foundation of Vajrayana practice, is designed not only to purify karma but also to awaken us to how it operates so that we can navigate it skillfully and wisely.

Ngondro: Transforming Karma Through Practice

Dudjom Rinpoche emphasized that while Ngondro is called a “preliminary” practice, it encapsulates the entire path to enlightenment. Through its structured approach, practitioners develop the wisdom and discipline to recognize, purify, and transcend karmic patterns that perpetuate suffering.

Each stage of the Dudjom Tersar Ngondro directly addresses karma::
1.Refuge and Prostrations – Taking refuge strengthens our connection to the Dharma, ensuring that our actions align with the path to liberation.
2.Bodhicitta – Cultivating the altruistic mind of enlightenment shifts our karmic trajectory toward benefiting others.
3.Vajrasattva Mantra Recitation – Purifying past negative karma, preventing future suffering.
4.Mandala Offerings – Accumulating vast positive karma by cultivating generosity and non-attachment.
5.Guru Yoga – Receiving the Guru’s blessings to cut through karmic obscurations and recognize the nature of mind.

Dudjom Rinpoche taught that Ngondro is a profound means of directly transforming karma, ensuring that we do not remain trapped in conditioned patterns. However, such a practice requires authentic guidance, proper transmissions, and a supportive sangha—which is why the Annual Dudjom Ngondro Retreat is such a precious opportunity.

Join Us for the 2025 Annual Dudjom Ngondro Retreat
📅 April 12–20, 2025 | 📍 In-Person at Pema Osel Ling, YouTube Livestream and Zoom Livestream for the Refuge and Bodhisattva Vow Ceremony
🔗 See details and register

For those sincerely engaging in the Dudjom Tersar Ngondro, participation in the Annual Ngondro Retreat serves as a powerful accelerator of ~ offering direct transmissions, teachings, and immersive practice. This year’s retreat includes:

📿 Orgyen Menla Empowerment, Refuge Ceremony & Bodhisattva Vows

📖 Teachings with Sam Bercholz – From Confusion to Wisdom: Integrating View and Practice ~ “This April 12th ~ 13th seminar offers an in-depth exploration of key themes from Thinley Norbu Rinpoche’s “Cascading Waterfall of Nectar,” focusing on the integration of view and practice as the path from confusion to wisdom. Through study, contemplation, and meditation, we will examine how mistaken perceptions and dualistic thinking obscure the natural clarity of mind. Guided teachings will illuminate the Mahayana and Vajrayana perspectives on view, helping participants recognize the interdependence of all phenomena and the innate purity of awareness. The weekend will blend practical meditation techniques with textual reflection, allowing participants to directly experience the wisdom that arises when conceptual confusion dissolves. Open to practitioners of all levels, this seminar provides a supportive space to cultivate a deeper understanding of the Dharma and embody the compassionate insight Thinley Norbu Rinpoche so eloquently presents.” ~ Sam Bercholtz

🌿 Teaching, Practice Instruction, Q & A, Focused Practice and Personal Interview with Tulku Thadral Rinpoche, Lama Sonam Rinpoche, Amy Green, Drubpon Pema Rigdzin, Choying Wangmo, Stefan Graves. This year, we welcome Lotsawa Matthew Wells to translate for Tulku Thadral Rinpcohe and Lama Sonam Rinpoche.

📜 Oral Reading Transmissions (Lungs) for the Concise Dudjom Tersar,
the Sa-Ter, and Troma Nagmo Ngondro Practices

🌟 Dudjom Ngondro Program Participants receive a 10% discount

Ngondro is how we engage with karma—not just conceptually,
but through practice that refines and transforms our experience.
This retreat is an opportunity to deepen that engagement,
under the blessings of the lineage,
in the company of sangha.

Join the Dudjom Ngondro Program

 

From Confusion to Wisdom: Integrating View and Practice

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

 

 Thinley Norbu 1931 – 2011 (L )   Samuel Bercholtz (R)

The Vajrayana Foundation Annual Ngondro Retreat will be held from April 12 ~ 20, 2025 at Pema Osel Ling and by YouTube Livestream. The Annual Retreat will follow previous year’s format of Weekend Teachings with Sam Bercholz, Teachings, Questions and Answers, Personal Interviews and focused Accumulation Practice Sessions with Tulku Thadrul Rinpoche, Drubpon Pema Rigdzin, Amy Green, Choying Wangmo and Stefan Graves. Tulku Thadral Rinpoche will bestow The Refuge Vows (with hair cutting and naming ceremony) the Bodhichitta Vows and the Orgyen Menla Empowerment. See details and register at https://www.vajrayana.org/events/293/
The April 12-13 weekend seminar with Sam Bercholz offers an in-depth exploration of key themes from Thinley Norbu Rinpoche’s Cascading Waterfall of Nectar, focusing on the integration of view and practice as the path from confusion to wisdom. Through study, contemplation, and meditation, we will examine how mistaken perceptions and dualistic thinking obscure the natural clarity of mind. Guided teachings will illuminate the Mahayana and Vajrayana perspectives on view, helping participants recognize the interdependence of all phenomena and the innate purity of awareness. The weekend will blend practical meditation techniques with textual reflection, allowing participants to directly experience the wisdom that arises when conceptual confusion dissolves.
Open to practitioners of all levels, this seminar provides a supportive space to cultivate a deeper understanding of the Dharma and embody the compassionate insight Thinley Norbu Rinpoche so eloquently presents. It’s recommended to bring your copy of the Cascading Waterfall of Nectar. 

2025 Annual Dudjom Ngondro Retreat
April 12-20, 2025  In-Person and Online with
Orgyen Menla Empowerment
Refuge Ceremony and Bodhisattva Vows

See details and register at https://www.vajrayana.org/events/293/

 

 

Chötrul Düchen: The Day of Miracles

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

Chötrul Düchen, also known as the “Festival of Miracles,” is one of the four great sacred Buddhist festivals (duchens) marking significant events in the life of the Buddha. This auspicious day falls on the full moon of the first lunar month, commemorating the fifteen days during which Buddha Shakyamuni displayed miraculous activities to inspire devotion and deepen the faith of disciples.

The Fifteen Miracles of Buddha

Each day, the Buddha performed a different miracle, demonstrating his enlightened qualities:

1. Radiating golden light to illuminate the universe

2. Manifesting multiple emanations to teach beings in different realms

3. Extending his body to the heavens to show his boundless nature

4. Bringing down divine offerings to show the interdependence of merit

5. Producing celestial music that conveyed profound teachings

6. Turning a tree into a wish-fulfilling jewel

7. Causing divine rains of flowers and nectar

8. Demonstrating his mastery over the elements (fire, water, wind, and earth)

9. Walking through mountains and walls effortlessly

10. Multiplying his body infinitely

11. Manifesting as all Buddhas of the ten directions

12. Transforming the ground into precious substances

13. Showing infinite Buddha fields in a single grain of sand

14. Manifesting an ocean of Dharma teachings

15. Revealing his ultimate, inconceivable wisdom

Life Events of Buddha Celebrated on Chötrul Düchen

1. Defeating the Six Hindu Philosophers – The Buddha’s miracles were performed in response to six rival teachers who challenged him to prove his enlightenment. The Buddha accepted the challenge and displayed extraordinary manifestations over fifteen days, inspiring deep faith in his followers.

2. Inspiring Devotion and Strengthening Faith – Through his miracles, the Buddha demonstrated the power of Dharma and the inefficacy of mere intellectual debate without inner realization. His opponents, upon witnessing his wisdom and compassion, eventually became his disciples.

3. Manifesting Various Miracles – Each day, the Buddha displayed a different miracle, including:

• Radiating golden light to illuminate the entire world

• Multiplying his body infinitely

• Manifesting Buddhas in all ten directions

• Demonstrating his mastery over the elements

• Revealing infinite Buddha fields within a single grain of sand

4. Teaching the Dharma in Profound Ways – Through his miraculous manifestations, the Buddha taught the Dharma in ways beyond ordinary words, directly benefiting both human and non-human beings.

The Power of Merit Accumulation

Chötrul Düchen is an immensely powerful day for Dharma practice, as the effects of positive actions are said to be multiplied 100 million times. It is an ideal time to:

• Engage in meditation and mantra recitation

• Make offerings of light, flowers, and incense

• Practice generosity and sponsor Dharma activities

• Dedicate merit for the well-being of all sentient beings

Join Us in Making Offerings

To commemorate this sacred occasion, you can participate by making offerings through the Vajrayana Foundation. Supporting the Dharma through acts of generosity is a profound way to cultivate merit and deepen one’s connection to the path.

May this Chötrul Düchen bring immense blessings, wisdom, and realization for all beings!

Vajrayana Foundation Miracle Month

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