Testimonial

Ngondro and Trekchö

~ DudjomTersarNgondro
I was able to create and maintain the disciplined practice.

I was in my mid-forties when my husband, our two very spirited children, moved to California from Ohio. It was a difficult move which left me upended on several fronts. During this turbulent time, I was given a book which addressed the meaning of life and the main tenets of Buddhist thought. It was so sensible and logical: there was nothing about, “having to take the teachings on faith”, which I heard many times in my Christian upbringing. Buddhism opened my mind to the vastness and beauty of a reality that I had no idea existed, and yet, was accessible. This gave me a path to follow in a difficult time.

Soon after I found a sangha and a teacher and became dedicated to pursuing Dharma. As I progressed on the path I started Ngondro. What an undertaking! My kids were needing more attention and between them, and a full time job, life was becoming more complicated. Even though I set aside time in the morning for practice, it was rather hit or miss. Yet, reading the Ngondro liturgy and explanations on how to practice, gave me comfort and confidence in my life, and the hope that one day I’d figure it out how to get more practice time in.
I was able to attend retreats over the years, which were so inspiring. I had the opportunity to receive teachings from some of the greatest masters alive. This gave me such an appreciation for the wisdom that has been preserved, and the hard work that was done by the lamas and lineage masters, for our benefit.
Then one day I “woke up” to find that I was 68 years old and realized I really had been just fooling around in my practice. Because of a serious situation in my sangha, my practice had become quite disrupted. I found myself a bit lost in the wilderness. Additionally, I had become more involved in the mundane world because of more demands at work. Despondency temporarily overcame me, when I realized by adding up, how much more I had to do to complete my Ngondro.
Soon after that, I went to a weekend teaching at Pema Osel Ling and found out about their Ngondro Program. I had heard a few online teachings from Lama Sonam Rinpoche and about 3 weeks later got to meet him at a Treasure Vase consecration. I was enamored by his joyful and humble presence and thought to myself, “this is the Lama for me.”
Because of Lama Sonam Rinpoche’s perfect teachings, the support of my mentor, and the Ngondro Program staff, and the monthly online accumulation meetings, I was able to create and maintain the disciplined practice I had been hoping for. Finally, at the age of 72, I completed all my accumulations. So, it’s never too late to invest in present and future lifetimes!
One bit of advice – try not to be intimidated by prostrations. 
I was truly astounded by the flexibility and strength I acquired, and not spiritually. As Rinpoche said to a young frustrated student, during one of online Question and Answer sessions, “They’re better than plastic surgery.”
Thank you a million times over to Lama Sonam Rinpoche and the Ngondro Program (Choying Wangmo, Stefan and Sonam) for sharing the teachings and your support and experience with this wonderful community of Ngondro practitioners that you have created.

Resharing Kristie’s heartfelt testimonial from 2023. She completed her Ngondro in 2022.

Kristie accomplished her Ngondro just in time so that she attend the 2023 Trekchod Retreat with Tulku Thadral Rinpoche.  If you are close to completing your Ngondro contact the Vajrayana Foundation office.


This year the hybrid Trekchö ~ Rushen Retreat will take place December 28, 2025 – January 6, 2026 with Tulku Thadral Rinpoche.  This rare 10-day retreat will focus exclusively on Rushen, the preliminary practices from “The Vajra Essence” (Neluk Rangjung) — the most extensive of Dudjom Lingpa’s five Dzogchen treatises. Tulku Thadral Rinpoche will teach this foundational section in depth, offering direct guidance on recognizing and resting in the nature of mind.

As Lama Sonam Rinpoche says:
Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche recognized Tulku Thadral Rinpoche and said many times how he is really different from other tulkus and will be of great benefit to sentient beings. All of the lamas see him as a precious jewel… He is a bodhisattva. [Read his biography here.]

Prerequisites:
Prior completion of Ngöndro is required. If you have not yet completed Ngöndro but feel a sincere and compelling connection to this retreat, please contact our office to share your background and request consideration. You must attend the full 10-day retreat.

Streaming:
Tulku Thadral Rinpoche is permitting qualified participants to attend by streaming in real time. There will be no recordings of the sessions to view at a later time. Rinpoche requests that streaming participants attend the full 10 days.

More Information and to Register for The Vajra Essence Retreat

A Share: Taking up Practice in the Tradition of Dudjom

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

Sharing this testament from Charles Smith, who recently completed his Dudjom Tersar Ngondro.  We rejoice with you Charles on this great accomplishment!  

Taking up Practice in the Tradition of Dudjom

 

A Journey of a Ngondro Student

~ DudjomTersarNgondro
There was a subtle and quiet inner knowing that I needed to go to Pema Osel Ling in California, that slowly grew and became more clear over about three years of an online connection. 
It kept returning over years of slowly doing Ngondro accumulations, studying each day, endless reading and learning, and keeping a connection going as best as I could. Joining in. Integrating. Coming and going.
A strange inner pull to take a sacred pilgrimage, that I could not ignore. A heart pull, a different pull that I could not quite explain. The result of experiences of connection, softening, beauty, blessings, transformation, lineage, prayers, practices and these teachers that appeared before me. I fell in love with the prayers and words. I changed in many ways, and I slowly became stronger.
My whole life had become my practice, as imperfect as that may be at times, but devoted and engaged and transforming.
And then the pull to receive Troma Nagmo empowerment there started one year before going. Another reason to go.
But it would mean returning to a place where I had been 30 years before, and where a profound loss had occurred when my Aunt Anne disappeared as a homeless woman on the streets of San Fransisco around 2000, so resistance was there. Not quite wanting to return there. But still I knew that I had to go. 
I had to walk through my fears as they arose, prepare over time, and gather the support that I needed to make the journey.
It was a decision that took courage, and a walking out of the door of my comfort zone, vulnerable and uncertain, into the world. To fully embrace my journey and its challenges, to allow myself to be supported, to handle the difficulties that arose. And arrive.
Flying in over San Fransisco, warm tears fall in fully facing the loss of my Aunt Anne years ago, but reclaiming my place here in a new way. A new happiness replacing the old loss.
The magic of the crazy, winding road through hills of green redwood trees delighted me, and gave me a feeling of joy and freedom, and the kindness that greeted me was so appreciated. I felt a sense of softening and relief during my brief stay, and all that occured happened so easily and meaningfully.
A first and unexpected encounter with Lama Sonam in the shrine room on Saga Dawa, so suddenly appearing, was quickly and briefly embraced, and the opportunity to offer him a white silk khata scarf to honour him and show my deep gratitude for all that I had learned from him over three years was so profound and precious, and deeply felt. It changed me, and brought me a sense of deeper peace in my heart, a calming, having done something I deeply needed to do. So grateful, so fulfilled. At peace, more restful. Offering my appreciation as a humble Ngondro student. Happy tears shed in the shrine room. Feeling so blessed. Knowing that this was an important moment in my life. A deep happiness.
Jumping in to practice with others in the shrine room, and feeling held and supported by older students and a sangha together. Finding my place as myself, as I am, flaws and all. Entering, learning, showing up. The fullness of the experiences in the shrine room bringing it all alive for me, finally. Deeply felt and enciountered. Meeting new heart friends, learning from them, listening to them, being with it all, and then letting go.
The rewards of a journey taken, very much worthwhile, returning to feel more settled, and a deeper peace in my heart. Right timing, and everything coming together with ease and support. Feeling a new peace that was not there before. A difference in my embodiment and sense of self. A heart connection in the world, and trusting a new path.
The journey continues back into the world and in my return, back to being more alone on my path, but stronger, and knowing that I need to return when I can.

Dedicating my merit to my Aunt Anne, who disappeared in homelessness in California many years ago. May she be blessed and protected by the buddhas and bodhisattvas. May this be so.

Submitted by Sarah Marcus, a participant of the Ngondro Program since 2020.