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Ngöndro

Foundation Practices of Vajrayana Buddhism

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Ngondro

Ngöndro Posted on June 15, 2020 by ngopracJune 15, 2020

The word “ngondro” literally means “preliminary”. Ngondro refers to practices which establish the foundations of spiritual progress. (Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. The Excellent Path to Enlightenment. Boulder, Colorado: Snow Lion, 1996. p. 119.)

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Foundation or Preliminary Practices

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 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. (Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche)

Foundation Practices

 

Common Foundations (that cultivate the field of one’s mindstream with the four practices for turning the mind)

  1. Reflecting on the difficulty of finding the freedoms and advantages of a human birth
  2. Reflecting on death and impermanence
  3. Reflecting on the defects of cyclic existence
  4. Reflecting on the unfailing law of actions: cause and effect

 

The Uncommon, Special Foundations (that sow the seeds of the profound path in four stages)

  1. Taking Refuge, the entrance to the Path, and arousing the mind set on supreme enlightenment, the root of the whole Path
  2. Purifying negative actions and obscurations, which are unfavorable conditions on the Path; instructions on the meditation of Vajrasattva
  3. Gathering the accumulations, which are favorable conditions on the Path; the way to offer the Mandala
  4. Training in Guru Yoga and receiving the teacher’s blessings, the heart of the whole Path

 

Source: Rinpoche, Dudjom. A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom. Shambhala. Kindle Edition.

 

 

Ngondro: The Foundation

 

Ngondro provides the foundation for all Buddhist practice until enlightenment.

The Buddha taught eighty-four thousand methods of taming the mind. We would have difficulty listening to eighty-four thousand different teachings, let alone applying them as practices.

Ngondro condenses the essence of all of these into a few practices that are relatively easy to accomplish and profoundly transformative.

The meditative realization gained through ngondro continues as an integral support of practice, particularly Vajrayana practice.

 

Source: Tromge, Jane. Ngondro Commentary: Instructions for the Concise Preliminary Practices. Padma Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Pondering the Ngondro

Pondering the Ngondro

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    • Four Foundations
  • Meditation: The Vital Key
    • Dzogchen and Mahamudra
    • Meditation and Post-Meditation
    • Coemergent Mind
  • [1] Precious Human Existence
    • Meditation: Precious Human Birth
  • [2] Impermanence/Death
    • Meditation: Impermanence & Death
  • [3] Karma
    • Meditation: Karma
  • [4] Suffering
    • Meditation: Suffering
  • [5] Taking Refuge
    • Bodhicitta
  • [6] Purification
    • Purification and Vajrasattva
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    • Guru Yoga (continued)
  • All the Preliminary Practices
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The Eight Steps of the Foundation Practices

The foundation practices of Tibetan Buddhism are a sequence of eight steps that map out a path of self-discovery.

They help us recognize the diamond that we’ve had all along, and this discovery is what we mean by “waking up.”

These steps lead away from habits that cause confusion and unhappiness, and lead toward the clarity of our true nature.

In Tibetan, the foundation practices are called ngondro, which means, “that which comes first,” and the traditional translation refers to “preliminary practices.”

Yet too often “preliminary” has been used to diminish the importance of ngondro. For this reason I prefer to say “foundation.”

Building a house requires a strong foundation. Without solid underpinnings our house will topple, and all the time, money, and energy that we spent will be wasted.

This explains why the masters always emphasized that these first steps are more important than the subsequent practices.

Ngondro contains the essential principles that reemerge through all Buddhist teachings, such as those regarding no-self, impermanence, and suffering.

It can transform concepts about compassion, karma, and emptiness from interesting theories into direct experience. It can change the way you think about yourself, how you understand your own capabilities, and how you relate to others.

The possibilities introduced by ngondro are so vast and profound that if you try to comprehend the whole of it, it may seem overwhelming. For this reason, it’s important to remember that ngondro works step by step.

(Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Turning Confusion into Clarity: A Guide to the Foundation Practices of Tibetan Buddhism)

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