All teachings by Khandro Déchen or Ngak’chang Rinpoche

A blind alley

Khandro Déchen Apprentice: Recently I’ve begun to struggle with anything other than shi-nè (which has also become more inconsistent). I’ve also been …

Accountability

The Vajrayana Ethos of the Five Precepts

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen For anyone who has been concerned by the revelations of abuse in the world of Vajrayana Buddhism, here is a text from our Lineage Lamas outlining the five precept guidelines by which they, and all the Aro gTér teachers, abide.

a conduit of transmission

Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice I have noticed that you get onto apprentices about small particulars and wondered why? I’m not complaining or anything, …

. . . and the art of ballistics

Ngak’chang Rinpoche ‘ . . . all you accomplish, is a preferable environment in which to find the empty moment in which …

an extract from Ngak’chang Rinpoche’s book ‘Goodbye for Ever - the Memoirs of an English Lama

A teaching from Kyabjé Düd’jom Rinpoche Jig’drèl Yeshé Dorje

Ngak’chang Rinpoche Kyabjé Düd’jom Rinpoche began:
“gÇèrdröl, shardröl, and rangdröl. These are methods within the drol-lug-zhi: the four modes of liberation. First mode …

Apologises for being English

Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice I have had some awful misunderstandings with friends and people I like very much and I wonder if you …

a rabid domestic terrorist

Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice I have been thinking a lot about the subject of—I do not really know what to call it now—of …

A room of my own: Ngakpa Chogyam

14 April 1985

Ngak’chang Rinpoche The Observer published a two-page full-color article on Ngakpa Chögyam (Ngak’chang Rinpoche) with a detailed description of his shrine room, …

Aspiration power

thug-mön – thugs sMon pranidhana paramita – vectoral verve

Khandro Déchen Thugmön (thugs sMon) the mind of aspiration – more generally referred to as mönlam (sMon lam), the path of aspiration, …

Being Politic

‘ . . . one big diplomat’

Ngak’chang Rinpoche Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche once told me that I was ‘ . . . one big diplomat’. This was not a …

being touched by poignancy

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice Sometimes there is something almost unbearable about it. The poignancy of human life. So many things. The sadness of …

Busy life as a reincarnated Tibetan yogi

21 May 1992

Ngak’chang Rinpoche “Busy life as a reincarnated Tibetan yogi,” a profile of Ngak’chang Rinpoche, was published on May 21st, 1992, in the …

Calamity Jane

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I am aware that I am not very brave – but I would like to be brave. I seem …

career Buddhists

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I think something strange happens to people when they become involved with religions. I have this feeling because I …

Celebrate every aspect of each other

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Prospective apprentices You said that trust and respect are essential in relationship—could you say more about that—just so that we …

cheerfully and without resenting yourself

Khandro Déchen Apprentice . . . You are right. I am going through a lot of conflict. It was just that I …

Children and Pemakö

Establishing Lhundrüp Tobgyé Ling

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Lhundrüp Tobgyé Ling is the shortened form of Nga’gyür Yoga’i Drüp-dé Lhundrüp Tobgyé Ling ‘Early-translation Yogic Meditation College where Strength is Gained Spontaneously’. It is a Ngak’phang Dratsang for children – a place where boys and girls from the Pemakö region can receive both a secular education and training which will prepare them—should it be their long-term desire—to become ordained ngakpas and ngakmas.

Death

We live our lives as if death were years away, and this is a denial of reality.

Khandro Déchen I worked as a nurse for fifteen years—the last seven of which were in cancer hospice care—so I feel it …

Defining heresy

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Heresy is not a popular word, in terms of criticising religious trends. It does not lend itself to the ‘feel …

Defining the word ‘sangha’

The two divisions of the sangha of ordained practitioners

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen There are various definitions of gendün or sangha which give a sense of the position and authentic dignity of the …

demented delight

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice When I told you that I was sad but that maybe I understood something – i.e. I’m sad because …

Depression is the postern

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I do tend to get overwhelmed, and worry intensely about things . . .
Khandro Déchen If you see this …

Diligence

tsöndrü – brTson ’grus – virya paramita

Khandro Déchen Diligence—tsöndrü (brTson ’grus – virya paramita) was described by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche as energy. It could also be described as …

Discipline

tsultrim – tshul khrims – shila paramita

Khandro Déchen Exploration of discipline (tshul khrims / shila paramita / ethics or morality) in Dzogchen, considering it as naturally arising energy or spontaneous compassionate activity. Discusses the role of the Lama, overcoming habit patterns, and acknowledging ambivalence towards practice and realisation.

Drala Jong Interview with Ngak’chang Rinpoche and Khandro Déchen

16 May 2015

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen An interview with Ngak'chang Rinpoche and Khandro Déchen on the subject of Drala Jong, a retreat center. The interview explores the importance of the physical environment and its impact on spiritual practice, as well as the ideal characteristics of a retreat center. The content provides insights into the transformative power of a dedicated space and the need for flexibility in accommodating different activities.

Drinking the wine of the situation

Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice Rinpoche, you said that in the practice of shi-nè, when either physical pain or pleasure arises, I should merely …

Düd’jom

tobacco - the demonic carcinogen with tacit government sanction

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen We enthusiastically express our unending devotion to Kyabjé Düd’jom Rinpoche, Jig’drèl Yeshé Dorje—Mahasiddha and luminary gTértön of the 20th century. …

Embracing Emotions as the Path

Colours and Elements in Tantric Psychology

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Only through direct experience can we begin to perceive our world differently. Philosophical speculations and intellectual conjectures that are not …

Empowerment and the four kayas

Ngak’chang Rinpoche Ngak’chang Rinpoche recorded at the San Francisco Shambhala Center, March 2007. A 14-minute talk.

Empowerment & Transmission

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen The fundamental damtsig is to sustain the experience of transmission through practice—and ultimately, in every moment.
The Tibetan word for empowerment …