All teachings by Khandro Déchen
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.
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, …
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 …
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 Discipline (tshul khrims / shila paramita / ethics or morality), according to Dzogchen, can also be spoken of as energy …
Düd’jom
tobacco - the demonic carcinogen with tacit government sanction
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen We enthusiastically express our unending devotion to His Holiness Düd’jom Rinpoche, Jig’drèl Yeshé Dorje—Mahasiddha and luminary gTértön of the 20th …
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 & 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 …
Enraged Buddhism
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen “I’m an engaged Buddhist.” “Congratulations – when is the wedding day?”Buddhism has been engaged from the beginning. There has never …
Generosity
jinpa – sByin pa – dana paramita
Khandro Déchen The Paramitas—ultimately—are actions which are free from the crimp of duality – actions which arise spontaneously from the non-dual state. …
If I am a practitioner
Khandro Déchen Being simple does not mean that one becomes monochromatic.Being simple does not mean being stunted in our appreciation of everything …
Interviews of Aro gTér lamas
From Steve James' Guru Viking podcast
Ngak’chang Rinpoche, Khandro Déchen, Bar-ché Dorje, Mé-tsal Wangmo, Ja'gyür Dorje & Sang-gyé A-tsal Ep8: Ngakpa ChögyamIn this interview I am joined by Ngakpa Chögyam a blues loving, horse riding Ngakpa, who with …
Kindness & Compassion
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen interviewed by Naljorma Jig’mèd Khyungtsal PamoQuestioner Ngak’chang Rinpoche, Khandro Déchen, how can one work with oneself when one finds …
Knowledge
shérab – shes rab – prajna paramita
Khandro Déchen Shérab (shes rab) means intelligence or insight. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche called it: ‘. . . the all – seeing eye, …
Living the View
"We are form and emptiness—emptiness and form."
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Our advice is to deliberately name everything which moves you to smiles, laughter, or tears as Padmasambhava or Yeshé Tsogyel—because …
Living the View
"The idea is to find the ambivalence in every situation and stay with it – know it, feel it, taste it."
Khandro Déchen Living the view means living with the knowledge that Vajrayana is not separate from the stream of reality that you …
Mature and immature tolerance
Part 1 of an interview with the lineage holders by Lama Shardröl, 31 December 1997.
Ngak’chang Rinpoche, Khandro Déchen & Shardröl Du-nyam Wangmo This is the first half of an interview originally published in Vision magazine in 1998 (issue 11). The second half, …
Method
Thab (thabs – skilful means, compassionate activity)
Khandro Déchen Thabs—method—is the way of unconditioned appropriate responsiveness to nowness. Method is the response to space. Because pure perception is not …
Openness
bSam gTan – dhyana paramita – meditative stability
Khandro Déchen Samten (bSam gTan – dhyana – concentration) is defined as Tsé gÇig Nyon-mong ’méd (rTse gCig nyon mongs med) meditative …
Owl precepts Q&A part 1 - killing
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Question Rinpoche—in terms of the precept of avoiding killing—what is meant by ‘Tantrikas extend themselves to others . . . …
Owl precepts Q&A part 2 - stealing
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Question I think a lot of us have been concerned about exploitation and not wanting to be part of exploitation …
Owl precepts Q&A part 3 - adulteration
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Question This is usually spoken of as sexual misconduct isn’t it?Ngak’chang Rinpoche Usually.
Q And so I have always wondered exactly …
Owl precepts Q&A part 4 - falsehood
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Question Rinpoche, in terms of avoiding contentious speech . . . how does debate function in a Buddhist school where …
Owl precepts Q&A part 5 - intoxication
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen The ’ug gDong mKha’ ’gro sNying thig mDo is a pattern that spreads from the point-instant of awareness to all …
Patience
zopa – bZod pa – kshanti paramita
Khandro Déchen Ngak’chang Rinpoche was once travelling by car to a retreat with our disciple Naljorma Jig’mèd. They became embroiled in a …
Primordial Wisdom
yeshé – ye she – jnana paramita
Khandro Déchen Yeshé is primordially good. Kunkhyen Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche—in discussing the subject of ‘basic goodness’—speaks of it as a reflection of …