E-mailing the Lamas from Afar
Aro gTér lamas reply to the e-mail questions of their students, questions which concern the full range of the students' lies, from the fine points of Buddhist teachings to the nitty-gritty details of relationship, work, family life and interpersonal conflict. They demonstrate, through concrete examples, the unconditional applicability of Vajrayana Buddhist teachings and practice to all realms of experience.
For more Q&As, please see:
The hell of being a practitioner
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice Why is it that I can see, in my practice of shi-nè, exactly how my mind works, but I …
Just a nyam?
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I had an interesting experience recently. I sat in our dining room looking out into a glowering dark blue …
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 …
Strange and unbelievable
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice Why does enthusiasm come and go? It is not that I am not enthusiastic as an apprentice—it’s the best …
Sudden enlightenment
Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice People talk about satori, sudden enlightenment, glimpses of enlightenment. I tend to be a bit suspicious of these things—what …
The ‘ten second problem’
Khandro Déchen Apprentice I would like to ask you about practice. Why is it that my practice is often such a contrast …
there you have it
Shardröl Du-nyam Wangmo Apprentice I can see all my ‘bad’ habits happening quite frequently. Several times a day, in fact. It is excessively …
when we forget to ‘do samsara’
Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice Rinpoche, when you were teaching at Pema ’ö-Sel Ling, you said that one could be inspired by natural phenomena …
motivation is always mixed
Khandro Déchen Apprentice Could you say something about finding a balance between perfectionism in Dharma projects on one extreme, and on the …
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 …
you are braver than you think you are
Khandro Déchen Apprentice I would like some advice about how I deal with my emotions, and the conceptual disarray that has comes …
some of them should be manacled
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Prospective apprentice There is an impression I have from being around your sangha that I have not found elsewhere – …
“I do” – one way or another
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice A man at the recent public retreat asked me about who authorises or vouches for Lamas in the Nyingma …
trust in the humor of the situation
Khandro Déchen Apprentice When you’re in a situation where you’re experiencing ambivalence or resistance . . . you said that I should …
personal magic
Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice Can I ask a question about magic and what is meant by magic? People seem to use the word …
the surrogate compassion of an arrogant dharmite
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I am used to hearing teachings which continually emphasise compassion—and since I became an apprentice I have been aware …
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, …
we thought we had no spare time left
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Prospective apprentice Is it feasible for a man or woman with a career, children, and family obligations to practise Vajrayana? …
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 …
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 …
shifting experiential norms
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice You mentioned, in relation to compassion, the concept of ‘shifting experiential norms’. Would you explain how that functions?Lamas It …
some sort of syrupy saint
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I have read books by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche where he mentions ‘idiot compassion’. Can you say something about that? …
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 …
cheerfully and without resenting yourself
Khandro Déchen Apprentice . . . You are right. I am going through a lot of conflict. It was just that I …
King Kong
Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice At the last apprentice retreat you spoke of ‘daring’ and how it was a quality that was needed in …
spurn dejection at every turn
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I had been expecting a telephone call this week—a call which had not arrived—until I suddenly realised that they …
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 …
it’s not British, you know
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I get a bit worried sometimes—not all the time—by what is said of the Mahasiddhas. Whenever I read about …
naturalness is relaxing into the present moment
Ngak’chang Rinpoche Apprentice Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche spoke often about ‘now’ and ‘nowness’ – and he brought it into many different contexts. Is …
sequentiality still exists, simply of itself
Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Prosepective apprentice The Lama at the centre feels that his real rôle is to help students recognise what their path …Forthcoming events with Ngak’chang Rinpoche or Khandro Déchen:
US Visit
Apprentice and public retreats
Retreat with Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen.New York/New Jersey In-person only
Tue Sept. 2, 2025 - Tue Sept. 16, 2025
Tsog'khorlo
Teaching with Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen.UK Online only Apprentices only
Mon April 7, 2025, 5PM UTC - 7PM UTC
Tsog'khorlo
Teaching with Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen.UK Online only Apprentices only
Wed May 7, 2025, 5PM UTC - 7PM UTC
More pages by Ngak’chang Rinpoche or Khandro Déchen:
Embracing Emotions as the Path
Colours and Elements in Tantric Psychology
Empowerment and the four kayas
Empowerment & Transmission
Books by Ngak’chang Rinpoche or Khandro Déchen:
E-mailing the Lamas from Afar
Heart Advice from Two Buddhist Teachers to Their Students
Entering the Heart of the Sun and Moon
Goodbye Forever - Volume 1
Miscellaneous Memoirs of an English Lama