Ngöndro

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Ngöndro (Tib., wylie: sngon 'gro, pronounced "nundro") refers to the preliminary or foundational practices common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bön. The Tibetan term ngöndro literally means "something that goes before, something which proceeds." The preliminary practices are thought of as laying the foundation for higher Vajrayana practices which are believed ultimately to lead to realization and enlightenment.

Contents

[edit] Outer and inner preliminaries

In general the preliminary practices are divided into two sections or kinds: the first are the common or ordinary kind of preliminary practices, and the second are the special or extraordinary kind of preliminaries.

The common or ordinary preliminaries are often referred to as the "four thoughts which turn the mind towards Dharma". These consist of contemplations or meditations on:

  1. the freedoms and advantages of precious human rebirth
  2. the truth of impermanence and change
  3. the workings of karma
  4. the suffering of living beings within Samsara

The special or extraordinary kind of preliminaries consist of :

  1. taking of refuge in the three roots in conjunction with the performance of 100,000 prostrations (purifying pride)
  2. cultivation of bodhicitta (purifying jealousy). In some formulations this is included under #1.
  3. 100,000 recitations of Vajrasattva's hundred-syllable mantra (purifying hatred/aversion)
  4. 100,000 mandala offerings (purifying attachment)
  5. 100,000 guru yoga practices (purifying delusion)

These are a very powerful set of practices which purify negative deeds and accumulate merit. Traditionally ngöndro practice is done for the enlightenment of the spiritual aspirant and for the benefit of all sentient beings. That is, the merit of doing the practices is dedicated to all sentient beings.

[edit] Various ngöndros

Ngöndro is most strongly emphasized in the Karma Kagyu school, although it is also prominent in other Kagyu schools and well as in the Nyingma. Each of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism-- Gelug, Kagyu, Nyingma, and Sakya--as well as the Yungdrung Bön tradition, have variations as to the order of the preliminaries, the refuge trees used, and the lineage gurus and deities invoked.

[edit] Bön

  • Nyam Gyud Ngöndro

[edit] Gelug

  • Lam Rim Ngöndro - sometimes enumerated as having nine rather than five components, with the additional ones being: (6) Dorje Khadro (Vajra Daka) practice, in which black sesame seeds are visualized negativities offered in a fire to the mouth of the fierce deity Dorje Khadro, who consumes them; offering of (7) water bowls, 8) Tsa-tsa (clay or plaster images of the Buddha), and (9) Samaya Vajra (Damtsig Dorje) mantra.

[edit] Kagyu

The various subsects of the Kagyu lineage tend to practice slightly different ngöndro practices.

[edit] Nyingma

  • Lonchen Nyingthig Ngöndro
  • Dudjom Tersar Ngöndro
  • Chokling Tersar Ngöndro
  • Könchok Chidü Ngöndro
  • Rangjung Pema Nyingthig Ngöndro

[edit] Sakya

  • Sakya Ngöndro


In the Shambhala Buddhist community, a Primordial Rigden Ngöndro written by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is practiced as a preliminary to various terma-derived practices received by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Practioners later go on to practice the Karma Kagyu ngöndro and/or one of the Nyingma ngöndro practices.

[edit] The practice of ngöndros

Like other vajrayana practices, ngöndro was once held in greater secrecy than today. Fifty years ago the only westerners that would have known about Ngöndro would have been Himalayan seekers such as John Blofeld, Heinrich Harrer, and Alexandra David-Neel. Today, with the spread of Tibetan Buddhism to the West, there are many practitioners working on different stages of ngöndro at the various Tibetan Buddhist centers in the West, in addition to practitioners at centers and monasteries in Tibet, Nepal, Ladakh, India and Bhutan.

[edit] References

Blofeld, John. The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet. Prajna Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1982

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Ngondro Commentary: Instructions for the Concise Preliminary Practices of the New Treasure of Dudjom. Padma Publishing, Junction City, CA., 1995.

Jamgon Kongtrul. (trans. by Judith Hanson). The Torch of Certainty. Shambhala Publications, 1994. (This is a classic text by the great 19th century polymath, Jamgon Kongtrul the Great, with contemporary commentaries by Kalu Rinpoche, Deshung Rinpoche, and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

Kalu Rinpoche. The Foundations of Tibetan Buddhism: The Gem Ornament of Manifold Oral Instructions Which Benefits Each and Everyone Appropriately. Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York,1999.

[edit] External links

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