The United States

Invocation of Yeshe Walmo
with Geshe Denma Gyaltsen

At Serenity Ridge, we close the last practice of each day by reciting the “Invocation of Yeshe Walmo. Doing so, we envoke this enlightened protector of Yungdrung Bön to guide and protect us at every level. It is a practice that we have always kept close to our hearts at Serenity Ridge and also at many other of Ligmincha’s retreat centers worldwide.

This practice may be new to many of you who have not been to our center’s in-person retreats. If you are not familiar with Yeshe Walmo or with her invocation, we strongly encourage you to attend this half day event! And if you do know the practice, this is a great time to get closer to her through the deep wisdom and kindness of Geshe Denma!

The term “invocation” generally means “to call upon.” However, the Tibetan term is külpa [Tib. bskul pa], more specifically meaning “to arouse” or “to call to action.” Therefore, this prayer is clearly used to call upon the enlightened protector Yéshe Walmo to quickly act on our behalf.

In the final line of the prayer, Yéshe Walmo is called upon to “pacify all obstacles and causes of disharmony without exception, into the vastness of outer, inner and secret space!” The Tibetan text specifically refers to these three spaces, kha long ying [Tib. mkha’ klong dbyings]. This indicates the ability of Yéshe Walmo to support the practitioner by destroying obstacles that range from being obvious and external to the subtlest obstacles of mind. Nothing is beyond her capability. That power combined with the doubtless trust of the practitioner can bring immediate action and support as expressed in this concise and powerful prayer.

Schedule (New York Time):
Sunday, June 5
10:00 a.m.–11:15 a.m. Teaching
11:15 a.m.–11:45 a.m. Break
11:45 a.m.–01:00 p.m. Teaching

This event will be held online and in-person at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center.

For those attending our online summer retreat on the Seven Mirrors with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, we warmly invite you to attend the online retreat for a special discount of $20. Use the discount code SUMMER during the registration process.

RETREAT – Online via Zoom

The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen Practice Retreat

with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for the annual two-week Summer Retreat at Serenity Ridge in Virginia or online via Zoom. The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen is an essential text of the Tibetan Bön dzogchen tradition, which directly introduces us to the clear, open awareness that is our true nature and offers methods for maintaining a connection to the natural state. The text was composed by Drenpa Namkha, a great Tibetan meditation master of the late seventh/early eighth century.

In this summer’s two-week retreat, Rinpoche will guide us to recognize and rest in our true nature, engaging selected practices and meditations from the Seven Mirrors text.

Newcomers and experienced practitioners are equally welcome to attend this retreat! The emphasis on practice will allow experiences and realization to deepen in the warmth of our collective practice. Through the power of these teachings and the warmth of our practice, may we realize the radiant, clear light of our true nature and act for the benefit of others in authentic, kind and wise ways!

Week 1: June 18 – 25, 2022 Newcomers are encouraged to attend!
Week 2: June 26 – July 2, 2022

This retreat will be held both in-person at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, and online.

Recommended Reading: The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen: Teachings and Commentary on an Ancient Dzogchen Text, by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (2022, Sacred Sky Press)

Recommended Ligmincha Learning Course: Starting a Meditation Practice, Parts 1 & 2

RETREAT at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, Virginia

The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen Practice Retreat

with Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Join Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche for the annual two-week Summer Retreat at Serenity Ridge in Virginia or online via Zoom. The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen is an essential text of the Tibetan Bön dzogchen tradition, which directly introduces us to the clear, open awareness that is our true nature and offers methods for maintaining a connection to the natural state. The text was composed by Drenpa Namkha, a great Tibetan meditation master of the late seventh/early eighth century.

In this summer’s two-week retreat, Rinpoche will guide us to recognize and rest in our true nature, engaging selected practices and meditations from the Seven Mirrors text.

Newcomers and experienced practitioners are equally welcome to attend this retreat! The emphasis on practice will allow experiences and realization to deepen in the warmth of our collective practice. Through the power of these teachings and the warmth of our practice, may we realize the radiant, clear light of our true nature and act for the benefit of others in authentic, kind and wise ways!

Week 1: June 18–25, 2022 Newcomers are encouraged to attend!
Plan to arrive June 18 between 4-6 p.m. for registration/check in

Week 2: June 26–July 2, 2022
Plan to arrive June 25 between 4-6 p.m. for registration/check in

To allow for more guests to come in person, we ask you to limit your choice to a single preferred week. To register, please sign up for the Registration List (“Join Waiting List”) for your preferred week. Should you wish to join us for both weeks, please fill out the Waitlist for adding a second week (depending on availability). You will be contacted by the registrar to complete the registration process.

Pre-registration is required. Onsite registration will not be possible.

Due to Covid-19 protocols currently in place, onsite participation at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center is currently limited to 50 retreatants total, and a covid policy in place. More information is provided during the registration process. 

This retreat will be held both in-person at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, and online.

Recommended Reading: The Seven Mirrors of Dzogchen: Teachings and Commentary on an Ancient Dzogchen Text, by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (2022, Sacred Sky Press)

Recommended Ligmincha Learning Course: Starting a Meditation Practice, Parts 1 & 2

There will be live Spanish translations for Week 1.

COURSE

Sleep Yoga: The Yoga of Clear Light

with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

We spend one-third of our life in sleep, yet for most people sleep is a period of unconsciousness. Through the practices of the Yoga of Clear Light we can learn to be completely aware during our sleep, open, clear, resting in deep meditative presence. But how do we get from our current stress and disrupted sleep patterns to the state of clear light?

This course will introduce simple techniques to enter into sleep in a healthy, balanced way. Even if we do not consistently enter into clear light sleep, we can benefit from a refreshing, relaxed sleep that gives us deep renewal. This is supported by breathing techniques, physical postures and guided visualizations. Tenzin Rinpoche will also provide a meditation to wake up in a beautiful way, feeling the blessings of sleep and stepping into our day with serenity. Through these simple practices we can transform our sleep to be one of tranquility and awareness.

RETREAT

THE TWENTY-ONE NAILS: A PRACTICE RETREAT

with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

The teachings of the Twenty-One Nails are a direct expression of enlightenment – our natural mind. Each nail describes this natural state from a different point of view. These views are called “nails” or “seals” because they stabilize the experience-based understanding of the natural state. These teachings are said to have come directly from the original Buddha, Küntu Zangpo, passed down to eight successive Buddhas, and then orally to 24 human Bon lineage holders, all yogis and siddhas. They were first written down by Yangton Sherap Gyaltsen in the eleventh century. The teachings have been passed on in unbroken succession to our teachers at the present time: Yongdzin Sangye Tenzin, His Holiness Lungtok Tenpai Nyima Rinpoche,

The teachings and practices presented by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche provide an exceptional gateway for those newly interested to experience the wisdom and practicality of the Bon teachings. For those already connected to Bon, it is a precious opportunity to be with Tenzin Rinpoche and deepen study and practice. We invite everyone to join us in Buchenau this summer.

COURSE

Transforming Our Emotions Through the Six Lokas

with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

This meditation course will give you a thorough introduction to the Six Lokas practices of the Tibetan Bön Buddhist tradition.

At one time or another each of us suffer strong emotions that throw us off balance, cause us to act in ways that we later regret, and make us lose touch with our true nature. Centuries ago the masters of the Bön lineage developed the meditations of the Six Lokas specifically to remedy this situation, to help us live our lives in a balanced and relaxed way.

The meditations focus on the root causes of our suffering: anger, desire, greed, ignorance, jealousy, pride and laziness. Through each meditation we examine our habitual patterns so that we may recognize them, then invoke the enlightened energy of the Buddhas to purify and transform us so that we and all other beings might not continue to suffer in this way. The practices have a deep healing and transformative power, and are traditionally practiced at length as a preliminary to dzogchen contemplation.

Registration is now open

COURSE

Treasures of Bön: History, Lineage & Practices

with Geshe Denma Gyaltsen and John Jackson

Bön counts itself among the oldest spiritual traditions in the world. With origins steeped in an oral, shamanic tradition and yet deeply rooted in teachings of the buddha Tonpa Shenrap, the buddha who preceded Shakyamuni Buddha. Bön offers practices for the challenges we face in our lives, and a complete path to enlightenment..

Ligmincha International is pleased to share our online course designed for anyone who would like to learn more about, or deepen their existing knowledge about this ancient, profound tradition. This course is ideal for beginners who have recently connected with Bön teachings, and want to know more about where it comes from and the many varied forms of practice in the tradition. It is also well suited for practitioners who have learned several practices and would like to know how all the practices fit together into a beautiful and complete system of philosophies and meditations.

We use a new format for this course, in which Geshe Denma Gyaltsen, our resident lama of Ligmincha Texas, and John Jackson, mentor for many of our courses and frequent international teacher, enter into deep conversations around the essential masters and teachings of our tradition. Each topical conversation is followed by a guided meditation, led by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche or Geshe Denma Gyaltsen , which illustrate and demonstrate the themes discussed.

John Jackson will be the mentor for this course.

Registration is now open.

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will continue teaching on the A-Tri cycle of pith dzogchen teachings. The A-Tri cycle is a unique step-by-step system to introduce and deepen one’s realization through the path of dzogchen. We plan for this to be a hybrid event, with teachings taking place in Crestone, Colorado and also shared online live via Zoom. Those who were not able to attend Part 1 of this cycle will be able to purchase access to video recordings of the Part 1 teachings in 2021 and review them prior to this retreat.

The Chamma Ling team is hard at work planning this event.  Registration opening soon.