Introduction to Ngondro: The Four Thoughts

Welcome to Dawn Mountain’s Introduction to Ngondro course!  Ngondro, or Foundational Practices, are the specific contemplative trainings that Tibetan Buddhists traditionally do before receiving teachings on tantra and Dzogchen or other esoteric practices.  (For more detail, please click here for Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche’s excellent introduction to Ngondro.) Ngondro consists of both outer and inner practices.  This course focuses on the outer preliminaries, the Four Thoughts that turn the mind from samsara.  These provide an important foundation for whatever type of Buddhist practice you’re interested in.  The inner preliminaries of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage–the one we follow at Dawn Mountain–consist of refuge, bodhichitta, Vajrasattva, mandala offerings, and Guru Yoga.  These will be available in four additional courses you’ll be eligible to take once you’ve finished this one. We hope that these materials will help you understand the benefits of doing Ngondro, appreciate the meaning of the various components of the practice, and feel energized to begin the process of accumulating the practices.  You’ll find videos and recommended reading associated with each of these Four Thoughts, and you can also find suggestions for how to work the Four Thoughts into your meditation practice and spend some quality time with them.

Course Instructor

Claire Villarreal Author