Drikung 5-folds Path of Mahamudra Preliminary Practice"
"In my view the Ngöndro is far more profound than all other practices."
—Lord Jigten Sumgön, founder of the Drikung Kagyu lineage
The preliminaries (called “Ngöndro” in Tibetan) make our mind workable for practice. Doing this practice is like preparing a field so that crops may grow there. If a field is unprepared to bear crops, then no matter how precious the seeds to be planted, they will be useless. Similarly, although we might receive very precious and profound instructions, if our minds are not properly prepared, those instructions will not be useful. Thus, all schools of Tibetan Buddhism engage in the immeasurably important preliminary practices. The specific practices include prostrations, taking refuge, purification practices, making offerings to the Three Jewels and Three Roots, and so forth.
The preliminary practices should never be viewed as lesser because they are "preliminary," for they may become the main part of our practice. It is actually sufficient to engage in these exact practices for our entire lives. To participate in Preliminary Practice requires empowerment or transmission, which can be provided by our resident teacher, Ven. Dorzin Dhondrup Rinpoche. Please feel free to contact the centre for more details.
