Kalachakra Ngondro Program | MODULE 3: Refuge & Prostrations
ONLINE. This program will be in English. We will not be able to offer live translations in any other language, however, we can offer access to the practice texts in various languages. Please send in your registration at the bottom as soon as you decide to register so that we can plan accordingly.
Later registration and start is possible because the sessions are recorded. Moreover, there are no prerequisites for Module 3. You can register directly even if you did not participate in Modules 1 and 2. In case you want to have access to the previous Modules 1 and 2, please write to [email protected]
Do not miss out on this opportunity to practice during the auspicious first weeks of LOSAR and accumulate huge stores of merit!
Taking Refuge & Prostrations
Weekend Webinar: 16th – 18th February
VIENNA TIME (CET)
FRIDAY 16th February
18.30 – 20.00
SATURDAY 17th February
10.00 – 11.30
14.00 – 15:30
18.30 – 20.00
SUNDAY 18th February
10.00 – 11.30
+ 2 Practice Sessions (Wednesdays: February 21st and 28th, 18.30 – 20:00)
+ Homework
+ 1 Group Discussion on Wednesday 6th March (18.30 – 20.00)
DESCRIPTION:
Taking Refuge: The first obstacle to practicing a path is the belief that we can do it on our own. To overcome this pride, we engage in the practice of taking refuge in the Three Jewels while making physical prostrations. This ensures we have the necessary supports for practice, while the prostrations purify the subtle channel system, allowing the winds to flow more effectively. When the winds are free from obstruction, it is considerably easier to meditate and achieve states of meditative concentration.
On the provisional level, we make prayers and prostrations to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha with strong confidence and with the motivation to ultimately liberate all beings. On the ultimate level, we are taking refuge in our own Buddha-nature, our innate potential to manifest full enlightenment. In this way, we work with the provisional refuge as a mirror to reflect the definitive refuge.
We will learn in detail the visualizations of the Jonang lineage and their meanings while accumulating merit and purifying negativity by prostrating ourselves to the Jonang-Kalachakra Refuge Field.
In this Module, we will also be introduced to a second Kalachakra Sadhana, “Enlightening the Heart”, composed by Rinpoché for the benefit of his Western students.
About the KALACHAKRA NGONDRO PROGRAM
About the KALACHAKRA NGONDRO PROGRAM
The Kalachakra Ngondro Program is a 2-year long program created for students who want to deepen themselves in the Kalachakra Path in a structured, step-by-step guided process.
The Ngondro — also called the “Preliminary Practices” — prepares you to uncover your own Buddha nature. If you want to completely unveil this perfect nature, the Kalachakra Ngondro prepares you for the very subtle and profound yogic practices of the Completion Stage called the ‘Six Vajra Yogas’ of the Kalachakra Tantra. You can benefit by doing the Kalachakra Ngondro even if you do not aspire to engage in serious meditation practices of the Kalachakra Completion Stage in this lifetime.
Shar Khentrul Rinpoché offers a flexible approach in order to embrace a variety of practitioners because being fixed on only one traditional way may not be a match for everyone. Developing familiarization with the Kalachakra Ngondro practices can be adjusted individually according to your own personal inclination.
Rafa Lobsang Dorje from Kalapa received 2018 Rinpoché’s encouragement to teach the Kalachakra Ngondro and will kindly lead this program.
Requirements
The program is open to all. There are no formal prerequisites for Modules 1 – 7.
Although we encourage step-by-step participation, you are allowed to directly register for any module (except modules 8 and 9).
Generally speaking, the Kalachakra Ngondro Program is for you if you wish for long-term and regular support in your dharma practice, regardless if you are starting now or if you have been practicing previously. More specifically, modules 1-7 are shaped to help you prepare for receiving the 1st set of Kalachakra Empowerments (“Seven Empowerments of a Growing Child”), also known as the Kalachakra Initiation, and for receiving in the future the “Kalachakra Four Higher Empowerments” if you so aspire. That being said, you are more than welcome to just drop in to make a first connection and see how the practice reverberates with you — in this case, the modules 1 – 4 may be more suitable.
We encourage all new participants to get a copy of Shar Khentrul Rinpoché’s books; Unveiling Your Sacred Truth, The Hidden Treasure of the Profound Path and the Practice Book The Profound Path of Vajra Yoga, as these will be the main references for our program.
Optionally, in case you are waiting for the module to start, you are encouraged to read Rinpoché’s other books, such as Ocean of Diversity and The Realm of Shambhala.
Structure of the Modules
The program follows the structure of the Kalachakra Path as presented by the Jonang-Kalachakra Tradition of Tibetan Buddhsim. It is divided into Outer Preliminaries (2 modules), Inner Preliminaries (5 modules), and Unique Preliminaries (2 modules).
Each module includes a weekend-webinar of teachings and practice led by an authorized Ngongdro Teacher and by practices guided by other senior students approved by Rinpoché, followed by two group practice sessions of ca. 90 min. each and one Dharma discussion session where questions can be addressed to the Ngondro Teacher and where you can exchange with other participants. The schedule of the weekend-webinar may vary slightly from module to module.
Registration
Register below. Before the module starts, please make sure to send an e-mail to [email protected] briefly answering the following questions (only in case you did not yet send them when registering for another previous module). Your registration will be automatic and do not depend on the answers provided. The questions below are just for us shaping the module to registered participants.
1. What are your Motivations for participating in this program? What are your goals?
2. Do you have the aspiration to participate in more than one module or in all of the modules?
3. Are you a student of Shar Khentrul Rinpoché? If yes, which online empowerment(s), retreat(s) or course(s) have you completed with Rinpoché or with one of his authorized Teachers? Please include details about them, including dates etc. if applicable.
4. This program is open also to beginners. You can join even if you never practiced any spiritual path at all. Just in case you have something to share about your previous spiritual path, including both Buddhist Studies or Practices and from other traditions as well, please write them in a summarized form, if applicable.
5. Do you have any specific questions or doubts about the Kalachakra Ngondro Program?
Speaker
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Rafa Lobsang DorjeRafa Lobsang Dorje (Rafael Nassif) started his contact with Buddhism in 2008, after practicing in other systems of spiritual practice in his homeland Brazil. In Europe, India and Tibet he had precious opportunities to receive teachings, transmissions and empowerments from masters from almost all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and from the Theravada Tradition as well, and took part in different group and solitary retreats. He was fortunate to met his precious Guru Jamphel Lodrö (Khentrul Rinpoche) in Austria in 2015, from whom he has been receiving a vast and profound wealth of Dharma, from the foundational subjects until the Kalachakra Vajra Yogas. Since 2016 he has been teaching Lu Jong (Tibetan Healing Yoga). In 2018 he received from Rinpoche authorization and encouragement to teach the Dharma. Recently he reduced his professional activities as a composer in order to serve the altruistic ideals of his Guru as a full-time volunteer. He serves the community a.o. as a translator, editor, and coordinator of translation groups, and as a retreat leader and program coordinator.