Ngöndro Series : Mandala Practice

Ngöndro Series

Ngöndro is a series of practices taught in every school of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The practice of Ngöndro helps clear away obstacles and strengthens the accumulation of merit and wisdom. Gradually body and mind are ripened with view, meditation, and experience conducive to forward momentum in understanding and direct experience.  

Ngöndro consists of two categories of practice: 

• the ‘outer preliminaries’ of The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to Dharma (precious human birth, impermanence and death, karma and the defects of samsara). Students work individually, guided by Lama Lekshe or Teacher George for this practice for about 7 hours over time.

• and the ‘inner preliminaries’ of Refuge, Vajrasattva Practice, Mandala Offering and Guru Yoga, each of which require a little over 100,000 repetitions of a brief practice. 

In 2026, our Ngondro students will receive instruction in Vajrasattva, Mandala and Guru Yoga. (Sincere students just beginning can get ‘catch up’ teachings from our teachers.) There is an on-going, open Ngöndro Practice Group as well.

2026 Ngöndro: Mandala Practice : 10.24.25

In Mandala practice, we learn to open to abundance and generosity in all its forms. This contributes to selflessness, reduces grasping, and creates further foundation for the awakening of heart and mind, using liturgy, visualizations, and chanting to ritually create and offer over 100,000 visualized ‘universes’ of precious environments and objects. Like all the ngöndro practices, mandala practice is concurrently extended to daily life.