Parting the Clouds: the Practice of Ngöndro on the Path of Dzogchen

Parting the Clouds: the Practice of Ngöndro on the Path of Dzogchen

During this two-day teaching and practice workshop, we will explore the place of the ngöndro — the ‘preliminary practices’ — in the tradition of the Great Perfection (tib Dzogchen), which guides Ripga’s entire approach to the path to enlightenment .

The Dzogchen teachings bring the awakened state right into this very moment, and into every aspect of the spiritual path, right from the start. Its core message is that no matter how we feel - happy, sad, confused or clear, our true nature is always with us, always perfect and unstained. When searching for happiness, we are truly looking for this vast, open purity.

To convey what our true nature is like, Dzogchen often uses the evocative metaphor of a spacious, perfect blue sky untouched by the heavy clouds of our ordinary, dualistic mind. Yet, because our confused mind creates a thick cloud cover, most of us cannot jump straight into the deepest practices; from our perspective, it is hard to believe the sky is still there.

This is why we approach this path in gradual stages, and begin with the ngöndro. By working with our everyday dualistic habits, thoughts, and emotions, the ngöndro practices make the cloud cover less dense so the sky of our true nature can reveal itself.

Topics we will cover during this workshop:

• What is ngöndro and how do we practice it in Rigpa?
• How does each element of the ngöndro express the awakened state?
• Ngöndro as preliminary and ngöndro as the essence of the main practice

We will especially explore Bodhicitta, which is one of the key elements of the ngöndro, and the heart of our path. On Sunday morning there will be an opportunity to take the Bodhisattva vow— a sacred pledge to become a bodhisattva, and strive for the ultimate liberation and perfect enlightenment of all sentient beings.

🗓️ Saturday 28 November: 9:00am-5:00pm; Sunday 29 November: 8:00am-4:30pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)
📍 Online and Rigpa Melbourne, 803A Nicholson Street, Carlton North 

Free for those attending Jan's monthly Ngondro sessions.

Free for Home Retreatants who wish to attend only the Sunday morning Bodhisattva vow.

If you're a Home Retreatant who would like to attend the full weekend, please pay full or concession price.

About Jan van der Breggen

Jan is a teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and a scholar of Buddhist philosophy. He began the path of meditation at 17 years old, touched by the tenderness of the human experience and filled with questions about what reality was all about. He soon encountered the writings of great masters from various traditions such as J. Krishnamurti, Suzuki Roshi, Thich Nhat Hanh and Sogyal Rinpoche. Thirty years later, Jan continues to be moved by the vast profundity of the Buddhist path and its vision of the inherent wisdom, loving kindness and strength that lies in the minds of each and everyone of us.

Jan was honoured to be entrusted by Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche and Mindroling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche as one of the twenty-five worldwide Rigpa Senior teachers. In 2017, he was selected to be a participant in the Milinda program, a 10-year, international Buddhist teacher training program under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

Jan grew up in the Netherlands where he earned a Masters Degree in Historical Anthropology. He is fluent in English and Dutch. He lives in Brisbane where he works as a data analytics professional. Jan was instrumental in founding Rigpa Brisbane in 1999, where he has served as a Dharma instructor for over 20 years.