Sowa Rigpa Online

Yuthok Nyingthig Ngöndro

Line by Line with Dr. Ben Joffe (self-paced)

Course consists of ten 90min. video classes with Dr. Ben Joffe and additional resources to support you in your practice.

In this ten week study group course students will explore the various Ngöndro or preliminary prayers and practices of the Yuthok Nyingthig, studying each prayer syllable-by-syllable. Drawing on his skills as a cultural anthropologist, translator and scholar-practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, Dr Joffe will assist students in gaining a deeper appreciation of the rich layers of meaning in each word of Yuthok’s ngöndro prayers. Enrollees in the study group will be provided with new and improved annotated English translations for each Ngöndro practice as well as additional audio-visual resources and simple homework exercises which will help them to enrich their understanding of the profound significance and power of these foundational practices, which are at once the beginning, middle, and end of Buddhadharma. 

This course will be of interest and benefit to both experienced and beginner practitioners of the Yuthok Nyingthig as well as to practitioners of other lineages and will be especially useful for students wishing to improve their understanding of the Tibetan language. By studying the words of each prayer syllable-by-syllable, students will gain a fuller sense of both the immediate meanings and wider implications and associations behind each word. Through exploring the broader contexts and world-views for Buddhist terminology and vocabulary, they will be able to recite the prayers in Tibetan with increased confidence and understanding. 

All classes will be taught in English. There will be no live translation into other languages since this goes against the aim of starting from the Tibetan source material itself. Nonetheless, for students with a good grasp of English as a second language, this course will prove helpful for developing new translations into students’ primary languages.

Week 1: Ali Kali Mantra, Refuge and Bodhicitta

Week 2: Gangku Sangchenma/‘Whose Highest, Most Secret Form’

Week 3: Four Immeasurables

Week 4: Prostration Prayer

Week 5: Mandala Offering

Week 6: Circumambulation/Medicine Buddha Mantras

Week 7: Vajrasattva Practice

Week 8: Kusali Chöd Practice

Week 9: Shanglön and Short Tsok practice

Week 10: Dedication of Merit and Mantra of Interdependence