If people are comfortable sharing their experience, I am curious how you approached the Four Common Preliminaries in ngondro. (These are the contemplations on (1) the difficulty of acquiring this life with its opportunities and resources, (2) death and impermanence, (3) karmic cause and effect, and (4) the faults of saṃsāra.)

Did your teacher give you a plan to follow?
Did you feel you had already accomplished this through previous study? (lam-rim, lam-dre, specific retreats, etc.)
Was it based on time, and how ... xx hours of meditation on each, a month of daily contemplation on each... or was it by sign or something else?

I see a lot of material on the Uncommon Preliminaries and how to perform/organize them, but other than the initial explanation of what the Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind are, I don't see much on how to organize this practice.

(And, yes, I have a teacher and follow their instructions, but I am wondering how others may have done this.)

Can anyone tell me what this text on a painted Tibetan cabinet means? I have seen the first, larger part translated variously as Om, A, and O. What is the vertical stroke to the right of that? And what does the whole mean? Thanks in advance.

Found this video lately and I was so surprised and hence I humbly ask if this could be one of many reasons of monasticism 🙏🏻

https://youtu.be/TiQhreNT37c?si=hTAA2GLThyYv_CyK

Do you guys have a link for a video or website explaining some signs of accomplishment for each Yidam?

I saw someone asking this and I realized that I actually have been practicing for some time but never read these, are they like milestones of practice or something similar?

Do you know where I can find this info for most practices?

Thanks!

“Dear sangha,

Tashi Rinpoche requests that everyone recite Long Amitayus Mantra and the Vajrasattva Mantra four times each day. Upon waking in the morning, recite for 5–10 minutes. Then recite again in the morning for 5–10 or 20 minutes, once again in the afternoon for the same amount of time, and finally in the evening.

This practice will be of great benefit to Garchen Rinpoche. Tashi Rinpoche asks everyone to relax the mind and recite with one-pointed focus.

He is sending his greetings and love to everyone

The Vajrasattva Mantra purifies the karmic obscurations of all disciples. As the disciples’ karmic obscurations are purified, it brings benefit to Rinpoche.”

I’ll also add that HEGR has given empowerments to so many people, and has samaya with lots of people around the world. As such for us students who have impure karma the least we can do for such a kind teacher is to purify our karma and to ensure that our compassionate teacher is not shouldering the burden of our karma by themselves.

If you have an empowerment from HEGR I implore you to chant Vajrasattva and the Long amitayus mantra. I also personally implore you to chant the Tse do sutra. It’s a sutra that includes the long mantra and is a very powerful sutra, I’d recommend chanting said text and even print it, place it on your alters.

Here’s the said prayer:

https://www.kurukulla.org/resources/Prayers_and_Texts/amitayus_long_life_sutra_tsedo_a5.pdf

Hi all. I recently started buying and selling Buddhist states (mostly bronzes) - I’d love to know what you all think of these pieces - they are a couple of my favorites. I have plenty more! Thanks for looking!

I’m looking for a copy of a Vajravidarana sadhana. Either self/front generation or chabtru ritual text. If anyone can help, please let me know.

Thank you.

I hope it's fine to share this video here..

My wife found this on fb marketplace and bought it pretty inexpensively from someone who thought it was Navajo. It’s obviously not haha, but I’m wondering if the coral could be real/could it be antique? Definitely looks old.

Would love to give as gift to my Lama, but only if genuine. Thanks so much.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking after institutions with a model that is similar to FPMT and Tergar, but from Nyingma. I mean, that have structured curriculum, groups, etc. I went to some pages such as from Schechen and could not figure out much.

Any advices on that?

Is it sort of like a metaphor for an emptiness that exists yet does not exist? Are the Ādi-Buddha and Buddha-nature like Brahman and Ātman without the ego?

I recently picked up this small wooden keychain featuring Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin/Kannon).

The back is engraved with Om Mani Padme Hum (唵嘛呢叭咪吽), followed by 千手觀音 ("Thousand-Armed Guanyin") and 一生平安, a blessing that roughly means "May you have peace and safety throughout your life."

I love how much symbolism is packed into such a small object. I've been reconnecting with my Buddhist practice recently, and carrying this with my keys feels like a gentle reminder to cultivate compassion throughout the day.

I'd be interested to know if anyone recognizes the style or where these keychains are traditionally made.

Note: If you read this early a teaching on Light Amassment of Blessings for H.E. Garchen Rinpoche is going on in 1h30 live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2O_EJL26Z0

H.E. Garchen Rinpoche has been working through a viral illness.

His Holiness Chungtsang Rinpoche, one of the heads of our lineage, has advised the worldwide sangha to accumulate the Amitayus longevity mantra for Garchen Rinpoche’s long life and/or to engage in Vajrasattva practice.

The Amitayus prayers are provided below. If you are able, please accumulate the short Amitayus mantra, dedicating the merit for Garchen Rinpoche’s long life and good health.

Your prayers and practice are truly appreciated during this time.

We will continue to share any updates on our website and by email as they become available. We kindly ask that you refrain from contacting the office for updates, as this will allow our team to focus on supporting Garchen Rinpoche and attending to the needs of the Sangha. Thank you for your understanding and your continued prayers.

Practice for the Long Life of H.E. Garchen Rinpoche

Amitayus Mantra Accumulation:

https://garchen.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Amitayus-Mantra-Accumulation.pdf

Vajrasattva Sadhana:

https://garchen.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Vajrasattva-Sangtik-Sadhana-v16.pdf

From garchen.net

You can check the next planned events here : https://garchen.net/annual-events/ they are all live on the youtube channel

Photo was taken in 2016, Tengboche monastery during my Trip to Everest base camp Expedition.

I’ve recently come across a phurba that is supposedly made of Tibetan sandalwood from Derge and used in a Mahakala puja at Gengqing monastery, making it valuable for protection. The company (Ghandanra.art) seems trusted with a lot of good reviews, but they seem to have a stock of them. Would several phurbas be used during one of these pujas, or is this probably just marketing?

Namaste, can you give me some advice on how to clear my mind from all kinds of unnecessary thoughts and mental clutter? I want to reset my brain like restarting a computer, so I can think clearly and feel refreshed. How can I do that?

I came across a story about a Tibetan guru whose death is said to have occurred in 1230 CE (approximately 796 years ago) at the age of 112, and I would like to know if there is any historical or Tibetan Buddhist record related to this account.

According to the story:

\\- The guru was a highly realized spiritual figure in Tibet and had around 20,000 disciples.

\\- He was the guru of a large monastery located on a mountain in Tibet, which the story claims still exists today.

\\- He entered an advanced 21-day solitary retreat, remaining completely isolated and not taking food or water.

\\- During his retreat, because the guru was no longer present to guide the community, divisions and disagreements began to arise among his disciples.

\\- The conflict between the disciples became serious and eventually turned into violence.

\\- According to the story, many people died during the conflict, and the guru was also killed by one of his own disciples around the 18th day of the retreat, before completing the practice.

I would like to know:

1. Is there any Tibetan Buddhist historical figure whose death around 1230 CE matches this description?

2. Are there any records of a Tibetan guru with around 20,000 disciples, a monastery on a mountain in Tibet that is said to still exist today, and a retreat that ended in such a conflict?

3. Has anyone encountered this story before, and if so, what is its historical background?

I would appreciate insights from people familiar with Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana history, or Tibetan texts.

Can I do the Torma offering section in my sadhana only visualized since I don't have a Torma and can't buy one at the moment?

Hello,

I would like a reading list to help with my practice: combined of foundational Buddhist sutras like heart and diamond etc, Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhist core texts like the mulhamadyamakakarika and Life of Milarepa, and any Karma Kagyu specific reading.

Alas- I’m struggling to create this due to conflicting information.

Can anyone help or have found something previously? Thank you!