Practice Resources
Below are materials to support each phase of practice in the MSB Lineage. Please refer to the MSB Practice Manual for specific uses of these materials.
Shamatha Meditation
Guided Meditations on Relative and Absolute Bodhicitta
Kindness and compassion are qualities that form the foundation of any genuine spiritual path. The guided meditations contained on this CD give clear instructions on how to nurture these attributes based on the fundamental realization that all beings long to be happy and find freedom from suffering. Whether or not one is Buddhist, the essence of these meditations will serve only to enrich and deepen one’s kind heart.
The CD continues with additional teachings on absolute bodhicitta for those who have an interest in teachings on emptiness. Five additional guided meditations introduce contemplations on egolessness of self and phenomena.
Visit the Guided Meditation webpage on the Listen section of the MSB website to listen to one of the guided meditations on this CD. Seven guided meditations.
Sessions and Post-Sessions
Please use the above "Guided Mediations on Relative and Absolute Bodhicitta" for these phases of practice. Refer to the MSB Practice Manual for more information.
Lojong
2009 Nyingma Summer Seminar
For a pithy commentary on Lonjong practice, Rinpoche indicated that he would like Wisdom Productions to extract the Mahayana section from the 2009 Nyingma Summer Seminar program, where he taught on Jamgon Kongtrul’s text on this subject. Until that work is complete please purchase the complete 2009 NSS program.
2001 Lojong from Vajradhara Gompa, Kyogle, NSW Australia
In these compelling teachings Rinpoche provides commentary on Atisha’s Lojong, or Seven Points of Mind Training, and how they describe an excellent practice to access the essence of Buddhism: vanquishing the enemy of grasping to self, and cultivating the mind of cherishing others. He places emphasis in his teachings on the reasons for and potential benefits of practicing mind training.
"In just one day, so much goes on in our mind. If we are not present with what goes on in our mind, where are we? This question is very important to ask yourself. One must be present. One cannot take vacations from one’s mind."
12 Talks on one MP3 CD. This offering is part of the Garbha Set of recommended teachings
Ngondro
Wisdom Productions offers a series of compilations, selected by a long-term retreatant, focused on each of the Ngondro sections. Each compilation consists of a selection of Rinpoche’s commentary from Ngondro retreats and annual Words of My Perfect Teacher programs over the past 18 years. Extensive readings from the root text have been removed.
$98. ORDER the complete set of compilations on 4 MP3 cds
Turning One’s Mind Towards the Dharma and Taking Refuge
This compilation presents carefully-arranged commentary on the first chapters of Patrul Rinpoche’s "Words of My Perfect Teacher" in a format that accommodates our busy schedules -- the recordings have been edited so they contain only Rinpoche’s commentary, without extensive readings of the text.
"From my own perspective, the outer preliminary practice is what shapes the character of being a practitioner of the Buddhist teachings -- and particularly a practitioner of the Vajrayana and of this lineage." - VDKR
Seventy four talks on a single MP3 disc; Running time: 22 hours, 9 minutes.
Bodhicitta: The Main Practice of the Mahayana
This collection covers the foundational practice of our lineage and one of Rinpoche’s favorite teaching topics. Rinpoche addresses the topics of relative and absolute Bodhicitta in depth. All who listen will find helpful advice to deepen their understanding of this quintessential subject.
Teachings on relative bodhicitta provide an explanation of what it means to practice lojong and instruction for the practices of the four immeasurables and tonglen. Several talks give a very clear and concise explanation of what it means to develop "aspiration bodhicitta," a subject which Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche says is poorly understood in modern times: "These days, people don’t have much grasp or understanding of what bodhicitta really is. If you ask them what ’arousing bodhicitta’ means, they will simply reply, ’May all sentient beings have happiness and be free of suffering,’ which is actually only a prayer of aspiration. However much merit it may generate, if it is not focused on complete enlightenment, then it is not complete bodhicitta. That is why you need to train again and again in the correct way of arousing bodhicitta."
These heart- and mind-expanding teachings on relative bodhicitta lay the foundation for the teachings on absolute bodhicitta, wherein Rinpoche explains in detail how the confused mind is obscured and elucidates the absolute nature of reality, bringing the students’ minds closer to realization of their own true nature.
The disc concludes with two talks filled with heart advice, helping students to fit their understanding of these teachings into the context of their day to day lives and their path to liberation.
Purification and Accumulation: The Practices of Vajrasattva and Mandala
"Refuge lays the ground, and Bodhicitta is the main path. In that main path there is a need of purifying one's obscurations and accumulating merit for one's own innate enlightened nature to shine and reveal itself from the veil of obscuration."
Wisdom Productions is pleased to announce the release of the third disk in the Words Of My Perfect Teacher Ngondro series. This set is titled "Purification and Accumulation -- the practices of Vajrasattva and Mandala" and includes detailed explanations regarding each of these practices.
Rinpoche paraphrases Patrul Rinpoche in the following two quotations:
"The reason we don't make so much progress is because we do not put enough effort to purify what holds us back."
"One of the reasons why we don't make progress as much as we could is because we are not so open to confess our own obscurations."
Being able to confess fully and sincerely is a pivotal step in being able to relax with one's mind. In these talks Kongtrul Rinpoche gives advice on how to get over guilt and other unhelpful emotional reactions to our past deeds and present mind states. If we can learn the proper way to view and approach the practices of confession and purification, we will see these practices working in our mind on a day to day basis. We will grow more relaxed and confident in our mind and our intentions, and we will be able to overcome certain mind states that keep us from engaging deeply in practice.
The Vajrasattva section also includes commentary on visualization practice, which practitioners of both Ngondro and Sadhana will find helpful.
Mandala practice is a means of training the mind to open up further in our relationship to the phenomenal world. It leads us to realize that we can use so many experiences in our daily lives to further expand our hearts and minds through making mental offerings. We do this practice to accumulate merit in order to further purify our minds and to bring about the appropriate circumstances for realization. We make offerings on the level of each of the three kayas, which helps to further expand our understanding of the mind and it's capabilities. These talks include a detailed section on merit, and also much discussion of the three kayas in relation to the mandala offering.
We welcome you to take advantage of this valuable compilation of teachings!
116 talk excerpts from teachings given 1992-2009. Running time 24 hours, 49 minutes.
Purifying Attachments and the Practice of Guru Rinpoche: Chod and Guru Yoga
Wisdom Productions is pleased to announce the release of the final compilation in the Words of My Perfect Teacher Ngondro series, describing the practices of Chos and Guru Yoga. This compilation contains selections of Rinpoche's commentary from Ngondro retreats and annual Words of My Perfect Teacher programs over the past 18 years. Extensive readings from the root text have been removed.
"If even in imagination one can forsake this body, it threatens the makeup of egos grasping and attachments and deep rooted sense of self importance. When this is freed up, then one can pursue the path more and more easily."
"The focus of this self importance is always THIS LIFE and what anchors us to this life and this world is this body. It is the reference point. So doing this practice has great psychological effects."
As we hear so often in the teachings, the suffering of samsara comes from clinging to the idea of a self. This can seem like a vague concept when we don't relate it to all the fear, attachment, and neurosis that we have toward our physical bodies. Chod practice, which came out of the Prajnaparamita teachings, is a skillfull means to help overcome this attachment. This compilation contains extensive commentary on why Chod is such a necessary and beneficial practice, and practical instructions for carrying out the daily practice within the Ngondro liturgy. Also included are sections pertaining to the four maras, conceit, karmic debt, and heart advice concerning the Chod practice.
"In Maha Ati, the Guru's blessing is the only thing that penetrates the co-emergent ignorance. Therefore, importance is placed on the Guru Yoga. It is known as the immediate cause of realization in the Dzogchen tradition."
"The only thing that wakes you up to the whole delusion is to realize the nature of your mind. It is not whether the guru smiles at you and favors you, pats you on the back, confirms you or not. We are not on the path because of those things. We are on it because we want to wake up from delusions. How? By recognizing the nature of one's mind. And for that, the mögu (devotion) is the key."
Devotion plays a key role in the path of Dzogchen, and in the ngondro practice we are given a means to access that through the practice of Guru Yoga. This section of the compilation is rich with commentary that will provide further understanding of many subtle concepts related to devotion and the practice of Guru Yoga. It is a wonderful resource for practitioners of all levels. Included are sections on the spiritual friend, devotion/mögu, practice instructions, and heart advice. The practice instructions section covers the entire liturgy of the Guru Yoga, from visualization to the four empowerments.
105 talk excerpts. Running time 27 hours, 56 minutes.
$35. ORDER this compilation
$98. ORDER the complete set of compilations on 4 MP3 cds
Sadhana
These Sadhana teachings from the years 1999 and 2001 are the reference teachings for Sadhana students in the MSB practice lineage.
Two MP3 CDs containing XX talks
NOTE: Restricted to MSB Sangha who have completed Sadhana teachings with Kongtrul Rinpoche.
Please do not order if you don’t qualify.
