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Ma Gyud program in 2013: The teachings in 2013 are the third in a series. In 2011 and 2012 Lama Sangye has taught Ma Gyud Ngondro (preliminary practices) from the chapter "thar-lam". In 2013, we are getting to the heart of the matter with the "drol-lam" chapter. We will learn practices designed to shake us out of our ordinary state of mind and propel us into the "natural state" of meditation that is common to Tantra and Dzogchen. Most of these practices take the form of mind-experiments that are actually quite fun to do, apart from their potential to change our state of mind to the "non-conceptual" state of Dzogchen and Tantra. Some of the visualizations involved are quite famous tantric paradigms.

As in the previous years, Lama Sangye's Ma Gyud teachings, interpreted by Dr. Peter Alan Roberts, are also a rare opportunity for students of Tibetan to study an interesting text of Bön tantra with the valuable assistence of a true expert on the subject. The root text of the Ma Gyud (Guru Nöntse's terma), on which Lama Sangye bases his teachings, is for sale in book form at the teaching site. While it is written in a highly condensed style that is practically impossible to understand on your own, following the original Tibetan in the book while Lama Sangye gives explanations sentence by sentence is a joy.

In addition to receiving teachings every morning and afternoon, we also perform rituals, such as the water offering Chutor and the Chöd practice. All the ritual texts will be provided in Tibetan, in phonetic transcription, and in English translation. Many of the ritual texts have been compiled and translated especially for the occasion of Lama Sangye's teachings in Graz. The texts of the rituals that we perform are included in the course fee. Other ritual items such as Damarus big and small, and books on Bön, such as the big thangka book with hundreds of color plates of Bön thangkas, can be bought at the teaching site.

Prerequisites: Practitioners who have not attended Lama Sangye's Ma Gyud teachings in 2011 and 2012 are welcome to join us in 2013 provided they have received ngondro teachings (it doesn't have to be Ma Gyud ngondro - Zhang Zhung Nyen Gyud or Atri ngondro is fine) and have practiced ngondro at least a bit. If you want to attend the Ma Gyud teachings but have not had ngondro teachings, contact contact@yeshesalling.org . If there is a lot of interest, maybe Lama Sangye can be persuaded to give ngondro teachings a week or two before the Ma Gyud teachings.

For questions, and to register, send mail to Sophie at contact@yeshesalling.org