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Ngöndro: The Tibetan Preliminary Practices

The preliminaries Tibetan Buddhists do before tantric practice: what they are, how they are counted, and what they ask of the body

What is ngöndro?

Ngöndro (sngon ’gro, “going before”) is the set of preliminary practices that Tibetan Buddhists, in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages especially, complete before advanced tantric practice. It has an outer part, the four thoughts that turn the mind, and an inner part: refuge with bodhicitta, Vajrasattva purification, maṇḍala offering and guru yoga. The inner part is commonly counted in sets of 100,000 today, though texts and lineages differ, and it is received from a teacher. No controlled trial of the whole ngöndro was found; the evidence here is textual and experiential.

Ngöndro is the Tibetan term for the preliminary practices, usually translated as “going before.” Lotsawa House’s translation of Jigme Lingpa’s Common and Uncommon Ngöndro divides the material into a common, or outer, preliminary and an uncommon, or inner, preliminary. The outer part begins with a section headed “The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind from Saṃsāra”: the free and well-favoured human birth, impermanence, karma as cause and effect, and the suffering of saṃsāra. The inner part, in the same text, moves through taking refuge, generating bodhicitta, meditating on and reciting Vajrasattva, a maṇḍala offering, and guru yoga. Other Nyingma and Kagyu ngöndro texts arrange the material in similar order. This page describes the practices as the texts do. It does not give the inner practices as a sequence to do alone, because the texts and the teachers who transmit them treat them as something learned with instruction.

Practices

How these practices connect

Every practice on this page is an expression of one arrangement: the ngöndro first turns attention from the concerns of this life toward the purpose of practice, then opens the mind to a lineage through refuge, bodhicitta and devotion, and then purifies and loosens attachment through the recitations, the offering and the counted repetitions. Jigme Lingpa’s text presents the sequence as a single course, and Tricycle’s essay describes the preliminaries as “transformative in their own right” as well as the basis for advanced practice.

What is the difference between the four thoughts and the inner ngöndro?

The four thoughts are the outer preliminaries: four reflections on the rare human birth, impermanence, karma and the suffering of saṃsāra, given in the Lotsawa House translation as short verses. The inner preliminaries are the uncommon part: refuge with bodhicitta, Vajrasattva purification, maṇḍala offering and guru yoga. The four thoughts turn the mind; the inner practices are done with a teacher and are counted in sets.

Why is ngöndro counted in 100,000 repetitions?

Tricycle’s essay says each ngöndro practice is typically performed 100,000 times or more, and that for much of Tibetan history the standard practices were not tied to a fixed number. A count gives a long practice a fixed measure to return to. The texts fetched for this page give no total for every practice, so the number is a benchmark for many lineages rather than a rule stated in the texts.

Is the ngöndro prostration a physical exercise?

Its purpose in the tradition is devotion and working with resistance, and the body takes part through the full bowing with refuge verses. Tricycle’s essay describes aches, pains and sweat, but it does not describe injury, and this page adds practical cautions about joints and rest that are not from a study. Full prostrations can strain the knees, back and wrists, so they are learned from a teacher and adapted to the body.

Why does the ngöndro begin with purification and what does Vajrasattva ask you to do?

The Vajrasattva practice is a purification: the recitation is followed by resting, so what is purified is taken into the mind rather than replayed. The Longchen Nyingtik text asks for it “as many times as possible, then rest in meditation.” Without instruction, a review of past actions can slide into self-criticism; the practice as the Longchen Nyingtik text gives it is for recognising and releasing, with rest afterward.

What does the mandala offering in the ngöndro practise?

The maṇḍala offering is a visualised gift of the world, given in three parts to the three bodies of the Buddha, in Jigme Lingpa’s text. Its purpose in the tradition is to loosen attachment by giving what one holds. The arrangement and recitations are taught in person, and no study has tested the practice.

What is guru yoga in the ngöndro, and how is it different from simply respecting a teacher?

Guru yoga is the last of the inner preliminaries: a practice of devotion to the lineage teacher, received with instruction and in the Longchen Nyingtik text paired with visualised empowerments. Respect for a teacher is the ordinary conduct that goes with it; guru yoga is the formal practice of devotion inside the sequence. The tradition warns against turning a teacher into an unquestioned authority.

How do you choose between these?

If you are new to the ngöndro and have no teacher, start with the four verses, as a reflection to bring to the start of your sitting. If you have a lineage teacher and want to know how to count, ask about the accumulation before anything else. If your body is strained or injured, do not begin the prostrations until a teacher and a doctor have considered it. If the inner practices are the question, the refuge and bodhicitta come first in the sequence, and the others follow the teacher’s instruction.

What these approaches do not settle

No controlled trial of the whole ngöndro, or of any of its practices as a package, was found for this page. The evidence is textual and experiential. The counts, the verses and the order differ between Nyingma and Kagyu lineages, and between teachers; the texts fetched here do not agree on a single 100,000 total for every practice. Learning the inner practices from a teacher is the tradition’s own requirement, and this page does not replace it.

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Frequently asked questions

What is ngöndro?

Ngöndro (sngon ’gro, “going before”) is the set of preliminary practices that Tibetan Buddhists, in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages especially, complete before advanced tantric practice. It has an outer part, the four thoughts that turn the mind, and an inner part: refuge with bodhicitta, Vajrasattva purification, maṇḍala offering and guru yoga. The inner part is commonly counted in sets of 100,000 today, though texts and lineages differ, and it is received from a teacher. No controlled trial of the whole ngöndro was found; the evidence here is textual and experiential.

How do you open a ngöndro session with the four verses that turn the mind?

In the ngöndro, the four thoughts come before every other practice. Dudjom Lingpa’s concise ngöndro gives them as four verses: this free and advantaged human form is very difficult to obtain; everything born is by nature impermanent; virtuous and harmful actions bring their inevitable results; and the three realms of saṃsāra are an ocean of suffering. The verses are short enough to say with attention, so the reflection sets the frame for everything that follows in the session. The tradition frames them as turning the mind, not as information to be learned, so the intended change is in the direction of attention.

How do you keep the count: the hundred-thousand accumulation and how it is set?

A counted repetition gives a long practice a fixed measure to return to over months and years. Tricycle’s essay on the ngöndro says each ngöndro practice is typically performed 100,000 times or more, and notes that for much of Tibetan history the standard practices were not tied to a fixed number. The Longchen Nyingtik ngöndro, in the Lotsawa House translation, asks for Vajrasattva recitation “as many times as possible” and does not state a total; Jigme Lingpa’s text specifies seven recitations for some syllables and three for the refuge verses.

How do you take refuge and generate bodhicitta in the ngöndro sequence, with instruction?

Jigme Lingpa’s inner preliminary opens with “Taking Refuge” and then “Generation of Bodhicitta,” and the Common and Uncommon Ngöndro treats the refuge verses as recited a set number of times in the outer ritual. The refuge and bodhicitta part frames everything after it: the practices that follow are offered to, and done by, a practitioner whose motivation has been turned toward others. Tricycle’s essay on prostration puts the teacher at the head of the refuge, calling the guru “a living manifestation of awakened mind.” The refuge has a ritual and visualised form, and the wording and visualisation are specific to each lineage.

What is How to do ngöndro prostrations, and the strain they can put on the body?

Tricycle’s essay describes the bodily prostration as a way to cultivate devotion and to meet resistance: “we learn things about ourselves, cultivate our heart of devotion, and encounter many deep layers of resistance.” In the ngöndro, the body, speech and mind are engaged together, so the bow is meant to carry an intention rather than to serve as exercise. The essay says the body is thrown to the ground, and that the practice brings aches and pains, sweat and discomfort. The tradition pairs prostrations with refuge verses, so the physical act and the verse are one practice.

Vajrasattva purification: how do you recite the hundred-syllable mantra with a teacher’s instruction?

The Longchen Nyingtik ngöndro has a section titled “Meditation and Recitation of Vajrasattva” and asks the practitioner to recite “as many times as possible, then rest in meditation.” The practice is a purification: the recitation is followed by resting, so the purification is taken into the mind rather than left as a repetition. Jigme Lingpa’s text lists the Vajrasattva practice as one of the uncommon preliminaries. The exact form of the mantra is given in the teacher’s instruction and the text, not in this summary.

What is Offer the world as a maṇḍala: the three bodies of the Buddha?

The maṇḍala offering is a visualised gift of the universe. In Jigme Lingpa’s text it is set out in three parts, offerings to the nirmāṇakāya (the emanation body), the saṃbhogakāya (the enjoyment body) and the dharmakāya (the truth body). Offering what one holds, and imagining it given away entirely, works against the grip of attachment that the ngöndro is meant to loosen. The practice is done with recitations for each part, so speech and visualisation take part as well as the mind.

How do you guru yoga in the ngöndro: devotion to a teacher, received in a lineage?

Guru yoga is the last of the inner preliminaries in the common list. Tricycle’s essay “Bowing” frames the teacher as the one through whom “the world of the Buddha is opened to us,” and calls the guru a living manifestation of awakened mind. The Longchen Nyingtik ngöndro treats the visualisation of the lineage teachers as part of the practice, and includes “Receiving the Four Empowerments” as a visualisation inside it. Devotion is the tradition’s way of making the instruction received and the mind open to it; the practice is about trust in a lineage rather than in any single person.

What is the difference between the four thoughts and the inner ngöndro?

The four thoughts are the outer preliminaries: four reflections on the rare human birth, impermanence, karma and the suffering of saṃsāra, given in the Lotsawa House translation as short verses. The inner preliminaries are the uncommon part: refuge with bodhicitta, Vajrasattva purification, maṇḍala offering and guru yoga. The four thoughts turn the mind; the inner practices are done with a teacher and are counted in sets.

Why is ngöndro counted in 100,000 repetitions?

Tricycle’s essay says each ngöndro practice is typically performed 100,000 times or more, and that for much of Tibetan history the standard practices were not tied to a fixed number. A count gives a long practice a fixed measure to return to. The texts fetched for this page give no total for every practice, so the number is a benchmark for many lineages rather than a rule stated in the texts.

Is the ngöndro prostration a physical exercise?

Its purpose in the tradition is devotion and working with resistance, and the body takes part through the full bowing with refuge verses. Tricycle’s essay describes aches, pains and sweat, but it does not describe injury, and this page adds practical cautions about joints and rest that are not from a study. Full prostrations can strain the knees, back and wrists, so they are learned from a teacher and adapted to the body.

Why does the ngöndro begin with purification and what does Vajrasattva ask you to do?

The Vajrasattva practice is a purification: the recitation is followed by resting, so what is purified is taken into the mind rather than replayed. The Longchen Nyingtik text asks for it “as many times as possible, then rest in meditation.” Without instruction, a review of past actions can slide into self-criticism; the practice as the Longchen Nyingtik text gives it is for recognising and releasing, with rest afterward.

What does the mandala offering in the ngöndro practise?

The maṇḍala offering is a visualised gift of the world, given in three parts to the three bodies of the Buddha, in Jigme Lingpa’s text. Its purpose in the tradition is to loosen attachment by giving what one holds. The arrangement and recitations are taught in person, and no study has tested the practice.

What is guru yoga in the ngöndro, and how is it different from simply respecting a teacher?

Guru yoga is the last of the inner preliminaries: a practice of devotion to the lineage teacher, received with instruction and in the Longchen Nyingtik text paired with visualised empowerments. Respect for a teacher is the ordinary conduct that goes with it; guru yoga is the formal practice of devotion inside the sequence. The tradition warns against turning a teacher into an unquestioned authority.

Research

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