Preview of Book Four

If you decide to explore the next stage of this path, as I said, I’ll begin teaching you the Ngöndro. Book Four will cover a preliminary stage (so a Preliminary to the Preliminaries!) and the first two practices. That’s because they take you through a journey, sometimes in just a few minutes, that is a microcosm—a hologram?—of the whole Vajrayana path. Each section is a whole journey in itself, and people go for months, sometimes years doing each section in great depth. I spent a few months to a year on each one. At first I thought, “Will I live long enough to finish this whole thing? What more could I get out of this?” After I’d spent a bit more time with whatever section it was, it really opened up for me and I thought, “If I spent the rest of my life just doing this profound practice, it would be time well spent!” By the end I’d think, “But I haven’t totally mastered this part. I’m not ready to move to the next one!” Desire/clinging—my favorite poison!

Luckily, you don’t have to drop the practices you’ve already been doing. In fact, the Four Boundless Qualities are what you’ll be practicing in the second section of the Ngöndro, and you’ll practice Shamata/ Vipassana at the end, so you’ve already got a head start! Also luckily, it didn’t take me the rest of my life—it only took me about four years, while I finished raising my kids, did outer work, and even moved.

In any case, I wish you all the best in your practicing what we’ve covered in this volume. May your use of them bring you happiness, ease your su ering, and bring you the deep satisfaction of a meaningful life. As you, and perhaps you with a group of friends, wake up more and more, may you infect all the rest of us who are in this big soup together. If you find that you want to come to any of our programs, I hope to see you there!

Lama Tsomo