Mönlam
Buddhist Prayers for Healing, Living, and Dying
The annual one month Ngöndro (preliminary practices) Retreat at Nagi Nunnery takes place each year from the 8th day of the first month of the Tibetan New Year and concludes on the 8th day of the second month of the Tibetan calendar.
This is an excellent opportunity for the retreatants to receive teachings and learn detailed practice instructions from senior nuns and monks at the nunnery. They follow a very rigorous schedule without any break throughout the month, starting each day at 5:30 am and concluding at 6:30 pm.
The Ngöndro that is practiced is the Thukdrub Barche Künsel Ngöndro Retreat (preliminary practices on Accomplishing the Guru’s Wisdom Mind, Dispeller of All Obstacles). This is further divided into the outer preliminaries and the inner preliminaries. The outer preliminaries are practices that turn our mind towards the Dharma with the help of four topics: reflections on our precious human rebirth, the truth of impermanence and death, the causes and effects of karma, and the shortcomings of samsaric existence. The inner preliminaries are practices that are performed to purify negativity and accumulate merit. These include the one hundred thousand practices of refuge with the performance of 10 branches of merit accumulation, bodhicitta cultivation, Vajrasattva recitation, mandala offering, and guru yoga. Within the Ngöndro Retreat, every day there are also sessions on Chöd and Mönlam prayer sadhanas.
May everyone rejoice in this noble and virtuous event and dedicate the merit for the benefit of all sentient beings. If you would like, your support of the Ngöndro Retreat would be very welcome.
If you are unable to make an offering but would like to be included in the prayers the nuns perform during the Ngöndro Retreat at Nagi Nunnery, please send your name(s) to [email protected].
