A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices

By Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

Do you practise meditation because you want to feel good? Or to help you relax and be happy? Then frankly, according to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, you are far better off having a full-body massage than trying to practise the Dharma. Genuine spiritual practice, not least the Ngöndro preliminaries, will not bring the kind of comfort and ease most worldly people crave. Quite the opposite, in fact. But if your ultimate goal is enlightenment, Ngöndro practice is a must, and Not for Happiness is your perfect guide, as it contains everything an aspiring practitioner needs to get started.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche has accomplished quite a coup: a text on the Ngöndro preliminaries that simultaneously brings the Ngöndro overachiever down to earth, provides a swift quick in the bum for the Ngöndro slacker, and fosters greater enthusiasm and understanding in those already in the thick of the practices. The book is strong on context and the visceral, lived experience of the practices, less so on the detail, which Rinpoche repeatedly suggests is best to obtain directly from a teacher. The practice descriptions present the Longchen Nyingthig preliminary practices of the Nyingma lineage, and are quite sufficient to lay out the mechanics, particularly if accompanied by more specific commentary for those who want to pin down intricate points. The context and background explanations, however, apply to any Ngöndro—indeed to any Tibetan Buddhist practice.

More importantly, the text provides insight and straight-to-the-heart purpose for engaging in the practices themselves. Rinpoche speaks with one foot solidly grounded in the traditional theory and methodology of practice, another in an open and kind understanding of practical challenges modern practitioners face. 

Shambhala

Paperback | 240 pages