LETTER OF SUPPORT

PURPOSE

Tibetan yoga center was established to provide a program of study and practice in the Tibetan Buddhist (Vajrayana) tradition that would integrate the essence of these teachings and present them in a suitable way for practitioners in the West. The program combines the core practices relying on visualizations, yoga of channels, winds and drops, and insight into the nature of the mind (rigpa) for efficient progress on the path. The core teachings of Tibetan Yoga Center are 'The yogas of the six bardos' of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, summarized in the curriculum as seven courses (see the program section). The founder and master teacher of the center, Khenchen Lama Rinpoche, was at numerous occasions encouraged by his teachers to focus on helping Western students, particularly through these practices. To help bring these teachings closer to the background of Western practitioners, the program of the Tibetan Yoga Center also integrates elements of Western neuroscientific research on changes in behavior, mind and brain as a result of meditation. Building on the tradition of enlightened householder yogis in Tibet, the program of the center was developed for yogis of the current era - serious practitioners leading busy lives with work and family commitments who want to bring their spiritual practice to swift fruition to fully benefit sentient beings.
Tibetan Yoga Center operates on principles of a social business, offering teachings mostly by suggested donation and for minimal possible fees to cover expenses.

May the activities of the center help sentient beings in their spritual quest!

THE PATH OF TIBETAN YOGA

Tibetan word for 'yoga' is 'naljor'. 'Nal' stands for body, speech and mind. 'Jor' stands for achieving the goal, obtaining ultimate understanding and mastery over something. Thus 'naljor' is the ultimate understanding of the fundamental nature of body, speech and mind, and mastery over them. There are three levels of mastery in regard to each one of the three aspects.

With respect to Tibetan yoga of the body, mastery at the lowest level results in improvement of health of the body, leading to youthful appearance. At a higher lvel of achievement, mastery over body leads to understanding of and then control over the energy system of the body - inner channels, winds and drops. The final goal of Tibetan yoga of the body is achievement of the rainbow body - a body of light that can inexhaustibly benefit sentient in endless ways.

Tibetan yoga of speech focuses on refining the 'wind' of breath, primarily through mantra recitation. As a result at the basic level, the breath becomes slower and more gentle, voice becomes more pleasant and one's speech gains clarity of expression. The intermediate level of achievement is marked by spontaneous mastery over many languages in order to benefit sentient beings through teachings. The final achievement of Tibetan yoga of speech is the ability to give teachings in a way that is understood by all sentient beings listening - matching their individual needs and abilities.

The aim of the Tibetan yoga of mind is to develop universal loving kindness and compassion coupled with the ultimate wisdom of the nature of phenomena, the ultimate truth. At the basic level of achievement, one wishes happiness for oneself as well as other people. At the medium level of achievement one realizes that the source of ultimate happiness is the understanding of the true nature of phenomena. One realizes that the most profound way to benefit sentient beings is to achieve enlightenment and works very hard towards this goal. On this path, one completely purifies his/her mental afflictions - anger, attachment, ignorance, jealousy and pride. The highest level of achievement in the Tibetan yoga of mind is the experiential understanding of our own Buddha nature - the deepest level of the mind. When one continuously sustains this realization in his/her mind stream, s/he becomes the embodiment of the union of primordial wisdom and compassion, and benefits sentient beings in limitless ways. This achievement is the essence of the Tibetan yoga and the deepest meaning of the term 'naljor'.

TYPES OF YOGA IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM

There are six yanas (modes of spiritual practice) in Vajrayana: 1. Kriyayana, 2. Upayana, 3. Yogayana, 4. Mahayoga, 5. Anuyoga, and 6. Atiyoga. In Nyingma lineage, the main focus of practice is on Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga.

Mahayoga
In Mahayoga the primary focus is on sadhana practice, visualization and mantra recitation. Mahayoga includes more practices of yoga of the body involving movement. One of the main goals of Mahayoga is to generate compassion and pure vision, and to understand emptiness. If one practices only Mahayoga, s/he will obtain body of a yidam, mantra-like speech, and Buddha wisdom.

Anuyoga
In comparison to Mahayoga, the practice texts of Anuyoga are shorter, and visualizations are usually generated spontaneously rather than from details. Anuyoga focuses more on training involving channels, winds, and drops of inner energy. Aim of the practices is primarily on generation of wisdom, bliss, and realization of emptiness. Fruition of Anuyoga is deep purification of body, speech, and mind resulting in transformation of channels into nirmanakaya (emanation body) quality, winds into sambhogakaya (enjoyment body) quality, and inner energy into dharmakaya (body of truth) quality.

Atiyoga
Practice texts in Atiyoga are very short in comparison to Mahayoga and Anuyoga. Teachings focus on yeshe - great wisdom, the union of compassion and wisdom, and understanding of the rigpa nature of the mind. Practice of Atiyoga results in achievement of the rainbow body, pure visions of Buddhahood, and the primordial enlightened state of mind equal to that of all Buddhas.