Bodhicitta Sangha | Heart of Enlightenment Institute is a non-profit organization offering Tibetan Buddhist meditation classes and retreats taught by Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, a professor of Tibetan Buddhism in the Nyingma lineage.

Teachings by Khenpo Sherab Sangpo are open to all who wish to awaken bodhicitta via teachings and meditation practices that generate compassion and loving-kindness for all living beings.

Dear Bodhicitta Sangha community,

I hope that you all are in good health and are taking care of yourself during this situation. I am in good health and have been on retreat since we were told to social distance for the well-being of others. You all have been in my thoughts and prayers these days and always. I know this is a hard time for many, so please be kind and supportive to each other, practice, and remember the teachings.

I would like to connect with you all online to practice and say some mantras together. I am developing a plan for that and am trying to learn the technology—so that we can do that together. Once we are ready, we will let everyone know how to participate.

Until then, please take care of yourself, follow the instructions of medical professionals to keep yourself and others safe, and practice as much as you can. I will keep you all in my thoughts as I continue to practice.

Take care,

How to Practice Shamatha and Vipashyana after Completion of the Preliminary Practices

Most people were at the May Retreat in 2019, so they already know how to practice shamatha and vipashyana using the Treasury of Blessings: A Practice of Shakyamuni Buddha.

For those not at the retreat, please watch the videos.

Here is how to practice shamatha and vipashyana for your daily practice when you finish the preliminaries:

Usually we practice the outer preliminaries for 20 minutes every day. Once you finish the preliminaries, you don't have to do that anymore. You should still say the outer preliminaries one time (1x) every day, very slowly with visualizations.

Then, for the inner preliminaries, say the refuge prayer 3x, bodhicitta 3x, Vajrasattva 100-syllable mantra 21x, mandala 1x, guru yoga 1x, and the mantra 100x.

Finish the preliminaries like that.

Then, start the Treasury of Blessings: A Practice of Shakyamuni Buddha according to what I taught at May Retreat in 2019.

At the end, practice either with an object by focusing on the image of Buddha Shakyamuni or without object by focusing on your mind.

Shamatha and vipashyana (in addition to the preliminaries) need to be practiced for at least 30 minutes every single day.

For these instructions, you must watch the 2019 May Retreat videos, if you don't know how to practice shamatha and vipashyana.

Click here for a PDF of these instructions.