Samye Library

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was a Tibetan Buddhist master of both the Kagyü and Nyingma lineages. After leaving Tibet he settled at Nagi Gompa hermitage in Nepal. Urgyen Rinpoche was considered one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of his time.

The Ten Nonvirtues or Unwholesome Activities are actions of body, speech, and mind that are motivated by negative emotions and that cause harm to others and to oneself. Avoiding these ten nonvirtues is the practice of ethics (Skt. Śīla).

Bhaiṣajya­guru­vaiḍūrya­prabha is the proper name of the buddha of healing, the Medicine Buddha. He is renowned for his 12 great aspirations made to benefit beings. Several of these vows specifically promise relief from suffering due to illness and poor health. Throughout the Mahayana Buddhist world practitioners recite his name or dhāraṇī to protect against sickness and disease.

The Lama Norlha (Guru’s Wealth Deity) practice from the Chokling Tersar is a wealth practice bringing spiritual and mundane abundance that features the main deity Kyechok Tsülzang, a manifestation of Guru Rinpoche.

Vajra-Claw Dakini (Dorjé Dermo) is a wrathful activity ḍākinī whose dhāraṇī is recited to protect practitioners from obstacles and terrifying death and to bring about both worldly and spiritual accomplishments.

Losar literally means 'New Year' in Tibetan. Tibetans celebrated a New Year harvest festival prior to the introduction of Buddhism into Tibet. Many elements of the ancient harvest festival remain, however Buddhist rituals easily incorporated these ancient practices.

Jetsün Milarepa is one of the most famous yogis in the history of Tibet. His life story is an inspiration for laypeople and monastics alike. His namtar relates the story of a great sinner who attains enlightenment in one lifetime. Milarepa is considered one of the patriarchs of the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Lhatsün Chenpo Namkha Jikmé revealed a cycle known as The Life-Force Practice of the Vidyādharas (Rigdzin Sokdrup) received in a pure vision while he was in retreat in Sikkim. This cycle includes the smoke-offering purification practice of Riwo Sangchö.

Gampopa, the Great Doctor of Dagpo, is considered one of the forefathers of the Kagyu school. He was a direct student of the famed Tibetan yogi Jetsun Milarepa and was known as his “sun-like “disciple.

The three doors or gateways of liberation are taught in both foundational Buddhism and in the Mahayana. A practitioner is instructed to meditate on three realities or features. Correct penetration of these factors leads to complete liberation as all clinging, to reality, to the path, and to the result, is relinquished.

The ten bhūmis literally mean the “grounds” or levels of bodhisattvas in which the qualities of their training unfold. With the attainment of the tenth bhūmi, one arrives at and eventually reaches perfection at complete enlightenment.

According to the Mahayana tradition, one aspiring to complete enlightenment progresses through practices according to five paths. These paths also map onto the 10 bodhisattva bhūmis.

Nga chen are large, deeply resounding drums mounted on square frames and played usually with one or two short, straight sticks.

The chö nga is a type of Tibetan drum that is held by the player. The double headed drum attaches to some sort of handle or frame.

The silnyen is a Tibetan cymbal. This flat-bodied ‘gentle’, or ‘peaceful’, cymbal is struck vertically.

The Four Applications of Mindfulness are core trainings in both the foundational vehicle and in the Mahayana. Meditators examine four categories of experience with close attention, investigating each in detail.

Ashoka was an emperor of the Mauryan dynasty whose patronage of the Buddhist sangha and marking of Buddhist pilgrimage sites made an impact that has remained to the modern time throughout Buddhist Asia.

Maudgalyāyana and his childhood friend Śāriputra were the two chief disciples of the Buddha. He was identified by the Buddha as the greatest of the monks in terms of miraculous powers (Sanskrit: ṛddhi).

The Tibetan word rölmo means “music” in general, but also refers specifically to hemispherical brass cymbals.

The kangling is a Tibetan wind instrument. These ancient instruments, of Indian origin, were historically crafted from a human thighbone.

The dung kar is a white conch shell trumpet with a warmer, deeper tone than the gyaling.

The gyaling is a Tibetan wind instrument used in the combination of ritual chants and music known as yangröl.

The most remarkable instrument in Tibetan ritual music is the long trumpet known as dung chen.

Śāriputra was one of two chief disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha. He is most often renowned for his excellence of wisdom and was known as the General of the Dharma.

Kharsapani is a form of Avalokiteshvara that is usually depicted as having one face and two hands.

Mañjuśrī /Manjushri is classified as one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and is the bodhisattva who embodies wisdom.

Sitatapatra is a female deity whose power and “magical formulas” originated from the crown protuberance (ushnisha) of Buddha Shakyamuni while he remained in samadhi in the Heaven of the Thirty-three.

Patrul Rinpoche was born in northern Kham, in 1808 into the Mukpo clan. He was recognized at an early age as the incarnation of the Pelge Lama, Samten Puntsok.

The six perfections, or “transcendental perfections” are found in both foundational texts such as the Pali Buddhavaṃsa and in Mahayana teachings.

Hayagriva is a wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteshvara. Avalokiteshvara embodies the compassion of all the buddhas and connects to the enlightened mind.