Table Of Content]amgon Kongtrul's
Retreat Manual
Translated and introduced by Ngawang Zangpo
Jamgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual
by Ja mgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye
translated by Ngawang Zangpo
Snow Lion Publications
Ithaca, New York
Snow Lion Publications
P.O. Box 6483
Ithaca, New York 14851 USA
Copyright © 1994 Hugh Leslie Thompson
First Edition USA 1994
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
by any means without prior written permission from the
publisher.
Printed in USA
ISBN 1-55939-029-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kori-sprul Blo-gros-mtha'-yas, 1813-1899.
Jamgon Kongtrul's retreat manual I by Jamgon Kongtrul;
translated by Ngawang Zangpo (Hugh Leslie Thompson).
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-55939-029-8
1. Spiritual life-Bka'-rgyud-pa (Sect). 2. Spiritual life
Tantric Buddhism. I. Title.
BQ7679.6.K65 1994
294.3'4446-dc20 94-2483
CIP
Table of Contents
Preface 9
Translator's Introduction 15
The Three-Year, Three-Fortnight Retreat 17
Retreat Centers: Their Physical Setting 17
The Time Period of the Retreat 18
Retreat Centers and Gender 20
Meditation Training in Retreat 21
Jamgon Kongtrul's Life and Work as Related to the
Retreat 24
Kongtrul's Non-Sectarian View and His Retreat
Program 24
Kongtrul's Life and the Non-Sectarian View 31
The Evolution of Kongtrul's Retreat Center 39
The Three-Year Retreat at Tsadra Rinchen Drak and
the Remainder of Kongtrul's Life 49
Kongtrul's Retreat Center After Kongtrul 55
]amgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual
Invocation and Resolution 59
Introduction 61
I. Preparation for and Entrance into Retreat 63
Mental Preparation 63
Practical Preparation 66
Entrance into Retreat 71
II. Life Within Retreat 73
1. The Main Program of the Retreat 74
The Preliminary Practices 74
The Origin of the Oral Instruction Lineage of the
Karmapas 74
Manuals Used During the Preliminary
Practices 77
The Buddha's Word as Instruction Lineage 79
The Importance of the Preliminary Practices 80
The Retreat Program for the Preliminary
Practices 82
The Shangpa Instruction Lineage 85
The Origin of the Lineage 85
The Main Meditations of the Lineage 87
Later History of the Lineage 89
The Retreat Program 90
The Vajra Yoga Instruction Lineage 94
The Origin of the Lineage 94
The Main Meditations of the Lineage 96
Later History of the Lineage 97
The Intensive Practice Instruction Lineage 100
The Retreat Program 102
The Ancient Instruction Lineage 103
The Origin of the Lineage 103
The Source of the Meditations 107
The Treasury of Rediscovered Teachings 109
The Retreat Program 110
Additional Practices Performed During the
Retreat 113
Exit from the Retreat 114
2. The Daily Schedule 116
Background Information 116
The Severance Instruction Lineage 119
The Order of the Yoga of the Four Daily Meditation
Sessions 121
3. Extra Monthly and Yearly Rituals 130
Background Information 130
The Monthly Program of Memorial Offerings and
Extra Rituals 132
Extra Offering Practices and Offerings Performed on
a Yearly Basis 137
4. The Retreatant of the Protector Temple 144
Background Information 144
The Program for the Retreatant of the Protector
Temple 146
5. General Rules of Conduct and Discipline 151
The Most Crucial Advice for Life in Retreat 166
III. Words of Advice for Life After Retreat 175
Dedication and Colophon 181
Appendix 1: Books Referred to in the Introductory Sections 183
Appendix 2: Books and Prayers Mentioned in the Retreat
Manual 187
Appendix 3: Persons Mentioned in the Retreat Manual 199
Appendix 4: Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Deities, and Practices
Mentioned in the Retreat Manual 205
Index 213
Dedicated to my teacher, Kalu Rinpochay, whose love, wisdom, and
creative spirit have proven to be inexhaustible treasures.
Preface
Jamgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual has been a valued companion of
mine for almost fifteen years. I was introduced to it during a
meditation training program modelled on the one described in this
text, a three-year, three-fortnight retreat. I completed two such
retreats. During those years Kongtrul's words often inspired me,
although I never felt equal to the expectations he had for his
retreatants. Reading his advice now for those who have finished the
retreat continues to be a similarly humbling experience.
The three-year, three-fortnight retreat constitutes one of the
central institutions of tantric Buddhist education in the Himalayan
region. Within two ofthe four main monastic networks, the Nyingma
and the Kagyu, only those who have completed such retreats receive
the title of lama. While programs of training differ from one retreat
center to another, this book presents a complete view of one program
designed by the author, a well-known and respected meditation
master of the nineteenth century. This work should thus provide the
basis for an understanding of the many parallel institutions that still
furnish training for persons to become "lamas."
Jamgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual was written to provide a guide
to persons entering a three-year intensive meditation program. The
author does not accompany his words of counsel with instructions
in how to meditate; he simply lists the meditations that comprise the
retreat program. The translation of this work has been supplemented
10 Jamgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual
by some details about the sources of the meditations mentioned, but
no information concerning the content of the visualizations has been
included. Instruction in tantric meditation, whether in Kongtrul's
time or now, remains within the domain of the relationship a
meditator has with his or her trusted spiritual advisor. The same is
true for the decision to embark upon a long retreat. This book gives
a clear picture of the spiritual and practical life of this kind of
institution but this translation was not undertaken with the intention
of encouraging the reader to consider entering such a retreat.
I hope that this book will contribute to our knowledge of the non
sectarian view within Himalayan tantric Buddhism and to our
appreciation of the author, Jamgon Kongtrul. Both of these
important subjects have not yet received the attention they deserve
in any language other than Tibetan. A brief account of Kongtrul's
life and thought as they concern the retreat is presented in the
introduction, including translated quotations from Kongtrul himself.
Some of these are quite long but I hope the reader will appreciate
the opportunity to read some of Kongtrul's reflections in his own
words. There is much more to Kongtrul's life and work than is
mentioned here and much more to be said about the non-sectarian
movement. No writer can do justice to a person's life in just a few
words, let alone the life of such a multi-faceted genius as Kongtrul.
In describing his life so briefly, and mainly in relation to the subject
matter of this book, I have taken the risk of unintentionally distorting
his thought. At the very least this risk will have been worthwhile if
my limitations provoke others to present a more detailed picture of
Kongtrul to non-Tibetan-speaking readers.
Understanding Kongtrul seems more crucial now than a decade
ago because many of the great masters who were his spiritual heirs
have recently passed away. The long list includes some who were
instrumental in bringing Buddhism to countries outside the
Himalayan region: His Holiness Karmapa, His Holiness Dujom
Rinpochay, Dilgo Kyentsay Rinpochay, Day-zhung Rinpochay,
Pawo Rinpochay, Salchay Rinpochay, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpochay,
and my principal teacher who was an incarnation of Kongtrul, Kalu
Rinpochay. These masters were trained in Kongtrul's ecumenical
style, taught with his gentle but authoritative voice, and continued
his work of impartially furthering the development of all forms of
Buddhist practice. Because many present-day Buddhists have been
profoundly influenced by these masters, their absence forces us to
renew our consideration of the source of. much of their instruction:
J amgon Kongtrul.
This book is concerned first and foremost with the three-year,
three-fortnight retreat, an institution vital to Himalayan tantric
