All teachings by Khandro Déchen

Spontaneity and Discipline in the Sangha

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen ...to merge mirth and meaningfulness, frivolity and fierce commitment, revelry and rigpa.
Dorje gendün—indestructible association—means the community of practitioners who are …

spurn dejection at every turn

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I had been expecting a telephone call this week—a call which had not arrived—until I suddenly realised that they …

Strange and unbelievable

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice Why does enthusiasm come and go? It is not that I am not enthusiastic as an apprentice—it’s the best …

Strength

tob – sTobs – power

Khandro Déchen This is how an apprentice described the nature of momentary feelings – and in so doing delightfully defined absence of …

Sweet & sour orthodoxy

Part 2 of an interview with the lineage holders by Lama Shardröl, 31 December 1997.

Ngak’chang Rinpoche, Khandro Déchen & Shardröl Du-nyam Wangmo This is the second half of an interview originally published in Vision magazine in 1998 (issue 11). The first half …

Taxonomy

Khandro Déchen Khandro Déchen said: “Taxonomy concerns categories and classifications. We understand what we understand by comparison – but . . . …

that is the nature of the world

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I spent the first 32 years or so working out a reason to live. What was the point when …

The Art of Living

18 Hydref 2018

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen The Art of Living is the act of living life AS Art. This can only really be understood if we …

The Drala Jong Interview – Part I

24 Gorffenaf 2011

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Q: What will Drala Jong be used for?
Ngak’chang Chögyam Rinpoche [NCR]: Buddhism!
Q: [Laughs] Sorry, silly question. What I really meant …

The Drala Jong Interview – Part II

29 Gorffenaf 2011

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Q: What sorts of teachings would a residential centre allow – would there be something new that isn’t currently possible …

The ‘either’

a reminiscence of Chhi'mèd Rig'dzin Rinpoche

Khandro Déchen It was always slightly fraught visiting Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche. I never quite knew what he was going to ask me …

The Five Certainties

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Five factors are of crucial importance if transmission is to function: time, place, teacher, teaching, and audience. For authentic, lucid, …

the Godfather

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Retreat participant My son is thinking about opening a gun shop. I’m wondering if you could comment as to whether …

The hell of being a practitioner

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice Why is it that I can see, in my practice of shi-nè, exactly how my mind works, but I …

The initial display

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen A brief overview of how to relate to unsatisfactoriness without dwelling on it or becoming miserable, as explained by Lamas. The text emphasizes observing the initial experience with clarity rather than getting caught up in commentary and conceptualization, allowing for a sense of spaciousness and non-referentiality.

The Lama-Student Relationship within Dzogchen

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen We have long realised that we cannot work with those who need their Lamas to sit on shoulder height thrones …

The malodorous security of last night’s curry

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice There is something a little irritating about shi-nè when I practise it properly—I mean when I don’t zone out …

The Meaning of Transmission

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen The essential meaning of transmission lies in continually experiencing oneself in relation to the Lama.
The function of the Lamas – …

the surrogate compassion of an arrogant dharmite

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Apprentice I am used to hearing teachings which continually emphasise compassion—and since I became an apprentice I have been aware …

The technique could become a tourniquet

Khandro Déchen Prospective apprentice I am very interested in meditation techniques. Could you give me an example of meditation technique in your …

The ‘ten second problem’

Khandro Déchen Apprentice I would like to ask you about practice. Why is it that my practice is often such a contrast …

The Vajra Simpleton

Khandro Déchen Advice from Khandro Déchen
Ngak’chang Rinpoche and I always recommend that people keep their lives simple – but what might …

The Vehicles

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen As you get to understand Buddhism better, you will come to understand what a beautiful geometry it makes. The ways …

The year of the Dog

A teaching on ‘time in transit’

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen There are many ways in which we could examine the meaning of the Fire Dog year. We could look at …

Tralam-mé

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Authentic relationship to the dimension of sexuality—in terms of Aro gTér practice—is linked with the Dzogchen teachings of the Khandro …

Tralam-mé Q&A (1)

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Q Rinpoche, do you have awareness of people’s tralam-mé?
R Yes – but it is not necessary. You can know the …

Tralam-mé Q&A (2)

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Q Is it possible to see tralam-mé?
R Yes, in a manner of speaking – but it is more that you …

trust in the humor of the situation

Khandro Déchen Apprentice When you’re in a situation where you’re experiencing ambivalence or resistance . . . you said that I should …

‘Unless you are an imbecile. . .’ (Drala Jong Interview – Part III)

13 Medi 2011

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen Q: What sort of location do you have in mind?
KD: It depends on how much money we raise. It depends …

Vajrayana Buddhism in the West

Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen This is not ‘just for us’; not even the Aro gTér is ‘just for us’.
People often speak of preserving the …