Deepening your understanding of Sadhana

Rigpa upholds a vibrant lineage of sadhana practice, drupchös, drupchens and nyenpas, supported by the corresponding teachings, practice instruction, retreat guidance and ritual training according to our tradition.

Below you can find ‘Study and Practice Pages’ for different sadhanas practised by Rigpa (and within the Nyingma tradition). They are a rich source of information and not only explain the specific requirements for each practice but also point you to some crucial teachings, events and other study resources. For now the ‘Study and Practice Pages’ are only available in English.

Riwo Sangchö

Riwo Sangchö literally ‘Mountain Smoke Offering’, is a practice of offering and of purification of obscurations, using the element of fire. It was hidden by Guru Rinpoche as a terma for future generations and revealed in the seventeenth century by the great master Lhatsün Namkha Jikmé.
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Tendrel Nyesel

Tendrel Nyesel is a special teaching and practice for eliminating, preventing, protecting against, and transforming harm and conflict of every kind, inner, outer and secret, including those created by negative actions, disturbing emotions and mistaken perception.  It is famed as a practice dedicated specifically to averting the inauspiciousness of the times, and is said to be one of the most powerful practices for bringing peace and stability to the world.
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Zabtik Drolchok

Zabtik Drolchok, 'The Profound Essence of Tara', is a popular practice of Green Tara revealed as a mind terma by Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa. Like the Chimé Pakmé Nyingtik, The Heart Essence of the Sublime Lady of Immortality, discovered by Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, the Zabtik Drolchok forms part of a larger yet to be revealed terma-cycle called Drolma Nyingtik, The Heart Essence of Tara.
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Rigdzin Düpa

Rigdzin Düpa or ‘The Gathering of Vidyadharas (or Awareness Holders)’ is a profound practice of Guru Rinpoche from the treasure cycle of Longchen Nyingtik, revealed by the great master Rigdzin Jikme Lingpa. Regarded as one of the most important and profound practices in our tradition, Rigdzin Düpa is the root of all blessings, which has the power to awaken, in our experience, the view of the natural state of Dzogpachenpo - the nature of mind. It is also considered to be a profound long-life practice, and it is one of the three roots’ practices of the Longchen Nyingtik.
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Yang Nying Pudri

Yang Nying Pudri, “The Razor of the Innermost Essence”, is a terma revelation of Tertön Sogyal specifically for this time. In this practice, Vajrakilaya, who embodies the enlightened activity of all the buddhas manifesting in an extremely wrathful form, subjugates the obstacles to spiritual development and peace in the world. It is the main yidam practice of the Rigpa sangha.
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Chime Phakme Nyingtik

Chime Phakme Nyingtik, The Heart Essence of the Sublime Lady of Immortality, is a long-life practice revealed by Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo. Through the power and blessings of this practice, many masters have been able to remove obstacles to their long life, so that they can enhance their accomplishments and continue to benefit beings.   
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Yumka Dechen Gyalmo

Yumka Dechen Gyalmo, the Queen of Great Bliss, is the peaceful dakini practice from the Longchen Nyingtik cycle, the terma revelation of Jikmé Lingpa. It features Yeshe Tsogyal, the consort of Guru Rinpoche, in the form of a wisdom dakini. It is one of the three roots’ practices of the Longchen Nyingtik together with Lama Rigdzin Düpa and Yidam Palchen Düpa. 
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Dukngal Rangdrol

Dukngal Rangdrol, 'The Natural Liberation of Suffering') — a sadhana of Avalokiteshvara from the Longchen Nyingtik. It is classified as a peaceful yidam practice, or as the secret guru practice from the peaceful male vidyadhara section of the cycle. Dukngal Rangdrol is also used for nedren practice.
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Tiklé Gyachen

Tiklé Gyachen, The Sealed Quintessence — the innermost secret lama practice in the Longchen Nyingtik cycle. This is considered an indispensable preliminary to Dzogchen practice.
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Other practices often done within the context of a sadhana

Confession and Fulfilment

Confession practice consists of a request for purification, and is accompanied by an offering. Whenever we practise tsok, we should also practise confession and fulfilment in some form or other. This could be the elaborate practice of Narak Kong Shak, Yeshe Ku Chok Ma, or more essentially, the Purification Prayer from the Heart of Vajrasattva. Here, just as with Vajrasattva practice, make sure that you bring each of the Four Powers into the practice. Then there is a brief fulfilment practice. When practising more fully, it is the tradition to follow the Brief Fulfilment Offering with Marmé Monlam, a prayer of aspiration for everyone present to attain enlightenment together, in one mandala.

Narak Kong Shak is a famous practice of confession and fulfiment associated with the Narak Dongtruk tantra (Full title: Emptying the Lower Realms from their Very Depths: The Sovereign Practice for the Confessions of all Violations and Breakages, Negative
Actions and Obscurations). It is known as one of the most effective and important methods or practices of confession within the Nyingma tradition, and is also a particularly powerful prayer for those who have died or are ill. This confession practice is often done on important tsok days, and on sojong days (particularly by monastics).

Yeshe Kuchock Ma
The “Ultimate Inexpressible Confession”, also known as “Yeshe Kuchok Ma” is a popular confession practice that is extracted from the fourth chapter of the Immaculate Confession Tantra which is found in the Nyingma Gyübum, the collection of tantras of the Nyingma tradition. It is universally recited by all the Nyingmapas.

Tsok (Skt. gaṇacakra; Tib. tsok kyi khorlo) 

The word tsok means ‘an accumulation’ or ‘a gathering, an assembly or group’, and the word khorlo literally means ‘wheel.’ So, the literal translation is something like ‘wheel of accumulation’. According to the great master Jamgön Kongtrul, this term relates to the inner level of tsok practice, and the generation of vast ‘gatherings’ of bliss that are like ‘wheels’ which cut through the web of our deluded thoughts and tainted emotions. As we mentioned earlier, the Secret Mantra Vajrayana features countless skilful and powerful methods which, if they are practised in the proper way, can make the process of accumulation and purification incredibly swift and direct. Tsok is such a method and is not only a practice of offering but also a powerful tool for purifying our samaya. Sometimes it is said that the best method for purifying samaya is the fire offering, and tsok practice is the ‘inner fire offering’. Tsok is a very rich practice with many layers of meaning, and it can be practised on various levels. It is said that as ordinary beings we are only able to imitate the real tsok practice, which is performed by the dakas and dakinis.

Dharma protectors (Skt. dharmapāla; Tib. chö kyong) 

Deities whose role is to protect the teachings and practitioners. They are sometimes emanations of buddhas or bodhisattvas (supermundane), and sometimes spirits and demons (mundane) who have been subjugated and bound under oath by great practitioners such as Guru Padmasambhava. Among the best known are Ekajati, Mahakala, Dza Rahula and Damchen Dorje Lekpa.