The following are frequently asked questions about Pema Khandro including a guide to some of our online resources.

If there is some other question you have but don’t see an answer to, feel free to email us at info@BuddhistYogis.org and someone will get back to you and/or expand this list as needed.

Contents Overview

General Questions

Where can I learn more about Pema Khandro?
What is the best book to start with?
What are Pema Khandro’s favorite books/ recommended reading list?
Where can I find Pema Khandro’s books, articles, and videos?
What is a Tibetan Yogi (Ngakpa)?
How can I watch recordings of past teachings?

Meditation Questions

Any advice on how to start practicing meditation?
Any guidelines for practicing meditation?
Any resources for someone who is only beginning to be curious about meditation?
Does Pema Khandro teach Mindfulness (meditation)?
What forms of meditation do you recommend other than mindfulness?
What kinds of meditation are there?
A guide on where to start for interest in meditation?

Studying with Pema Khandro Questions

What Daily Practice should I do if I want to study with Pema Khandro?
Where should I begin if I want to study with Pema Khandro?
How do I ask Pema Khandro a question?
Can I get a private meeting with Pema Khandro?
How do I go deeper into studying Vajrayana?
How do I become a student of Pema Khandro?

Details About Pema Khandro

What is Pema Khandro’s lineage and background?
What is Pema Khandro’s racial heritage?
What does Pema Khandro teach?
How can I mail something to Pema Khandro?
How do I address Pema Khandro?

Miscellaneous Questions About Particulars

Where can I find the prayer the Tibetan prayer, which Pema Khandro leads on solstices and eclipses?
I have recently experienced a loss, what are Pema Khandro’s teachings on bereavement? Can Pema Khandro conduct the funeral rights for my loved one?
What are Pema Khandro’s methods of teachings? Does she practice ‘crazy wisdom’?
Do I have to be a vegetarian if I study with Pema Khandro?
Why are their costs for many programs, shouldn’t the programs be free?

 

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General Questions

Where can I learn more about Pema Khandro:

What is the best book to start with?

What are Pema Khandro’s favorite books/ recommended reading list?

The primary books studied with Pema Khandro in the classes are

  • Excellent Path to Enlightenment. (Sutrayana, Volume 1 is available on Amazon, use the Khenpo Gawang Rinpoche translation).
  • Dudjom Rinpoche’s Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, Its Fundamentals and History
  • Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattvas Way of Life
  • Patrul Rinpoche’s Words of My Perfect Teacher
  • Longchenpa’s Seven Treasuries
  • Dudjom Lingpa’s Buddhahood without Meditation
  • For more recommended books see this list: https://ngakpa.org/recommended-reading/

Where can I find Pema Khandro’s books, articles, and videos?


What is a Tibetan Buddhist Yogi / Ngakpa?

  • Buddhist Yogis integrate Buddhist wisdom with work, family and society.
  • Tibetan Yogis are one form of practice in Tibetan Buddhism. In contrast to monks and nuns, they are not celibate. While Tibetan monastics often live in settled monastic communities full-time, Yogis often live within ordinary society. However they may also live in ‘gars’ which are residential meditation communities, or they may also live in isolation doing retreats. Tibetan Yogis with Pema Khandro’s article here.
  • There are many reasons that Tibetan Buddhists have practiced as yogis throughout history such as: family lineage, one’s teacher being a yogi, philosophical reasons, specializing in meditation practices, personal beliefs, wish to integrate Buddhist wisdom with relationship and family life, in order to remove spiritual obstacles, because it is the primary local tradition, because of a tulku tradition etc…
  • Ordained Buddhist Yogis where a red and white shawl and keep long hair. They wear a white, maroon or grey skirt depending on region and lineage.
  • The manner of becoming a Buddhist Yogi varies according to the lineage and teacher.
  • Pema Khandro trains her students who wish to train in a Buddhist Yogis way of life through the Ngakpa Seminary. Students who wish to ordain take a six to nine year training period to accomplish philosophical, contemplative and ritual training requirements.
  • In Tibet there are many Tibetan Yogis living in Repkong – about three thousand. There are also Tibetan Yogis in India, Nepal, Bhutan and the US as well.
  • Learn more about Tibetan Yogis with Pema Khandro’s article here.

How can I watch recordings of past teachings?

  • Many teachings are recorded and stored on our online library. Members get access to recorded teachings. Become a member here. Depending on the different levels of membership, different video libraries are available.
    • All members have access to all the previous Dakini Day and Dzogchen Day meditation recordings.
    • Snow Lion Members have access to recordings of online courses.
    • Vajrayana Training members may watch their video live or they may watch the recordings afterwards.
    • All Access Pass members receive access to recordings of all online teachings and retreat teachings during their membership.

Meditation Questions

Any advice on how to start practicing meditation? Any guidelines for practicing meditation?

Any resources for someone who is only beginning to be curious about meditation?


Does Pema Khandro teach Mindfulness (meditation)?

  • Pema Khandro teaches Tibetan Buddhism’s Vajrayana and Dzogchen teachings, along with the meditation practices therein. Dzogchen offers many practices very similar to mindfulness meditation because they are silent sitting methods such as Calm Abiding (Zhine). See an overview of the courses led by Pema Khandro here.


What forms of meditation do you recommend other than mindfulness?


What kinds of meditation are there?


A guide on where to start for interest in meditation?

Studying with Pema Khandro Questions

What Daily Practice should I do if I want to study with Pema Khandro?

  • There is an overview of the courses and courses taught by Pema Khandro here.
  • The daily practice for all students is the Refuge and Enlightened Intent prayer plus Calm Abiding Meditation (Zhine)
  • This page has  Pema Khandro’s Daily Prayers – these are also known as the Refuge prayer and Bodhichitta prayer from the Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse – the Longchen Nyingthig plus the four Bodhi vows. Following this a 24 minute period of silent sitting meditation is used called Calm Abiding Meditation. This is then followed by the Dedication prayer which you can find on Pema Khandro’s Daily Prayers
  • Students can learn Calm Abiding Abiding Meditation from Pema Khandro’s Senior Students and Authorized Instructors in Seattle, San Diego, Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Grass Valley. For contact information – email info@BuddhistYogis.org Or you may learn the practice the free monthly only class by emailing Register@BuddhistYogis.org
  • After silent sitting – then there is a daily contemplation to read. These cover the set of teachings known as the ‘outer preliminaries’ in Vajrayana. The text for daily contemplation to read after the silent sitting period is Longchenpa’s Guide to Meditation. It is called “The Excellent Path to Enlightenment: Sutrayana Volume One.” It is translated by Khenpo Gawang Rinpoche.
  • These instructions cover the first 180 days of practice. After completing that, the next 180 days are the Daily Prayers, Vajrasattva meditation, and Calm Abiding Meditation practice. After this you will need to join Vajrayana Training for further instructions. The second or third year of practice is when students may either begin ngondro meditation or train in a sequenced meditation path focused on Chod and silent sitting, which is described here. Those who do not have the time to do ngondro may still progress through the traditional path of meditation oriented around Chod. More advanced students or students who have more time available do both. https://ngakpa.org/courses-2/weekend-courses/ For an overview, visit this page.
  • Students who begin daily practice may wish to set up a shrine to support the practice. This page has instructions for how to set up a shrine, which practices to do on the lunar calendar days, what practice implements you need, an outline of all the major practices you need to know and the outline of the sequence of practices for the first five years of meditation. But it is password protected for access for Vajrayana Training students only. Learn about Vajrayana training with Pema Khandro here.

Where should I begin if I want to study with Pema Khandro?

  • Step One:
    • You may begin by attending a public teaching or taking self-paced online classes here. Buddhism As A Way of Life is targeted towards beginners to give an overview and orientation to Pema Khandro’s teachers. Find these here: Buddhism Online Courses
    • There is also Dakini Day Meditation – once a month – where Pema Khandro gives a beginners class on meditation and sometimes a short talk.
    • Or you may attend a class taught by one of the senior instructors.
  • If you want to study further:

How do I ask Pema Khandro a question?

  • At Classes. Pema Khandro also responds to questions at the end of most of her teachings whether they are online or in person.
  • Pema Khandro does not take emails due to time constraints.


Can I get a private meeting with Pema Khandro?

  • Pema Khandro does not offer one on one meetings with the general public. However, one on one private meetings can be arranged with Pema Khandro’s senior students. Aruna Rigdzin and Satya Shiva. See Pema Khandro’s “Skillful Means Sessions.”
  • If you want to speak with Pema Khandro directly, the best way is usually to attend the next public teaching or web/phone class (https://ngakpa.org/program-category/upcoming-programs/)  and speak with her at the end of class during the question section. Or you may wait in the line to speak with her briefly after the public program. Due to her busy schedule, she does not offer private meetings for the public but she does make time to speak directly with people during and after most public programs. She makes time to discuss questions with members every month on Dzogchen Day.
  • For private meetings and more extensive private meetings, due to the limits of her schedule, short private meetings are reserved only for the Vajra Sangha, Pema Khandro’s personal students. However, Pema Khandro has taken great care to train her two senior students Aruna and Satya to be available for one on one sessions. They have trained in all Pema Khandro’s teachings and practices, including a set of practices and techniques to offer in one on one sessions for members of the public, including both Buddhism and Tibetan medicine perspectives. They are well prepared to meet with you and in the rare instance that greater support is needed than what they can offer, they consult with Pema Khandro  directly. These Skillful Means Sessions can be offered online or by phone.
  • If you are a student  (Vajra Sangha member) of Pema Khandro then you can arrange to meet with her directly in person, by email or phone.
  • Pema Khandro meets with her students once a week online every Wednesday. See the calendar here.


How do I go deeper into studying Vajrayana?

  • Pema Khandro offers an ongoing online training called Vajrayana Training. You can sign up by clicking on this link and filling out the registration form. Once you answer the questions and register, an interview will be set up with the Vajrayana Training coordinator. This course focuses on an introduction to Vajrayana perspectives and philosophy along with an introduction to the Vajra world, etiquette, rituals, symbols and culture.
    • After your interview, you will receive a formal Welcome Letter which will include information about how to access Vajrayana Training teachings online, and Service. You do not have to make any commitments to Buddhism or Pema Khandro for this level of study, it is purely educational. It is designed to educate people in Vajrayana principles so that when they study directly with a Lama or receive empowerments, they are highly informed and prepared to do so. 

How do I become a student of Pema Khandro?

  • You can attend public classes, become a member of her community, the Buddhist Yogis Sangha.
  • Or if students who wish to study more intensively in a long-term way, enter the Vajra Sangha, The Vajra Sangha Pema Khandro’s long-term personal students. Students in the Vajra Sangha are admitted to this group by application and interview. Visit here to learn more and find out how to apply: https://ngakpa.org/becoming-a-student/

Details About Pema Khandro

What is Pema Khandro’s lineage and background?

  • Pema Khandro teaches Tibetan Buddhism.
  • Pema Khandro is an authorized lama and lineage holder in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, also known as Vajrayana Buddhism, though her teachings primarily focus on the Nyingma order. Tibetan Buddhism has five main schools, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Geluk and Bon schools as well as other smaller schools.The Nyingma lineage is the old-school or ancient school of Tibetan Buddhism, which dates itself back to the eighth century, Tibet.
  • Pema Khandro has received teachings with over fifty Tibetan Lamas, you can find a list of the ones who impacted her the most here: About Pema Khandro
  • Within the Nyingma order, Pema Khandro practices and was ordained in the ngakpa tradition- the Tibetan Yogi tradition. You can read about the ngakpas here. Generally, in the Nyingma ngakpa lineages there are two major strands of practice nyingthig and minling.  In particular, Pema Khandro specializes in the nyingthig, the Great Perfection or Dzogchen teachings of the Nyingma lineage.
  • Additionally, Pema Khandro was also recognized and enthroned as the reincarnation of a Tibetan Yogini – the first Pema Khandro, who also taught Dzogchen, Chod and Six Yogas. The first Pema Khandro was a lineage holder in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineage in Eastern Tibet in the nineteen hundreds. Pema Khandro was authorized to pass on these teachings. Read more about Pema Khandro’s enthronement here.
  • Pema Khandro ordained in the Nyingma order and was authorized to pass on the ordination lineage of Tibetan Yogis, ngakpas and naljorpas to her students.
  • Pema Khandro’s teachings also frequently highlight aspects of the history of Buddhism in India and Tibet. This is because in addition to being an authorized Lama, ordaining in the Nyingma lineage and studying with her Lamas, she has a master’s degree in Buddhist studies and is completing a PhD specializing in Tibetan Buddhism.
  • For her full biography visit About Pema Khandro Biography and Pema Khandro Extended Biography here.

What is Pema Khandro’s racial heritage?

What does Pema Khandro teach?

  • Pema Khandro teaches Tibetan Buddhism. Within Tibetan Buddhism, there are many different kinds of teachings based on the various lineages and within the lineages, there are different schools of philosophy that are followed. Pema Khandro teaches Tibetan Buddhism – Nyingma Lineage – with an emphasis on Dzogchen, the great perfection teachings. Tibetan Buddhism is also known as Vajrayana Buddhism. The emphasis of her teaching is Buddhist philosophy and practice.
  • In particular, she focuses on practices for non-monastics, householders, lay persons and Buddhist Yogis.
  • Other themes that regularly occur in Pema Khandro’s teachings are Buddhist Women (in history), Buddhist history (this is her academic specialty) and Tibetan Medicine.
  • To learn more about Tibetan Buddhism in terms of Pema Khandro’s teachings – visit these pages:

How can I mail something to Pema Khandro?

  • Our mailing address is:  PO Box 2396 Nevada City, CA 95959

How do I address Pema Khandro or Pema Khandro?

  • Tibetan Buddhist teachers are usually addressed by their names plus their titles. Pema Khandro’s was given the title “Rinpoche,” and “Khandro-la.” She prefers “Khandro-la,” because it is less formal and because the title Rinpoche is used in different ways among the sects of Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition it is a title used for tulkus.
  • However, Pema Khandro is quite relaxed and cheerful about these issues, so don’t worry if you have made a mistake or if you are not sure what to call her. Kindness and sincerity are what really matters to her.

Miscellaneous Questions About Particular Practices

Where can I find the prayer the Tibetan prayer which Pema Khandro leads on solstices and eclipses?

  • There is a blog post by Pema Khandro which describes this prayer and supplies a video and text to go along with it.

I have recently experienced a loss, what are Pema Khandro’s teachings on bereavement? Can Pema Khandro conduct the funeral rights for my loved one?

What are Pema Khandro’s methods of teachings and ethics? Does she practice ‘crazy wisdom’?

  • Pema Khandro only practices ordinary wisdom and common sense, conservative interpretations of Buddhist ethics. She advocates respect for women and embodies an educational or intellectual model of teaching.
  • Pema Khandro teaches by giving classes and retreats to students, as well as through dialoguing with students. All these interactions follow the conventional Buddhist guidelines followed Buddhists all over the world such as the five precepts, the ten precepts and so on. She holds herself to the same ethical standards that she asks her students to follow.
  • What is crazy wisdom? ‘Crazy wisdom,’ is the name for antinomian and ethically transgressive behavior in Vajrayana history, which some notorious teachers have practiced. Pema Khandro does not work within the crazy wisdom framework. Instead of ‘crazy wisdom,’ she advocates ordinary wisdom and  ‘natural wisdom,’ a practice of awakening the natural dignity and respecting the intelligence and wakefulness that is within each person. These themes of natural dignity are the themes most important in the Dzogchen paradigm. Pema Khandro advocates for a teacher-student relationship based on clear, strict ethics and healthy boundaries that hold up to standards set by modern psychology for professional relationships. Pema Khandro’s student-teacher connections are based on intrinsic equality and mutual respect. Instead of transgressive behavior – Pema Khandro advocates for transgressing limits of dualized, bigoted mindsets such as sexism, racism and fundamentalism.

Do I have to be a vegetarian if I study with Pema Khandro?

  • Pema Khandro is a vegan vegetarian. She encourages her students who can be vegetarian to be vegetarian as an expression of compassion for animals. However, students who feel that they cannot be vegetarian for health or medical reasons are not vegetarian. Pema Khandro embraces diversity in her sangha. In Tibetan Buddhism there are numerous approaches to ‘compassionate’ diet, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. So compassionate motivation is what matters the most.

Why are there costs for programs? Shouldn’t the program costs be free?

  • Program costs cover the cost of running the programs such as renting buildings, paying for electricity at the center where the teaching is offered, purchasing the food for the meals, the mandatory insurance and legal fees that American religious organizations must pay and so forth. All programs include scholarships for students who cannot afford to cover their own expenses, but these rely on the cost being covered by others generosity. As a community we have regularly sponsored more than fifty percent of attendees this way for two decades. We also regularly offer free public teachings, though of course, these rely on the community donations to cover the expenses to keep such programs going. The dharma teachings themselves are priceless and no price can be set which would cover them. The Lamas and instructors such as Pema Khandro volunteer their time and are only paid by donations when they are made above and beyond the program tuition. You can read more about our generosity policies here: https://ngakpa.org/giving/

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Satya, Mikyo, Malika and Sara for putting this information together over the years. This information is drawn from the Ngakpa International website and from Pema Khandro’s lectures, retreats, articles, essays and letters to students.