What is the structure of TTE’s twice-daily practice sessions?
Preliminaries
Every practice session begins with four preliminary practices, which help focus your mind and open your heart.
– Exhalation of the stale breath
– Visualization and supplication of Green Tara
– Short meditation session
Main practice
The main practice session incorporates contemplations, which includes study, reflection, and meditation. Meditation master, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, reveals the importance of each new topic of study, creating a framework for the subsequent contemplations. Rinpoche’s teachings are available in HD video, video and audio format.
The daily contemplations guide the practitioner, step-by-step, into a deeper relationship with the Buddha’s teachings. These experiential contemplations, while rigorous and effective, are designed to be accessible even to people with a busy work schedule, You can listen to the 30-minute teachings at your convenience in the morning and the evening, using an audio or video format. In the Second Excellence, daily sessions increase in length to 30-45 minutes
– A morning and evening contemplation
At the end of each contemplation, you will be asked to reflect on a particular verse or question.
Conclusion
The concluding section begins with the dedication of merit — the goodness, or virtue, which you have gathered by working to uncover your compassionate heart in order to help others. At the end of every session, you share this goodness rather than keeping it exclusively for yourself. In this way, goodness increases when you dedicate it to the happiness of everyone.
Following the dedication of merit are the post-meditation reflections, which were taught by Khenpo Nagchung, a highly realized Dzogchen Master of the 19th century. This is where we ponder what went well and what did not go so well at the end of each meditation session. These reflections are an important way to improve your practice.
The final feature of all the sessions is the mindfulness instructions, which offers different ways to integrate the contemplations into your daily life. What makes TTE unique is that the teachings are pragmatic and meant to be applied to your life. This is how you progress along the path.
– Dedication of merit
– Reflection on the meditation session
– Mindfulness instructions for the day, offered in the morning session, and reflections on the day presented in the evening session
Practices in addition to the twice-daily sessions
1. Practices after waking up and before falling asleep
The wake-up and sleeping practices are short visualization and meditation exercises that take 5 to 10 minutes. These are done upon waking and just prior to falling asleep. They are available as print or audio files.
2. Supportive Practice Seminars with Lama Tenzin
Within Tara’s Triple Excellence online program, Lama Tenzin Sangpo’s optional seminars are offered to deepen our understanding of the content, and clarify the intricacies of a given topic. Similar meditation seminars are also held throughout the year at meditation centers around the world, allowing us to connect with the teachers and teachings in person.
Does the TTE program offer additional support?
Yes! In the Tibetan practice tradition it is very important to clarify your doubts if they arise. The forum offers this possibility. The TTE Forum is accessible only for registered participants and can be accessed by a button on the upper right part of your screen. It is a place to ask questions, read other people’s questions, and find clarification of subjects like visualization, the guru, taking refuge and much more. It is also a way of exchanging experience about your practice with other TTE participants.
In addition to the moderated forum, TTE offers online Q&A sessions with Lama Tenzin Sangpo and occasionally also with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche.
Another support for practitioners is offered by weekly and monthly discussion groups. More information can be found on dharmasun.org/calendar.
Are there TTE Retreats?
Yes! Seminars are held throughout the year at meditation centers around the world, allowing us to connect with the teachers and teachings in person. Most of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche’s Gomdes and Dharmahouses host a TTE retreat throughout the year. The TTE team organizes on a yearly basis an annual Tara retreat in Nepal. TTE retreats are usually guided by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche or Lama Tenzin Sangpo.
You can find information about TTE retreats on dharmasun.org/calendar or on the Gomdes’ individual websites or check out the Tara’s Triple Excellence facebook page for announcements and updates.
