Description:
“Tsa” means “channel” and “Lung” means “air.” This is a practice for purifying one’s obscurations through working with the subtle body (tsa, lung and tigle), a rich practice that totally engages body, speech and mind.
Tummo, often translated as “inner fire” or “psychic heat,” is an advanced practice within Tibetan Buddhism, particularly emphasized in the Vajrayana and Dzogchen traditions. The term itself is derived from the Tibetan words “tu” meaning “fierce” or “furious,” and “mo” which refers to the feminine aspect, indicating the fierce female deity whose energy is invoked in the practice. Tummo combines specific breathing techniques, visualization, and meditation to harness the body’s subtle energies, generating intense internal heat.
This practice aims to accomplish several spiritual objectives:
Purification: Tummo is used to purify the body and mind on subtle levels, clearing the energy channels (nadis) and dissolving psychic blockages, facilitating a smoother flow of pranic energy (lung or qi).
Transformation: By generating internal heat, practitioners transform mundane experiences into higher spiritual insights, cultivating a profound inner warmth that melts away the subtle veils of ignorance.
Support for Higher Practices: Tummo serves as a foundation for achieving higher states of meditation and realization, including the direct experience of the ultimate nature of reality, or rigpa, in Dzogchen practice.
Physical Endurance: While not the primary focus, Tummo is famed for allowing practitioners to generate sufficient body heat to withstand cold temperatures, a byproduct of the practice that has been observed and studied even in scientific contexts.
Tummo is considered an advanced technique that requires guidance from a qualified teacher and should be practiced within the context of a broader spiritual path that includes ethical conduct, meditation, and other preparatory practices. The ultimate goal of Tummo, like many Vajrayana practices, is to aid in the attainment of enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
Prerequisites: Students who have completed the full one-month course of Ngondro and engaged in the practices at retreat may apply to attend.
Class Master: Khenpo Tenzin Norgay Rinpoche
Class Umze: Our class umze and instructor is Lopon Rapjee Wangchuk. Lopon Rapjee is the class instructor for Tsa Lung Tummo in Namdroling Monastery and was directly trained by HH Penor Rinpoche.
Note: Class master and class lama are subject to change according to the instructions of the retreat vajra master. You will be informed of any such changes upon arrival at retreat.
Class Master: Khenpo Tenzin Norgay Rinpoche
Class Umze: Lopon Rapjee Wangchuk
