Ngöndro Lam Rim Training (NLRT)

A Two-Year Journey in the Common and Uncommon Preliminary Practices

with Ven. Losang Gendun

Introduction to NLRT

The Lamrim - "Stages of the Path" in Tibetan - is a systematic presentation of the entire Buddhist path to Awakening, written by the great Tibetan master Je Tsongkhapa in the 14th and early 15th century, based on writings of the Indian master Atisha. It arranges every essential teaching of the Buddha into a single, coherent, graduated sequence tailored to your mind, exactly as it is right now. Its true power lies not in study alone, but in practice. Each teaching is carefully arranged to meet the mind where it is and guide it-step by step-toward genuine change.

The uncommon preliminary practices (ngöndro) are powerful methods to purify the mind and prepare it for lasting transformation.

Over a period of two years, the Ngöndro Lamrim Training (NLRT) offers 16 months of training in the common and uncommon preliminary practices. The training is designed to generate the motivation that supports the development of calm abiding, special insight, and tantra. By cultivating the inner qualities needed to ease unskillful patterns of mind that are the cause of hindrances on the path, it facilitates deep transformation.

This training is an excellent preparation for (and accompaniment to) the FPMT In-Depth Meditation Training (IDMT).

Content

Over the first eleven months the common foundations, renunciation, bodhicitta, and the view of emptiness, are explored based on the Lamrim. For the remaining five months the focus is on the uncommon practices, Vajrasattva purification, mandala offerings, and guru yoga. Weekly sessions each introduce a new topic that examines different ways to meditate and why, in combination with a guided meditation. 

Aims

The training helps establish a consistent daily meditative practice in support of its overall aim: to engage in contemplative meditation in a way that genuinely transforms the mind's outlook on the world and gives one's life a new direction. Students gain a deep understanding of how to accumulate merit and purify unskillful karma while cultivating a healthy relationship with the Three Jewels and their teacher. The emphasis is on learning to meditate in a personally tailored way, in accordance with one’s psychological makeup and life conditions.

The teacher

Venerable Losang Gendun has spent nearly four decades in Buddhist practice, living as a fully ordained Bhikshu in the Tibetan tradition for the past twenty years. His training spans ten years of monastic study across France, India, Nepal, and Myanmar, and more than four years in solitary retreat in both Tibetan and Burmese Theravāda traditions. For the past eighteen years he has taught Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and meditation worldwide within the FPMT, serving the vision of H.H. the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In 2023 he founded The Buddha Project, offering long-term guidance for serious meditators and fostering dialogue between Buddhist traditions, contemplative science, and the arts. Its core program is the four-year FPMT In-Depth Meditation Training. More about Ven. Gendun and The Buddha Project, click here.

Who is it for?

The training is designed for students with a solid grounding in the Lamrim or an equivalent Dharma background - particularly for those seeking structured support in their practice, for those preparing for śamatha, vipaśyanā, and especially tantra, or for those encountering challenges in their meditative practice. While not a prerequisite, the training forms an excellent preparation for the FPMT In-Depth Meditation Training.

Highlights:

Year 1: Definite Emergence and Mind of Awakening

• Prepare the mind for śamatha, vipaśyanā, and tantra
• Explore renunciation and bodhicitta, the first two Principles of the Path
• Develop genuine urgency through Lamrim contemplation
• Cultivate the aspiration to Awakening for all beings

Year 2: Wisdom, Merit, Purification and Guru Yoga

• Cultivate the wisdom realizing emptiness
• Accumulate merit and purify karma through mandala offerings and Vajrasattva
• Unpack and reframe guru devotion for a Western context
• Make ritual practice personal and alive

Format & schedule

The NLRT teaching sessions are prerecorded. Each week, a 90-minute teaching together with 2 guided meditations are uploaded. On other days, advanced students contribute additional guided meditations. The teacher, Venerable Gendun, offers regular online Q&A sessions. For those who have already studied the Lamrim or the FPMT Basic Program, the training also offers specialized opportunities to learn how to guide others in meditation.

The training will be offered annually. The first training runs from September 2026 to June 2028. Each year is divided in three Terms. NLRT Year 1, Term 1 runs from September 14 – November 28 (11 classes in total).

Donation

Dāna (generosity) is one of the cornerstones of the Buddhist path. By virtue of their generosity, the Buddha and the ordained sangha offer us the teachings, and in exchange, the lay community supports Dharma centers and the monastic community. This interdependence is essential for us to share the Dharma and continue our work to benefit all sentient beings. With your donation we support our teachers in their cost of living and we uphold our dharma center, which is managed entirely by volunteers.

Suggested donation is 110 Euro for the whole term (11 classes). For students and people with low income. Please send an email to amsterdam@maitreya.nl if you'd like to make use of this option. We transfer a percentage of all donations to The Buddha Project, which offers this program to partner FPMT centers.

The donation amount should never be an obstacle to your access to the Dharma! Please contact us if it might be an obstacle for you.

To make an extra donation to Ven. Losang Gendun directly, please use the donation page on the website of The Buddha Project (button on the right).

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