About this Course
Building on H. E. Kalu Rinpoche’s popular course The Illusory Body and Mind, this next chapter delves even deeper into the luminous wisdom of Niguma.
Journey through the Yogas of Niguma with Rinpoche as your guide, exploring foundational practices like guru yoga and tummo before he guides you into Niguma’s dream yoga. Together, these practices have the potential to create profound shifts in awareness and being.
Lessons
Lesson 1: The Foundations, Benefits, and Greatnesses of the Yoga
H. E. Kalu Rinpoche relates his background, personal motivation for creating this course, and the benefits he has derived from Niguma’s dream yoga and associated practices. He introduces some of the foundational topics for engaging in guru yoga, including renunciation, the preciousness of your human life, and impermanence. You’ll also receive key guidance for distinguishing between ordinary distraction, subtle distraction, and mental clarity.
H. E. Kalu Rinpoche relates his background, personal motivation for creating this course, and the benefits he has derived from Niguma’s dream yoga and associated practices. He introduces some of the foundational topics for engaging in guru yoga, including renunciation, the preciousness of your human life, and impermanence. You’ll also receive key guidance for distinguishing between ordinary distraction, subtle distraction, and mental clarity.
Lesson 2: From Subtle Fixation to Mental Clarity
Rinpoche guides you through the preparation, motivation, and visualizations involved in a special guru yoga practice linked with the Niguma yogas. He also shares powerful anecdotes to emphasize the importance of pure vision, the precious human rebirth, impermanence, and combating delusions such as fixation. You’ll gain familiarity with how to practice a powerful new guru yoga technique and how to maintain the perception of your reality as the illusory body and mind.
Rinpoche guides you through the preparation, motivation, and visualizations involved in a special guru yoga practice linked with the Niguma yogas. He also shares powerful anecdotes to emphasize the importance of pure vision, the precious human rebirth, impermanence, and combating delusions such as fixation. You’ll gain familiarity with how to practice a powerful new guru yoga technique and how to maintain the perception of your reality as the illusory body and mind.
Lesson 3: Deepening Your Guru Yoga Meditation
Rinpoche continues explaining the cycle of visualizations from the special guru yoga associated with Niguma’s dream yoga. He conveys the deeper significance of this practice, including the practice’s link to the illusory body and mind. You’ll learn how to develop a heartfelt connection with your root guru and how to contemplate emptiness and dreamlike appearance.
Rinpoche continues explaining the cycle of visualizations from the special guru yoga associated with Niguma’s dream yoga. He conveys the deeper significance of this practice, including the practice’s link to the illusory body and mind. You’ll learn how to develop a heartfelt connection with your root guru and how to contemplate emptiness and dreamlike appearance.
Lesson 4: Two Profound Methods of Practice
Rinpoche elaborates on the two practice methods of visualizing oneself as a deity and seeing all illusory appearances as they are, helping you progress in your spiritual journey. You’ll develop an understanding of how to visualize yourself as a deity, see that deity as the appearance of your consciousness and the illusionary mind, view your consciousness as lacking true existence, and gaze toward your observing mind, letting it be as it is, unfabricated.
Rinpoche elaborates on the two practice methods of visualizing oneself as a deity and seeing all illusory appearances as they are, helping you progress in your spiritual journey. You’ll develop an understanding of how to visualize yourself as a deity, see that deity as the appearance of your consciousness and the illusionary mind, view your consciousness as lacking true existence, and gaze toward your observing mind, letting it be as it is, unfabricated.
Lesson 5: Revisiting and Reinvigorating Your Illusory Body and Mind Practice
Rinpoche provides greater detail on how to gently analyze and dissolve the mental chatter that naturally arises in the midst of meditating on appearances and the illusory body and mind. He then takes you deeper into both the guru yoga and illusory body and mind practices. You’ll also discover more about the three key attitudes underlying proper practice during the time between formal meditation sessions.
Rinpoche provides greater detail on how to gently analyze and dissolve the mental chatter that naturally arises in the midst of meditating on appearances and the illusory body and mind. He then takes you deeper into both the guru yoga and illusory body and mind practices. You’ll also discover more about the three key attitudes underlying proper practice during the time between formal meditation sessions.
Lesson 6: Blazing the Inner Fires of Tummo
Available on: 18-Apr-2025
Rinpoche explains how the practice of the illusory body and mind reduces attachment, aggression, pride, and fixation, allowing you to cultivate a state of equanimity where the mind is not disturbed by various external stimuli such as praise or criticism. You’ll also learn about the physical posture, breath control, and visualization involved with the tummo practice, which transforms negative energies into clarity and calmness while gradually building the physical and mental stamina to achieve a deep meditative state and enhanced focus.
Rinpoche explains how the practice of the illusory body and mind reduces attachment, aggression, pride, and fixation, allowing you to cultivate a state of equanimity where the mind is not disturbed by various external stimuli such as praise or criticism. You’ll also learn about the physical posture, breath control, and visualization involved with the tummo practice, which transforms negative energies into clarity and calmness while gradually building the physical and mental stamina to achieve a deep meditative state and enhanced focus.
Lesson 7: Beyond Heat Generation Alone
Available on: 25-Apr-2025
Rinpoche further reveals the physical and mental preparations for tummo practice, emphasizing the importance of cultivating mental clarity and resilience rather than mere physical warmth. You’ll learn about the benefits of combining breath control, deity yoga, and internal energy to cleanse negativity, loosen spiritual knots, and manifest clear and blissful awareness.
Rinpoche further reveals the physical and mental preparations for tummo practice, emphasizing the importance of cultivating mental clarity and resilience rather than mere physical warmth. You’ll learn about the benefits of combining breath control, deity yoga, and internal energy to cleanse negativity, loosen spiritual knots, and manifest clear and blissful awareness.
Lesson 8: The Titular Dream Yoga
Available on: 02-May-2025
Rinpoche guides you to the culmination of what you have studied with him thus far: Niguma’s dream yoga. He describes how to channel your steadfast determination, balanced mental attitude, awareness of impermanence, connection to guru yoga, and recognition of subtle distractions into dream yoga to truly experience the practice’s benefits. You’ll learn about how incorporating these principles into your practice can enhance your understanding of death and the bardo state and ultimately elevate your spiritual journey through the deeper awareness and transformation that can become possible within your dreams.
Rinpoche guides you to the culmination of what you have studied with him thus far: Niguma’s dream yoga. He describes how to channel your steadfast determination, balanced mental attitude, awareness of impermanence, connection to guru yoga, and recognition of subtle distractions into dream yoga to truly experience the practice’s benefits. You’ll learn about how incorporating these principles into your practice can enhance your understanding of death and the bardo state and ultimately elevate your spiritual journey through the deeper awareness and transformation that can become possible within your dreams.
About the Teacher
His Eminence the 2nd Kalu Rinpoche
His Eminence the 2nd Kalu Rinpoche was born on September 17, 1990 in Darjeeling, India. His father, Lama Gyaltsen, was a nephew of the previous Kalu Rinpoche and had also been his secretary since his youth. The 2nd Kalu Rinpoche was recognized on March 25, 1992 by Tai Situ Rinpoche. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has officially confirmed the recognition.
On February 28, 1993, he was inducted into Samdrub Darjay Chöling (Sonada). His father passed away in 1999 and he asked to live in the monastery of Bokar Rinpoche in order to grow and study under his direction. In 2004, he began the traditional three-year retreat, which he completed in 2008. In 2009, he received from Tai Situ Rinpoche all the transmissions of the Shangpa Lineage. On this occasion, he undertook to confer 108 times the cycle of initiations of the lineage from which he is now holder.
In 2010, Kalu Rinpoche traveled to the West and took charge of the meditation centers created by the first Kalu Rinpoche around the world. In 2014, he returned to Burgundy, in the center of meditation Palden Shangpa La Boulaye, to teach and to resume the tradition of Monlam Shangpa initiated by his predecessor. He has done the same in the United States in 2019.
Each year, Kalu Rinpoche gives initiations and teachings around the world.
