mandala offering in bon buddhist tradition

GESHE TENZIN YANGTON Geshe Tenzin Yangton is the resident lama at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center, the headquarters of Ligmincha International located in rural Nelson County, Virginia. Born in 1974 in Chharka (pronounced “Tsarka”), a remote village in the Dolpo region of western Nepal bordering Tibet, he is part of the ancient Yangton lineage, said to go back to the time of Buddha Tonpa Shenrap more than 18,000 years ago and traceable to Yangton Sherap Gyaltsen, who was born in 1077. As a child, Geshe Yangton and his twin brother completed the customary three-year retreat. After a series of tests in which it was determined that Geshe Yangton would train to become a monk while his twin remained at home, in 1990 Geshe Yangton traveled with his uncle, Lama Tashi Gyaltsen, to Triten Norbutse Monastery. There, he took his vows as a novice monk from Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche. He studied mandalas (khyikhor), writing and grammar, learned many rituals and received teachings from Yongdzin Rinpoche. In 1991, Tenzin Yangton travelled to Menri Monastery in Dolanji, India. In April of the following year, he enrolled in the Bön Dialect School in Dolanji, where he took the full 250 vows. His rigorous schedule included study and practice of sutra, tantra and dzogchen; reasoning and debate; rituals, art and poetry; numerous initiations and special events, and long retreats, among other things. He attained his Geshe Degree in 2006. Geshe Yangton also became assistant to Menri...