Self-Paced Meditation Course

Preliminary Practices of Tibetan Bön Dzogchen

Key Information:

Facilitation & Course Length:

Facilitation: Online & Self-Paced

Course Length: 9 Self-Paced Modules

Required text: Chapters 1-4 are covered from the text: ‘The Pith Instructions for the Stages of the Practice Sessions of the A-Tri (A Khrid) System of Bön Dzogchen Meditation’.

A hardcopy of this text is available for purchase here. Pick up or shipping is available.

Attendance Requirements:

It is open to all who wish to participate.

This Course is online and self-paced.

What does this course include?

  • Designed as a self-paced resource, this course includes multiple lessons across 9 modules.

    Each module includes guided meditations, instructional sessions and reflection resources to support deeper engagement with the teachings.

  • Each pre-recorded lesson has lesson summaries designed to provide context and understanding of the teachings to be covered in the upcoming lesson. These summaries are also intended to provide students with clarity of the teaching outcomes associated with each lesson.

  • Students will receive access to a full-day & in person workshop on March 22nd held in East Melbourne, Victoria (option to attend via Zoom).

    This workshop will provide the opportunity for detailed guidance, experiential practice in community and the opportunity to ask, listen and learn from discourse about the practices and course related content.

  • Students will have 12-month unlimited access to the course material.

  • Access to ask multiple questions about the course, teachings, lessons or practice as you progress throughout the course. Your questions will be reviewed and responded by the community and Geshe Sonam in group sessions.

Participant Contribution:

Your support, financially and through practice, directly influence the preservation and integration of these precious teachings in the indigenous Tibetan regions of Nepal and in Australia. It is your sincere support that builds an equitable and sustainable pathway between the Mustang Region of Nepal and the West.

Tax Deductible Course Donation* | AUD$400

*All donations are tax deductible.

Course Access & Sign-up

For Course access click ‘Access Now’ below.

Online Course Description:

Preliminary Practices of Tibetan Bön Dzogchen

Introduction to the Course

This online course is intended to offer a thorough introduction to the preliminary practices (ngöndro) of Atri Dzogchen, a key lineage within the Tibetan Yungdrung Bön tradition. Grounded in authentic transmission, it provides a structured and experiential approach to preparing the mind and body for meditation and more advanced practices.

The preliminary practices establish the conditions of the mind to engage in concentration practice. Concentration practice establishes the conditions of the mind to engage in emptiness practice, and emptiness establishes the conditions for Dzogchen practice; together comprising a complete path. The preliminaries are designed to ground ourselves in the knowledge that mind and body, whilst co-arising in an embodied way, are not the same thing. The preliminaries are all designed to begin a process of enquiring into the nature of mind, providing means to develop trust and safety, aspiration, an open and kind heart, and above all - curiosity. They link us directly through the heart to this ancient lineage tradition that has been passed from teacher to student in a continuous and unbroken process for 1500 years - linking the Mustang valley and Melbourne through our hearts.

Each lesson in this course skilfully blends traditional instruction with cross-cultural dialogue, and incorporates contemporary perspectives from Western psychological sciences, enhancing accessibility for modern practitioners.

Background and Context

This Atri Dzogchen Preliminaries Online Course we are presenting is an articulation of a 1500 year old tradition in the form of a meditation manual that outlines a complete path to liberation or enlightenment. For the first time in the English language, this root text along with several expansion texts are offered to Westerners, which is a remarkable and unprecedented opportunity to engage directly in this ancient lineage tradition.

It is rare that such a precious opportunity is offered to practitioners directly from an authorised lineage holder, Geshe Sonam Gurung. Geshe Sonam, spiritual leader and advisor to Bön Mustang Australia Foundation, studied for over thirty years with the head of the Bön order and abbot of Menri monastery, H.H 33rd Menri Trinzin (lovingly known as ‘Menri’), eventually becoming his personal assistant for ten of those years.

Menri was one of the Dalai Lama’s head meditation teachers, revered by many Buddhist lamas from different schools, and was deeply steeped in the 18,000 year old tradition of the Bönpo, who are Tibet’s first nations people. He entrusted the translation of these precious teachings to Geshe Sonam and Dr Daniel P. Brown, a Harvard professor and clinical psychologist. These teachings are now directly available to you as a student of Geshe who visits Melbourne, Australia every year now to offer transmission and experiential learning opportunities. These course videos were recorded at a retreat held in Melbourne, Australia in 2022 on one of Geshe’s visits here.

It should be known that because Menri wanted these teachings translated into a Western context and style, they may not have the same traditional and religious form that many may be accustomed to when accessing Tibetan teachings. This on-going project of attempting cultural translation might resonate with some, but it may not for others. We are attempting to honour the wishes of Menri, and to continue the work of Dan and Geshe, by introducing some psychological perspectives and elaborations to bridge the cultural differences between East and West. The intention is to elaborate on traditional techniques and perspectives for the Western practitioner, to convey the sacred quality of these ancient texts, and to find a place of deep collaboration between our two distinct cultures.

As with all new endeavours, there are bound to be some areas that are not yet smooth or polished, don’t quite resonate, or make sense immediately, so we welcome any feedback that may improve how we continue to offer these teachings now and into the future.

The Course Structure

This course shares a complete set of foundational teachings from the A Krid (pronounced “Atri”) Lineage of Tibetan Bön Dzogchen; a one-thousand-year-old compendium of the middle path to liberation in Bön. This text is the gateway to a series of expanded texts that refine the skills that ultimately lead to full awareness of mind.

Chapters 1-4 are covered from the text: ‘The Pith Instructions for the Stages of the Practice Sessions of the A-Tri (A Khrid) System of Bön Dzogchen Meditation’.

This text is included and will be available for pick up (East Melbourne, VIC) or shipped to you once registered.

Course Structure includes:

  1. Understanding the Path & Setting Intention: Understanding the Bön meditation path, cultivating the correct attitude toward practice, the teacher-student relationship, and the role of motivation in transformation.

  2. Impermanence & The Precious Opportunity: Grounding an experiential understanding in the fundamental teaching of impermanence intended to dispel attachment and steer the mind towards the importance and urgency of practice.

  3. Generating the Motivation of Enlightenment (Bodhicitta): Establishing the correct attitude and motivation for practice. Nurturing the seed of universal compassion within us all and cultivating the authentic aspiration to awaken for the benefit of all sentient beings.

  4. The Taking of Refuge: Establishing connection with lineage and developing the foundation of trust, admiration, and positive connection with one’s own capabilities, lineage teachers, the teachings, and the supportive community of like-minded practitioners (“Sangha”).

  5. Confession* & Forgiveness: Understanding the nature of “cause and effect” (karmic imprints) and the influence negative states, actions and attitudes have on ones meditation progression. Skilfully applying methods of self-reflection, humbly taking self-responsibility for non-virtuous involvement and genuinely embodying regret as a means to forgive oneself.

    *For those struggling with unfortunate connotations associated with “confession”, in the context of Bön practice, it refers to an open acknowledgment of one's misdeeds coupled with an authentic resolve not to repeat them. A more appropriate translation in this context that may be used is the verb “shagpa” meaning "to clear," "to lay open," or "to release".

  6. Mandala Offering: Engaging in a humbling and symbolic offering of gratitude to the innumerable benevolent, protective and encouraging beings guiding the path before us. Intended to liberate attachment, cultivate generosity and accumulate positive conditions for meditative practice, Mandala Offering is a profound recognition of the open and boundless generosity within us all.

  7. The Gift Waves of Influence (Guru Yoga): Requesting and establishing a heartfelt connection with the lineage masters of Bön Dzogchen through visualisation and aspirational practices. These profound practices open ones mind stream to receive blessing, inspiration and direct influence of meditative experience.

For access to this course click ‘Access Now’ below

What comes next?

The online course is structured to prepare the practitioner for concentration practice and beyond following a sequenced progression to more advanced meditation techniques. Those interested in taking the next step into concentration practice may be interested in participating in our in-person concentration immersion from April 11-18 which will also include a recap of the preliminary practices covered in this course.

Concentration Practices of Bön Dzogchen

  • Retreat Start: 5:00PM, Friday, April 11th, 2025

    Retreat End: 5:00PM, Friday, April 18th, 2025

  • Building upon the foundations cultivated through the Bön Atri Dzogchen preliminary practices (ngöndro), this seven-day intensive retreat offers an immersive exploration of the nine stages of staying in Bön.

  • This in-person course is open to all applicants.

Online Course

Preliminary Practices of Tibetan Bön Dzogchen

April 2025 | Retreats & Courses

Tibetan Bön Dzogchen Meditation

The Australia Bön Mustang Foundation are pleased to announce the Tibetan Bön Dzogchen Meditation Courses & Retreats held live and in-person with Geshe Sonam Gurung in Melbourne this April 2025.

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Online Course | Self-paced

Preliminary Practices of Bön Dzogchen

  • Facilitated by Geshe Sonam Gurung, and supported by Nigel Denning and Mark Overton M.D, this online course is self-paced and can be started on-demand.

  • This online course is based on the ancient Tibetan Bön Atri teachings of Dzogchen and is grounded in authentic transmission providing a structured and experiential approach to preparing the mind and body for meditation. It provides a complete instruction in the essential aspects of Tibetan Bön meditation and serves as an essential pathway towards advanced practices.

  • This online and self-paced course is open to all.

Retreat 1 | Melbourne

Concentration Practices of Bön Dzogchen

  • Retreat Start: 5:00PM, Friday, April 11th, 2025

    Retreat End: 5:00PM, Friday, April 18th, 2025

  • Building upon the foundations cultivated through the Bön Atri Dzogchen preliminary practices (ngöndro), this seven-day intensive retreat offers an immersive exploration of the nine stages of staying in Bön.

  • This in-person course is open to all applicants.

Retreat 2 | Melbourne

Inner Fire & Mixing Practices of Bön Dzogchen

  • Retreat Start: 5:00PM, Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025

    Retreat End: 5:00PM, Sunday, April 27th, 2025

  • This retreat provides a comprehensive introduction into the practice of the inner channels and the chakras as outlined in the Tibetan Bön Dzogchen tradition. This practice builds on established meditation beyond mind and is designed to clear energetic obscurations of the body in order to increase the clarity and luminosity of awakened mind and develop skills to regulate energy flow.

  • This in-person course requires application. Due to the advanced nature of these practices, some previous meditation experience is required.

Make a donation.

The Bön Mustang Foundation Australia has been established with the primary intent to support, preserve and revitalise the precious Bön traditions and lineage teachings of the Mustang Region. This organisation is 100% funded on a volunteer and donation basis with all funds going to the direct support of The Children’s Hostel in Mustang, Nepal and for the continued development of The Shenten Thagye Ling Monastery at the request of H.H the 33rd Abbot of Menri Monastery.