The Sangha or Spiritual Community

The great spiritual tradition of Tibet is known for its extraordinary monastic institutions,
yet at the same time there is another equally vital and important tradition: the path of
the Yogin or Yogini, men and women, who, embracing and integrating the everyday
world in the spiritual path, benefit the community in which they operate through their
realisation.

One non-monastic way, the way of the Ngakpa, has embraced throughout history
people from all social classes, farmers, artisans, people with family life, heads of state,
and simple vagabonds, who, being engaged with the world, expressed the highest
spiritual attainment. This tradition, not institutionalized and lacking rigid hierarchies,
is undoubtedly worthy of being preserved and integrated into our modern world.
Therefore, the Community (or Sangha) of Pendê Ling has this orientation.
One component of the distinctive vision of Pendê Ling is to develop a community of
lay practitioners, people who keep their commitments to family and their jobs, while
practicing and integrating the Dharma wherever they are.

The ultimate view of the teachings of the Buddhas, Dzogchen and Mahamudra, put
emphasis on clarity and natural space, which makes it possible to merge practice with
everyday life. Being stuck in traffic, making dinner, a professional meeting, all are
opportunities for practice, and as such are as unlimited as life itself.
We are a group of practitioners, who meet regularly during the week to attend lessons
and practice specific sadhanas (meditation practices). Together we are building the
Mandala of a non-monastic community that spans all sectors of society; a Sangha
committed to a long-term vision — Pendê Ling— as a positive force in the Buddhism
inside the country and beyond its borders, for many years to come.