1. First, Train in the Preliminaries
This is Point One of seven. Point one has only one slogan/instruction: “Train in the Preliminaries”
The preliminaries (Tibetan ngöndro) referred to are to meditate on:
- Your precious human birth;
- Impermanence and death;
- The unsatisfactory nature of cyclic existence; and
- The inescapable results of cause and effect – karma.
Mandala or Iconographic Panel, 18th century. Tibet. Embroidery; silk and metallic threads; average: 52.4 x x 46.4 cm (20 5/8 x 18 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art