Ngöndro

In Tibetan Buddhism, Ngöndro (Tibetan: སྔོན་འགྲོ།, Wylie: sngon 'gro, Sanskrit: pūrvaka) refers to the preliminary, preparatory or foundational practices or disciplines (Sanskrit: sādhanā) common to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism and also to Bon. They precede deity yoga.

The preliminary practices establish the foundation for the more advanced and esoteric Vajrayana sādhanā which are held to engender realization and the embodiment of Dzogchen, Heruka and Mahamudra.

Nevertheless, Vajrayana masters are careful to point out that "foundational" does not mean "lesser," that the practice of Ngöndro is a complete and sufficient practice of the spiritual path, and that it can take the practitioner all the way to full enlightenment.

In addition to what is generally denoted by the term ngöndro, preparatory practices may also be prescribed for senior and advanced sadhana, e.g.: "differentiating saṃsāra and nirvāṇa" (Wylie: 'khor 'das ru shan) is the preparatory practice for trekchö or "cutting through to primordial purity."

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