The Ngondro is a type of practice which is known as the Preliminaries. It is extremely important and is the first thing you should focus on in the Tibetan Meditation System. The Ngondro is like a head to a body, without it, other spiritual practices will not be as effective.

The Ngondro practice consists of these core Vajrayana principles:

The Four Thoughts that turn the Mind Towards the Dharma

1. Precious Human Life
2. Impermanence
3. Karma, Cause and Effect
4. The Cycle of Samsara

The Inner Ngondro

1. Taking Refuge
2. Developing Bodhicitta
3. Purification by Vajrasattva
4. Offering the Mandala to Accumulate Merit and Wisdom
5. The Accumulation of the Kusulu: Chö
6. Guru Yoga (in which includes prostrations, recitation of the Vajra Guru Mantra, and receiving the Four Empowerments)
7. Dedication of Merit

Without practicing a Ngondro, it will be difficult to hope for a lot of spiritual progress. It is important to receive the Ngondro from a qualified teacher. If you don’t have a Ngondro practice as a lay person, it is hard for you to be called a real practitioner. 

If you keep doing your Ngondro practice everyday, then this will make your progress very clean and effective, also you will be able to do other spiritual practices strongly. You should maintain a Ngondro practice throughout your whole life as a Ngakypa (lay-practitioner).

When practicing the Longchen Nyingtik Ngondro, it is very important to read the instruction manual known as Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrul Rinpoche.

See also this post: “About the Ngondro“