Image courtesy of Tergar International
Tergar International, founded by revered Dharma teacher and meditation master Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, has announced the huge success of its recent Kickstarter campaign to fund the development of a new mobile app named “Joy of Living,” named after Tergar’s foundational Buddhist practice and study course.
“We are thrilled by the incredible support our Kickstarter campaign for the Joy of Living app has received. This enthusiasm reaffirms our mission to bring Mingyur Rinpoche’s teachings to people all over the world,” Tergar told BDG.
“Our funding goal on Kickstarter was just $10,000, and it was fully funded within two hours. However, our actual goal was much higher. So what’s going on…? Our early success on Kickstarter will encourage more backers to join, potentially helping the project spread quickly and bringing Mingyur Rinpoche’s wisdom to an even wider audience… By setting an achievable initial goal, we’re gaining momentum and reaching new audiences beyond the Tergar community. While we’ve made great progress, the cost of developing and maintaining this app is estimated at $1.5 million over three years. Every dollar raised gets us closer to creating a more robust, feature-rich app.”
Image courtesy of Tergar International
As of writing, the Kickstarter campaign has raised $146,170 from 476 backers.
“The global mental health crisis is severe, with millions of people suffering from increased anxiety, depression and isolation,” Tergar said in an announcement shared with BDG. “Meditation has become an important tool in the growing mental wellness movement, offering a powerful way to build resilience. The Joy of Living app offers a proven, easy-to-use meditation approach based on the teachings of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche’s best-selling books. This innovative app supports users on their personal meditation journey and helps expand the reach of this transformative practice.”
The first public version of the Joy of Living app is expected to be released in early October 2024, with the full feature set expected to roll out in the following months.
“In a time of widespread stress, anxiety and isolation, the Joy of Living app offers a ray of hope,” said Beth Korchinski, Telgar’s director of philanthropy. “It’s not just about relaxing; it’s about giving people practical tools to cultivate mindfulness, compassion and wisdom in their daily lives. We believe that by making these teachings more widely available, we can contribute to a calmer, wiser and more compassionate world.”
The app promises to offer users the following: access to guided meditations and Dharma teachings anytime, anywhere, a structured step-by-step path to help beginners and advanced practitioners deepen their meditation practice, personalized meditation recommendations and insights based on users’ preferences and progress, access to exclusive live events featuring Mingyur Rinpoche and Tergar teachers, and connection to a global community of meditators for mutual support and inspiration.
“The Joy of Living app was born from our desire to make Mingyur Rinpoche’s transformative teachings available to everyone, wherever they are,” said Courtland Dahl, Telgar’s executive director. “In today’s fast-paced world, we saw an opportunity to marry ancient wisdom with modern technology to bring the profound benefits of meditation within people’s reach.”
For more information on the Joy of Living Kickstarter campaign, click here.
Image courtesy of Tergar International
“Tergar’s Joy of Living is a meditation path that can be followed by anyone, regardless of religion or culture,” Tergar points out. “The meditation addresses the mind’s basic functions, such as mindful awareness and movement toward happiness and detachment from suffering. By addressing these qualities of the mind, we gradually change our relationship to our present-moment experience and learn to engage every thought, emotion, and sensory experience with unconditional warmth and acceptance.”
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Image courtesy of Tergar International
Mingyur Rinpoche, founder of the Tergar Meditation Community with centers and practice groups around the world, is a renowned teacher and best-selling author, whose books include Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secrets and Science of Happiness (2007), The Wisdom of Joy: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom (2009), and Transforming Confusion into Clarity: A Guide to Fundamental Tibetan Buddhist Practices (2014).
Born in 1975 in the Himalayan mountains on the Tibet-Nepal border, Mingyur Rinpoche received extensive training in the Tibetan Buddhist meditation and philosophical tradition from his father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920-1996), considered one of the greatest contemporary Dzogchen masters, and then studied at Sherab Ling Monastery in Northern India. Just two years later, at age 13, he began a three-year meditation retreat and completed a second retreat shortly thereafter, serving as his master. At age 23, Rinpoche received formal monastic ordination.
Mingyur Rinpoche is also well known for completing four years of solitary wandering retreat in the Himalayas from 2011 to 2015. In discussing how he accepted the reality of his ambition to practice as a wandering yogi, Rinpoche revealed that he faced many personal and spiritual challenges, and at one point even faced his own mortality. Rinpoche describes his years of wandering in the Himalayas as “one of the best periods of my life.”*
The essence of Buddhist practice is not to try to change your thoughts and actions to become a better person, but to recognize that you are already good, whole, and perfect, no matter what you think about the circumstances that define your life. It is to recognize the innate potential of your mind. In other words, Buddhism is not concerned with becoming healthy, but with recognizing that you are as whole, good, and essentially healthy as you want to be, as long as you are here and now. — Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
* Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche returns from four-year wilderness retreat (BDG) and releases a video of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche sharing his post-retreat insights (BDG)
References
Mingyul, Yonggay. 2007. The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secrets and Science of Happiness. New York City: Harmony.
Show more
Joy of Living App | Meditation Anytime, Anywhere (Kickstarter)
Tergal
Telgar Asia
Related news reports from BDG
Online Dharma: Telgar Announces “Introduction to the Path of Mahamudra” Live Webinar
Online Teachings: Mingyur Rinpoche Leads Year-long Buddhist Psychology Teachings
Online Teaching: Tergar Presents Live Teaching with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche “Mahamudra: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities”
Online Teaching: Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche Leads “The Integration of Mahamudra and Dzogchen” Retreat
Related features of BDG
The Gospel of Suffering: Four Questions about the Four Noble Truths by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Living with Mind, Practicing with Intention: An Interview with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
Exclusive Interview: Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche on Living a Life of Balance and Mindfulness
