The shrine room at Samye Dzong

Kagyu Samye Dzong London News

January 2004

 Lama Zangmo - Director of Samye Dzong

Contents

  1. Next general meeting and
    first meeting of the PR Group
  2. Fundraising initiatives
  3. Property search
  4. Forthcoming events
  5. About the newsletter

A happy new year to all 262 subscribers to the Newsletter - up from the 174 readers we had for the previous issue in December. If you know anybody else who might like to receive this, please forward a copy on to them. In addition, it's now possible to sign up for the newsletter directly from the Kagyu Samye Dzong London website.

Confidence, forgiveness and contentment with Gelong Thubten, 15th-18th January.
See Events for details

1 - The next general meeting about the future of Samye Dzong, and the first meeting of the PR Group

The next general meeting about the future of Samye Dzong will take place at 3.00 pm on Sunday 25th January at the Centre when we hope to see as many people as possible.
Numbers do make a difference in terms of ideas generated and for the sense of support and community that emerges.
Even if you're not sure what it is that you can contribute and can only join in the prayers at the beginning and end, please come anyway and make a difference.

Next meeting of the PR Group for the Centre - help needed

A PR group has been formed to co-ordinate both internal and external communications. Areas that we need to cover include:

  1. Media - print, TV, radio
  2. Website - site maintenance and promotion
  3. Newsletter
  4. Secretary for the group
  5. Events co-ordinator
  6. Researcher - ideas for events, etc.
  7. Celebrities - making contacts

So far there are three people involved in the group:

The three of us currently involved in the group cannot do everything on our own, so if you would like to get involved, please don't hesitate to contact us. The next meeting of the PR group will take place at Samye Dzong on Saturday 10th January at 2.00 pm.

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2 - Fundraising

As mentioned in the previous newsletter, fundraising is currently our main focus - building up sufficient funds for a deposit that will enable us to acquire the site not just for a new Centre, but for London's first Tibetan Monastery. There is plenty going on towards achieving this:

Collection boxes - for you to put in loose change are available from the office now. A few coppers put in on a regular basis can mount up fairly quickly and make a significant difference. Just 100 people putting in an average of £3 per month would add up to £3,600 per year - so think what difference 1,000 people doing that would make! All you need to do is check your pockets for small change every now and again and put them in the box. Then bring the box in before it bursts at the seams, or bank the money directly into the Centre's account (details available on request).
Many thanks to Annie Finlayson who took inspiration from her Mum's fundraising activities for this one, and then acted to make it happen.

Kagyu Samye Dzong Gift Vouchers - are now available in denominations of £5 and £10. These can be used to pay for courses, accomodation and items in the shop.
Thanks to Sally Barrett for designing these attractive gifts and to both Sally and Sheena King for covering the printing costs.

Fitness classes and massages available at KSDL from Sebastien Maw
Sebastien writes: "From January we will be holding classes in strength, flexibility and balance suitable for all levels of fitness.
The classes will be on Thursday nights. Initially we will start the classes at 6.00pm and run the classes for 45 mins. This should give people plenty of time to get here from work. There is a Chenrezig puja at 7.00 for those who wish to stay on.
The classes are priced at £3.50 per session and it is advised that you should bring a yoga mat with you if you have one (all donations go to Kagyu Samye Dzong London).
Massage - if you would like to have a massage to help relieve any aches, pains or stress, and would like to do something for the Centre’s new building fund, then call or talk to Sebastien and he will organise a time to give you a massage. The treatments vary in time, so any donation you make should take this into consideration. Limited times are available, but all money goes to KSDL.
Sebastien Maw is a fully qualified fitness and training instructor and is fully insured. He is a resident at KDSL For details or to book call Sebastien on 07961-532 872.

More books, videos, CDs and DVDs are needed please for the "bookstall" in the tea room. In the months leading up to Christmas this raised over £900 for the Centre, but is now running somewhat short of stock for people to buy. Feel free to bring in those books you've not read for years, or possibly those books etc that you were given at Christmas but have no intention of ever reading. All donations gratefully received.

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3 - Property search

Lama Zangmo visited Samye Ling over Christmas, and after speaking with Lama Yeshe about the time limit,( with now only 6 months left before the lease runs out,) it was decided that we will have to widen the search. This means that we are looking for a property anywhere in London, near transport. H.H. Karmapa pointed out the areas which would be good to search in, but didn't say that something would definitely become available within such a short time. Therefore it is possible something might turn up in the future, but because of the urgency and time restraints we can't afford to limit ourselves to only those areas.

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4 - Forthcoming events

Confidence, forgiveness and contentment
with Gelong Thubten
Thursday 15th - Friday 16th January, 7.00 - 8.30 pm
Saturday 17th - Sunday 18th January, 10.00 am - 4.00 pm
£50
An important aspect on the path of meditation is to transform our attitude towards ourselves and others. This course will offer advice for making such changes in our outlook and for generating the mind of confidence, forgiveness and contentment.
Gelong Thubten is a fully ordained monk who has studied widely and teaches internationally. He frequently assists Dr Akong Tulku Rinpoche on teaching tours around the world.

Chen Style Tai Chi
with John Henry
Sunday 18th January, 10.30 am - 4.00 pm. £20
The third of a monthly class focusing on the Chen style of Tai Chi as taught by Chen Xiuo Wang (the acclaimed master and 19th generation head of the Chen Style).
All welcome.

Introduction to meditation
with Lama Zangmo
Thursday 29th January - Thursday 26th February, 7.00 pm - 8.30 pm
£35
A 5-week introduction for beginners with a weekly class on Thursday evenings. This course will give a good foundation for further meditation practice, with instructions on posture and breathing and some simple visualisation techniques. The main focus will be on the actual meditation practice used. It is recommended that people follow-up this course with a weekend retreat on 20-21st March in order to integrate the instructions and get more experience in meditation practice.

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5 - About the Newsletter

This newsletter goes out to those who have expressed an interest in Kagyu Samye Dzong London. It covers news of the efforts and progress towards finding and funding a new site for the centre, and other events taking place in the coming weeks

Being on this mailing list is not compulsory. If you do not want to receive this newsletter, or would like it to be sent to a different email address, please use the links at the bottom of the newsletter.

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Kagyu Samye Dzong London Tibetan Buddhist Centre
Carlisle Lane, Lambeth, London, SE1 7LG
Tel: 020 7928 5447
Fax: 020 7633 9339
Web-site: www.samye.org/london
Newsletter editor: David Bates david@treeoflifecoaching.co.uk

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