Kagyu Samye Dzong London
News

SPECIAL EDITION
July 2005

Dear friend,

We have two special events happening this month at Samye Dzong London; the Holistic Treatment Fundraising Day and the Rokpa Children’s Himalayan Dance Tour. This extra-special edition of the newsletter is to give you a little more information about these events, as well as to ask for any help you may be able to give. It also includes The 10 Rules for Being Human.

We apologise if you have already received all this, but please do pass it on to your friends.

1 - Holistic treatment fundraising day, Sunday 17th July, 10.00-5.00
- take this chance to relax and chill out at Samye Dzong

Could you do with some massage, yoga or meditation? We are happy to offer our fourth Holistic Treatment Fundraising Day, with taster sessions of acupuncture, back massage, life coaching, meditation instruction, tai chi, aromatherapy, Indian head massage, homeopathy, shiatsu, yoga and others.

Between treatments there’ll be refreshments, as well as books and bric a brac stalls to browse. We are also providing a creche throughout the day, so you’ll be able to really unwind.

Calling all cake / pizza / bun makers - your centre needs you! to generously provide delicious cakes for sale on the day. People will very much enjoy the nourishment of any scrummy home made food, both sweet and savoury. Feel free to provide items suitable for freezing in advance.

Helping out on the day
For those who would like to help out on the day and also make sure they get there early to book for therapies!, we urgently need people to man stalls - refreshments, books, selling tickets, helping with the crèche and more. Please contact the office if you think you might like to volunteer. It should be a fun day all round.

2 - Rokpa Children’s Himalayan Dance Tour - your chance to meet Nepali children

In two weeks time we are hosting the stay of ten children from the Rokpa’s Children Home in Kathmandu, Nepal. As part of Rokpa’s 25th anniversary celebrations these children are performing in a special Himalayan dance tour and will be in London between 21st-29th July. As well as coming to see their performances, there is also an opportunity to help care for them (cook!) and ensure they get to see the best sights of the city.

Already they have been giving performances at schools and festivals in Scotland, Switzerland and Italy. These combine traditional Himalayan dance with the children’s experience of how it once felt to live on the streets in one of the poorest countries in the world - before they were taken in by the Rokpa Children’s home.

The acclaimed Polish Theatre director, Grzegorz Bral, who has been working with the children in rehearsals at Samye Ling Tibetan Centre in Scotland, says "It seems they have an instinctive understanding of the way the body uses language. Some of them move in such a way I have never seen before. It's always a gamble with a performance, but we try to encourage them to follow their feelings. There is something about these children.”

Families who have taken in the children during their stay in Scotland have been amazed by their warmth, adaptability and diligence. Marilyn Harris, who looked after 14-year-old Pema and 13-year-old Kedar during their stay in Dumfriesshire, says: "On the first morning Pema got up at six o'clock to study. It is really quite humbling. These children really appreciate their education. And they don't have to be asked to help around the house. I've tried to stop Kedar from doing the washing up but it didn't work."

The performances, which are free, will be at:

St Thomas Hospital, Friday 22nd July, 1.00 pm - in the Central Hall

The Nehru Centre, 8 Audley Street, W1K 1HF on Thurs 28th July at 7.00 pm
Nearest underground stations are Hyde Park Corner, Green Park, Marble Arch and Bond Street.

The children will be staying at Samye Dzong between Thursday 21st July and Friday 29th July. During this time we are looking for volunteers to help:

Cook suppers on Fri 22nd, Mon 25th, Tues 26th and Thurs 28th

Look after and take out the children to see the sights of London during their stay

Sponsor an event, such as a boat trip down the Thames, entry to an exhibition, or simply pledge some money to cover the expenses of their stay

Please contact the office to offer whatever help you can. We look forward to receiving the children and Lea Wyler and hope that you may be able to join us over these days.

So, as always, thank you for your continued support and we hope you may be able to come along for one or more of these events.

3 - The Rules for Being Human

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period.

2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in an informal school called Life.  Each day in this
school, you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them
irrelevant and stupid.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error. Experimentation. The
"failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works".

4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it.  You can then go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you
are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6. "There" is no better than "here." When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain
another "there" that will again look better than "here."

7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you either love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

9. Your answers lie inside you. The answers to Life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do
is look, listen and trust.

10. You will forget all this.

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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