Kagyu Samye Dzong London
News

October 2006

Contents

1. Vist of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
2. Learning Tibetan - my journey so far, by Alex Hagen
3. Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche to be guest of honour at a slideshow by Vin Harris on a pilgrimage to the Kagyu Monlam (January 2006) and Holy Places from Lord Buddha’s Life.
4. An introduction to meditation and Buddhism
5. Forthcoming events

1 - Visit of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

We are very pleased to welcome Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
who will teach about "The Five Buddha Families and The Five Wisdoms"
on Friday 6th October at 7.00 pm.

We are very pleased to welcome Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche who will teach on the Five Buddha Families and The Five Wisdoms. The five Dhyana Buddhas represent the purified qualities of the five disturbing emotions: attachment, anger, ignorance, pride and envy. When these five negative emotions are purified, the qualities and wisdoms of the five buddhas shine forth purely.

Thrangu Rinpoche was recognised at the age of four by His Holiness the 16th Karmapa and His Eminence Situ Rinpoche as being the ninth incarnation of his lineage. An erudite scholar and recognised master of Mahamudra, he has been the personal teacher of the four Karma Kagyu regents and is currently Tutor to His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa. The Abbot and Founder of many centres, he teaches widely around the world and is renowned for making complex teachings accessible to western students.

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche will be teaching at the Centre on Friday 6th October at 7.00 pm - £10. For further information contact the office on 020-7928 5447.

2 - Learning Tibetan - my journey so far, by Alex Hagen

I started to learn Tibetan with Lama Zangmo in 1998, and I think this was the first language course she taught at the Centre. I was fascinated with the beauty of the Tibetan script and I wanted to learn more about it. I also had been a practicing Buddhist for some time and felt dissatisfied with using phonetics for my practice. Phonetics is definitely a useful tool in the beginning, but I always felt it acted rather like a filter, or a smokescreen. I remember looking at a text and realizing that words, which appeared the same in phonetics were spelt differently in Tibetan and had a completely different meaning. I wanted to have a much more immediate relationship with the original text.

Over the years, Lama Zangmo has taught on many of the Tibetan texts and prayers, which are used regularly at the Centre. Studying a text word by word has helped me enormously with all aspects of the practice. Initially it is useful to familiarise oneself with the pronunciation and reading. Then, there are many parts in a sadhana which are actually straight forward descriptions of what one is meant to do, so it helps to understand this as one is chanting. And most visualisations include Tibetan seed syllables and mantras, which hopefully become much clearer as one becomes more acquainted with the Tibetan script.

Also, Tibetan is often so condensed, that even just understanding a single word or phrase can shed light on the Buddhist teachings in general. To give an example, as Lama Zangmo has explained in many of her classes, the Tibetan word for Buddha is Sangye. The first half of the word “sang” means purified, the second half “gye” means to increase, expand or grow. So a Buddha is a being who has completely purified all faults and delusions and has perfected all knowledge and wisdom.

For me the real breakthrough came when I decided to switch all my prayers and sadhana practices to Tibetan. It was hard at first and sometimes all I could do was just try to follow the text. But then I began to have moments of recognition when a word, the sound and its meaning would suddenly, almost magically come together. It was a real joy to recognise words and phrases as I was chanting. It also meant that whenever I wasn’t able to set aside time for language study, at least I wouldn’t forget what I had learned, because I was using the Tibetan text in my daily practice. With time I have become much more confident in my reading, and my dharma vocabulary is expanding. And, of course, my greatest inspiration is that I have learned how much there is yet to learn.

Lama Zangmo will be taking a new Tibetan Language class for beginners over 10 weeks from Friday 13th October to Friday 15th December. The class starts at 7.00 pm and the course costs £50. To book your place now please either email or phone the office on 020-7928 5447.

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3 - Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche to be the guest of honour at a slideshow by Vin Harris on a pilgrimage to the Kagyu Monlam (January 2006) and Holy Places from Lord Buddha’s Life.

Vin Harris writes:

"The most important pilgrimage for a Buddhist is to visit the 4 Holy Places from Lord Buddha's life.  personally, I have found that to make pilgrimage to special places is deeply inspiring.

These are Lumbini where he took birth, Bodhagaya where he achieved enlightenment, Sarnath where he first taught the Dharma and Kushinagar where he passed into Nirvana.  The slideshow tells the story of the journey of a group of friends from Samye Ling and how we managed to travel through modern day India to visit these and some other holy places. It may be of particular interest to people with the visit of Thrangu Rinpoche since there are some pictures of his college at Sarnath.

The main purpose of the pilgrimage was to attend the Kagyu Monlam in Bodhagaya.  There are some wonderful pictures of His Holiness Karmapa who presided over all of the activities there.

For some people this may be a reminder of their own travels, for others it will be interesting to put the Dharma in a geographical context and I hope it will provide encouragement for some  to make the pilgrimage themselves one day."

You can join Lama Yeshe in attending Vin's slideshow at the Centre on Thursday 5 October at 7.30pm, Suggested Donation: £5

4 - An introduction to Buddhism and Meditation with Lama Zangmo

You may have come across meditation, heard of the benefits it has to offer - be intrigued by Buddhism but not know much about it and you may want to know more. This is your chance to find out.

Over six Thursday evenings, starting at 7.00 pm on the 19th October, Lama Zangmo will be giving an introduction to the main teachings of the Lord Buddha - the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path - and the development of compassion, or Bodhicitta. The emphasis will be on applying the teachings in a practical way in our daily lives. The course will also include instructions in meditation practice, and some visualisation techniques which will provide participants with the foundations for further practice.

To book your place on this course now, please either email or phone the office on 020-7928 5447.

5 - Forthcoming events

OCTOBER

TAI CHI
with John Henry
Sunday 15th October, 10.30am–4pm
£25
A monthly class of tai chi with John Henry who has been studying martial arts for the last 13 years within the lineage of Chen Xiao Wang. The classes include a variety of chi kung exercises excellent for health, calmness, balance and relaxation. They are suitable for anyone and beginners are always welcome at any class.

TIBETAN LANGUAGE FOR BEGINNERS
with Lama Zangmo
Friday 13th October – Friday 15th December, 7pm
£50
A course run over 10 weeks which will focus on learning the Tibetan alphabet and how to spell, read and write. Bring pen and paper. Please book in advance. This course will only run if there is sufficient interest.

MEDICINE BUDDHA PUJA
Sunday 15th October, 7pm
We are starting a regular monthly Medicine Buddha Puja this Sunday. Subsequently the Puja will take place on the 2nd Sunday of each month, at 7pm.

INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM AND MEDITATION
with Lama Zangmo
Thursday 19th October - Thursday 23rd November, 7.00 - 8.30 pm
£40
An introduction to the main teachings of the Lord Buddha - the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path - and the development of compassion, or Bodhicitta. The emphasis will be on applying the teachings in a practical way in our daily lives. The course will also include instructions in meditation practice, and some visualisation techniques which will provide participants with the foundations for further practice.

WHITE TARA PRACTICE
with Lama Zangmo
Sunday 22nd October, 10.00 - 4.00
£30
White Tara is an emanation of the Buddha's compassion in female form, and is especially effective in helping practitioners achieve long life, good health, and universal compassion. This day will consist of meditation instructions with time for questions and for the actual meditation itself. Suitable for those who have received the White Tara empowerment. Bring lunch to share. You will need text (available from the shop), a pen and paper.

NOVEMBER

VOLUNTEER WEEKEND
Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th November, 10.00 - 4.00 pm
A weekend of leaf sweeping and sprucing up the Centre! Tea, lunch and good company provided. Please let us know in advance if you can come.

HOLISTIC TREATMENT FUNDRAISING DAY
Sunday 19th November, 10.00 - 5.00 pm
A perfect opportunity to get a complementary therapy treatment at low cost and help Samye Dzong raise funds in the process! At a reduced rate, there will be individual treatments of reflexology, shiatsu, acupuncture, massage and many other therapies. Classes in yoga, meditation, tai chi etc. will also be held at intervals throughout the day. Tea, coffee and refreshments will be available and everyone is welcome. A good day out for the family.

CHENREZIG INSTRUCTIONS
with Lama Zangmo
Saturday 25th November, 10.00 - 4.00 pm
£30
Chenrezig is the embodiment of limitless compassion, and the Chenrezig puja is done regularly at the Centre. The course will provide instructions in the visualization throughout the practice, as well as the chanting. You will need a text (available from the shop), pen and paper. Bring lunch to share.

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

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