Twenty years of Kagyu Samye Dzong London
Posted on 6 May 2018
Kagyu SamyeDzong LondonMay Newsletter |
Welcome to the May newsletter. As well as looking forward to what's coming up, we also have a brief look back to when Kagyu Samye Dzong London first opened it's doors in Carlisle Lane, 20 years ago. To find out more, read on.... |
News in Brief
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1 - 20 years of Kagyu Samye Dzong London![]() David Bates writes:
"It was just over 20 years ago, in January 1998, that I set out for my usual lunchtime walk in Archbishop's Park. As I strolled down Carlisle Lane I suddenly saw a notice which hadn't previously been there - "Kagyu Samye Dzong London". I thought "Hmm....looks Tibetan. I'll go and say hello". I'd always wondered what was down the unused driveway with the high gates at the end, so here was my excuse.
It wasn't a particularly encouraging sight that greeted me. While the building was clearly an old school, it was also in the middle of being gutted and turned into something else! As I went in and called out "Hello" a nun appeared - this was my first meeting with Ani (now Lama) Zangmo. While I'd never had anything to do with Tibetan Buddhism (Zen and Therevada, but not Tibetan) there was something about Ani Zangmo that I liked, and I thought the idea of a Buddhist Centre in central London was an excellent one, so I made a donation and stayed in touch.
Three months later I was fortunate enough to be there for the official opening of the first Kagyu Samye Dzong London. As with any opening there was plenty of last minute rushing around, although this was particularly dramatic by any standards. Two carpenters had come down from Samye Ling to build a shrine for the shrine room. The day they left to go back to Samye Ling, the flooring for the shrine room arrived...but not the men to install it and the company that supplied the flooring weren't answering the phone. This was only three days before the opening! Instead, the two carpenters arrived back at Samye Ling only to be asked to go straight back down to London and install a floor which was like a giant jigsaw puzzle without instructions... in two days! Suffice to say it was done - just!
My memories of that opening day include: how cold and grey the weather was (there are warm sunny spring days....and this really wasn't one of them); the shrine room being absolutely jam packed; and most especially for me, taking refuge with Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche.
I can't quite believe that was all 20 years ago, that I've been editing this newsletter for the last 15 years and living in our third Centre for the last four and a half years! All the result of my curiosity and an unplanned turn down a driveway rather than a walk in the park on that January day in 1998."
We will be celebrating 20 years of Kagyu Samye Dzong London with Choje Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche on Friday 6th and the weekend of the 7th-8th July. Definitely dates for your diary! A full programme will go up on the website in due course and we hope to see you there .
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2 - June with Lama Zangmo
Those who look forward to teachings with Lama Zangmo will have no shortage of opportunities during June as she leads four courses:
A guide to Shamatha meditation is designed as a follow-up for those who have taken the introductory meditation courses run at the centre. Four Wednesday evenings from 6th June.
Developing a Good Foundation takes place on Thursday evenings from 7th June and covers the four thoughts that turn the mind to the dharma and an explanation of taking refuge.
Medicine Buddha instructions and practice will take place on Sunday 10th June. The Medicine Buddha puja takes place on the second Sunday of each month at the Centre and is a way to balance the phsycial, mental and spiritual health of ourselves and others.
Finally, a reminder for those already on the Bodhicharyavatara course with Lama Zangmo, the next date is Saturday 16th June.
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3 - Somatic meditation: an introduction with Alistair Appleton
![]() Over the weekend of the 19th-20th May, Alistair is teaching the foundational practices of body-based meditation which gives us tools to release tension and learn to trust the inner wisdom of our bodies.
Modern life and psychological stress leaves our corporeal selves locked in near-constant patterns of holding, contraction and defence. And tackling this with the thinking mind, scrunches things further. Drawing on his experience as a therapist, long-term meditator and student of the work of Reggie Ray, Alistair welcomes meditators of any level to experience their practice in a more embodied and more relaxed way.
Please book your place on this course via the Mindsprings website.
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