H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for three weeks in November and bestowed the precious Nyingt'higYab Zhi cycle of empowerments and scriptural transmissions. He taught extensively on this profound cycle of the great fourteenth century master Longchenpa. Participants were deeply moved both by Rinpoche's generosity and by the blessings of the Great Perfection lineage.
Two of the eight stupas, the Lotus Stupa and Enlightenment Stupa, were structurally completed and blessed during the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments. Construction on the other six stupas will resume later this year. Many of the substances that will go inside them have been prepared and blessed. Anyone interested in assisting with the stupa project in any way should contact Mike McLaughlin at Rigdzin Ling.
Kim and Mike McLaughlin's staff house is underway. The leach field and utility pipes have been installed and are ready to go. Last summer, Rigdzin Ling acquired a backhoe which has since been used for stupa work, road maintenance, flood control, and landscaping.
A number of ravens have become regular visitors to Rigdzin Ling, cawing and diving above moonland and the surrounding forests. Recently, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche noted that he was very happy to see these and so many other different birds beginning to gather here.
__________
"It is interesting to think about being liberated while I am incarcerated," commented a member of the "prison sangha" in Spokane. Eight people from the Spokane County Geiger Corrections facility had come to Padma Ling to receive the Vajrakilaya empowerment from Lama Tharchin Rinpoche in October. Each week Lama Inge and sangha members from Padma Ling conduct Tara Practice in three different prison facilities. Since Lama Yontan began the programs last year, the number of participants has steadily grown. A variety of cultural backgrounds are represented, including Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese, Hispanic, African-American, and Native American.
It is a joy to see eyes soften and feel energy relax as the infallible practices and teachings begin to take hold. Group members have told us that if they had not been able to focus on the teachings when they found themselves in challenging situations, they would have ended up in the "hole," in solitary confinement. Many prisoners are coming into contact with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche through his books from Padma Publishing. Libraries are being established and donations are definitely being accepted!
Through Dennis and Beverley Skipper's kind offering of their house as a place for the dharma to develop in Portland, the sangha there is growing and practicing under Lama Inge's guidance. Lama Inge gave a Tara empowerment for thirteen members of the Portland sangha on her way to the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments at Rigdzin Ling last fall.
A five-day T'hroma retreat at Padma Ling after Christmas drew earnest chodpas and chodmas from Spokane and Seattle. Lama Inge visited Lama Yontan and sacred pilgrimage sites in Nepal, returning on February 14 after a week with the sangha in Germany.
__________
Since the sale of the Oakville center, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche has guided us toward strengthening the practice groups in Napa, the East Bay, Marin, and one another. We now gather for an all sangha puja and potluck once a month, hosted on a rotating basis by each group. Individual groups also hold regular tsog and Sunday practice.
Jigme Rinpoche's busy schedule has included bestowing a Dorje Drolod empowerment in October, conducting a Peaceful Manjushri retreat in early December, giving a "New Year's Resolution" talk on integrating the dharma into daily life, and presiding over the Vajrakilaya drubchen at Rigdzin Ling. In the coming months, Tulku Jigme will be offering regular meditation sessions in St. Helena, a Vajrakilaya empowerment and teachings in Marin, and Tara empowerment and teachings in Berkeley.
__________
Chagdud Gonpa Brasil has just completed the first Dzogchen retreat under the magnificent blessing of H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Without pause Rinpoche and the sangha began the elaborate preparation for the first annual Vajrakilaya ceremony and Losar celebration. Late in the month of February, Rinpoche also conducted a week-long ngondro retreat. The lha khang is on its way. Construction of the foundation will soon begin on the Gonpa land called White Waters (Aguas Brancas) in the hills above the town of Three Crowns(Tres Coroas). We often call this new holy place the Three Jewels.
__________
After four years of aspiring to have a resident lama among us to increase our practice and guide us on the path of dharma we were finally rewarded with Lama Tsering Everest. After that, all doors seemed to have opened. Chagdud Gonpa Sao Paulo is now located in a very nice house where Lama Tsering lives and where we gather for teachings.
___________
The Belo Horizonte temple project has moved past the design phase–we have gathered enough contributions to begin construction in March. We hope our temple will soon be home to a resident lama and also the beautiful and powerful statue of Guru Rinpoche sculpted by Glen Sandvoss and consecrated by Chagdud Tulku.
__________
Our fifteenth annual consecration of the Tara statue seemed like a family gathering with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Khandro Jane Tromge, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Lama Drimed, Tulku Ape, Lama Gyatso, Lama Jigme, Perna Tenzin, P'hurba Sonam Sherpa, and our beloved resident lama, Lama Sonam. The great translator Chokyi Nyima kindly lent his skills. Sangha members came from Canada and all over the United States. The three-day event truly transformed our shrine room into Tara's pureland.
Earlier this summer, we turned our hands to a new fund-raiser for the Gonpa. We catered a bicycle tour, the Tour D'Lane, with Tibetan food. As we delighted in the open-air surroundings near a beautiful mountain stream, the cyclists reported that they were well fed.
Lama Sonam continues his series of ngondro teachings on Sundays. Saturday, February 24, 1996, marked our sangha celebration of Tibetan New Year with a Shower of Blessings tsog. Also note that, for anyone interested, we now have residential rooms available for Buddhist practitioners. For more information call Dechhen Ling.
__________
The T'hroma drubchod led by H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was a resounding success. The T'hroma sadhana, performed intensively for eight days and nights, transformed the conference hall, in a secluded canyon area away from the bustle of the city, into a resplendent practice space. Present at the event was our resident lama, Lama Chodrak Gyatso, and several other Chagdud Gonpa lamas.
Rinpoche commented at the conclusion of the drubchod that through the power of the T'hroma practice done that week, the area of Los Angeles around the event site was certainly benefited. We plan to make the T'hroma drubchod an annual event in Los Angeles and look forward to the sangha gathering here each year.
The seeds planted by Lama Gyatso' s teachings and retreats in Los Angeles have blossomed into two enthusiastic new Tara practice groups that meet weekly, one in the Mojave high desert near Victorville and the other near Redlands.
__________
September brought a visit from Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche, the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche's young tulku. Sangha members offered a dinner for him and his entourage, facilitating the establishment or renewal of personal connections with this special Rinpoche.
Vajrakilaya and English Red Tara practices take place on a weekly basis. Ngondro and Tibetan Red Tara are practiced on alternate Sundays. Specific tsogs are scheduled on a monthly basis.
We organized two weekend retreats in beautiful rural settings. Richard Baldwin taught extensively throughout both the ngondro retreat on the Olympic Peninsula and the Red Tara retreat on Vashon Island. Both gave members the special opportunity to support one another in deepening and broadening their practice.
For the third time, we met for practice on New Year's Eve and celebrated our community's growth and development while marking another year during which we all benefited from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche's teachings and blessings.
H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for three weeks in November and bestowed the precious Nyingt'higYab Zhi cycle of empowerments and scriptural transmissions. He taught extensively on this profound cycle of the great fourteenth century master Longchenpa. Participants were deeply moved both by Rinpoche's generosity and by the blessings of the Great Perfection lineage.
Two of the eight stupas, the Lotus Stupa and Enlightenment Stupa, were structurally completed and blessed during the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments. Construction on the other six stupas will resume later this year. Many of the substances that will go inside them have been prepared and blessed. Anyone interested in assisting with the stupa project in any way should contact Mike McLaughlin at Rigdzin Ling.
Kim and Mike McLaughlin's staff house is underway. The leach field and utility pipes have been installed and are ready to go. Last summer, Rigdzin Ling acquired a backhoe which has since been used for stupa work, road maintenance, flood control, and landscaping.
A number of ravens have become regular visitors to Rigdzin Ling, cawing and diving above moonland and the surrounding forests. Recently, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche noted that he was very happy to see these and so many other different birds beginning to gather here.
__________
"It is interesting to think about being liberated while I am incarcerated," commented a member of the "prison sangha" in Spokane. Eight people from the Spokane County Geiger Corrections facility had come to Padma Ling to receive the Vajrakilaya empowerment from Lama Tharchin Rinpoche in October. Each week Lama Inge and sangha members from Padma Ling conduct Tara Practice in three different prison facilities. Since Lama Yontan began the programs last year, the number of participants has steadily grown. A variety of cultural backgrounds are represented, including Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese, Hispanic, African-American, and Native American.
It is a joy to see eyes soften and feel energy relax as the infallible practices and teachings begin to take hold. Group members have told us that if they had not been able to focus on the teachings when they found themselves in challenging situations, they would have ended up in the "hole," in solitary confinement. Many prisoners are coming into contact with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche through his books from Padma Publishing. Libraries are being established and donations are definitely being accepted!
Through Dennis and Beverley Skipper's kind offering of their house as a place for the dharma to develop in Portland, the sangha there is growing and practicing under Lama Inge's guidance. Lama Inge gave a Tara empowerment for thirteen members of the Portland sangha on her way to the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments at Rigdzin Ling last fall.
A five-day T'hroma retreat at Padma Ling after Christmas drew earnest chodpas and chodmas from Spokane and Seattle. Lama Inge visited Lama Yontan and sacred pilgrimage sites in Nepal, returning on February 14 after a week with the sangha in Germany.
__________
Since the sale of the Oakville center, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche has guided us toward strengthening the practice groups in Napa, the East Bay, Marin, and one another. We now gather for an all sangha puja and potluck once a month, hosted on a rotating basis by each group. Individual groups also hold regular tsog and Sunday practice.
Jigme Rinpoche's busy schedule has included bestowing a Dorje Drolod empowerment in October, conducting a Peaceful Manjushri retreat in early December, giving a "New Year's Resolution" talk on integrating the dharma into daily life, and presiding over the Vajrakilaya drubchen at Rigdzin Ling. In the coming months, Tulku Jigme will be offering regular meditation sessions in St. Helena, a Vajrakilaya empowerment and teachings in Marin, and Tara empowerment and teachings in Berkeley.
__________
Chagdud Gonpa Brasil has just completed the first Dzogchen retreat under the magnificent blessing of H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Without pause Rinpoche and the sangha began the elaborate preparation for the first annual Vajrakilaya ceremony and Losar celebration. Late in the month of February, Rinpoche also conducted a week-long ngondro retreat. The lha khang is on its way. Construction of the foundation will soon begin on the Gonpa land called White Waters (Aguas Brancas) in the hills above the town of Three Crowns(Tres Coroas). We often call this new holy place the Three Jewels.
__________
After four years of aspiring to have a resident lama among us to increase our practice and guide us on the path of dharma we were finally rewarded with Lama Tsering Everest. After that, all doors seemed to have opened. Chagdud Gonpa Sao Paulo is now located in a very nice house where Lama Tsering lives and where we gather for teachings.
___________
The Belo Horizonte temple project has moved past the design phase–we have gathered enough contributions to begin construction in March. We hope our temple will soon be home to a resident lama and also the beautiful and powerful statue of Guru Rinpoche sculpted by Glen Sandvoss and consecrated by Chagdud Tulku.
__________
Our fifteenth annual consecration of the Tara statue seemed like a family gathering with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Khandro Jane Tromge, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Lama Drimed, Tulku Ape, Lama Gyatso, Lama Jigme, Perna Tenzin, P'hurba Sonam Sherpa, and our beloved resident lama, Lama Sonam. The great translator Chokyi Nyima kindly lent his skills. Sangha members came from Canada and all over the United States. The three-day event truly transformed our shrine room into Tara's pureland.
Earlier this summer, we turned our hands to a new fund-raiser for the Gonpa. We catered a bicycle tour, the Tour D'Lane, with Tibetan food. As we delighted in the open-air surroundings near a beautiful mountain stream, the cyclists reported that they were well fed.
Lama Sonam continues his series of ngondro teachings on Sundays. Saturday, February 24, 1996, marked our sangha celebration of Tibetan New Year with a Shower of Blessings tsog. Also note that, for anyone interested, we now have residential rooms available for Buddhist practitioners. For more information call Dechhen Ling.
__________
The T'hroma drubchod led by H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was a resounding success. The T'hroma sadhana, performed intensively for eight days and nights, transformed the conference hall, in a secluded canyon area away from the bustle of the city, into a resplendent practice space. Present at the event was our resident lama, Lama Chodrak Gyatso, and several other Chagdud Gonpa lamas.
Rinpoche commented at the conclusion of the drubchod that through the power of the T'hroma practice done that week, the area of Los Angeles around the event site was certainly benefited. We plan to make the T'hroma drubchod an annual event in Los Angeles and look forward to the sangha gathering here each year.
The seeds planted by Lama Gyatso' s teachings and retreats in Los Angeles have blossomed into two enthusiastic new Tara practice groups that meet weekly, one in the Mojave high desert near Victorville and the other near Redlands.
__________
September brought a visit from Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche, the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche's young tulku. Sangha members offered a dinner for him and his entourage, facilitating the establishment or renewal of personal connections with this special Rinpoche.
Vajrakilaya and English Red Tara practices take place on a weekly basis. Ngondro and Tibetan Red Tara are practiced on alternate Sundays. Specific tsogs are scheduled on a monthly basis.
We organized two weekend retreats in beautiful rural settings. Richard Baldwin taught extensively throughout both the ngondro retreat on the Olympic Peninsula and the Red Tara retreat on Vashon Island. Both gave members the special opportunity to support one another in deepening and broadening their practice.
For the third time, we met for practice on New Year's Eve and celebrated our community's growth and development while marking another year during which we all benefited from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche's teachings and blessings.
H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for three weeks in November and bestowed the precious Nyingt'higYab Zhi cycle of empowerments and scriptural transmissions. He taught extensively on this profound cycle of the great fourteenth century master Longchenpa. Participants were deeply moved both by Rinpoche's generosity and by the blessings of the Great Perfection lineage.
Two of the eight stupas, the Lotus Stupa and Enlightenment Stupa, were structurally completed and blessed during the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments. Construction on the other six stupas will resume later this year. Many of the substances that will go inside them have been prepared and blessed. Anyone interested in assisting with the stupa project in any way should contact Mike McLaughlin at Rigdzin Ling.
Kim and Mike McLaughlin's staff house is underway. The leach field and utility pipes have been installed and are ready to go. Last summer, Rigdzin Ling acquired a backhoe which has since been used for stupa work, road maintenance, flood control, and landscaping.
A number of ravens have become regular visitors to Rigdzin Ling, cawing and diving above moonland and the surrounding forests. Recently, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche noted that he was very happy to see these and so many other different birds beginning to gather here.
__________
"It is interesting to think about being liberated while I am incarcerated," commented a member of the "prison sangha" in Spokane. Eight people from the Spokane County Geiger Corrections facility had come to Padma Ling to receive the Vajrakilaya empowerment from Lama Tharchin Rinpoche in October. Each week Lama Inge and sangha members from Padma Ling conduct Tara Practice in three different prison facilities. Since Lama Yontan began the programs last year, the number of participants has steadily grown. A variety of cultural backgrounds are represented, including Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese, Hispanic, African-American, and Native American.
It is a joy to see eyes soften and feel energy relax as the infallible practices and teachings begin to take hold. Group members have told us that if they had not been able to focus on the teachings when they found themselves in challenging situations, they would have ended up in the "hole," in solitary confinement. Many prisoners are coming into contact with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche through his books from Padma Publishing. Libraries are being established and donations are definitely being accepted!
Through Dennis and Beverley Skipper's kind offering of their house as a place for the dharma to develop in Portland, the sangha there is growing and practicing under Lama Inge's guidance. Lama Inge gave a Tara empowerment for thirteen members of the Portland sangha on her way to the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments at Rigdzin Ling last fall.
A five-day T'hroma retreat at Padma Ling after Christmas drew earnest chodpas and chodmas from Spokane and Seattle. Lama Inge visited Lama Yontan and sacred pilgrimage sites in Nepal, returning on February 14 after a week with the sangha in Germany.
__________
Since the sale of the Oakville center, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche has guided us toward strengthening the practice groups in Napa, the East Bay, Marin, and one another. We now gather for an all sangha puja and potluck once a month, hosted on a rotating basis by each group. Individual groups also hold regular tsog and Sunday practice.
Jigme Rinpoche's busy schedule has included bestowing a Dorje Drolod empowerment in October, conducting a Peaceful Manjushri retreat in early December, giving a "New Year's Resolution" talk on integrating the dharma into daily life, and presiding over the Vajrakilaya drubchen at Rigdzin Ling. In the coming months, Tulku Jigme will be offering regular meditation sessions in St. Helena, a Vajrakilaya empowerment and teachings in Marin, and Tara empowerment and teachings in Berkeley.
__________
Chagdud Gonpa Brasil has just completed the first Dzogchen retreat under the magnificent blessing of H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Without pause Rinpoche and the sangha began the elaborate preparation for the first annual Vajrakilaya ceremony and Losar celebration. Late in the month of February, Rinpoche also conducted a week-long ngondro retreat. The lha khang is on its way. Construction of the foundation will soon begin on the Gonpa land called White Waters (Aguas Brancas) in the hills above the town of Three Crowns(Tres Coroas). We often call this new holy place the Three Jewels.
__________
After four years of aspiring to have a resident lama among us to increase our practice and guide us on the path of dharma we were finally rewarded with Lama Tsering Everest. After that, all doors seemed to have opened. Chagdud Gonpa Sao Paulo is now located in a very nice house where Lama Tsering lives and where we gather for teachings.
___________
The Belo Horizonte temple project has moved past the design phase–we have gathered enough contributions to begin construction in March. We hope our temple will soon be home to a resident lama and also the beautiful and powerful statue of Guru Rinpoche sculpted by Glen Sandvoss and consecrated by Chagdud Tulku.
__________
Our fifteenth annual consecration of the Tara statue seemed like a family gathering with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Khandro Jane Tromge, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Lama Drimed, Tulku Ape, Lama Gyatso, Lama Jigme, Perna Tenzin, P'hurba Sonam Sherpa, and our beloved resident lama, Lama Sonam. The great translator Chokyi Nyima kindly lent his skills. Sangha members came from Canada and all over the United States. The three-day event truly transformed our shrine room into Tara's pureland.
Earlier this summer, we turned our hands to a new fund-raiser for the Gonpa. We catered a bicycle tour, the Tour D'Lane, with Tibetan food. As we delighted in the open-air surroundings near a beautiful mountain stream, the cyclists reported that they were well fed.
Lama Sonam continues his series of ngondro teachings on Sundays. Saturday, February 24, 1996, marked our sangha celebration of Tibetan New Year with a Shower of Blessings tsog. Also note that, for anyone interested, we now have residential rooms available for Buddhist practitioners. For more information call Dechhen Ling.
__________
The T'hroma drubchod led by H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was a resounding success. The T'hroma sadhana, performed intensively for eight days and nights, transformed the conference hall, in a secluded canyon area away from the bustle of the city, into a resplendent practice space. Present at the event was our resident lama, Lama Chodrak Gyatso, and several other Chagdud Gonpa lamas.
Rinpoche commented at the conclusion of the drubchod that through the power of the T'hroma practice done that week, the area of Los Angeles around the event site was certainly benefited. We plan to make the T'hroma drubchod an annual event in Los Angeles and look forward to the sangha gathering here each year.
The seeds planted by Lama Gyatso' s teachings and retreats in Los Angeles have blossomed into two enthusiastic new Tara practice groups that meet weekly, one in the Mojave high desert near Victorville and the other near Redlands.
__________
September brought a visit from Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche, the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche's young tulku. Sangha members offered a dinner for him and his entourage, facilitating the establishment or renewal of personal connections with this special Rinpoche.
Vajrakilaya and English Red Tara practices take place on a weekly basis. Ngondro and Tibetan Red Tara are practiced on alternate Sundays. Specific tsogs are scheduled on a monthly basis.
We organized two weekend retreats in beautiful rural settings. Richard Baldwin taught extensively throughout both the ngondro retreat on the Olympic Peninsula and the Red Tara retreat on Vashon Island. Both gave members the special opportunity to support one another in deepening and broadening their practice.
For the third time, we met for practice on New Year's Eve and celebrated our community's growth and development while marking another year during which we all benefited from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche's teachings and blessings.
H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for three weeks in November and bestowed the precious Nyingt'higYab Zhi cycle of empowerments and scriptural transmissions. He taught extensively on this profound cycle of the great fourteenth century master Longchenpa. Participants were deeply moved both by Rinpoche's generosity and by the blessings of the Great Perfection lineage.
Two of the eight stupas, the Lotus Stupa and Enlightenment Stupa, were structurally completed and blessed during the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments. Construction on the other six stupas will resume later this year. Many of the substances that will go inside them have been prepared and blessed. Anyone interested in assisting with the stupa project in any way should contact Mike McLaughlin at Rigdzin Ling.
Kim and Mike McLaughlin's staff house is underway. The leach field and utility pipes have been installed and are ready to go. Last summer, Rigdzin Ling acquired a backhoe which has since been used for stupa work, road maintenance, flood control, and landscaping.
A number of ravens have become regular visitors to Rigdzin Ling, cawing and diving above moonland and the surrounding forests. Recently, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche noted that he was very happy to see these and so many other different birds beginning to gather here.
__________
"It is interesting to think about being liberated while I am incarcerated," commented a member of the "prison sangha" in Spokane. Eight people from the Spokane County Geiger Corrections facility had come to Padma Ling to receive the Vajrakilaya empowerment from Lama Tharchin Rinpoche in October. Each week Lama Inge and sangha members from Padma Ling conduct Tara Practice in three different prison facilities. Since Lama Yontan began the programs last year, the number of participants has steadily grown. A variety of cultural backgrounds are represented, including Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese, Hispanic, African-American, and Native American.
It is a joy to see eyes soften and feel energy relax as the infallible practices and teachings begin to take hold. Group members have told us that if they had not been able to focus on the teachings when they found themselves in challenging situations, they would have ended up in the "hole," in solitary confinement. Many prisoners are coming into contact with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche through his books from Padma Publishing. Libraries are being established and donations are definitely being accepted!
Through Dennis and Beverley Skipper's kind offering of their house as a place for the dharma to develop in Portland, the sangha there is growing and practicing under Lama Inge's guidance. Lama Inge gave a Tara empowerment for thirteen members of the Portland sangha on her way to the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments at Rigdzin Ling last fall.
A five-day T'hroma retreat at Padma Ling after Christmas drew earnest chodpas and chodmas from Spokane and Seattle. Lama Inge visited Lama Yontan and sacred pilgrimage sites in Nepal, returning on February 14 after a week with the sangha in Germany.
__________
Since the sale of the Oakville center, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche has guided us toward strengthening the practice groups in Napa, the East Bay, Marin, and one another. We now gather for an all sangha puja and potluck once a month, hosted on a rotating basis by each group. Individual groups also hold regular tsog and Sunday practice.
Jigme Rinpoche's busy schedule has included bestowing a Dorje Drolod empowerment in October, conducting a Peaceful Manjushri retreat in early December, giving a "New Year's Resolution" talk on integrating the dharma into daily life, and presiding over the Vajrakilaya drubchen at Rigdzin Ling. In the coming months, Tulku Jigme will be offering regular meditation sessions in St. Helena, a Vajrakilaya empowerment and teachings in Marin, and Tara empowerment and teachings in Berkeley.
__________
Chagdud Gonpa Brasil has just completed the first Dzogchen retreat under the magnificent blessing of H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Without pause Rinpoche and the sangha began the elaborate preparation for the first annual Vajrakilaya ceremony and Losar celebration. Late in the month of February, Rinpoche also conducted a week-long ngondro retreat. The lha khang is on its way. Construction of the foundation will soon begin on the Gonpa land called White Waters (Aguas Brancas) in the hills above the town of Three Crowns(Tres Coroas). We often call this new holy place the Three Jewels.
__________
After four years of aspiring to have a resident lama among us to increase our practice and guide us on the path of dharma we were finally rewarded with Lama Tsering Everest. After that, all doors seemed to have opened. Chagdud Gonpa Sao Paulo is now located in a very nice house where Lama Tsering lives and where we gather for teachings.
___________
The Belo Horizonte temple project has moved past the design phase–we have gathered enough contributions to begin construction in March. We hope our temple will soon be home to a resident lama and also the beautiful and powerful statue of Guru Rinpoche sculpted by Glen Sandvoss and consecrated by Chagdud Tulku.
__________
Our fifteenth annual consecration of the Tara statue seemed like a family gathering with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Khandro Jane Tromge, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Lama Drimed, Tulku Ape, Lama Gyatso, Lama Jigme, Perna Tenzin, P'hurba Sonam Sherpa, and our beloved resident lama, Lama Sonam. The great translator Chokyi Nyima kindly lent his skills. Sangha members came from Canada and all over the United States. The three-day event truly transformed our shrine room into Tara's pureland.
Earlier this summer, we turned our hands to a new fund-raiser for the Gonpa. We catered a bicycle tour, the Tour D'Lane, with Tibetan food. As we delighted in the open-air surroundings near a beautiful mountain stream, the cyclists reported that they were well fed.
Lama Sonam continues his series of ngondro teachings on Sundays. Saturday, February 24, 1996, marked our sangha celebration of Tibetan New Year with a Shower of Blessings tsog. Also note that, for anyone interested, we now have residential rooms available for Buddhist practitioners. For more information call Dechhen Ling.
__________
The T'hroma drubchod led by H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was a resounding success. The T'hroma sadhana, performed intensively for eight days and nights, transformed the conference hall, in a secluded canyon area away from the bustle of the city, into a resplendent practice space. Present at the event was our resident lama, Lama Chodrak Gyatso, and several other Chagdud Gonpa lamas.
Rinpoche commented at the conclusion of the drubchod that through the power of the T'hroma practice done that week, the area of Los Angeles around the event site was certainly benefited. We plan to make the T'hroma drubchod an annual event in Los Angeles and look forward to the sangha gathering here each year.
The seeds planted by Lama Gyatso' s teachings and retreats in Los Angeles have blossomed into two enthusiastic new Tara practice groups that meet weekly, one in the Mojave high desert near Victorville and the other near Redlands.
__________
September brought a visit from Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche, the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche's young tulku. Sangha members offered a dinner for him and his entourage, facilitating the establishment or renewal of personal connections with this special Rinpoche.
Vajrakilaya and English Red Tara practices take place on a weekly basis. Ngondro and Tibetan Red Tara are practiced on alternate Sundays. Specific tsogs are scheduled on a monthly basis.
We organized two weekend retreats in beautiful rural settings. Richard Baldwin taught extensively throughout both the ngondro retreat on the Olympic Peninsula and the Red Tara retreat on Vashon Island. Both gave members the special opportunity to support one another in deepening and broadening their practice.
For the third time, we met for practice on New Year's Eve and celebrated our community's growth and development while marking another year during which we all benefited from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche's teachings and blessings.
H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for three weeks in November and bestowed the precious Nyingt'higYab Zhi cycle of empowerments and scriptural transmissions. He taught extensively on this profound cycle of the great fourteenth century master Longchenpa. Participants were deeply moved both by Rinpoche's generosity and by the blessings of the Great Perfection lineage.
Two of the eight stupas, the Lotus Stupa and Enlightenment Stupa, were structurally completed and blessed during the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments. Construction on the other six stupas will resume later this year. Many of the substances that will go inside them have been prepared and blessed. Anyone interested in assisting with the stupa project in any way should contact Mike McLaughlin at Rigdzin Ling.
Kim and Mike McLaughlin's staff house is underway. The leach field and utility pipes have been installed and are ready to go. Last summer, Rigdzin Ling acquired a backhoe which has since been used for stupa work, road maintenance, flood control, and landscaping.
A number of ravens have become regular visitors to Rigdzin Ling, cawing and diving above moonland and the surrounding forests. Recently, H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche noted that he was very happy to see these and so many other different birds beginning to gather here.
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"It is interesting to think about being liberated while I am incarcerated," commented a member of the "prison sangha" in Spokane. Eight people from the Spokane County Geiger Corrections facility had come to Padma Ling to receive the Vajrakilaya empowerment from Lama Tharchin Rinpoche in October. Each week Lama Inge and sangha members from Padma Ling conduct Tara Practice in three different prison facilities. Since Lama Yontan began the programs last year, the number of participants has steadily grown. A variety of cultural backgrounds are represented, including Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese, Hispanic, African-American, and Native American.
It is a joy to see eyes soften and feel energy relax as the infallible practices and teachings begin to take hold. Group members have told us that if they had not been able to focus on the teachings when they found themselves in challenging situations, they would have ended up in the "hole," in solitary confinement. Many prisoners are coming into contact with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche through his books from Padma Publishing. Libraries are being established and donations are definitely being accepted!
Through Dennis and Beverley Skipper's kind offering of their house as a place for the dharma to develop in Portland, the sangha there is growing and practicing under Lama Inge's guidance. Lama Inge gave a Tara empowerment for thirteen members of the Portland sangha on her way to the Nyingt'hig Yab Zhi empowerments at Rigdzin Ling last fall.
A five-day T'hroma retreat at Padma Ling after Christmas drew earnest chodpas and chodmas from Spokane and Seattle. Lama Inge visited Lama Yontan and sacred pilgrimage sites in Nepal, returning on February 14 after a week with the sangha in Germany.
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Since the sale of the Oakville center, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche has guided us toward strengthening the practice groups in Napa, the East Bay, Marin, and one another. We now gather for an all sangha puja and potluck once a month, hosted on a rotating basis by each group. Individual groups also hold regular tsog and Sunday practice.
Jigme Rinpoche's busy schedule has included bestowing a Dorje Drolod empowerment in October, conducting a Peaceful Manjushri retreat in early December, giving a "New Year's Resolution" talk on integrating the dharma into daily life, and presiding over the Vajrakilaya drubchen at Rigdzin Ling. In the coming months, Tulku Jigme will be offering regular meditation sessions in St. Helena, a Vajrakilaya empowerment and teachings in Marin, and Tara empowerment and teachings in Berkeley.
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Chagdud Gonpa Brasil has just completed the first Dzogchen retreat under the magnificent blessing of H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. Without pause Rinpoche and the sangha began the elaborate preparation for the first annual Vajrakilaya ceremony and Losar celebration. Late in the month of February, Rinpoche also conducted a week-long ngondro retreat. The lha khang is on its way. Construction of the foundation will soon begin on the Gonpa land called White Waters (Aguas Brancas) in the hills above the town of Three Crowns(Tres Coroas). We often call this new holy place the Three Jewels.
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After four years of aspiring to have a resident lama among us to increase our practice and guide us on the path of dharma we were finally rewarded with Lama Tsering Everest. After that, all doors seemed to have opened. Chagdud Gonpa Sao Paulo is now located in a very nice house where Lama Tsering lives and where we gather for teachings.
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The Belo Horizonte temple project has moved past the design phase–we have gathered enough contributions to begin construction in March. We hope our temple will soon be home to a resident lama and also the beautiful and powerful statue of Guru Rinpoche sculpted by Glen Sandvoss and consecrated by Chagdud Tulku.
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Our fifteenth annual consecration of the Tara statue seemed like a family gathering with H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche, Khandro Jane Tromge, Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Lama Drimed, Tulku Ape, Lama Gyatso, Lama Jigme, Perna Tenzin, P'hurba Sonam Sherpa, and our beloved resident lama, Lama Sonam. The great translator Chokyi Nyima kindly lent his skills. Sangha members came from Canada and all over the United States. The three-day event truly transformed our shrine room into Tara's pureland.
Earlier this summer, we turned our hands to a new fund-raiser for the Gonpa. We catered a bicycle tour, the Tour D'Lane, with Tibetan food. As we delighted in the open-air surroundings near a beautiful mountain stream, the cyclists reported that they were well fed.
Lama Sonam continues his series of ngondro teachings on Sundays. Saturday, February 24, 1996, marked our sangha celebration of Tibetan New Year with a Shower of Blessings tsog. Also note that, for anyone interested, we now have residential rooms available for Buddhist practitioners. For more information call Dechhen Ling.
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The T'hroma drubchod led by H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was a resounding success. The T'hroma sadhana, performed intensively for eight days and nights, transformed the conference hall, in a secluded canyon area away from the bustle of the city, into a resplendent practice space. Present at the event was our resident lama, Lama Chodrak Gyatso, and several other Chagdud Gonpa lamas.
Rinpoche commented at the conclusion of the drubchod that through the power of the T'hroma practice done that week, the area of Los Angeles around the event site was certainly benefited. We plan to make the T'hroma drubchod an annual event in Los Angeles and look forward to the sangha gathering here each year.
The seeds planted by Lama Gyatso' s teachings and retreats in Los Angeles have blossomed into two enthusiastic new Tara practice groups that meet weekly, one in the Mojave high desert near Victorville and the other near Redlands.
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September brought a visit from Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche, the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche's young tulku. Sangha members offered a dinner for him and his entourage, facilitating the establishment or renewal of personal connections with this special Rinpoche.
Vajrakilaya and English Red Tara practices take place on a weekly basis. Ngondro and Tibetan Red Tara are practiced on alternate Sundays. Specific tsogs are scheduled on a monthly basis.
We organized two weekend retreats in beautiful rural settings. Richard Baldwin taught extensively throughout both the ngondro retreat on the Olympic Peninsula and the Red Tara retreat on Vashon Island. Both gave members the special opportunity to support one another in deepening and broadening their practice.
For the third time, we met for practice on New Year's Eve and celebrated our community's growth and development while marking another year during which we all benefited from H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche's teachings and blessings.
