Things are rolling along at high speed at Khadro Ling. The construction seems to never end. The retreat units, which are nestled in deep woods and cascade down the side of a mountain, are almost finished. Undaunted by such trivialities as the retreat cabins being incomplete, some yogis and yoginis have already begun retreats in various makeshift facilities.
The apartments are also nearly completed, but in keeping with tradition, they have leaky roofs, which is hampering the application of the final touches. Ten prayer wheel houses are presently under construction, and more apartments are being planned.
The basement of the lha khang is now home to our new dharma store and a cafe, which has become something of a local hotspot with frequent appearances by the sangha rock group “Os the Dharma Lovers.”
The hospice project is gearing up and intensive planning is underway. A number of professionals have offered their time and expertise. The land is being cleared, and plans are being drawn up under Chagdud Khadro’s close supervision. The names of people wishing to spend their last days in this blessed place have already been placed on a waiting list. Palden, our visiting artist from Sikkim, is painting details on the ceiling and columns of the lha khang shrine room, and the walls are being prepared for the enormous murals he will paint on them.
The dog population seems to have stabilized, but Rinpoche and Khadro now have two cats, Dorje and Pema, living with them upstairs. Both are local bush cats that have somehow slipped into the guru’s compassionate sphere.
During September and October, Khadro traveled throughout Brazil teaching and giving empowerments. In November, she joined Rinpoche on pilgrimage to India and Nepal. Lama Norbu remains in retreat, pounding out blessings to all beings on his gonla drum.
-----
In August, Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche led a week of ceremonies as the sangha prepared sacred images and mantras to be consecrated and placed inside the six unfinished stupas. By week’s end, the stupas’ inner chambers had been filled and sealed. Tulku Sang-ngag was very pleased with the amount of work accomplished and the speed at which it was done.
On a September weekend, a group of local sangha members and visitors worked together to place straw bales into the newly framed walls of Lotus House, Rigdzin Ling’s new building for staff members and retreatants. Participants came from as far away as British Columbia. Within forty-eight hours about 500 bales were unloaded from a semi and then carefully placed into the walls. John Swearingen, a local sangha member, building contractor, and international expert on straw-bale structures, has been overseeing the project.
From October 8 to 29 Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for the first time in two years.
He gave a weekend of teachings in Weaverville to 350 people on “The Way of the Bodhisattva.” Rinpoche was also vajra master at the Essence of Siddhi drubchen. This was the twenty-first and largest Chagdud Gonpa drubchen held in the United States, with 260 people participating. Guest lamas included Gyalse Tulku Rinpoche from Mindrol-ling Monastery, Tulku Jigme Tromge, Lama Padma Dorje, Lama Gyaltsen, Tulkus Orgyen and Max, and several other lamas. The eight-day retreat culminated in Rigdzin Ling’s annual lama dancing performance.
This year’s drubchen included a traditional mendrub ceremony for the preparation of dutsi (sacred medicine). This detailed procedure involves the gathering of specific substances, including some very precious mother cultures that have been blessed by great lineage masters. They are combined in a prescribed manner, and then consecrated during the drubchen practice with the appropriate prayers. In addition to reciting the prayers, almost all of the participants took turns assisting in the final drying of the precious medicine. This may well have been the first time a mendrub has been performed in this country. At its completion Chagdud Rinpoche commented that there were clear signs that the ceremony had been successful.
During the drubchen, work on the stupas’ exteriors continued, particularly that on the eighth, bell-shaped stupa, which required the most attention. The bell-shaped stupa of complete victory commemorates the Buddha’s voluntary prolongation of his life span at Visali. On the final day, after opening the retreat boundaries, Chagdud Rinpoche reconsecrated all eight stupas.
Following the drubchen, Rinpoche announced that he would go on to India and Nepal for six weeks of pilgrimage, and extended an invitation to any sangha members who wished to join him. Twenty of his students took the precious opportunity to travel with him.
Before leaving, he and the sangha spent an afternoon picnicking along the Trinity River. Everyone relaxed, feasted, and told stories. There was something timeless about just sitting with the lama, feeling the warm autumn breeze and watching the golden light on the river rocks. It was a welcome respite from the effort and activity of the previous weeks, an all too brief moment to settle before we moved on in our lives and our practice, to reflect on what being with Rinpoche again had meant to all of us.
Khenpo Chuga was a recent guest at Rigdzin Ling while recuperating from an illness. At Rinpoche’s request he taught the Bodhisattvacaryavatara, with Lama Chökyi Nyima translating, three days a week for more than a month. We were pleased that both he and Lama Padma Dorje attended our Thanksgiving meal, as did a neighbor and the parents of a few sangha members. Ingrid and Lance serenaded the guests with bluegrass tunes, and Khenpo sang the Seven Line Prayer, Praises to the Twenty-one Taras, and a prayer to Sarasvati to the accompaniment of banjo and fiddle.
-----
The past six months have been wonderful for the Ati Ling/San Francisco Bay Area sangha. In May, Chagdud Khadro gave a public talk on the six bardos at the Swedenborgian Church in San Francisco, followed by a weekend of p’howa teachings at Ati Ling. In early August, Tulku Jigme gave a Medicine Buddha empowerment and led a weekend retreat at Ati Ling. The very next weekend Lama Tsering began an inspiring series of teachings in San Francisco and Sonoma on taming the mind. She also bestowed the Red Tara empowerment at the Rigpa Center in San Francisco. All of these dharma activities were well attended, and there were many new faces at each event. We could not believe our good fortune when in September H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave a public talk on guru yoga and bestowed the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities empowerment on more than 300 people at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. This was followed by a two-day teaching on the six bardos at Ati Ling. Lon Hill and Mike McLaughlin, along with some other hearty sangha members, quickly expanded the Ati Ling shrine room with a large porch addition, and a kind neighbor allowed us to park cars in his cow pasture. In this way, we were able to accommodate the large group who traveled from all over the Bay Area to spend this precious time with Rinpoche.
Following the drubchen at Rigdzin Ling, Rinpoche returned to Ati Ling to celebrate the marriage of his daughter, Dawa Tromge, to James Zito. In their honor, a fire puja was performed and a Red Tara tsok was offered. Rinpoche also blessed the new meditation yurt at Yeshe Ling on Cara Landry’s land in Oakville and gave an inspiring teaching to sangha members who had gathered there to offer tsok.
-----
Lama Tsering’s visit in August was a time of both teachings and meditation. She spoke to an enthusiastic gathering in Eugene, and then many of us came together for a special session of Tara practice during the solar eclipse. We wish to thank her for her compassionate presence, and hope she will return whenever she is in the United States.
The nineteenth annual Tara Tsok was held Thanksgiving weekend, and we were honored by the presence of Venerable Tulku Jigme Tromge, along with Lama Sonam, Lama Gyaltsen, and Lama Jigme. We celebrated Thanksgiving with a Chenrezig practice followed by a potluck.
Lama Sonam would like to convert the third-floor apartment at River House into a self-contained retreat space. The funds for this project are slowly coming together. Anyone who wishes to make a contribution should contact Sharon at (541) 942-5258.
We offer our sincere gratitude to our supporters, to those who have helped us bring many projects to fruition and continue to do so.
-----
Lama Gyatso led the sangha in a whirlwind of dharma activity through the spring, summer, and fall. In the spring, Lama Gyatso continued his public teachings at the Philosophical Research Society with a series devoted to the Six Perfections. On a sunny day in May, while reciting Jetsun prayers, we released thousands of bait fish into Santa Monica Bay. That same month we held the inaugural fund-raising dinner for the Shi-Tro Mandala Project, during which we introduced many in the community to the project.
In the summer, Lama Gyatso led both a weekend Yeshe Tsogyal retreat and an Orgyen Zhambhala retreat. Throughout the summer we prepared a large number of statues that practitioners had sent to us for consecration. Many of us learned firsthand how labor-intensive this process is! We will begin to accept more statues for consecration in February. You can call the center for details.
On July 4th Lama Gyatso gave the inaugural blessing for the Tibetan Independence Festival, during which he spoke movingly about his family’s escape from Tibet in 1959.
In August, T’hondup Ling welcomed H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche as vajra master of the fifth annual T’hröma retreat, which included public healing ceremonies and ceremonies for the dead. Namkha Rinpoche also gave Medicine Buddha and Yeshe Tsogyal empowerments. The day following the retreat brought the incomparable blessing of a visit from H.H. Trulshik Rinpoche, who bestowed a rare Dzogchen empowerment upon several hundred people.
Lama Gyatso flew to Switzerland for his annual teaching tour, returning just in time to welcome H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche to T’hondup Ling in October. Rinpoche rejoiced at the recent English publication of the Shi-Tro text and offered empowerment into this mandala of the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities. We are grateful for the excellent English translation of the Shi-Tro text by Lama Chökyi Nyima, as well as for its publication by Padma Publishing, just in time for Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche’s visit. Rinpoche led us for several days in our first retreat on the Shi-Tro cycle. At the time we were delighted to welcome Sogyal Rinpoche for two evenings of teachings, one of which was conducted jointly with Chagdud Rinpoche. The occasion was recorded on video, which can be ordered from T’hondup Ling.
On October 7, an extensive longevity ceremony was held for Chagdud Rinpoche by a gathering of Chagdud Gonpa lamas and sangha members. Many of Rinpoche’s students throughout the world participated from afar by accumulating longevity practices and prayers for Rinpoche as well. Rinpoche had an auspicious dream following the ceremony, and the sangha rejoiced at the blessings his presence brought. We offer our thanks to those from other centers who made offerings toward this occasion and extend our deepest gratitude to the gemlike coterie of lamas in attendance.
That same day Chagdud Rinpoche presided over the joyful occasion of the marriage of Don Delaquil and Jennifer Chalmers, a lovely ceremony held in the center’s garden. Later in October, H.E. Khamtrul Rinpoche honored T’hondup Ling with an evening visit, during which we offered a Shower of Blessings tsok. The sangha briefly gathers its breath before December, when Tibetan artists will arrive to begin constructing the Shi-Tro Mandala.
----
Orgyen Ling was showered with blessings of a mid-summer’s Dream Yoga teaching and Red Tara empowerment given by Lama Tsering. Her kind generosity and compassion were inspirational, and rekindled a group of busy urbanites’ commitment to their practice.
The retreat took place at beautiful and serene Bailey Farm in Ossining, New York. A large group attended, mostly from New York and the Philadelphia area, although a couple came from Vermont, and one made the trek all the way from far-off Mill Valley, California. We were all powerfully moved by Lama Tsering’s ability to bring us together and to clarify the teachings. Words cannot express our gratitude.
We offer prayers for the long life of Chagdud Rinpoche and all his lamas. May our precious teacher’s enlightened activity continue to thrive!
-----
Since H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche started our center in 1994, when he gave a week of teachings and empowerments and asked us to practice together regularly, he has been back to Chicago almost every year. Our tight-knit sangha has received gracious teachings from Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Lama Drimed Norbu, H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Lama Inge, Lama Tsering, and Lama Padma. Lama Inge’s annual summer visits always help us strengthen our practice. We hope to have further visits and teachings from Chagdud Gonpa lamas and pray for Chagdud Rinpoche’s continuous blessings and frequent teachings. We also hope to have more sangha members join us. The highlight of this year was Rinpoche’s compassionate and generous offering of the dharma in the form of a five-day Dzogchen retreat in September. The event was attended by vajra brothers and sisters from all over the country as well as the Yukon.In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area.We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices
-----
In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area. We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices.
-----
Our small group has been meeting in the homes of a few sangha members who have kindly offered them as practice places.. We recently welcomed Gloria and Edgardo Lopez of Marlborough and Ann Soulet of Cambridge to our group. Some members of our sangha and other Buddhist practitioners met in October to begin planning for Buddhist co-housing in the Boston area. H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche suggested that we do this to promote spiritual practice and sangha interdependence and to create benefit for ourselves, our communities, and all beings. If anyone has expertise in co-housing or is interested in being part of the process, please contact Cheryl Conner at (617) 332-0327. All input and help is welcome!
Things are rolling along at high speed at Khadro Ling. The construction seems to never end. The retreat units, which are nestled in deep woods and cascade down the side of a mountain, are almost finished. Undaunted by such trivialities as the retreat cabins being incomplete, some yogis and yoginis have already begun retreats in various makeshift facilities.
The apartments are also nearly completed, but in keeping with tradition, they have leaky roofs, which is hampering the application of the final touches. Ten prayer wheel houses are presently under construction, and more apartments are being planned.
The basement of the lha khang is now home to our new dharma store and a cafe, which has become something of a local hotspot with frequent appearances by the sangha rock group “Os the Dharma Lovers.”
The hospice project is gearing up and intensive planning is underway. A number of professionals have offered their time and expertise. The land is being cleared, and plans are being drawn up under Chagdud Khadro’s close supervision. The names of people wishing to spend their last days in this blessed place have already been placed on a waiting list. Palden, our visiting artist from Sikkim, is painting details on the ceiling and columns of the lha khang shrine room, and the walls are being prepared for the enormous murals he will paint on them.
The dog population seems to have stabilized, but Rinpoche and Khadro now have two cats, Dorje and Pema, living with them upstairs. Both are local bush cats that have somehow slipped into the guru’s compassionate sphere.
During September and October, Khadro traveled throughout Brazil teaching and giving empowerments. In November, she joined Rinpoche on pilgrimage to India and Nepal. Lama Norbu remains in retreat, pounding out blessings to all beings on his gonla drum.
-----
In August, Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche led a week of ceremonies as the sangha prepared sacred images and mantras to be consecrated and placed inside the six unfinished stupas. By week’s end, the stupas’ inner chambers had been filled and sealed. Tulku Sang-ngag was very pleased with the amount of work accomplished and the speed at which it was done.
On a September weekend, a group of local sangha members and visitors worked together to place straw bales into the newly framed walls of Lotus House, Rigdzin Ling’s new building for staff members and retreatants. Participants came from as far away as British Columbia. Within forty-eight hours about 500 bales were unloaded from a semi and then carefully placed into the walls. John Swearingen, a local sangha member, building contractor, and international expert on straw-bale structures, has been overseeing the project.
From October 8 to 29 Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for the first time in two years.
He gave a weekend of teachings in Weaverville to 350 people on “The Way of the Bodhisattva.” Rinpoche was also vajra master at the Essence of Siddhi drubchen. This was the twenty-first and largest Chagdud Gonpa drubchen held in the United States, with 260 people participating. Guest lamas included Gyalse Tulku Rinpoche from Mindrol-ling Monastery, Tulku Jigme Tromge, Lama Padma Dorje, Lama Gyaltsen, Tulkus Orgyen and Max, and several other lamas. The eight-day retreat culminated in Rigdzin Ling’s annual lama dancing performance.
This year’s drubchen included a traditional mendrub ceremony for the preparation of dutsi (sacred medicine). This detailed procedure involves the gathering of specific substances, including some very precious mother cultures that have been blessed by great lineage masters. They are combined in a prescribed manner, and then consecrated during the drubchen practice with the appropriate prayers. In addition to reciting the prayers, almost all of the participants took turns assisting in the final drying of the precious medicine. This may well have been the first time a mendrub has been performed in this country. At its completion Chagdud Rinpoche commented that there were clear signs that the ceremony had been successful.
During the drubchen, work on the stupas’ exteriors continued, particularly that on the eighth, bell-shaped stupa, which required the most attention. The bell-shaped stupa of complete victory commemorates the Buddha’s voluntary prolongation of his life span at Visali. On the final day, after opening the retreat boundaries, Chagdud Rinpoche reconsecrated all eight stupas.
Following the drubchen, Rinpoche announced that he would go on to India and Nepal for six weeks of pilgrimage, and extended an invitation to any sangha members who wished to join him. Twenty of his students took the precious opportunity to travel with him.
Before leaving, he and the sangha spent an afternoon picnicking along the Trinity River. Everyone relaxed, feasted, and told stories. There was something timeless about just sitting with the lama, feeling the warm autumn breeze and watching the golden light on the river rocks. It was a welcome respite from the effort and activity of the previous weeks, an all too brief moment to settle before we moved on in our lives and our practice, to reflect on what being with Rinpoche again had meant to all of us.
Khenpo Chuga was a recent guest at Rigdzin Ling while recuperating from an illness. At Rinpoche’s request he taught the Bodhisattvacaryavatara, with Lama Chökyi Nyima translating, three days a week for more than a month. We were pleased that both he and Lama Padma Dorje attended our Thanksgiving meal, as did a neighbor and the parents of a few sangha members. Ingrid and Lance serenaded the guests with bluegrass tunes, and Khenpo sang the Seven Line Prayer, Praises to the Twenty-one Taras, and a prayer to Sarasvati to the accompaniment of banjo and fiddle.
-----
The past six months have been wonderful for the Ati Ling/San Francisco Bay Area sangha. In May, Chagdud Khadro gave a public talk on the six bardos at the Swedenborgian Church in San Francisco, followed by a weekend of p’howa teachings at Ati Ling. In early August, Tulku Jigme gave a Medicine Buddha empowerment and led a weekend retreat at Ati Ling. The very next weekend Lama Tsering began an inspiring series of teachings in San Francisco and Sonoma on taming the mind. She also bestowed the Red Tara empowerment at the Rigpa Center in San Francisco. All of these dharma activities were well attended, and there were many new faces at each event. We could not believe our good fortune when in September H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave a public talk on guru yoga and bestowed the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities empowerment on more than 300 people at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. This was followed by a two-day teaching on the six bardos at Ati Ling. Lon Hill and Mike McLaughlin, along with some other hearty sangha members, quickly expanded the Ati Ling shrine room with a large porch addition, and a kind neighbor allowed us to park cars in his cow pasture. In this way, we were able to accommodate the large group who traveled from all over the Bay Area to spend this precious time with Rinpoche.
Following the drubchen at Rigdzin Ling, Rinpoche returned to Ati Ling to celebrate the marriage of his daughter, Dawa Tromge, to James Zito. In their honor, a fire puja was performed and a Red Tara tsok was offered. Rinpoche also blessed the new meditation yurt at Yeshe Ling on Cara Landry’s land in Oakville and gave an inspiring teaching to sangha members who had gathered there to offer tsok.
-----
Lama Tsering’s visit in August was a time of both teachings and meditation. She spoke to an enthusiastic gathering in Eugene, and then many of us came together for a special session of Tara practice during the solar eclipse. We wish to thank her for her compassionate presence, and hope she will return whenever she is in the United States.
The nineteenth annual Tara Tsok was held Thanksgiving weekend, and we were honored by the presence of Venerable Tulku Jigme Tromge, along with Lama Sonam, Lama Gyaltsen, and Lama Jigme. We celebrated Thanksgiving with a Chenrezig practice followed by a potluck.
Lama Sonam would like to convert the third-floor apartment at River House into a self-contained retreat space. The funds for this project are slowly coming together. Anyone who wishes to make a contribution should contact Sharon at (541) 942-5258.
We offer our sincere gratitude to our supporters, to those who have helped us bring many projects to fruition and continue to do so.
-----
Lama Gyatso led the sangha in a whirlwind of dharma activity through the spring, summer, and fall. In the spring, Lama Gyatso continued his public teachings at the Philosophical Research Society with a series devoted to the Six Perfections. On a sunny day in May, while reciting Jetsun prayers, we released thousands of bait fish into Santa Monica Bay. That same month we held the inaugural fund-raising dinner for the Shi-Tro Mandala Project, during which we introduced many in the community to the project.
In the summer, Lama Gyatso led both a weekend Yeshe Tsogyal retreat and an Orgyen Zhambhala retreat. Throughout the summer we prepared a large number of statues that practitioners had sent to us for consecration. Many of us learned firsthand how labor-intensive this process is! We will begin to accept more statues for consecration in February. You can call the center for details.
On July 4th Lama Gyatso gave the inaugural blessing for the Tibetan Independence Festival, during which he spoke movingly about his family’s escape from Tibet in 1959.
In August, T’hondup Ling welcomed H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche as vajra master of the fifth annual T’hröma retreat, which included public healing ceremonies and ceremonies for the dead. Namkha Rinpoche also gave Medicine Buddha and Yeshe Tsogyal empowerments. The day following the retreat brought the incomparable blessing of a visit from H.H. Trulshik Rinpoche, who bestowed a rare Dzogchen empowerment upon several hundred people.
Lama Gyatso flew to Switzerland for his annual teaching tour, returning just in time to welcome H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche to T’hondup Ling in October. Rinpoche rejoiced at the recent English publication of the Shi-Tro text and offered empowerment into this mandala of the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities. We are grateful for the excellent English translation of the Shi-Tro text by Lama Chökyi Nyima, as well as for its publication by Padma Publishing, just in time for Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche’s visit. Rinpoche led us for several days in our first retreat on the Shi-Tro cycle. At the time we were delighted to welcome Sogyal Rinpoche for two evenings of teachings, one of which was conducted jointly with Chagdud Rinpoche. The occasion was recorded on video, which can be ordered from T’hondup Ling.
On October 7, an extensive longevity ceremony was held for Chagdud Rinpoche by a gathering of Chagdud Gonpa lamas and sangha members. Many of Rinpoche’s students throughout the world participated from afar by accumulating longevity practices and prayers for Rinpoche as well. Rinpoche had an auspicious dream following the ceremony, and the sangha rejoiced at the blessings his presence brought. We offer our thanks to those from other centers who made offerings toward this occasion and extend our deepest gratitude to the gemlike coterie of lamas in attendance.
That same day Chagdud Rinpoche presided over the joyful occasion of the marriage of Don Delaquil and Jennifer Chalmers, a lovely ceremony held in the center’s garden. Later in October, H.E. Khamtrul Rinpoche honored T’hondup Ling with an evening visit, during which we offered a Shower of Blessings tsok. The sangha briefly gathers its breath before December, when Tibetan artists will arrive to begin constructing the Shi-Tro Mandala.
----
Orgyen Ling was showered with blessings of a mid-summer’s Dream Yoga teaching and Red Tara empowerment given by Lama Tsering. Her kind generosity and compassion were inspirational, and rekindled a group of busy urbanites’ commitment to their practice.
The retreat took place at beautiful and serene Bailey Farm in Ossining, New York. A large group attended, mostly from New York and the Philadelphia area, although a couple came from Vermont, and one made the trek all the way from far-off Mill Valley, California. We were all powerfully moved by Lama Tsering’s ability to bring us together and to clarify the teachings. Words cannot express our gratitude.
We offer prayers for the long life of Chagdud Rinpoche and all his lamas. May our precious teacher’s enlightened activity continue to thrive!
-----
Since H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche started our center in 1994, when he gave a week of teachings and empowerments and asked us to practice together regularly, he has been back to Chicago almost every year. Our tight-knit sangha has received gracious teachings from Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Lama Drimed Norbu, H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Lama Inge, Lama Tsering, and Lama Padma. Lama Inge’s annual summer visits always help us strengthen our practice. We hope to have further visits and teachings from Chagdud Gonpa lamas and pray for Chagdud Rinpoche’s continuous blessings and frequent teachings. We also hope to have more sangha members join us. The highlight of this year was Rinpoche’s compassionate and generous offering of the dharma in the form of a five-day Dzogchen retreat in September. The event was attended by vajra brothers and sisters from all over the country as well as the Yukon.In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area.We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices
-----
In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area. We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices.
-----
Our small group has been meeting in the homes of a few sangha members who have kindly offered them as practice places.. We recently welcomed Gloria and Edgardo Lopez of Marlborough and Ann Soulet of Cambridge to our group. Some members of our sangha and other Buddhist practitioners met in October to begin planning for Buddhist co-housing in the Boston area. H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche suggested that we do this to promote spiritual practice and sangha interdependence and to create benefit for ourselves, our communities, and all beings. If anyone has expertise in co-housing or is interested in being part of the process, please contact Cheryl Conner at (617) 332-0327. All input and help is welcome!
Things are rolling along at high speed at Khadro Ling. The construction seems to never end. The retreat units, which are nestled in deep woods and cascade down the side of a mountain, are almost finished. Undaunted by such trivialities as the retreat cabins being incomplete, some yogis and yoginis have already begun retreats in various makeshift facilities.
The apartments are also nearly completed, but in keeping with tradition, they have leaky roofs, which is hampering the application of the final touches. Ten prayer wheel houses are presently under construction, and more apartments are being planned.
The basement of the lha khang is now home to our new dharma store and a cafe, which has become something of a local hotspot with frequent appearances by the sangha rock group “Os the Dharma Lovers.”
The hospice project is gearing up and intensive planning is underway. A number of professionals have offered their time and expertise. The land is being cleared, and plans are being drawn up under Chagdud Khadro’s close supervision. The names of people wishing to spend their last days in this blessed place have already been placed on a waiting list. Palden, our visiting artist from Sikkim, is painting details on the ceiling and columns of the lha khang shrine room, and the walls are being prepared for the enormous murals he will paint on them.
The dog population seems to have stabilized, but Rinpoche and Khadro now have two cats, Dorje and Pema, living with them upstairs. Both are local bush cats that have somehow slipped into the guru’s compassionate sphere.
During September and October, Khadro traveled throughout Brazil teaching and giving empowerments. In November, she joined Rinpoche on pilgrimage to India and Nepal. Lama Norbu remains in retreat, pounding out blessings to all beings on his gonla drum.
-----
In August, Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche led a week of ceremonies as the sangha prepared sacred images and mantras to be consecrated and placed inside the six unfinished stupas. By week’s end, the stupas’ inner chambers had been filled and sealed. Tulku Sang-ngag was very pleased with the amount of work accomplished and the speed at which it was done.
On a September weekend, a group of local sangha members and visitors worked together to place straw bales into the newly framed walls of Lotus House, Rigdzin Ling’s new building for staff members and retreatants. Participants came from as far away as British Columbia. Within forty-eight hours about 500 bales were unloaded from a semi and then carefully placed into the walls. John Swearingen, a local sangha member, building contractor, and international expert on straw-bale structures, has been overseeing the project.
From October 8 to 29 Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for the first time in two years.
He gave a weekend of teachings in Weaverville to 350 people on “The Way of the Bodhisattva.” Rinpoche was also vajra master at the Essence of Siddhi drubchen. This was the twenty-first and largest Chagdud Gonpa drubchen held in the United States, with 260 people participating. Guest lamas included Gyalse Tulku Rinpoche from Mindrol-ling Monastery, Tulku Jigme Tromge, Lama Padma Dorje, Lama Gyaltsen, Tulkus Orgyen and Max, and several other lamas. The eight-day retreat culminated in Rigdzin Ling’s annual lama dancing performance.
This year’s drubchen included a traditional mendrub ceremony for the preparation of dutsi (sacred medicine). This detailed procedure involves the gathering of specific substances, including some very precious mother cultures that have been blessed by great lineage masters. They are combined in a prescribed manner, and then consecrated during the drubchen practice with the appropriate prayers. In addition to reciting the prayers, almost all of the participants took turns assisting in the final drying of the precious medicine. This may well have been the first time a mendrub has been performed in this country. At its completion Chagdud Rinpoche commented that there were clear signs that the ceremony had been successful.
During the drubchen, work on the stupas’ exteriors continued, particularly that on the eighth, bell-shaped stupa, which required the most attention. The bell-shaped stupa of complete victory commemorates the Buddha’s voluntary prolongation of his life span at Visali. On the final day, after opening the retreat boundaries, Chagdud Rinpoche reconsecrated all eight stupas.
Following the drubchen, Rinpoche announced that he would go on to India and Nepal for six weeks of pilgrimage, and extended an invitation to any sangha members who wished to join him. Twenty of his students took the precious opportunity to travel with him.
Before leaving, he and the sangha spent an afternoon picnicking along the Trinity River. Everyone relaxed, feasted, and told stories. There was something timeless about just sitting with the lama, feeling the warm autumn breeze and watching the golden light on the river rocks. It was a welcome respite from the effort and activity of the previous weeks, an all too brief moment to settle before we moved on in our lives and our practice, to reflect on what being with Rinpoche again had meant to all of us.
Khenpo Chuga was a recent guest at Rigdzin Ling while recuperating from an illness. At Rinpoche’s request he taught the Bodhisattvacaryavatara, with Lama Chökyi Nyima translating, three days a week for more than a month. We were pleased that both he and Lama Padma Dorje attended our Thanksgiving meal, as did a neighbor and the parents of a few sangha members. Ingrid and Lance serenaded the guests with bluegrass tunes, and Khenpo sang the Seven Line Prayer, Praises to the Twenty-one Taras, and a prayer to Sarasvati to the accompaniment of banjo and fiddle.
-----
The past six months have been wonderful for the Ati Ling/San Francisco Bay Area sangha. In May, Chagdud Khadro gave a public talk on the six bardos at the Swedenborgian Church in San Francisco, followed by a weekend of p’howa teachings at Ati Ling. In early August, Tulku Jigme gave a Medicine Buddha empowerment and led a weekend retreat at Ati Ling. The very next weekend Lama Tsering began an inspiring series of teachings in San Francisco and Sonoma on taming the mind. She also bestowed the Red Tara empowerment at the Rigpa Center in San Francisco. All of these dharma activities were well attended, and there were many new faces at each event. We could not believe our good fortune when in September H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave a public talk on guru yoga and bestowed the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities empowerment on more than 300 people at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. This was followed by a two-day teaching on the six bardos at Ati Ling. Lon Hill and Mike McLaughlin, along with some other hearty sangha members, quickly expanded the Ati Ling shrine room with a large porch addition, and a kind neighbor allowed us to park cars in his cow pasture. In this way, we were able to accommodate the large group who traveled from all over the Bay Area to spend this precious time with Rinpoche.
Following the drubchen at Rigdzin Ling, Rinpoche returned to Ati Ling to celebrate the marriage of his daughter, Dawa Tromge, to James Zito. In their honor, a fire puja was performed and a Red Tara tsok was offered. Rinpoche also blessed the new meditation yurt at Yeshe Ling on Cara Landry’s land in Oakville and gave an inspiring teaching to sangha members who had gathered there to offer tsok.
-----
Lama Tsering’s visit in August was a time of both teachings and meditation. She spoke to an enthusiastic gathering in Eugene, and then many of us came together for a special session of Tara practice during the solar eclipse. We wish to thank her for her compassionate presence, and hope she will return whenever she is in the United States.
The nineteenth annual Tara Tsok was held Thanksgiving weekend, and we were honored by the presence of Venerable Tulku Jigme Tromge, along with Lama Sonam, Lama Gyaltsen, and Lama Jigme. We celebrated Thanksgiving with a Chenrezig practice followed by a potluck.
Lama Sonam would like to convert the third-floor apartment at River House into a self-contained retreat space. The funds for this project are slowly coming together. Anyone who wishes to make a contribution should contact Sharon at (541) 942-5258.
We offer our sincere gratitude to our supporters, to those who have helped us bring many projects to fruition and continue to do so.
-----
Lama Gyatso led the sangha in a whirlwind of dharma activity through the spring, summer, and fall. In the spring, Lama Gyatso continued his public teachings at the Philosophical Research Society with a series devoted to the Six Perfections. On a sunny day in May, while reciting Jetsun prayers, we released thousands of bait fish into Santa Monica Bay. That same month we held the inaugural fund-raising dinner for the Shi-Tro Mandala Project, during which we introduced many in the community to the project.
In the summer, Lama Gyatso led both a weekend Yeshe Tsogyal retreat and an Orgyen Zhambhala retreat. Throughout the summer we prepared a large number of statues that practitioners had sent to us for consecration. Many of us learned firsthand how labor-intensive this process is! We will begin to accept more statues for consecration in February. You can call the center for details.
On July 4th Lama Gyatso gave the inaugural blessing for the Tibetan Independence Festival, during which he spoke movingly about his family’s escape from Tibet in 1959.
In August, T’hondup Ling welcomed H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche as vajra master of the fifth annual T’hröma retreat, which included public healing ceremonies and ceremonies for the dead. Namkha Rinpoche also gave Medicine Buddha and Yeshe Tsogyal empowerments. The day following the retreat brought the incomparable blessing of a visit from H.H. Trulshik Rinpoche, who bestowed a rare Dzogchen empowerment upon several hundred people.
Lama Gyatso flew to Switzerland for his annual teaching tour, returning just in time to welcome H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche to T’hondup Ling in October. Rinpoche rejoiced at the recent English publication of the Shi-Tro text and offered empowerment into this mandala of the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities. We are grateful for the excellent English translation of the Shi-Tro text by Lama Chökyi Nyima, as well as for its publication by Padma Publishing, just in time for Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche’s visit. Rinpoche led us for several days in our first retreat on the Shi-Tro cycle. At the time we were delighted to welcome Sogyal Rinpoche for two evenings of teachings, one of which was conducted jointly with Chagdud Rinpoche. The occasion was recorded on video, which can be ordered from T’hondup Ling.
On October 7, an extensive longevity ceremony was held for Chagdud Rinpoche by a gathering of Chagdud Gonpa lamas and sangha members. Many of Rinpoche’s students throughout the world participated from afar by accumulating longevity practices and prayers for Rinpoche as well. Rinpoche had an auspicious dream following the ceremony, and the sangha rejoiced at the blessings his presence brought. We offer our thanks to those from other centers who made offerings toward this occasion and extend our deepest gratitude to the gemlike coterie of lamas in attendance.
That same day Chagdud Rinpoche presided over the joyful occasion of the marriage of Don Delaquil and Jennifer Chalmers, a lovely ceremony held in the center’s garden. Later in October, H.E. Khamtrul Rinpoche honored T’hondup Ling with an evening visit, during which we offered a Shower of Blessings tsok. The sangha briefly gathers its breath before December, when Tibetan artists will arrive to begin constructing the Shi-Tro Mandala.
----
Orgyen Ling was showered with blessings of a mid-summer’s Dream Yoga teaching and Red Tara empowerment given by Lama Tsering. Her kind generosity and compassion were inspirational, and rekindled a group of busy urbanites’ commitment to their practice.
The retreat took place at beautiful and serene Bailey Farm in Ossining, New York. A large group attended, mostly from New York and the Philadelphia area, although a couple came from Vermont, and one made the trek all the way from far-off Mill Valley, California. We were all powerfully moved by Lama Tsering’s ability to bring us together and to clarify the teachings. Words cannot express our gratitude.
We offer prayers for the long life of Chagdud Rinpoche and all his lamas. May our precious teacher’s enlightened activity continue to thrive!
-----
Since H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche started our center in 1994, when he gave a week of teachings and empowerments and asked us to practice together regularly, he has been back to Chicago almost every year. Our tight-knit sangha has received gracious teachings from Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Lama Drimed Norbu, H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Lama Inge, Lama Tsering, and Lama Padma. Lama Inge’s annual summer visits always help us strengthen our practice. We hope to have further visits and teachings from Chagdud Gonpa lamas and pray for Chagdud Rinpoche’s continuous blessings and frequent teachings. We also hope to have more sangha members join us. The highlight of this year was Rinpoche’s compassionate and generous offering of the dharma in the form of a five-day Dzogchen retreat in September. The event was attended by vajra brothers and sisters from all over the country as well as the Yukon.In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area.We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices
-----
In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area. We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices.
-----
Our small group has been meeting in the homes of a few sangha members who have kindly offered them as practice places.. We recently welcomed Gloria and Edgardo Lopez of Marlborough and Ann Soulet of Cambridge to our group. Some members of our sangha and other Buddhist practitioners met in October to begin planning for Buddhist co-housing in the Boston area. H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche suggested that we do this to promote spiritual practice and sangha interdependence and to create benefit for ourselves, our communities, and all beings. If anyone has expertise in co-housing or is interested in being part of the process, please contact Cheryl Conner at (617) 332-0327. All input and help is welcome!
Things are rolling along at high speed at Khadro Ling. The construction seems to never end. The retreat units, which are nestled in deep woods and cascade down the side of a mountain, are almost finished. Undaunted by such trivialities as the retreat cabins being incomplete, some yogis and yoginis have already begun retreats in various makeshift facilities.
The apartments are also nearly completed, but in keeping with tradition, they have leaky roofs, which is hampering the application of the final touches. Ten prayer wheel houses are presently under construction, and more apartments are being planned.
The basement of the lha khang is now home to our new dharma store and a cafe, which has become something of a local hotspot with frequent appearances by the sangha rock group “Os the Dharma Lovers.”
The hospice project is gearing up and intensive planning is underway. A number of professionals have offered their time and expertise. The land is being cleared, and plans are being drawn up under Chagdud Khadro’s close supervision. The names of people wishing to spend their last days in this blessed place have already been placed on a waiting list. Palden, our visiting artist from Sikkim, is painting details on the ceiling and columns of the lha khang shrine room, and the walls are being prepared for the enormous murals he will paint on them.
The dog population seems to have stabilized, but Rinpoche and Khadro now have two cats, Dorje and Pema, living with them upstairs. Both are local bush cats that have somehow slipped into the guru’s compassionate sphere.
During September and October, Khadro traveled throughout Brazil teaching and giving empowerments. In November, she joined Rinpoche on pilgrimage to India and Nepal. Lama Norbu remains in retreat, pounding out blessings to all beings on his gonla drum.
-----
In August, Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche led a week of ceremonies as the sangha prepared sacred images and mantras to be consecrated and placed inside the six unfinished stupas. By week’s end, the stupas’ inner chambers had been filled and sealed. Tulku Sang-ngag was very pleased with the amount of work accomplished and the speed at which it was done.
On a September weekend, a group of local sangha members and visitors worked together to place straw bales into the newly framed walls of Lotus House, Rigdzin Ling’s new building for staff members and retreatants. Participants came from as far away as British Columbia. Within forty-eight hours about 500 bales were unloaded from a semi and then carefully placed into the walls. John Swearingen, a local sangha member, building contractor, and international expert on straw-bale structures, has been overseeing the project.
From October 8 to 29 Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for the first time in two years.
He gave a weekend of teachings in Weaverville to 350 people on “The Way of the Bodhisattva.” Rinpoche was also vajra master at the Essence of Siddhi drubchen. This was the twenty-first and largest Chagdud Gonpa drubchen held in the United States, with 260 people participating. Guest lamas included Gyalse Tulku Rinpoche from Mindrol-ling Monastery, Tulku Jigme Tromge, Lama Padma Dorje, Lama Gyaltsen, Tulkus Orgyen and Max, and several other lamas. The eight-day retreat culminated in Rigdzin Ling’s annual lama dancing performance.
This year’s drubchen included a traditional mendrub ceremony for the preparation of dutsi (sacred medicine). This detailed procedure involves the gathering of specific substances, including some very precious mother cultures that have been blessed by great lineage masters. They are combined in a prescribed manner, and then consecrated during the drubchen practice with the appropriate prayers. In addition to reciting the prayers, almost all of the participants took turns assisting in the final drying of the precious medicine. This may well have been the first time a mendrub has been performed in this country. At its completion Chagdud Rinpoche commented that there were clear signs that the ceremony had been successful.
During the drubchen, work on the stupas’ exteriors continued, particularly that on the eighth, bell-shaped stupa, which required the most attention. The bell-shaped stupa of complete victory commemorates the Buddha’s voluntary prolongation of his life span at Visali. On the final day, after opening the retreat boundaries, Chagdud Rinpoche reconsecrated all eight stupas.
Following the drubchen, Rinpoche announced that he would go on to India and Nepal for six weeks of pilgrimage, and extended an invitation to any sangha members who wished to join him. Twenty of his students took the precious opportunity to travel with him.
Before leaving, he and the sangha spent an afternoon picnicking along the Trinity River. Everyone relaxed, feasted, and told stories. There was something timeless about just sitting with the lama, feeling the warm autumn breeze and watching the golden light on the river rocks. It was a welcome respite from the effort and activity of the previous weeks, an all too brief moment to settle before we moved on in our lives and our practice, to reflect on what being with Rinpoche again had meant to all of us.
Khenpo Chuga was a recent guest at Rigdzin Ling while recuperating from an illness. At Rinpoche’s request he taught the Bodhisattvacaryavatara, with Lama Chökyi Nyima translating, three days a week for more than a month. We were pleased that both he and Lama Padma Dorje attended our Thanksgiving meal, as did a neighbor and the parents of a few sangha members. Ingrid and Lance serenaded the guests with bluegrass tunes, and Khenpo sang the Seven Line Prayer, Praises to the Twenty-one Taras, and a prayer to Sarasvati to the accompaniment of banjo and fiddle.
-----
The past six months have been wonderful for the Ati Ling/San Francisco Bay Area sangha. In May, Chagdud Khadro gave a public talk on the six bardos at the Swedenborgian Church in San Francisco, followed by a weekend of p’howa teachings at Ati Ling. In early August, Tulku Jigme gave a Medicine Buddha empowerment and led a weekend retreat at Ati Ling. The very next weekend Lama Tsering began an inspiring series of teachings in San Francisco and Sonoma on taming the mind. She also bestowed the Red Tara empowerment at the Rigpa Center in San Francisco. All of these dharma activities were well attended, and there were many new faces at each event. We could not believe our good fortune when in September H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave a public talk on guru yoga and bestowed the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities empowerment on more than 300 people at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. This was followed by a two-day teaching on the six bardos at Ati Ling. Lon Hill and Mike McLaughlin, along with some other hearty sangha members, quickly expanded the Ati Ling shrine room with a large porch addition, and a kind neighbor allowed us to park cars in his cow pasture. In this way, we were able to accommodate the large group who traveled from all over the Bay Area to spend this precious time with Rinpoche.
Following the drubchen at Rigdzin Ling, Rinpoche returned to Ati Ling to celebrate the marriage of his daughter, Dawa Tromge, to James Zito. In their honor, a fire puja was performed and a Red Tara tsok was offered. Rinpoche also blessed the new meditation yurt at Yeshe Ling on Cara Landry’s land in Oakville and gave an inspiring teaching to sangha members who had gathered there to offer tsok.
-----
Lama Tsering’s visit in August was a time of both teachings and meditation. She spoke to an enthusiastic gathering in Eugene, and then many of us came together for a special session of Tara practice during the solar eclipse. We wish to thank her for her compassionate presence, and hope she will return whenever she is in the United States.
The nineteenth annual Tara Tsok was held Thanksgiving weekend, and we were honored by the presence of Venerable Tulku Jigme Tromge, along with Lama Sonam, Lama Gyaltsen, and Lama Jigme. We celebrated Thanksgiving with a Chenrezig practice followed by a potluck.
Lama Sonam would like to convert the third-floor apartment at River House into a self-contained retreat space. The funds for this project are slowly coming together. Anyone who wishes to make a contribution should contact Sharon at (541) 942-5258.
We offer our sincere gratitude to our supporters, to those who have helped us bring many projects to fruition and continue to do so.
-----
Lama Gyatso led the sangha in a whirlwind of dharma activity through the spring, summer, and fall. In the spring, Lama Gyatso continued his public teachings at the Philosophical Research Society with a series devoted to the Six Perfections. On a sunny day in May, while reciting Jetsun prayers, we released thousands of bait fish into Santa Monica Bay. That same month we held the inaugural fund-raising dinner for the Shi-Tro Mandala Project, during which we introduced many in the community to the project.
In the summer, Lama Gyatso led both a weekend Yeshe Tsogyal retreat and an Orgyen Zhambhala retreat. Throughout the summer we prepared a large number of statues that practitioners had sent to us for consecration. Many of us learned firsthand how labor-intensive this process is! We will begin to accept more statues for consecration in February. You can call the center for details.
On July 4th Lama Gyatso gave the inaugural blessing for the Tibetan Independence Festival, during which he spoke movingly about his family’s escape from Tibet in 1959.
In August, T’hondup Ling welcomed H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche as vajra master of the fifth annual T’hröma retreat, which included public healing ceremonies and ceremonies for the dead. Namkha Rinpoche also gave Medicine Buddha and Yeshe Tsogyal empowerments. The day following the retreat brought the incomparable blessing of a visit from H.H. Trulshik Rinpoche, who bestowed a rare Dzogchen empowerment upon several hundred people.
Lama Gyatso flew to Switzerland for his annual teaching tour, returning just in time to welcome H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche to T’hondup Ling in October. Rinpoche rejoiced at the recent English publication of the Shi-Tro text and offered empowerment into this mandala of the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities. We are grateful for the excellent English translation of the Shi-Tro text by Lama Chökyi Nyima, as well as for its publication by Padma Publishing, just in time for Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche’s visit. Rinpoche led us for several days in our first retreat on the Shi-Tro cycle. At the time we were delighted to welcome Sogyal Rinpoche for two evenings of teachings, one of which was conducted jointly with Chagdud Rinpoche. The occasion was recorded on video, which can be ordered from T’hondup Ling.
On October 7, an extensive longevity ceremony was held for Chagdud Rinpoche by a gathering of Chagdud Gonpa lamas and sangha members. Many of Rinpoche’s students throughout the world participated from afar by accumulating longevity practices and prayers for Rinpoche as well. Rinpoche had an auspicious dream following the ceremony, and the sangha rejoiced at the blessings his presence brought. We offer our thanks to those from other centers who made offerings toward this occasion and extend our deepest gratitude to the gemlike coterie of lamas in attendance.
That same day Chagdud Rinpoche presided over the joyful occasion of the marriage of Don Delaquil and Jennifer Chalmers, a lovely ceremony held in the center’s garden. Later in October, H.E. Khamtrul Rinpoche honored T’hondup Ling with an evening visit, during which we offered a Shower of Blessings tsok. The sangha briefly gathers its breath before December, when Tibetan artists will arrive to begin constructing the Shi-Tro Mandala.
----
Orgyen Ling was showered with blessings of a mid-summer’s Dream Yoga teaching and Red Tara empowerment given by Lama Tsering. Her kind generosity and compassion were inspirational, and rekindled a group of busy urbanites’ commitment to their practice.
The retreat took place at beautiful and serene Bailey Farm in Ossining, New York. A large group attended, mostly from New York and the Philadelphia area, although a couple came from Vermont, and one made the trek all the way from far-off Mill Valley, California. We were all powerfully moved by Lama Tsering’s ability to bring us together and to clarify the teachings. Words cannot express our gratitude.
We offer prayers for the long life of Chagdud Rinpoche and all his lamas. May our precious teacher’s enlightened activity continue to thrive!
-----
Since H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche started our center in 1994, when he gave a week of teachings and empowerments and asked us to practice together regularly, he has been back to Chicago almost every year. Our tight-knit sangha has received gracious teachings from Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Lama Drimed Norbu, H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Lama Inge, Lama Tsering, and Lama Padma. Lama Inge’s annual summer visits always help us strengthen our practice. We hope to have further visits and teachings from Chagdud Gonpa lamas and pray for Chagdud Rinpoche’s continuous blessings and frequent teachings. We also hope to have more sangha members join us. The highlight of this year was Rinpoche’s compassionate and generous offering of the dharma in the form of a five-day Dzogchen retreat in September. The event was attended by vajra brothers and sisters from all over the country as well as the Yukon.In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area.We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices
-----
In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area. We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices.
-----
Our small group has been meeting in the homes of a few sangha members who have kindly offered them as practice places.. We recently welcomed Gloria and Edgardo Lopez of Marlborough and Ann Soulet of Cambridge to our group. Some members of our sangha and other Buddhist practitioners met in October to begin planning for Buddhist co-housing in the Boston area. H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche suggested that we do this to promote spiritual practice and sangha interdependence and to create benefit for ourselves, our communities, and all beings. If anyone has expertise in co-housing or is interested in being part of the process, please contact Cheryl Conner at (617) 332-0327. All input and help is welcome!
Things are rolling along at high speed at Khadro Ling. The construction seems to never end. The retreat units, which are nestled in deep woods and cascade down the side of a mountain, are almost finished. Undaunted by such trivialities as the retreat cabins being incomplete, some yogis and yoginis have already begun retreats in various makeshift facilities.
The apartments are also nearly completed, but in keeping with tradition, they have leaky roofs, which is hampering the application of the final touches. Ten prayer wheel houses are presently under construction, and more apartments are being planned.
The basement of the lha khang is now home to our new dharma store and a cafe, which has become something of a local hotspot with frequent appearances by the sangha rock group “Os the Dharma Lovers.”
The hospice project is gearing up and intensive planning is underway. A number of professionals have offered their time and expertise. The land is being cleared, and plans are being drawn up under Chagdud Khadro’s close supervision. The names of people wishing to spend their last days in this blessed place have already been placed on a waiting list. Palden, our visiting artist from Sikkim, is painting details on the ceiling and columns of the lha khang shrine room, and the walls are being prepared for the enormous murals he will paint on them.
The dog population seems to have stabilized, but Rinpoche and Khadro now have two cats, Dorje and Pema, living with them upstairs. Both are local bush cats that have somehow slipped into the guru’s compassionate sphere.
During September and October, Khadro traveled throughout Brazil teaching and giving empowerments. In November, she joined Rinpoche on pilgrimage to India and Nepal. Lama Norbu remains in retreat, pounding out blessings to all beings on his gonla drum.
-----
In August, Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche led a week of ceremonies as the sangha prepared sacred images and mantras to be consecrated and placed inside the six unfinished stupas. By week’s end, the stupas’ inner chambers had been filled and sealed. Tulku Sang-ngag was very pleased with the amount of work accomplished and the speed at which it was done.
On a September weekend, a group of local sangha members and visitors worked together to place straw bales into the newly framed walls of Lotus House, Rigdzin Ling’s new building for staff members and retreatants. Participants came from as far away as British Columbia. Within forty-eight hours about 500 bales were unloaded from a semi and then carefully placed into the walls. John Swearingen, a local sangha member, building contractor, and international expert on straw-bale structures, has been overseeing the project.
From October 8 to 29 Chagdud Rinpoche visited Rigdzin Ling for the first time in two years.
He gave a weekend of teachings in Weaverville to 350 people on “The Way of the Bodhisattva.” Rinpoche was also vajra master at the Essence of Siddhi drubchen. This was the twenty-first and largest Chagdud Gonpa drubchen held in the United States, with 260 people participating. Guest lamas included Gyalse Tulku Rinpoche from Mindrol-ling Monastery, Tulku Jigme Tromge, Lama Padma Dorje, Lama Gyaltsen, Tulkus Orgyen and Max, and several other lamas. The eight-day retreat culminated in Rigdzin Ling’s annual lama dancing performance.
This year’s drubchen included a traditional mendrub ceremony for the preparation of dutsi (sacred medicine). This detailed procedure involves the gathering of specific substances, including some very precious mother cultures that have been blessed by great lineage masters. They are combined in a prescribed manner, and then consecrated during the drubchen practice with the appropriate prayers. In addition to reciting the prayers, almost all of the participants took turns assisting in the final drying of the precious medicine. This may well have been the first time a mendrub has been performed in this country. At its completion Chagdud Rinpoche commented that there were clear signs that the ceremony had been successful.
During the drubchen, work on the stupas’ exteriors continued, particularly that on the eighth, bell-shaped stupa, which required the most attention. The bell-shaped stupa of complete victory commemorates the Buddha’s voluntary prolongation of his life span at Visali. On the final day, after opening the retreat boundaries, Chagdud Rinpoche reconsecrated all eight stupas.
Following the drubchen, Rinpoche announced that he would go on to India and Nepal for six weeks of pilgrimage, and extended an invitation to any sangha members who wished to join him. Twenty of his students took the precious opportunity to travel with him.
Before leaving, he and the sangha spent an afternoon picnicking along the Trinity River. Everyone relaxed, feasted, and told stories. There was something timeless about just sitting with the lama, feeling the warm autumn breeze and watching the golden light on the river rocks. It was a welcome respite from the effort and activity of the previous weeks, an all too brief moment to settle before we moved on in our lives and our practice, to reflect on what being with Rinpoche again had meant to all of us.
Khenpo Chuga was a recent guest at Rigdzin Ling while recuperating from an illness. At Rinpoche’s request he taught the Bodhisattvacaryavatara, with Lama Chökyi Nyima translating, three days a week for more than a month. We were pleased that both he and Lama Padma Dorje attended our Thanksgiving meal, as did a neighbor and the parents of a few sangha members. Ingrid and Lance serenaded the guests with bluegrass tunes, and Khenpo sang the Seven Line Prayer, Praises to the Twenty-one Taras, and a prayer to Sarasvati to the accompaniment of banjo and fiddle.
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The past six months have been wonderful for the Ati Ling/San Francisco Bay Area sangha. In May, Chagdud Khadro gave a public talk on the six bardos at the Swedenborgian Church in San Francisco, followed by a weekend of p’howa teachings at Ati Ling. In early August, Tulku Jigme gave a Medicine Buddha empowerment and led a weekend retreat at Ati Ling. The very next weekend Lama Tsering began an inspiring series of teachings in San Francisco and Sonoma on taming the mind. She also bestowed the Red Tara empowerment at the Rigpa Center in San Francisco. All of these dharma activities were well attended, and there were many new faces at each event. We could not believe our good fortune when in September H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche gave a public talk on guru yoga and bestowed the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities empowerment on more than 300 people at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. This was followed by a two-day teaching on the six bardos at Ati Ling. Lon Hill and Mike McLaughlin, along with some other hearty sangha members, quickly expanded the Ati Ling shrine room with a large porch addition, and a kind neighbor allowed us to park cars in his cow pasture. In this way, we were able to accommodate the large group who traveled from all over the Bay Area to spend this precious time with Rinpoche.
Following the drubchen at Rigdzin Ling, Rinpoche returned to Ati Ling to celebrate the marriage of his daughter, Dawa Tromge, to James Zito. In their honor, a fire puja was performed and a Red Tara tsok was offered. Rinpoche also blessed the new meditation yurt at Yeshe Ling on Cara Landry’s land in Oakville and gave an inspiring teaching to sangha members who had gathered there to offer tsok.
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Lama Tsering’s visit in August was a time of both teachings and meditation. She spoke to an enthusiastic gathering in Eugene, and then many of us came together for a special session of Tara practice during the solar eclipse. We wish to thank her for her compassionate presence, and hope she will return whenever she is in the United States.
The nineteenth annual Tara Tsok was held Thanksgiving weekend, and we were honored by the presence of Venerable Tulku Jigme Tromge, along with Lama Sonam, Lama Gyaltsen, and Lama Jigme. We celebrated Thanksgiving with a Chenrezig practice followed by a potluck.
Lama Sonam would like to convert the third-floor apartment at River House into a self-contained retreat space. The funds for this project are slowly coming together. Anyone who wishes to make a contribution should contact Sharon at (541) 942-5258.
We offer our sincere gratitude to our supporters, to those who have helped us bring many projects to fruition and continue to do so.
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Lama Gyatso led the sangha in a whirlwind of dharma activity through the spring, summer, and fall. In the spring, Lama Gyatso continued his public teachings at the Philosophical Research Society with a series devoted to the Six Perfections. On a sunny day in May, while reciting Jetsun prayers, we released thousands of bait fish into Santa Monica Bay. That same month we held the inaugural fund-raising dinner for the Shi-Tro Mandala Project, during which we introduced many in the community to the project.
In the summer, Lama Gyatso led both a weekend Yeshe Tsogyal retreat and an Orgyen Zhambhala retreat. Throughout the summer we prepared a large number of statues that practitioners had sent to us for consecration. Many of us learned firsthand how labor-intensive this process is! We will begin to accept more statues for consecration in February. You can call the center for details.
On July 4th Lama Gyatso gave the inaugural blessing for the Tibetan Independence Festival, during which he spoke movingly about his family’s escape from Tibet in 1959.
In August, T’hondup Ling welcomed H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche as vajra master of the fifth annual T’hröma retreat, which included public healing ceremonies and ceremonies for the dead. Namkha Rinpoche also gave Medicine Buddha and Yeshe Tsogyal empowerments. The day following the retreat brought the incomparable blessing of a visit from H.H. Trulshik Rinpoche, who bestowed a rare Dzogchen empowerment upon several hundred people.
Lama Gyatso flew to Switzerland for his annual teaching tour, returning just in time to welcome H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche to T’hondup Ling in October. Rinpoche rejoiced at the recent English publication of the Shi-Tro text and offered empowerment into this mandala of the One Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities. We are grateful for the excellent English translation of the Shi-Tro text by Lama Chökyi Nyima, as well as for its publication by Padma Publishing, just in time for Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche’s visit. Rinpoche led us for several days in our first retreat on the Shi-Tro cycle. At the time we were delighted to welcome Sogyal Rinpoche for two evenings of teachings, one of which was conducted jointly with Chagdud Rinpoche. The occasion was recorded on video, which can be ordered from T’hondup Ling.
On October 7, an extensive longevity ceremony was held for Chagdud Rinpoche by a gathering of Chagdud Gonpa lamas and sangha members. Many of Rinpoche’s students throughout the world participated from afar by accumulating longevity practices and prayers for Rinpoche as well. Rinpoche had an auspicious dream following the ceremony, and the sangha rejoiced at the blessings his presence brought. We offer our thanks to those from other centers who made offerings toward this occasion and extend our deepest gratitude to the gemlike coterie of lamas in attendance.
That same day Chagdud Rinpoche presided over the joyful occasion of the marriage of Don Delaquil and Jennifer Chalmers, a lovely ceremony held in the center’s garden. Later in October, H.E. Khamtrul Rinpoche honored T’hondup Ling with an evening visit, during which we offered a Shower of Blessings tsok. The sangha briefly gathers its breath before December, when Tibetan artists will arrive to begin constructing the Shi-Tro Mandala.
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Orgyen Ling was showered with blessings of a mid-summer’s Dream Yoga teaching and Red Tara empowerment given by Lama Tsering. Her kind generosity and compassion were inspirational, and rekindled a group of busy urbanites’ commitment to their practice.
The retreat took place at beautiful and serene Bailey Farm in Ossining, New York. A large group attended, mostly from New York and the Philadelphia area, although a couple came from Vermont, and one made the trek all the way from far-off Mill Valley, California. We were all powerfully moved by Lama Tsering’s ability to bring us together and to clarify the teachings. Words cannot express our gratitude.
We offer prayers for the long life of Chagdud Rinpoche and all his lamas. May our precious teacher’s enlightened activity continue to thrive!
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Since H.E. Chagdud Rinpoche started our center in 1994, when he gave a week of teachings and empowerments and asked us to practice together regularly, he has been back to Chicago almost every year. Our tight-knit sangha has received gracious teachings from Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, Chagdud Khadro, Lama Drimed Norbu, H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Lama Inge, Lama Tsering, and Lama Padma. Lama Inge’s annual summer visits always help us strengthen our practice. We hope to have further visits and teachings from Chagdud Gonpa lamas and pray for Chagdud Rinpoche’s continuous blessings and frequent teachings. We also hope to have more sangha members join us. The highlight of this year was Rinpoche’s compassionate and generous offering of the dharma in the form of a five-day Dzogchen retreat in September. The event was attended by vajra brothers and sisters from all over the country as well as the Yukon.In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area.We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices
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In response to a request for a few minutes of blessings for our new sangha members, Rinpoche gave five hours of empowerments and teachings. As a result of Rinpoche’s recent visit, a number of sangha members have started to practice as a group in the Rockford area. We pray for Rinpoche’s long life, so that he may continue to turn the wheel of the dharma. It is our sincere hope that more sangha members, particularly those from the Midwest, will complete their ngondro practices.
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Our small group has been meeting in the homes of a few sangha members who have kindly offered them as practice places.. We recently welcomed Gloria and Edgardo Lopez of Marlborough and Ann Soulet of Cambridge to our group. Some members of our sangha and other Buddhist practitioners met in October to begin planning for Buddhist co-housing in the Boston area. H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche suggested that we do this to promote spiritual practice and sangha interdependence and to create benefit for ourselves, our communities, and all beings. If anyone has expertise in co-housing or is interested in being part of the process, please contact Cheryl Conner at (617) 332-0327. All input and help is welcome!
