| Geshe Tashi's Column |
I haven't written my article for the last few issues, but this time I was asked and so I would like to say a few words out of a sense of encouragement for the people who are interested in the last generation of great Tibetan Buddhist Masters like Khensur Rinpoche Jampa Tegchok who is going to come to Jamyang in August to teach and lead the retreat. He will teach that amazing text written by the Great Tibetan Master Lama Tsong Khapa, The Three Principal Aspects of the Path.
So as I always say and feel, it is my responsibility, being the resident teacher here, to give this kind of help and support in introducing these great teachers. I myself do not have any kind of high realisations or any great experiences. In Tibet there is an expression, when the rabbit is chased by the dog, the rabbit may arrive at the top of the queue where there are many great animals already waiting to get what they need. Even though the rabbit doesn't have that courage and strength to get past the other animals in the queue, but being chased by the dog it gets to the front of the queue. Even though I don't have any great realisations and such, my role here as resident teacher is to introduce some of the great masters who are still with us and request them to visit, and make there stay as comfortable as possible. So if you have free time in August, and would like to listen to the teachings of this great master, I would encourage you to join us. I will also be there leading some of the discussion and meditations, but the main teachings will be given by Khensur Rinpoche.
If you can't make it, I hope you will enjoy your summer holiday - I'm sure it will be hot. Get a great suntan, burn your skin and so forth! Have a great time, and I will write again in the next GentleVoice before I go away to India for my long retreat, but I would like to say here thank you for practicing the Dharma genuinely and sincerely. |
| Bodhicitta - Part Three |
Last in a three-part teaching Geshe Tashi gave on Pilgrimage in Bodhgaya, 2006.
...Another important point here for the cultivation of great compassion is really to establish an understanding of the first two Noble truths related to other sentient beings. First we need to develop an understanding of the noble truth of suffering and the noble truth of the origin of suffering related to ourselves. When we understand what these two noble truths have been doing to us then how do we feel? Then we need to apply that same understanding to others. If we manage to apply that understanding to others then our feeling of compassion, our feeling of sympathy and empathy will be very deep.
Our example is clear in our day to day life; when we see a poor person, a beggar or a sick person we feel empathy and sadness, but we don't have that feeling when we see a healthy person or when we see a rich person. Instead of that we may have quite different feelings, feelings of envy or jealousy. That is due to not fully understanding their samsaric nature. As long as any sentient being is not free from the origin of suffering, which is ignorance attachment and aversion; as long as the sentient beings are under the power of these three, no matter what kind of aspect they show on the surface, healthy, rich, poor, unhealthy or whatever it may be, at a fundamental level they are all under the power of ignorance, attachment and aversion and are therefore subject to all sorts of suffering and difficulties.
Therefore all living beings are suitable for us to feel sympathy and empathy towards. Whether they are rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, educated or uneducated we should learn to feel that sympathy or empathy towards all. So we need to learn to relate the first two noble truths to all sentient beings, to learn that they are all subject to suffering. That understanding is quite important in order to expand our empathy or sympathy to all sentient beings... [full text] |
| Di's Column |
Hello Everyone,
Hope this finds you all well.
As you'll have seen changes are afoot in the staff team here at Jamyang. I'm planning to leave as Director at the end of the year, following advice from my teacher and overall head of the organisation, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. You will still see me as I plan to stay in London and develop my psychotherapy practice, and I will still be part of the Jamyang community. Mat, Centre Manager, is leaving at the beginning of July to do some retreat in Nepal and finish writing his book - 'a Buddhist thriller'. Having read the first chapter some months ago Kerry and I are waiting avidly for further instalments.
So some opportunities for new people and energy for Jamyang (do check out the job ads!), and the centre is thriving as ever and we are looking forward to our first Dharma Festival in Dorset this summer. Holding this special event guided by Khensur Rinpoche Jampa Tekchok and Geshe Tashi will give participants a feel for what it might be like if we had a retreat centre outside Jamyang. Although we don't have the funds or a dedicated group of people to take this forward right at the moment it is still our aspiration, and for those of you who have generously made donations for this purpose we have them carefully reserved. With our sister centre Jamyang Leeds and now several Jamyang groups around the UK our feeling is that the retreat centre will be a new FPMT centre in its own right that can serve all the groups around the country.
Our current priority after the upcoming Dharma Festival in August is possibly not so inspiring to some however is very needed on a practical level- to renovate Jamyang's antiquated and very inefficient heating system. I hope you can attend some of the fundraising events for this so that as soon as the heating is no longer needed next Spring we can start work on it.
Also as some of you know Geshe Tashi is taking a much deserved 6 month sabbatical (after 13 years teaching at Jamyang with only short breaks!) over the Winter to do some retreat in India. Geshela will be away from September until he joins the Third Jamyang Pilgrimage to the special Buddhist sites in India in March.2008. Still thinking of Jamyang's needs even when he'll be away Geshela asked his good friend Geshe Thubten Soepa to come and teach at Jamyang during this time. Geshe Soepa is currently resident teacher at our FPMT centre in Munich, and next year is moving to Canada and/or the USA to teach there. However luckily en route Geshela can come to Jamyang, and we invited him here over the May bank holiday so we could plan the programme and start to get to know each other. Staying at Jamyang will also give Geshe Soepa the chance to improve his English... which although it is, how to say , slightly quirky(!) at the moment, doesn't take away from Geshela's humour and stories. |
| Sanghata Sutra Recitation Marathon @ Nalanda Monastery |
 Nalanda Monastery in France is currently broadcasting a live 2-week, 24-hour-a-day recitation of the Sanghata Sutra. They started on Saka Dawa (31 May) and will finish on the 14th June. You can see the live broadcast here (you will need quicktime to view).
They are raising funds to complete their new building project which needs 108,888.88 Euros. So far they have collected 19,580.00 after only 1 week. There are chances to add your own donation on this site also.
The Sanghata Sutra is a direct teaching by the Buddha that promises to transform all who read, recite or even hear just a four line verse. More about the sutra can be found here. |
| Jamyang's Comedy Night |
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 Just a brief reminder that we have a wonderful alternative event on Monday 18th June: Jamyang's Comedy Night with a superb line up of musicians and
comedians. To book a table please call Mat or Kerry on 02078208787 or click here for more information.
Dan Clark
"A quirky, talented act with a deft tongue-in-cheek style." Chortle
"Delightfully clever" The Independent
"Marvellous" ***** Metro
Shazia Mirza
"Her laconic one-liners represent something quite unique in modern comedy."
The Guardian
"Frank and honest stand up comedy routines about being a young Muslim woman
in Britain" The Daily Telegraph
We look forward to seeing you at the Roxy Bar & Screen, 128-132 Borough High
Street, turn left outside Borough tube (http://www.roxybarandscreen.com).
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| Setting Up An Altar |
 Each month we're going to include a little on basic buddhist practices, taken from a book by Shyla Bauer from Buddha House in Australia.
Setting up an Altar
1. Picture of the guru
2. Thangka of a Buddha
3. Bowl of fruit offering
4. Statue of Buddha
5. Tibetan text
6. Light offering
7. Stupa
8. Water offering bowls
9. Traditionally table at hip level
10. Incense in pot of sand
What goes on an altar?
· Images or representations of the holy body, speech and mind of a Buddha
· Buddha (represents Body) in the Centre, Text (represents speech) on Buddha's right, and Stupa (represents mind) on Buddha's left. (if you don't have the actual object you can use a picture/photograph.)
· Offerings, especially of light and the water bowls, but also incense, flowers
· Photos of your gurus and teachers
· Make it so that just looking at the altar makes you happy and inspired, so we want to go there often
· You can set it up and take it down each day, or leave it permanently
Handy hints
· An altar is a tool to engage with the ultimate qualities of an enlightened being, and to create merit by offering and prostrating
· It is better to have a clean and plain altar, than an elaborate and dusty one
· Don't offer cigarette smoke!
· LZR recommends putting an altar in every room, and offering light to it.
· If you can, place texts on a shelf above the altar (they are the actual refuge, so are the highest)
· Tibetan left and right are different - they always describe from position of the
Buddha (keep this in mind when you read instructions in books)
· If your relatives will be upset, keep it hidden or discreet. You can use a mini-bar
or medicine cupboard and keep the doors closed, or you can just set up and take it down as you go.
This material copyright Shyla Bauer, full copies are on sale at Jamyang for £3.
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