| Motivation - How To Make Each Moment Of Our Lives Meaningful |
 It all depends on motivation
by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
It
is extremely important for us to know how best to lead our daily lives.
This depends upon our knowing what is a spiritual action and what is
not; the difference between what is Dharma and what is not Dharma. The
benefits of having this knowledge are incredible, infinite.
Take,
for example, four people reciting the same Buddhist prayer. The first
recites it with the motivation of achieving enlightenment for the sake
of all sentient beings. Because of this motivation, the recitation does
become a cause of enlightenment, not only for the person doing the
recitation but for all sentient beings.
The
second person recites the prayer motivated by the desire for his or her
own liberation from samsara. This action does not become a cause for
the enlightenment of all sentient beings but for the everlasting
happiness of liberation of that person alone.
The
third person recites the prayer with the motivation of receiving
happiness in future lives. The result of this is neither enlightenment
nor liberation, but simply happiness in a future life.
The
fourth person, however, recites the prayer motivated by attachment
clinging to the happiness of this life. Even though it is a Dharma
prayer, a teaching of the Buddha, this person's recitation is not a
Dharma action, not a spiritual practice. It is a worldly dharma, the
cause of suffering. Why? Because the motivation of attachment clinging
to this life has the negative effect of disturbing the mind, of making
it unpeaceful. Therefore, such motivation is labeled non-virtuous, as
is the action itself. They are non-virtuous because they result in
suffering.
Lama
Atisha, the great Indian yogi and pandit who was invited to Tibet to
re-establish the pure Dharma, was asked by his translator Drom Tönpa,
himself an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, "What are the results of
actions done simply for this life?" Lama Atisha replied that such
actions cause unfortunate, suffering rebirths in the three lower
realms--the hell, hungry ghost or animal realms.
Although
I am using the action of reciting a prayer as an example, what we have
to realize is that the above applies to all our actions throughout the
twenty-four hours of each day--walking, sitting, sleeping, eating,
talking, working at our jobs-everything we do, even breathing. Every
single action can become a cause of either enlightenment, liberation or
happiness in future lives, or rebirth in the suffering lower realms. It
all depends on our motivation.
Copied with kind permission from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. Photo: Lee Chung Han/Mandala Magazine
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| A House for Geshe Tashi |
Gentle
Voice Readers may remember that some time ago Geshe Tashi Tsering
expressed a wish to move out of the Centre into separate accommodation
so as to be able to serve longer in London. A number of his students
have come together to raise the funds to buy him, in mid 2008, a one or
two bedroom garden property in London which he will own outright.
Please note that this is a private initiative by a group of his
students and is not an appeal by Jamyang Buddhist Centre.
If you are interested in contributing financially to this initiative please send a contact email to Amelia Adrian on gthouse@supermatic.co.uk and she will send you further details.
Geshe
Tashi has now left for India and his retreat. The above photo was taken
during his leaving party last month. He will return in April 08 after
the Jamyang Pilgrimage.
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| Dalai Lama Updates |
 Many
people from the Jamyang community went to hear the teachings of the
Dalai Lama in Hamburg. His Holiness gave public talks on Compassion and
World Peace which were then followed by the more detailed teachings on
the text 400 verses by Aryadeva, a copy of which is now in the library.
The event was attended by over 40,000 people during the week and
received a lot of press coverage throughout Germany.
The website for the teachings in Nottingham in May 2008 is now taking bookings. Seats are going fast so we'd advise you to book soon. |
| Accumulating Merit - What is Merit? |
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Recently
I attended a meeting in France of the Foundation for the Preservation
of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), the organisation of which Jamyang is
part. Here many centre directors and spiritual programme coordinators
from around the world, including Jamyang's, congregated to exchange
ideas on how to make the Dharma more accessible, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche
wishes.
One of the thoughts I brought back from the event was that a Dharma centre  doesn't
come about and develop merely by finding a building or the money to run
it. It comes about, and is sustained by, merit. Merit created in order
to receive teachings; merit created in order to have a resident teacher. All success, great and small, whether in spiritual or temporal affairs, derives from our store of merit. "What exactly is merit?" They asked Khensur Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche in Mandala magazine this month: "Merit, in general, means everything which is virtuous."
Lama
Zopa Rinpoche has recommended certain practices for accumulating merit,
virtuous states of mind, as well as for eliminating obstacles, said to
be "indispensable for generating realizations within the mind."
The Sutra of Golden Light and the Sanghata Sutra are two very powerful
sutras, good for promoting world peace, and for accumulating positive
energy for the benefit of all, including FPMT centres and projects.
 As
you can see in our Jamyang Programme, we are due to practise these
together early in September. On Saturday September 1, we're due to do
an all-night Tara puja, from 7 in the evening till 7 the next morning!
(There'll be coffee to help us stay awake through the night, and
breakfast will be provided at the end of it.) And on Sunday September
2, from 10am till 1pm, and from 3 till 6pm, (and again on Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday, September 3 - 5, from 7 till 10pm,) we're due to
recite The Sutra of Golden Light and the Sanghata Sutra.
Everyone,
whether you are a new student, a more experienced student, or simply
curious about these "great sutras", you are more than welcome to come
to this practices!
Please
join us and enjoy the power that comes from reciting these precious
texts together. (If you're coming on Sunday, please bring some food to
share at lunch.)
Esther Garibay
Spiritual Programme Co-ordinator
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| Jumble Sale News £926! |
A
huge thank you to everyone who helped to make this year's annual jumble
sale so successful. It was a lovely day with glorious weather. We
raised £926 after expenses, which is great.
A
big, BIG, thanks to all of you who kindly brought in things to sell,
and to the very hard working team of volunteers on the day, and the
people who came before to help sort out the jumble.
There
were a lot of smiling faces and satisfied customers. The local people
really seemed to enjoy the Jamyang hospitality. Only 355 days until the
next jumble sale, brace yourselves! With love from Anil xx
Anil Sharma
Centre Manager
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| Di's Coloumn |
Hello Everyone,
Welcome
back to the Jamyang Autumn term if you've been away over the summer!
It's felt a very pleasant and quiet time here at Jamyang interspersed
with periods of busy activity... getting ready for the Dharma Festival,
and then the Jumble Sale.
Our
first Dharma Festival was a great success with people really enjoying
the combination of teachings and meditation from Khensur Rinpoche Jampa
Tekchog and Geshe Tashi, and the beautiful setting of the Dorset
countryside. Many thanks to all the staff and volunteers who worked so
hard to prepare for this event and made sure it went smoothly. Next
year Jamyang Leeds are organising the Dharma Festival and the year
after the Yeshe Study Group from Cumbria so it has the added bonus of
being a FPMT 'family feeling' event, where we can come together to
practise and to get to know each other.
Geshe
Tashi is now safely in India, after a lovely leaving party here at the
centre where Geshela took the opportunity to give a last few words of
dharma advice to those attending. And at the end of this month we
welcome Geshe Soepa to be our resident teacher for 6 months.
And
the summer wouldn't be complete at Jamyang without the annual Jamyang
Jumble Sale. This is a great event to welcome in the local community to
Jamyang, and also for the Jamyang community to interact in a different
way than usual... running the stalls! There was a lovely atmosphere
and, as I think thanks to the volunteers are being given elsewhere, I
will just say thank you particularly to Anil, our new centre manager,
for organising and surviving his first jumble sale!
Di Carroll
Director
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| Ven. Sangye Khadro - Workshops On The Mind |
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