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Practical
Steps towards Protecting the Environment by His Holiness the Dalai
Lama
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These days the environment- the source of life for all beings
in the world including Tibet, the Land of Snows - is undergoing extensive
degeneration. At this time it is extremely important that every human
being, according to his or her ability, consistently puts effort into
ensuring the conservation and protection of this planet's environment and
its inhabitants.
The benefits of an "undefiled" environment are many; for
instance, a healthy tree purifies the air and supplies oxygen for living
beings to breathe. It harmonizes the elements and increases life
expectancy. Its shade provides a refreshing place to rest. It brings  rain at the right time. It nourishes crops and livestock, and
balances the temperature. It contributes to an attractive landscape and
continually replenishes its surroundings. It brings about natural
development in the spheres of education, economics and so forth.
The drawbacks of a polluted environment include a decline in the pure, cool
qualities of the oceans and lakes, so that the creatures dwelling in those
places are disturbed. The loss of vegetation and forests causes
degeneration in the earth's nourishment. Rain does not fall when it is
needed. Unprecedented fierce storms rage, and so on. So there are many
disadvantages.
From the Dharma point of view our teacher, the king of Shakya, was also
born at the foot of a tree. He attained enlightenment under a tree, and
finally passed away under a tree. Particularly in the Vinaya of the holy
Dharma, fully ordained monks are taught how to nurture trees and so on.
From that we can understand that planting and nurturing trees are virtuous
acts. Moreover, the wisdom deities of the non-mundane worlds, as well as
various local devas, nagas and spirits, inhabit trees. That also leads us
to understand that trees are by nature extremely important.
It is generally beneficial to plant various types of trees, as mentioned
above. In particular, fruit trees provide a living and nourishment
predominantly for humans, as well as benefit to many other sentient
creatures. They help toimprove health and increase appetite, and so forth.
So it certainly is important to plant trees.
Likewise, planting flowers also is a pure virtuous act. For example, when
making a mandala offering we pray that the ground may be covered with
incense and strewn with flowers. Flowers assist us in accumulating merit
and purifying obscurations, and also are indispensable offering items
everywhere in performing religious activities, such as the visualization of
meditational deities. Moreover, if if there are colourful flowers
which you then offer through visualization to the Triple Gem, the benefit
of a swift accumulation of merit occurs. What is more, when people who are
experiencing a messy environment and an unbalanced mind stroll for a while
in a garden, their minds are benefited by becoming refreshed and filled
with pleasure.
Therefore, the whole of society needs to take an interest in planting
various kinds of trees and flowers around monasteries, schools, offices,
hospitals, factories, restaurants, hotels and residences, on both sides of
thoroughfares. In order to protect the growth of whatever has been planted
in the best way, people should advise their children not to harm them. This
definitely is a beneficial service to oneself and others and, in fact, to
all living beings.
 In short, this is a request that, through understanding the
interdependent nature of the world and its inhabitants, people will
implement practices based on accepting the correct means to cherish the
potential of the vast natural realm.
May the attractive and healthy forests be increased in all the one hundred
directions! May sentient creatures be freed from untimely death and live
happy lives!
If you would like to read more advice on the Environment by His
Holiness the Dalai Lama you can visit his official website here.
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Autumn Programme begins this week!
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Starting with teachings and a White Tara Empowerment this
weekend, Jamyang's autumn programme promises to offer a diverse range of
classes and activities to help keep you practising through the cold months
of the year.
The Tuesday and Wednesday teachings with Geshe Tashi will be on the topics
of Buddhist Logic
and How to See
Yourself as You Really Are. Our popular Introduction to Meditation
is followed by Buddhist
Meditation classes on Monday nights, this time on the
subject of Shamatha.
On Thursdays you can practise some Silent
Meditation and participate in the Discussion Group,
and Family Days
continue running throughout the year.
We are very fortunate to welcome back
Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin who will be offering a
generous visit in September including: Teachings on Developing a Kind Heart
and Lamrim, White Tara empowerment,
Heruka
initiation and
Vajrayogini initiation with commentary.
We will also be hosting Ven
Sangye Khadro in September. She will teach on Applying the Wisdom of Dependent
Arising in Our Daily Life. Ven. Sangye Khadro is the author of
the bestselling book "How to Meditate", a meditation manual ideal
for beginners that I am sure many of you have read and that is available at
the bookshop.
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Director's column-
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 Hello again everyone,
Another month has zipped by and the joyous news is that Khensur Rinpoche
arrived last Monday. Rinpoche is looking very well and smiley and it
feels so good to have Rinpoche's presence upstairs at Jamyang yet again.
This time Rinpoche travelled with his attendant, Jampa Tsondue - he
will take care of Rinpoche's needs during the whole European tour, and it
is his first visit to the UK and fortunately he speaks good English!
So please do take advantage of the range of Rinpoche's teachings, from
"Developing a Kind Heart" this Saturday, which is very suitable
for people new to the dharma, right through to the "Vajrayogini
commentary" for the more long term serious students. Rinpoche is
offering teachings here for all levels of minds. Geshe Tashi will
translate the first events, then Ven Sean Price will be translating the
others. Due to the extremely generous support of two Jamyang
students, we are able to offer the first set of teachings on a voluntary
donation basis.
Jumble Sale:
Yesterday saw another of our annual August Bank Holiday Jumble Sales.
This is a very fun tradition on Jamyang's calendar and especially
because it brings together a group of great volunteers who give their time,
energy and skills to help make the day a success. And it was a
success - we raised £1,300.00 from Jumble and Cafe sales - yahoo! BIG
thanks to all the people who offered jumble items, to the volunteers who
came in the week before and sorted jumble, to those helping on the day
itself, and to the kind Summer retreaters who got "roped" into
carrying masses of jumble from the basement upstairs when their retreat
finished last Sunday! The jumble was ample, the sun shone, the people
came and bought and everything went very smoothly - sincere thanks to you
all.
A busy day!
Cynthia and Chitra try on
some of the jumble!
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More thanks to Geshe Tashi for leading, and to all the retreaters who took
part in the 9 day summer retreat at Jamyang last week. The calm,
quiet atmosphere the retreat generated, pervaded the whole Courthouse
building, yet we all know that an enormous amount of hard work and inner
mental effort is required behind the scenes. Retreats are hard work
and as Ven Rita once said to me "You don't really feel the benefit
until after retreat" and I'm sure that rings true for retreaters.
Grant Received:
Thanks to the efforts of one of our Trustees, Ros Boughtflower, Jamyang has
been successful in receiving a £10,000 grant toward our heating upgrade -
how exciting that is! We estimate the whole job will cost between
£15,000 - £20,000 so receiving this grant is a major boost. We'd like
to ask anyone who holds Jamyang dear to their heart, to donate whatever
they can, to help us raise a matching £10,000, so all the work can be
completed before the coming winter.The major part of the work will include
underfloor heating in Gompa and Tara Room, installing a smaller, more
efficient and cost saving boiler, installing new pipe work throughout the
building, and removing the old boiler (the "monster" lurking in
our basement!). Every large or little donation helps keep Jamyang
warmer for years to come.
Ven
Sangye Khadro:
Lastly, I'd like to encourage you to attend Venerable's teachings on
25th & 26th September - "Applying the wisdom of dependent arising
in our daily life". Ven SK (as she is fondly known) was ordained
in 1974, one of the very early nuns within FPMT, and is best known as being
the author of the book "How to Meditate" by Kathleen McDonald
(her western name). She has been a teacher since 1979 so brings a
wealth of teaching and practice experience. She is currently
participating in the seven year Masters Programme at Lama Tsong Khapa
Institutue, an FPMT Centre in Italy.
Practical details:
Please contact Sue to book for either Khensur Rinpoche's teachings or Ven
Sangye Khadro's weekend: either call Mon-Fri between 10am - 5 pm on 020
7820 8787 or email admin@jamyang.co.uk And please also contact Sue or
myself (sallybarraud@gmail.com) if you wish to donate to match the £10,000
grant fund.
Take
care and hope to see you at Jamyang!
Love,
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Fundraising appeal-
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As you walk into Jamyang you will see the lovely poster below,
designed by Robin Bath. If you've had an opportunity to look at the
recently gilded Buddha and feel happy and inspired to "Be a Star" and
help us cover the cost of the gilding, please contact Sue at:
admin@jamyang.co.uk and we will add your star to the chart!
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Invitation to Jamyang's community day-
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To celebrate the year 2009 and welcome 2010, Jamyang will be
hosting a Community Day on Saturday the 19th of December.
A more detailed schedule will be made available closer to the time. This
will also be an opportunity to welcome Geshe Tashi back from America (he
will be teaching in the USA from the 11th of November until the 16th of
December), and to catch up with Jamyang's exciting plans for 2010! Please
put this date in your diary.
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Jamyang Work Camp 2009: All Done with Good Heartretreat-
by Anil Sharma
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Every year Jamyang hosts the "Work Camp," which I
have often thought of fondly as the "Gelug Work Camp" because
everyone works so hard.
With the imminent arrival of Khensur Rinpoche all efforts were
focused on getting Jamyang looking its best. Listed below are
the tasks completed and reasons for everyone to rejoice:
1 North Garden cleaned up
2 Basement partially cleaned up
3 Front of Building - Windows and masonry repaired and
painted with York
stone masonry paint
4 Office shower repaired
5 Tara Room walls painted, windows cleaned, old rope
cut and removed, and
new blinds put up.
6 Making good in the main Gompa (the final holes in
the floor repaired and filled)
7 Making good the floor board in the Small Gompa
8 Staff and guest shower - Sealant replaced
(ensured sealant antifungal)
9 Library - classifying and cataloguing
completed. 25% of new database
completed.
10 Café garden make over - New plants around the Parinivanna
statue etc
11 Kitchen ceilings and walls painted
12 Skip clearance completed
13 Jumble sorted in Tara room
14 Main Gompa and Small Gompa deep-cleaned ready for
Rinpoche's visit
This year's dedicated work camp included Steve Robinson, Steve Cody, Jan
Oidium, Jan Henry, Bill, Jo Smith, Michelle Klepper, Cynthia, Bezz,
Kristaps (from Latvia), the hospitality team, Karla and Lina, Esther Del
Rio, Steve Golding, Steve Sinclair, Mike Fry, Yvonne, and Miguel.
Jamyang would like to give special thanks to Alex Davidson who supervised
the week's events and was inspiring to work with. Thank you Alex for
your patience and good heart. Finally, can I also thank the kitchen
for keeping us well fed all day!
All the effort and merit is dedicated to the long life of all our teachers,
the success of Jamyang's Spiritual Programme, and especially, for the
success of Rinpoche's forthcoming visit
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Dave Benn Visited the Work
Camp
2009 moved slowly by in majestic wonder that was a mere rain splattered
landscape drifting over Jamyang Buddhist Centre from Oval Cricket Ground in
mid August. Annually the four seasons passed again and was heralded by
annual yearly Jamyang Work Camp; which seemed to pass with a good deal less
insanity than has occurred on a few previous annual August Work Camps. Anil
again found himself wishing that Lord Nelson had not muttered
"England! Expects every man to do his duty" as he unclipped one
more clip board and gently guided his crew towards the farthest shore.
Fortunately Alex Davidson as second (practically first) in command floated
through the ether on the updrafts of the creative breeze and inspired all
volunteers in their work.
One of the endeavours was to finalise the recent gilding of the Paranirvana
statue by students from City & Guilds in Cleaver's Square Kennington
for Jamyang's oasis that is our garden of peace and over a cup of coffee
from Jamyang's café we wondered "Where have all the flowers
gone?" and decided to bring some zest by adding harmony to the flower
beds. Steve Sinclair added the impetus to this motivation as he muttered
"One more cup of coffee before I go to the valley below." He was
ably aided by Yvonne Butler who was pottering in the garden as things
slowly evolved.
Work
Camps in the past have generally been seen as a time when new volunteers
have linked with our community in an effort to engage students to take part
in our work of teaching all of the global population to develop
Bodhichitta.
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A Shining Meditation Space at
Jamyang
Keeping
the meditation rooms clean and looking beautiful is not an easy task, as
some of you know. In Jamyang's case, we are very lucky to have long term
volunteers like Esther del Rio who does the water bowls offerings daily and
keeps an eye on the Gompas. However, once or twice a year, we do a
"deep clean" of the temple, making sure we dust every corner. And
on this occasion we took advantage of the Work Camp to do it.
*The
floor is finished, ready for Rinpoche's visit
*New shiny paint on main walls.
*Clean windows inside and outside!
*Deep cleaning on the ledges halfway up walls and cleaning electronic
equipment.
*Holy
objects on central altar - statues, stupas, texts, scriptures, thangkas,
thrones, canopy ..... all clean and delightful!
*Dharma
prayers, practices and texts organised and labelled.
*Offering
tables, bowls and containers clean and shiny!
Thank you Work Camp volunteers Miguel, Kristaps, Michelle, Anil, Sue,
Karla! However, the Gompa still needs everyone continuing to maintain
it.
 The Gompa also needs :
New
clean white cloths for drying water
bowls x 8
New
mop x
2
Dustpan
x 1
Duster
(large) x
1
Plastics
jars x
2
Large
wide table cloth
(white)
x 2
Plenty
of flower offerings each week!!
If you would like to help or donate some money towards any of these things
(including candles, incense and flowers), please write an email to Esther
at: spc@jamyang.co.uk
Your help is much appreciated!
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A meeting of minds by Brenda Fishwick (Yeshe Buddhist Group,
Cumbria)-
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A bright August Friday at Jamyang Buddhist Centre,
London. A real buzz about the place as it was 'Work Camp Week' and
volunteers were painting and scrubbing in all directions. But we had
congregated for a different reason.
Andy Wistreich and Sally Barraud had put out a call to all the FPMT groups,
large and small, across the UK, to meet up and share a little of our
experiences and our history with others. They had been inspired by the CPMT
meeting they both had attended in France late April 09, with its emphasis
on regionalisation, and felt it was worth exploring whether we could offer
each other support and friendship.
We had representatives from London, Salisbury, Coventry, Northampton,
Liverpool, Leeds and Somerset, with apologies sent from several other
interested groups. It was a really good feeling to meet with like-minded
people in the beautiful environment of Jamyang's Gompa. Ros Boughtflower, a
professional facilitator, guided us through the day.
To get us thinking she asked us to talk about how a stranger would feel if
he/she came to our group. This was a good starting point for us to talk
about the similarities and differences between our set-ups.
We went on to look at a map so we could get a feel for our
different locations, and then we considered the benefits and possible
pitfalls of an FPMT/UK structure. Would we just be creating more
administration and bureaucracy for ourselves, or could we envisage how such
a network could truly serve and support us?
Sally, as an FPMT 'old-timer', told us about her personal history with the
organisation, and Andy explained how some of the FPMT regional models
currently work in Europe and Australia. In between our discussions we
enjoyed a lovely Jamyang lunch and refreshments, sitting outside in the
sunny courtyard. And in the afternoon a celebratory cake, recognising
the amazing achievements of FPMT since its inception, and our own little
part in that.
We came away from the meeting enthused and inspired, with some practical
actions to take forward. We decided that it would be useful to meet up
every 6 months or so, at different locations. The next one is scheduled for
Liverpool in the spring, followed by (hopefully) one in September 2010 in
the Lake District. We bounced around ideas for future agendas, and how we
could best utilise the time together.
Andy pointed out that we have such a wealth of creative people in our
organisation whose talents we can draw upon. I think it's really useful to
remind ourselves of this when we are all juggling time and scant resources
in our own little corners of the UK, and this is where the strength of the
network may lie. Since the meeting we are all now 'joined up' on a Yahoo
group and no doubt we'll share ideas and issues over the autumn! Many
thanks to Andy, Sally and particularly Ros, for making the day a success.
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Books to Accompany our Courses this autumn by Dave Benn-
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Geshela leads students into emptiness this autumn through a
quiet gaze into the words of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama from his book
"How to See Yourself as You Really Are" costing £7-99.
"How to See Yourself as You Really Are" are teachings that deal
with Emptiness. "The Dalai Lama shows us how, in the absence of true
self-knowledge, we hurt ourselves through misguided, exaggerated notions of
self, others, external events, and physical things. Even our senses deceive
us, drawing us into attachment and negative actions that can only come back
to haunt us in the future. The book details how to overcome these mistakes
in order to live from a realistic knowledge of our healthy interdependence."
says translator Jeffrey Hopkins. There is also a 6 CD spoken version of
this book which costs £20.99. Spoken by Jeffrey Hopkins.
The second topic covered by Geshe Tashi this autumn is on Buddhist logic
and is on the culmination of many centuries of debate by pandits and
scholars to establish a correct view of the emptiness of inherent existence
Geshe Tashi once commented that he thought he preferred a session in the
debate yard to a football match, but as Jamyang Trustee and Arsenal fan
Steve Sinclair was in the room, I couldn't figure out if he said this
because he was playing the naughty boy to annoy Steve and reveal to Steve
he still had an ego.
Whatever? We all have seen the exuberance displayed by Tibetan monks
debating on archive film footage. But what is this display all about? Is it
a means to fix the Dharma into the minds of the assembled monks? There is
an in-depth look into this debating phenomenon covered in the book
"Debate in Tibetan Buddhism" by Daniel Purdue based on the "Introductory
Path of Reasoning" by the Gelug lama Purbujok Jampa Gyatso costing
£39.95.
Indian Buddhist pandit Nagarjuna (150-250 CE) brought the emptiness
teachings into the light of day after being given these hidden teachings by
the Nagar Kings. From then until Chandrakirti (600 - 650 CE), the
debate of the meaning of Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika
("Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way") was thrashed out
by Buddhist scholars until Chandrakirti showed the advanced interpretation
of Nagarjuna's words by explaining the Prasaṅgikaviewpoint, which became
the main interpretation of emptiness in most Tibetan Monasteries. The
debate was settled by Je Tsong Khapa after his eight year retreat when he
was advised by Manjushri himself!
There are two excellent publications on the subject of Buddhist Logic:-
"Foundations of Dharmakirti's Philosophy" by John D Dunne,
costing £23.95.
Looking at the influence of this great Indian pandit Dharmakirti (7th
century) who became known as "The Lord of Reason" arguing that a
true test of knowledge is its efficacy, and likewise that only the
efficacious is knowable and real. Dharmakirti profoundly influenced
Mahayana Buddhism and South Asian philosophy. Around this central theme is
woven an intricate web of interrelated theories concerning perception,
reason, language, and the justification of knowledge needed to hold steady
a view of emptiness in single pointed meditation. Here John D Dunne weaves
an interrelated web to do with perfection, reason, the justification of
language and the use of language.
The second book on Buddhist Logic is "Scripture, Logic, Language:
Essays on Dharmakirti and His Tibetan Successors (Studies in Indian and
Tibetan Buddhism)" by Torn J F Tillemans, costing £16.99, which is
another in-depth look at Dharmakirti. "Extremely well informed,
uniting rigorous scholarship and thought-provoking discussions."
Scholar George Dreyfus states.
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Interfaith picnic invitation-
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Jamyang is an active member of Faiths Together in Lambeth,
the group organising this year's Inter Faith Peace Picnic to be held
as part of London's Week of Peace on Sunday 20 September, 3- 5 p.m
at St. Matthew's Gardens, a few minutes from Brixton Tube station.
We are inviting everyone in the community to come along and participate in
this event with the aim of making a visible statement of mutual respect and
cooperation among the faith communities in the Borough of Lambeth. The day
includes shared food and a cultural programme that each of the different
faiths has prepared.
For any enquires please contact Alan Gadd at: alangadd@yahoo.co.uk or Sally
at: sally@jamyang.co.uk
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FPMT-
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 Jamyang is affiliated with FPMT (Foundation for the
Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) and is one of more than 150
centers and projects worldwide.
FPMT is based on the Gelugpa
tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught by our founder, Lama
Thubten Yeshe and spiritual director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. If you would like
to receive FPMT's monthly newsletters please subscribe here.
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Your thoughts
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What do you want to see in Gentle
Voice? We would love to hear your ideas and comments
about Gentle Voice,
please contact Esther at: spc@jamyang.co.uk
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