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Eight Verses of Mind Transformation
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The Eight Verses of Mind
Transformation
 Langri
Thangpa (1054-93)
1
I wish to
achieve the highest aim,
Which surpasses
even a wish-fulfilling gem,
I will train
myself at all times
Cherish every
sentient being as supreme.
2
Whenever I
interact with others,
I will view
myself as inferior to all;
And I will train
myself
To hold others
superior from the depths of my heart.
3
During all my
activities I will probe my mind,
And as soon as
affliction arises-
Since it
endangers myself and others-
I will train
myself to confront it directly and avert it.
4
When I encounter
beings of unpleasant character
And those
oppressed by intense negative karma and suffering,
As though
finding a treasure of precious jewels,
I will train
myself to cherish them, for they are so rarely found.
5
When others out
of jealousy
Treat me wrongly
with abuse and slander,
I will train to
take the defeat upon myself
And offer the
victory to others.
6
Even if one whom
I have helped,
Or in whom I
have placed great hope,
Gravely
mistreats me in hurtful ways,
I will train
myself to view him as my sublime teacher.
7
In brief, I will
train myself to offer benefit and joy
To all my
mothers, both directly and indirectly,
And respectfully
take upon myself
All the hurts
and pains of my mothers.
8
By ensuring that
all this remains undefiled
From the stains
of the eight mundane concerns,
And by
understanding all things as illusions,
I will train
myself to be free of the bondage of clinging.
Teaching on the eight verses by HH Dalai Lama
http://www.lamayeshe.com/otherteachers/hhdl/8verses.shtml
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| Dalai
Lama Recieves Highest US Honour |
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Two weeks ago the Dalai
Lama recieved the US Congressional Gold Medal, the highest
honour given to a civilian.
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Sponsorship Request
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Sponsor request for translations of two
Chenresig texts.
 At
the end of the initiation and teachings on Great Chenrezig given by
Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin in London in 2006 he left two
fairly short texts (about 20 Pages each) with us with
instructions to
get them translated so that he could teach on them next time he comes
to England. One is an explanation of the beautiful and
inspiring 'Po'
praise to thousand-arm Chenresig and the other is an explanation of the
long mantra.
In
order to bring together the spiritual conditions for another visit by
Khensur Rinpoche to England, hopefully in late 2008, I am
getting the
texts translated. The Venerable Sean Price, a
long-standing friend of
the Centre and a translator with impeccable credentials, has agreed to
take this on. I would like to offer him something to
recognise this
kindness he doing us, and will make a money offering to him in December
or January.
If
you too would like to offer, please send you contribution to Mike
Murray care of Jamyang Buddhist Centre and I will ensure it reaches the
Venerable Sean.
Thank you
Mike
Murray
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| Directors Column |
Hello
Everyone!
It's
been a very special time at Jamyang with the blessing of having the
relics here, and it was also wonderful to have so many people from
different Buddhist groups and centres as well as the wider community
here at Jamyang. It reminded me of Bodhgaya where all the Buddhist
traditions come together. It was very eventful too, with the relic tour
van breaking down in Paris just before they were due to set off over
the channel, and Steve and Kerry hiring a van and driving over on a
rescue mission to pick up the relics and Ven Siliana and Andy!
Those
of you who come here regularly to the centre will have noticed the
appearance of our new red cushions. Many thanks to Tony Miller, who
raised the money for these through his sponsored mantra recitation, to
Arvid who made them in Latvia, Tina from our sister Latvia Centre who
many of you will know from her help on the volunteer work programme,
and Steve Sinclair (Steve the taxi!) who organised the whole thing and
filled the cushions by hand with buckwheat husk!
Many
thanks also to those of you who have generously contributed towards
renovating our heating system and the new gates. So far we have raised
£2,500 of the £8,299 total needed. One of those heart-warming moments,
which happen very often at Jamyang, was overhearing the heating
engineer remarking to Kayode one of our volunteers that he'd never met
so many nice people. |
| The
Relic Tour at Jamyang 12-14 October |
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Over
the weekend about a thousand people visited Centre to see the Heart
Shrine Relics. The Relics were all in place on Friday afternoon, ready
for the opening ceremony, led by Geshe Soepa, and attended by Kate Hoey
MP. Afterwards there was a wonderful buffet for the guests, provided by
Jenny and Josephine. There was a film crew from Korean television, and
a BBC radio reporter, whose five-minute piece was broadcast on Sunday.
 Visitors
were able to spend as long as they wished in the main Shrine Room,
viewing the Relics while slowly circumambulating them, tracing over the
words of the Sangata Sutra, receiving blessings from Buddha Shakyamuni
Relics given by one of the Sangha, Vens Dawa, Barbara, Kundrol or
Siliana, and then sitting to meditate for a while. The feeling in the
Room was very uplifting, peaceful and devoted, and very beautiful. The
flowers, lots of lilies, the candles, the offering bowls, the jewelled
Relics containers, the Maitreya statue in the middle with its
ornamented parasol - all contributed to the stunning atmosphere.
There
were visitors from a variety of Dharma Centres. Samye Dzong had kept
their programme free so people could visit. There were also lots of
people from Rigpa, some from Shambhala, and a large group from the
London University Buddhist Society. There was also a pre-booked party
of thirty ordained and lay people who arrived in a coach from
Amaravarti Monastery near Hemel Hempstead. They were welcomed through
the front door by Geshe Soepa and Jamyang staff, and shown into the
Shrine. After viewing, they did some Pali chanting, which was a joy for
us all to hear. Later on Sunday evening Alison, Wendy and others from
the Happiness Conference arrived just in time for the closing prayers
led by Geshe Soepa - the Maitreya prayer with mantra, the Lam Rim
dedication prayers and the final three dedication prayers.
Other
visitors over the weekend included a hamster, a sick pigeon (now
hopefully  recovering), a dragon lizard
and a dog, plus Shimila the centre's cat. All were blessed.
Andy
Melnick and Ven Siliana were the very calm Tour Organisers, ever ready
to answer all our questions. It was great to meet them. We all had a
truly special weekend thanks to Lama Zopa Rinpoche who initiated the
Maitreya Project and the Relics Tour.
There's still
time to see the relics in Leeds this weekend. See here for more info.
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| Lama Choepa at Jamyang |
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Hi, I hope your all very well and happy.
As you might have noticed, Lama Choepa at Jamyang usually
occurs thanks to the generosity of Geshe Tashi, and some other few kind
ones who volunteer to lead them (and know the tunes!).
In
the last Education Group meeting we decided it would be a good idea to
have someone "responsible" for each Lama Choepa. Meaning someone who
commits to coming to Jamyang and making sure that "their" particular
Lama Choepa happens. The Hospitality Team will arrange the table with
the offerings and Tsog, and the idea is that the volunteer for that
particular Lama Choepa facilitates and guides the practice.
In Gentle Voice
August/September 2006, Geshe-la said "I would again like to strongly
request people come together and participate in Lama Choepa Tsog
Offering. It is quite embarrassing to say this, but I have now been
here twelve years and most of this time, apart from other commitments
and my own laziness, I make the effort to lead Lama Choepa. But
whenever I can't make it there is a great struggle to lead Lama Choepa,
still! This shows that people are not taking responsibility, leaving
the entire job on one or two people's shoulders."
 Over
the next couple of months we plan to provide teachings on Lama Choepa,
and will try to make this practice more available for students, by
organising articles, teachings, free CDs with tunes, etc. So
it would be
great
to have a good team of people that know the tunes and know how to lead
this very auspicious practice that Geshe Tashi really wants us to
develop. In the current September to December programme, Geshe Soepa
will be teaching on the Lama Choepa practice on December 5, 12 and on
the 19th we will do the practice together.
There are 2 Lama Choepa practices per month, and I am searching for
volunteers for Lama
Choepa in November, December, January, February, March and early April.
When Geshe Soepa is here, he will lead the practice, but it would still
be useful to have someone besides Geshe Soepa who can help facilitate,
as at the moment, his level of English prevents him doing the English
recitations.
Regarding the dates, you can choose 1, 2 or all of them! The dates are:
November 4, 19; December 4, 19; January 2, 17; February 1, 16; March 2,
16; April 1.
Please
get back to me if you can do some/all of these dates, or if you are
interested and willing to learn more about this practice.
Esther, Spiritual Programme Coordinator
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| Library Volunteer |
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 The
library has had a long-standing need for its catalogue to be
transferred to a more modern computer. I am therefore
appealing for
any suitably qualified volunteer who has the time to spare for this
task. It would involve transferring text currently mounted on
MS-DOS
using pre-Windows software, to windows software. The aim is
to
eventually have the catalogue mounted on a dedicated computer in the
library itself, where users could consult it online.
Interested persons
should contact me, Richard Pope, the librarian, care of Jamyang.
Many thanks. Richard
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| Jamyang Coventry Has A New Home |
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After
many years of looking for a permanent place to meet, in October we
moved in to our new meeting room. Room 18 is on the first floor of the
Koco Building where we have been meeting for the past year.
What
was once an office has now become a place of meditation and prayer,
allowing us to meet all year round, and hold many more classes and
meditations. Our first official meeting was on Monday October
1st.
http://www.coventry-buddhists.com |
| Wish You Were Here |
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Kathmandu
during monsoon isn't the first choice for most travellers but you will
be surprised what Nepal has to offer when the rain pours, writes Mathew
Harkinson, ex-centre manager of Jamyang.
 Kopan
Monastery, the first FPMT centre founded by Lama Yeshe, is on top of a
hill, fifteen minutes taxi north of Boudhanath - which is one of many
Tibetan Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Kathmandu. Boudhanath is a hub of
activity when the rain stops and the sun comes out, as hundreds of
people start circumambulating the stupa, muttering Om Mani Padme Hum,
and spinning the multitude of prayer wheels surrounding its perimeter
wall. But when the rain returns, and you need to find shelter, look no
further than Kopan; it provides excellent respite.
During
July-October, Kopan offered numerous Buddhist meditation courses. This
year the programme included Medicine Buddha and Tara retreats,
introductory 10-day courses, and a three-month study programme for
advanced students.
"Kopan
is a pure realm," said Ani Karin, resident teacher of the 10-day
course, "in the sense that it only hears dharma. Even the birds sing
dharma. You come for one purpose only - to develop your practice." And
practice is what you do. These courses have an intake of 40-60 people
and normally the first seven days are a mix of teachings and
meditation, whilst the last three days are pure meditation.
If
you are looking to do an individual retreat, then Kopan has the
facilities but it can be busy due to these popular courses. The Pokhara
Buddhist Centre at the base of the Annapurna mountain range and the
Thubten Shedrup Ling (TSL) Monastery in the Solu Khumbu region of the
Himalayas are ideal alternatives to Kopan. The Pokhara Centre caters
for Westerners whilst TSL is a living/working monastery, with about 30
monks, and only two of the monks speak English. Both centres provide
basic accommodation with shared shower and toilet facilities. TSL has
an ingenious network of pipes, via the kitchen stove, providing hot
spring water to their one shower in the monastery, so be prepared to
bucket wash on a more regular basis.
Both
centres cater for tantric practitioners but you would need to discuss
this before your arrival. Space is limited in both places. Pokhara has
about six individual huts plus dorm space, whilst TSL currently only
has two rooms available.
 TSL
is about a two to three-hour uphill trek from Phablu, where the nearest
airport is located - the runway is the size of a postage stamp. Food is
basic dhal bhat (rice and lentils) and the tea has a smoky woody taste,
which you get used to after a week or two. TSL also provides an
excellent opportunity to trek from Pablu to Lawuda, where Lama Zopa's
previous incarnation lived. There are retreat facilities at Lawuda but
again space is allocated on a first-come basis. There are plans to
build a new gompa and improve the accommodation so keep an eye out for
this information in the FPMT newsletter.
Do
note that this is Nepal and noise pollution can be a problem,
especially barking dogs throughout the night. And even though there are
no cars or traffic in TSL, only Sherpas wandering the paths carrying
goods from village to village, it can be a little noisy, especially
when the school children play football and the two local restaurants
compete with their music. UK club sounds have even reached here.
However, the views make up for these slight imperfections in location.
They are spectacular when the clouds part and you get your first
glimpse of Everest.
If
for some reason, you haven't found time to retreat, then you could
always take advantage of the facilities at the Himalayan Buddhist
Meditation Centre in Thamel, Kathmandu, which works similar to Jamyang,
offering free daily meditation and yoga classes. You may also know the
new SPC, Antonio Pascual and assistant Director, Tanya Pascual, who are
long time students of Jamyang. Nepal has so much to offer dharma
students. If you have the time, then take the opportunity to experience
it first hand. You won't be disappointed. There's more to Kopan than
its famous November course.
For more information on: Kopan Monastery and
Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery (http://www.kopanmonastery.com); Pokhara Buddhist Centre (http://www.pokharabuddhistcentre.com/); Himalayan Buddhist Meditation Centre (http://www.fpmt-hbmc.org); Lawuda Retreat Centre (lawudogompa@runbox.com). |
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with Geshe Soepa
- and to give you a head start we
have included the text below. Tomorrow (1st
November) is 
