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Teaching by Lama Yeshe |
Meditation
Lama Yeshe (1935-1984)
Why does Buddhism put so much emphasis on meditation? It's because our  mind
is so gross and our memory so poor that we forget things easily and cannot
recall our countless lives' experiences. The purpose of meditation, therefore,
is to increase, or develop, our memory, or mindfulness, of reality.
Our distracted, fragmented thoughts, which we experience continuously every
day, are countless. Nonsense repeatedly cycles through our mind, again, again,
again, again... It's like in the pictures of the wheel of life, whose hub shows
a pig, a chicken and a snake going round and round endlessly. Like that, our
pig, chicken and snake mentalities continuously reverberate in our
consciousness, reducing our memory to almost nothing.
The meditation techniques that stop these three mentalities are very
important. Without stopping these deluded minds we can't see the concepts of ego
that we spontaneously experience in everyday life. They're very subtle, so
without eliminating these gross minds it's impossible to see our ego's activity.
That's why we meditate on the energy of our own conscious experience. By
quieting and eliminating our gross mentalities we create the space we need to
see the concepts of ego, to recognize the entity interpreted by ego, which is
non-existent.
Normally, religious people miss the point-we circle around it but don't make
much progress because we keep missing it. What is the point? The point is to
become revolutionaries and totally destroy our entire concepts of ego. This is a
much more revolutionary ideal than any of the theories propounded by Marx-Lenin,
Hitler or Mao.
The concepts of ego project an independent, self-existent I totally unrelated
to physical matter, time, space, cause, effect or anything else, existing
somewhere, untouchable. Our ego holds on to the self-existent I and never lets
it go.
Based on the results of his own practice, Lama Tsongkhapa said that by
contemplating our conscious experience we can cut our superstitious, dualistic
thoughts and thereby discover our ego projections and realize shunyata in a
flash. Like throwing a switch, the moment we discover exactly what the false
conception is, at that instant we discover non-duality.
The most difficult thing to recognize is the entity held by our ego, and the
only way to do this is to meditate. According to Lama Tsongkhapa there's no way
to do it intellectually. To prove this, he quoted Nagarjuna: "The person is not
of the nature of earth, water, fire, air, space or even consciousness. The
person exists only as a conventional designation." Lama Tsongkhapa totally
agreed with Nagarjuna: all phenomena exist only in name. So we should just leave
things as they are-superficial names projected by superstition-and not try to
find some real, self-existent entity beyond that. read the full article here
find out more about Lama
Yeshe |
| No More Rubbish
Presents |
|
Can't think of what
to get people for Christmas this year? Here are some suggestions to  avoid those rubbish presents as Oxfam put it!
16 Guidelines
For A Happy Life - What better present
than the secret to a happy life? Written by former director of Jamyang, Alison
Murdoch, this stunning coffee-table edition of the guidelines and beautiful
photos is a limited edition. A smaller pocket-sized version will be out next
year. This large hardback version is available at Jamyang (£20) or from Amazon (£25).
Enlightened Gifts As the world's
first ever Tibet charity, the Tibet Relief Fund was founded in 1960 following
the Dalai Lama's flight from his country. There are now over 130,000 Tibetans
living in India and Nepal. We help to give these people a better future, through
projects focusing on healthcare, education, income generation and youth
employment programmes. We also support projects within Tibet and have helped
build over nine primary schools and continue to work within this field as well
as community health programmes.
Sponsor a Yak To sponsor a Yak costs just £85. Aid to
Tibet will purchase one dri (a female Yak) with a calf, and
distribute this them to one of the neediest families in the region. There is a
fun side to the programme to - donors can name the Yak (for their donor's
certificate at least), and receive an exclusive 'Yak for Life' T-shirt.
Positive Presents from Concern -
Positive Presents are a great way to help people in the world's poorest
countries - and give fantastic gifts to your friends and family at the same
time.
Oxfam Unwrapped - perfect pressies for
every occasion - and they help to fight poverty at the same time. Brilliant!
|
| Directors
Column |
Dear
Friends,
I want to start by announcing that we are very
happy to have appointed Sally Barraud as Jamyang's new Centre Director as of the
beginning of next year. Sally was selected from the applicants by a panel of
Jamyang's Board of trustees and confirmed as the best candidate by Lama Zopa
Rinpoche, our Spiritual Director. Sally comes with a wealth of experience of
offering service and practicing within our tradition and FPMT. She helped to
establish and co-directed Mahamudra retreat centre in New Zealand, and was
Director of Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharamsala, India, for 3 years before
 moving on
to one of our biggest centres- Land of Medicine Buddha in California, USA. Sally
is currently organising her trip here from New Zealand, and will write something
to introduce herself once she's actually arrived. I'm about to leave for 3 weeks
in India - joining a retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Bodhgaya. When I return
at the beginning of January I will spend some time handing over to Sally, for
whom I have a lot of warmth and respect from our days together in Tushita,
Dharamsala and I'm sure you will join me in making her very welcome. I would
also like to welcome Pierre Alozie who joins the team as Online and Courses
Co-ordinator, and Corrine Henry as Bookshop Manager.
The other thing I wanted to mention, in this time
of Christmas cheer and wrapping up warm, is Jamyang's heating system. As you
know we have been requesting donations for the recent work we've had done on the
radiators, and thank you so much to everyone who has generously responded. We
have been planning to carry on with upgrading the system and installing a new
boiler next year. However events have overtaken us and we are currently having
lots of difficulties with the main boiler and gas system and electrical faults.
At present we have no main heating or cooking facilities. As I'm writing it's
not clear yet how much the repair work will cost, however if you are in a
position to donate something it would be really helpful.
The good financial news is that twelve years ago Jamyang bought The Old
Courthouse with a loan of £285,000 and it's now down to £6,000. Due to many
people's generosity this is now such a relatively small figure that our bank
have suggested rolling it into our general operating account by way of an
overdraft. We want to really rejoice in the security this gives Jamyang and this
wonderful building and the refuge and resource it has become.Thank you to
everyone who has helped us achieve it.
Lastly I
wanted to join many others in offering Jamyang's best wishes and thoughts to
students of Geshe Jampa Gyatso of Instituto Lama Tsong Khapa, FPMT Italy, who
passed away last week, and our heartfelt prayers for his quick
return.
With
much love and wishing you all a happy and peaceful Christmas and a very
beneficial 2008, Di
Di
Carroll, Centre
Director |
| Esther's Column |
|
Hello everyone!
Someone who'd read the invitation to guide the
Lama Chopa practices, emailed to ask me more about Lama Chopa. For the sake of
those who are new to Jamyang and the world of Tibetan Buddhism, here's an
attempt to give a brief introduction to the practice.
Twice a month, based on the lunar calendar, we
do the Lama Chopa tsog. Lama means
Guru; Chopa means offering; and tsog means gathering or party. The dates
are published in the Jamyang programme. It starts at 7.30 in the evening and
lasts for under an hour and a half. We
can each bring an offering of some flowers or good quality food or non-alcoholic
drink, which is placed on the shrine. The food is distributed amongst the
participants during the ceremony, and can be eaten then, and/or taken home
afterwards.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche describes it as a ceremony of
prayer, chanting, music, meditation and a ritual feast, directly appealing to
our senses and emotions.
 Lama Chopa provides an opportunity for those practising tantra to
restore and reaffirm their vows and pledges. But everyone is welcome to attend
this ceremony of making extensive offerings, actual and imagined, to the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas, and particularly the Lama, and of accumulating the positive
energy needed to progress along the spiritual path.
The Lama Chopa text was composed by the first
Panchen Lama, Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen (1570-1662). It is said to bring together
all the essential practices of Lam Rim
(stages of the path), Lojong (mind training) and Highest Yoga Tantra. His
Holiness the Dalai Lama, according to Geshe Tashi, describes Lama Chopa as one
of the main Highest Yoga Tantra practices, but traditionally as a group
practice, it can be practised by anyone.
A
great interactive Geluk Refuge Tree which you zoom in and out of, and round
about in, can be found here http://andyweberstudios.com/g_gelug_tree_zoom.html. This is what is visualised by
Lama Chopa practitioners.
Geshe Soepa will be giving teachings on this
practice on Wednesday 5th and 12th of
December.
Come and experience the
practice!
Esther G.
PS- We are still looking for students who
have some knowledge of the practice and would like to help out. The dates we
need help are: 17 Jan, 16 Feb, 2 and 16 of March. Please email me at esther@jamyang.co.uk if you are interested or have any
comments, suggestions, etc.
|
| New Staff &
Volunteers |
|
Lots of changes in the staff over the next
few months, and here is a small introduction from the new Course
Administrator.
Hello,
I am Pierre
Chukwudi Alozie; the latest addition to the Jamyang super crack team. I  have been given the responsibility of running, developing
and administrating the online FBT and Lamrim Chenmo courses for Jamyang and
Geshi Tashi.
I come from a
photo journalistic background and an MA in Design for Interactive Media (DIM
course at the Lansdowne Centre of Electronic Art.). A very eclectic background
you might say, but that has been my lot from birth (this birth). I am happy to
be here, having been coming to the centre for the past 5/6 years. There are
exciting prospects available to us. On the technological front we are looking at
ways of streaming the teachings from the Gompa to anyone in the world by way of
the Internet. If we are able to get a good quality from the audio and video, you
will be able to follow the teachings from the comfort of your on home or if on
the road from the nearest internet café. So we are testing the hardware options
and hopefully will go live sometime early next year. We will have to invest into
in hardware i.e. powerful computer, video camera, and network hosting for
streaming. Donations are welcome. We will be talking more about that in future
letters.
The Lamrim
course will go live around Spring 2008 and we are already having prospective
students inquiring about the start date. There is a thirst for the Dharma, and
the more ways we can make it available to those who want it the better. So on
this note I say hello and hope to meet you some time in the future.
Pierre
Dondrup Alozie |
| Tibetan Monks Visit
Jamyang Colchester |
|
 Five Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepum Lubum Monastery in Southern
India and their two sponsors, Tom and Pat, from the Chenrezig Tibetan
Buddhist Centre in Lincolnshire visited Jamyang Colchester Tibetan Buddhist
Group on November 1st and performed a puja and house blessing. On November
2nd, Jamyang Colchester entertained the monks for lunch at a Thai restaurant
whose owner is a Thai Buddhist and then took the monks to Colchester Castle
where they were taken on a guided tour.
On
November 3rd they appeared at the University of Essex Theatre where they
performed various offerings, dances, chants, meditations and a debate for a
large audience who were encouraged to participate in the performance and to
ask questions about any aspects of the monks' life/ performance. It was a
very enjoyable evening for everyone and it was heartening there were children in
the audience who participated with very pertinent questions.
The
monks are in the U.K. for 6 months and return home in January. They are all
from farming or nomadic families in Tibet and are at various stages in their
Buddhist studies. Considering they have absolutely no possessions but two sets
of robes and footwear they are the probably some of the happiest people I have
ever met.
If
anyone is interested in the work the sponsors, Tom and Pat, do with the monks
their website address is www.chenreziggompa.org or phone 01522-595984
Jean
Akam | |
The
Christmas madness is upon us, and here in London the shoppers are in force. Here
at Jamyang it's much calmer (and much colder!). We're so chilled out we've added
an extra meditation day on the 16th December, starting at 10am. I've also
included here the teaching given by Lama Yeshe (the founder of FPMT) from the
LYWA newsletter - I would highly recommend it.