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Teachers visiting JamyangJump to: Ven Rita Riniker ~ Ven Geshe Graham Woodhouse ~ Geshe Thubten Soepa ~ Ven Antonio Satta ~Ven Amy Miller ~ Summer program ~ Autumn program ~ Buddhism For Dummies with Jon Landaw
 Developing the Four Immeasurable Thoughts- with Ven Rita RinikerFriday 9 July 7.30pm, Suggested donation £5Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July 10am- 5pm Suggested donation £60 (includes vegetarian lunch on both days)
Shantideva said: Although beings wanthappiness, they create but the causes for suffering, and although they do not want suffering they create causes for misery, therefore chase away their happiness, as if it was their enemy, and run after suffering, as if it was their friend. We have very little control over our negative emotions, because we do not cultivate antidotes for them. Therefore developing the Four Immeasurable Thoughts of equanimity, love, compassion and joy, will become the Immune System for our mind, counteracting attachment, anger, self cherishing, jealousy and other negative states of mind.Ven Rita, a Swiss German nun, has spent many years in
meditation, study and practise and is a very approachable and much liked
teacher. She is renowned for the warmth of her presentations, helps out a lot with the FPMT Dharma Centre in Bern in Switzerland
and is in much demand to teach the dharma in the German speaking lands
of Switzerland, Austria and Germany. She also teaches on occasion in
Tahiti and Israel. We are very pleased that she has made space in her busy
schedule to come once more to teach in London.
What is Truth? The wisdom gone beyond with Ven Geshe Graham WoodhouseSaturday 5 February 10am - 5pm and Sunday 6 February 10am - 1pmSuggested donation weekend £40 (includes £10 for vegetarian lunch on both days)
Working With Wisdom: How wisdom connects usSaturday 5 March 10am - 5pm and Sunday 6 March 10am - 1pmSuggested donation weekend £40 (includes £10 for vegetarian lunch on both days)
 The Buddha's answer to these questions comes as two sides of the same coin - on the one hand the things and events that make up our experience do not have the static, intrinsic nature we have an unhelpful tendency to invest in them, that they are empty of such a nature. On the other hand the ever changing dynamic of the reality of our life, the way we work in the world, only really functions well when we understand both the problem (of putting essences and static natures to things that don't have them) and apply the solution (living our lives free of such superstition focusing on the interconnectedness of being). Over these two weekends Geshe Graham will take Lama Tsongkhapa's experiential poem of realisation "Praise to Dependent Arising" as the starting point to explore these two keys facets of our life as spiritual beings; gaining wisdom and then putting that wisdom into action. This text of some eighty or so verses came to Tsongkhapa in the morning after his realisation at dawn of the fundamental harmony between Emptiness and Dependent Arising the two key meditative practices in Buddhist practice. The poem is a spontaneous expression of joyous praise to the Buddha for the wisdom and compassion of his teachings and sets very clearly the liberating 'view' of the Madhyamaka Prasangika and how that differs from the presentation of the liberating understanding that sets us free from repetitive cycling in unenlightened existence. Tsongkhapa's realisation at dawn came after he had experienced a prophetic dream in which a group of the great panditas of India were discussing the most subtle understanding of emptiness at the end of which the Pandita Buddhapalita came over to Tsongkhapa and blessed him by touching chapter eighteen of his commentary to Nagarjuna's great work "Fundamental Wisdom" to the crown of Tsongkhapa's head. At that moment and on waking Tsongkhapa finally fully understood this most subtle presentation of emptiness, the lack of intrinsic existence in every moment of our experience and in every thing that makes up our experience. So this texts really touches to the heart of Tsongkhapa's understanding of what is the understanding that will set us free from being unenlightened The English monk Geshe Graham is one of the very
few Europeans who have become fully ordained monks and who have studied
for and got the Geshe degree in the Geluk education system. He reads and speaks Tibetan fluently and
has long experience of study and practise in Tibetan Buddhism. He has recently moved back
to England and though he has passed through Jamyang London on a number
of occasions this is the first time he has been able to make time to
teach here.
Ever asked a question in
teachings and got an answer back that didn't quite seem to have caught
what you were asking? Have you ever wondered if somehow either the question or the answer had
got a little lost in translation? If you have, then why not come to
meet Geshe Graham and ask again, this
time secure in the knowledge that there is no translation to get lost in and that he knows his stuff.
Buddhism on Not killing and not eating meat -with Geshe Thubten SoepaFriday 17 September 7.30pmSuggested donation £5 Karma and Rebirth: How to Make the Mind Pure- with Geshe Thubten SoepaSaturday 18 and Sunday 19 September 10am- 5pmSuggested donation £50  What is the Buddhist view on killing and meat
eating ? The popular view of Buddhism in the West is that it is a
religion of peace, yet Buddhist societies have seen war, strife, etc.
Is it ever permissible in Buddhism to kill another human being or to
kill another conscious being? Is the karmic weight exactly the same
between killing another human, for example your mother in this life or
someone trying to kill you, and accidentally squashing an ant as we walk ?
Similarly Asian Buddhist cultures are by no
means totally vegetarian yet within the Mahayana Sutras there are clear
statements by the Buddha against the eating of meat. Can someone be a
Buddhist and yet still continue to eat meat? Should all Buddhists be forced to be vegetarians? And
by whom? Should meat eaters be ostracized from Buddhist communities?
Come and hear Geshe Soepa's thought provoking
views on these very relevant topics. Karma
and
Rebirth are two of the most interesting and the most controversial
topics in the range of Buddhist teachings and are so interlinked. How
can we be sure that there are lives after this one ? If we really do have lives
beyond this one, can we do anything to make sure they are happier and
more fulfilled. If it is true that we should careful of our thoughts because our thoughts become our actions, our actions our
behaviour, our behaviour our character (to paraphrase Goethe), how can
we start to make our minds pure.
We
are very
happy that our old friend Geshe Thubten Soepa has made time in his schedule to visit us
again. Geshe
Soepa was at Sera Jey in the very early days of
the monastery being re-founded in South India in conditions of great hardship. He is well
known for the depth of his learning, his engaged and spontaneous manner
of teaching and his strong sense of fun.He is also well known for his passionate advocacy
of vegetarianism within the Tibetan exile community and to non Tibetans
practicing Tibetan Buddhism and has published two pamphlets arguing his
case bringing in evidence from the teachings of the Buddha and from the
commentaries on them.
Vipassana RetreatSaturday 25 and Sunday 26 September 9am -6pmSuggested donation £60 (includes vegetarian lunch on both days)
 Vipassana, sometimes translated as
Insight or Higher Vision, is one of the key meditative styles in
Buddhism. It is designed through developing sustained attentiveness to help meditators become wiser and thus to become more capable of helping
themselves and others. In its more highly developed forms it is designed to give meditators the understanding that brings freedom and full enlightenment.Ven Antonio has been studying
and teaching meditation for many years now, and has developed a name
around the world as a very skillful leader of retreats, in particular his
trademark teachings on Vipassana. His emphasis on bringing mindfulness into all dharma
practises is greatly appreciated by students who attend his retreats.
Though
Jamyang London is not a retreat Centre Ven Antonio Satta has kindly agreed to come
and lead two short city retreats. This is his first visit to our Centre and we
hope that people will take the opportunity to come and meet him and
taste his unique style of leading meditation retreats.
How to integrate Mind Training with Vipassana- with Ven Antonio SattaFriday 1 October 7.30pmSuggested donation £5 Vipassana and Mind Training Retreat- with Ven Antonio SattaSaturday 2 and Sunday 3 October 9am- 6pmSuggested donation £60
 The
Mind Training teachings use the power of conceptuality to transform
every moment of our everyday experience into an opportunity to change
the mind from unenlightened to enlightened. They are seen by some to
sit uneasily alongside the less conceptual methods found in many forms
of Vipassana, insight, meditation. On
the Friday Ven Antonio will explain how they can be practised alongside each
other in perfect harmony. On the weekend people will be able to taste
for themselves the reality of these two methods and experience how they nurture and support each other while
moving us towards becoming being human beings, free of disturbing
thought.
The Italian monk Ven Antonio Satta has been studying and
teaching meditation for many years now, and has developed a name around
the world as a very skillful leader of retreats, in particular his
trademark teachings on Vipassana. His emphasis on bringing mindfulness into all dharma
practises is greatly appreciated by students who attend his retreats.
Though
Jamyang London is not a retreat Centre Ven Antonio Satta has kindly agreed to come
and lead two short city retreats. This is his first visit to our Centre
and we hope that people will take the opportunity to come and meet him
and taste his unique style of leading meditation retreats. Click
 here for extra text on Vipassana [Rich Text - 5.28 KB] from Ven SattaBreaking Through the Matrix: How to engage with reality correctly- Ven Amy MillerSaturday 23 and Sunday 24 October 10am- 5pmSuggested donation £60
 The
most important teachings in Buddhism are those that point the meditator towards understanding
reality as it and those that show us how to think and behave so that we
go with the flow of
reality rather than live totally unaware lives of hallucination and
superstition that keep on getting us into trouble. In this weekend Ven Amy Miller will present
these teachings and lead an experiential and experimental weekend of
teaching, discussion and activities to enable students to taste the
teachings.This is Ven Amy Miller's second visit to
Jamyang and we are enormously pleased that she has found time in her
very busy schedule to visit us once again. Ven Amy's teachers are His Holiness
the Dalai Lama, Kyabje Thubten Zopa Rinpoche and the dear departed Lama Thubten Yeshe and Kyabje Ganden Zong Rinpoche. She has been a practitioner for many years and quite recently has completed a great retreat on Vajrayogini. She is now based at the
FPMT's Milarepa centre in Vermont.
Buddhism For Dummies with Jon LandawThursday 11 November 7.30 £ 9pm No we are not being rude about our guest presenter or his audience ! Jon Landaw wrote the Buddhism book in the For Dummies series of books. It is one of the books that we recommend for people new to or new in Buddhism and gives a simple accessible and, as important, undistorted introduction to the key practices and ideas in Buddhism. Also, he has co-authored the book Images of Enlightenment and a wonderful retelling of the life of the Buddha for children. Jon was with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans in the early seventies and Tibetans hooked up with our founders Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche at around the same same time. He has a fund of stories and tales to tell as well as a wealth of dharma practice, knowledge and understanding to draw on. He comes to us on his way back from a reunion of the £old Dharamsala wallahs£ in India.
Come along and meet this accomplished author and utterly charming and gentle man.
|
 Jamyang Buddhist Centre, The Old Courthouse, 43 Renfrew Road, London SE11 4NA tel: +44 (0) 20 7820 8787 fax: +44 (0) 20 7820 8605 email: admin@jamyang.co.uk |
We know that we have an immune system for the
body. What about an immune system for the mind? Usually we are just
concerned
about our own happiness or the happiness of those whom we hold close at
heart.
With this attitude it is certain that we will develop attachment for
those who
make us happy, and aversion to those who make us unhappy. These states
of mind
not only do not create happiness, but actually destroy it.
His £official£
biography goes like this. Jon Landaw was born in New Jersey in 1944 and
graduated from Dartmouth College in 1965. After spending three years in
the
Peace Corps in Iran, Jon worked as an English editor for the Translation
Bureau
of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala , India from 1972 to 1977,
producing
numerous texts under the guidance of Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. As a
student of
Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche since 1973, Jon has edited numerous
works for
Wisdom Publications, including Wisdom Energy and Introduction to Tantra.
He is
also the author of Prince Siddhartha, a biography of Buddha for
children,
Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice, and Buddhism for
Dummies. As
an instructor of Buddhist meditation, he has taught in numerous Dharma
centers
throughout the world. He currently lives with his wife and children in
Capitola
, California , and leads the Discovering Buddhism courses at Land of
Medicine
Buddha in nearby Soquel.