June 2015

In This Issue

Friends Scheme

Actualising the Wisdom Realising Emptiness

This Month at Jamyang

Geshe Tashi's column

The Director's Column

Book Launch: Thupten Jinpa's A Fearless Heart

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the UK and LZR

Nepal Earthquake

Dagri Rinpoche at Jamyang

Buddha Enlightenment Day

Highlights from the Programme

Media and PR Volunteer Meeting

Community Day

Death Cafe

Open Garden Squares

Dharma Bites

Poetry Corner

Golden Light Sutra Recitation

Saving Mes Ayak

Opportunities for Service around the FPMT

About FPMT

Your Thoughts for Gentle Voice

Editor's welcome

Baby Egrets, photo baby.animalz.com

Dear friends,

I hope this edition of Gentle Voice finds you well and happy. It's that time of year when we hopefully start to feel optimistic for no apparent reason. Let's blame it on our spiritual gene, our Buddha-nature potential. If you've been listening to Geshe Tashi's Tuesday evening class, you will recognise these terms. If not why not join in via our streaming service though the Jamyang website.

Just like baby egrets have the potential to become fully developed beautiful adults so do we, in our wild and woolly ways still enjoy the potential to become fully developed Buddhas. What more optimistic message can there be?

We hope you enjoy this edition of Gentle Voice which as usual is packed with features and news from the Jamyang community.

Quick Links

Jamyang Website

Current Programme

Talking Buddhism The Foundation Study Course The Lamrim Chenmo Study Course

FPMT

Become a Friend of Jamyang

Help Jamyang stay afloat with a regular donation to the Jamyang Friends scheme. A regular donation is the best way to help keep Jamyang going. It's amazing how even modest contributions from a few hundred individuals can make all the difference.

As well as the vast merit you will receive by helping to spread the Dharma, there are also some more worldly perks on offer, a free quarterly Mandala magazine, discounts, etc. So if you can spare around £15 a month to help us stay afloat we would be very appreciative. You can find all the information about the Friends Scheme and how to become a member by following this link.

Jamyang Friends Sceme

Alternatively you can make a one-off donation by following this link.

Donate to Jamyang

Many thanks!

Return to Contents

Baby Chicks. Photo wallpaperpassion.com

Actualising the Wisdom Realising Emptiness by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

By Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Florence, Italy 1990 Teachings by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, given in Florence, Italy, on July 20, 1990. Rinpoche begins with an explanation of emptiness, then teaches tong-len, or taking and giving-the meditation practice of generating bodhicitta by taking on the suffering of others and giving them happiness. Edited by Ven. Ailsa Cameron. Second edit by Sandra Smith. Actualizing the Wisdom Realizing Emptiness I'm very happy to meet those who I'm meeting for the first time and those whom I have met before. Before the discourse we're going to do some meditation, basically on ultimate nature. As explained by the fully enlightened being, Shakyamuni Buddha, from his own experience, by meditating on the reality or ultimate nature of the I, the five aggregates, the twelve doors of the senses, the eighteen elements and other phenomena, and actualizing the wisdom understanding the very nature of these things, this is the main weapon, like an atomic bomb, to destroy the very root of all problems. Without the wisdom directly realizing the ultimate nature or emptiness of the I, aggregates and all the rest of the phenomena, there is no way to eliminate the root of all our problems. There is no way to eliminate the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death, or the worry and fear of meeting undesirable objects and separating from desirable ones. The root of all these difficulties we go through in our life cannot be eliminated without wisdom. No matter what other realizations we have, whether of tantra or even bodhicitta, until we are able to actualize the wisdom realizing the ultimate nature of the I and so forth, the root of the whole problem cannot be eliminated. Only by having this wisdom can we eliminate the root of the entire samsaric suffering. Without achieving this wisdom realizing emptiness, no matter what other realization we have, there is no way we can end the suffering of samsara, no way to reach the end of the entire problem, which means no way to achieve liberation. Once we achieve liberation, it is impossible to experience suffering again. The root of the entire problem is the ignorance not knowing the ultimate nature of the I and aggregates. No other realization can directly eradicate this ignorance-only wisdom. Therefore, listening, reflecting and meditating on the

ultimate nature of everything is the most important thing. To think about emptiness for even one second is very fortunate. Going beyond hallucination and touching the ultimate nature for even one second is great purification. So many heavy negative karmas are purified just by that. A sutra mentions that even questioning whether there is such a thing as emptiness or not shatters samsara into pieces. This expresses how powerful meditation on the ultimate nature of things is. The teachings also say that simply generating the wish to experience the Middle Way view of emptiness purifies many heavy negative karmas, such as the ten non-virtues and even the five uninterrupted negative karmas, which are the heaviest among all the negative actions. The five are killing your present-life father or mother, causing blood to flow from a Tathagata or a Buddha, killing an Arhat, and causing disunity among the Sangha. These negative karmas are called "uninterrupted" because immediately after death one is born in hell, without any other rebirth intervening. So, even this very heavy negative karma can be purified by generating the wish to understand the ultimate nature or shunyata. The wisdom realizing emptiness takes us beyond the lower realms, beyond samsara, beyond all obscurations, to the peerless happiness of full enlightenment, the state of cessation of all mistakes and perfection of all qualities. Therefore, making offerings to the Prajnaparamita, the Wisdom Gone Beyond, teachings-for example, printing the texts-accumulates inconceivable merit because of the subject. These scriptures explain the true path, emptiness, the ultimate nature. So, I'm not going to give you all the details of this. However, it is mentioned that the merit of sentient beings making offerings to millions of stupas for many millions of eons in worlds equalling the number of sand grains of the River Ganges would be far exceeded by the merit of making an offering to the Prajnaparamita scriptures. These scriptures explain the ultimate nature and show the path that liberates us from all suffering and its causes, enabling us to cease all the obscurations in the mental continuum. Meditating on the meaning of ultimate nature for even one second becomes an inconceivable purification. So many heavy karmas are purified. The benefits of meditating on emptiness are hard to understand; they don't fit in our ordinary mind. Many benefits of listening to, reflecting and meditating on the teachings on emptiness are explained in the sutras. There are inconceivable benefits, therefore we should feel extremely fortunate that at this time we have the opportunity to meet the teachings showing the unmistaken path, the unmistaken view. The wisdom realizing emptiness gives us the possibility to escape from problems forever. Achieving this ultimate happiness mainly depends on this realization. As I mentioned before, only the wisdom realizing emptiness can

directly eradicate the ignorance which is the root of the whole samsaric suffering. Therefore we should feel extremely fortunate and attempt to learn more, to listen, reflect and meditate more. As much as possible, in our everyday life we should attempt to meditate on emptiness even for a minute or a few seconds, especially once we have heard teachings that reveal the unmistaken view and we have some basic understanding of what ultimate nature means. Realizing emptiness gives us the opportunity to be free from the whole of samsara and all suffering. So, we should not waste time, we should not waste the opportunity. We must meditate as often as possible, even for a few seconds. We must meditate. Not meditating on emptiness, or not even remembering it for even one day is a great loss. Meditating on emptiness itself becomes great purification. For example, when it comes to purification methods in tantra and sutra, reading the Prajnaparamita teachings is one of the methods. Meditating on emptiness is one of the most powerful purifications. Even if you are doing Vajrasattva meditation, you are still advised to remember emptiness. The Vajrasattva recitation-purification becomes very powerful by remembering emptiness. Making offerings to these scriptures or copying them and meditating on them, are all regarded as very powerful purification practices. Anyway, you should not waste the opportunity, especially if you have studied these teachings and have some basic understanding of them. Even rising doubts about emptiness has a great effect-it shatters samsara into pieces. In particular, meditation on the Heart Sutra is very important, and it's a very enjoyable meditation. If you know how to meditate, it's better than LSD! If you don't meditate on emptiness, it's a great loss since this meditation is the most precious, most important thing in life, the solution to all problems. Also, by actualizing the wisdom realizing emptiness, you can help others; you can free all other sentient beings from all sufferings and all problems. This opportunity to free all others from suffering and lead them to ultimate happiness comes from whatever understanding you have of emptiness in your day-to-day life, from meditating on The Essence of Wisdom, which is a condensed teaching on emptiness. No matter how many teachings we have heard on emptiness-hundreds of volumes, hundreds of times-the whole point of hearing so many teachings on emptiness is to meditate, to see the truth, to see the ultimate nature. Through developing this wisdom, we are then able to achieve the liberation that is forever free from samsara, forever free from all suffering, and we can achieve great liberation, full enlightenment, with complete cessation of even the subtle obscurations. This depends on meditating in your daily life on the teachings you have heard, on what you have understood. You have to put the teachings into practice. For those who practice tantra, meditation on emptiness comes without choice there

in the sadhana. It is very important to pause there, even for a few seconds, to meditate. Even if you don't understand exactly the complete meaning because it is so subtle, even if you don't get the whole idea, it is still extremely important just to read that teaching. Even to recite it mindfully has great meaning; it becomes a great purification and leaves so much imprint on the mind. That itself makes your mind closer and closer to seeing the truth, to generating wisdom. Do not commit any unwholesome action, Enjoy creating perfect virtue, And subdue one's own mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha. Self, action, object; friend, enemy, stranger; all the sense objects-desirable, undesirable, indifferent-all these are transitory in nature, changing within each second due to causes and conditions. These things can cease at any time. This also applies to our own body, our possessions, our friends and relatives. Therefore, there is no reason to have the dissatisfied minds of desire, anger and ignorance, or the wrong conception that these things are permanent, that they do not change but last forever. There is no benefit in believing this, since it is not the nature of these things. It brings only problems, confusion. All these things change and cease. When that happens, there is a problem in the mind, a problem in the life. However, if we are aware of their nature there is no way for confusion to arise, so the mind stays tranquil. And since all these things-self, action, object; friend, enemy, stranger; good and bad-are nothing other than mere imputation, they are all completely empty of the real [thing] that is appearing from its own side. So, everything is empty. In emptiness there is no such thing as this emptiness or that emptiness. In emptiness there is no such thing as emptiness of subject, emptiness of object, emptiness of action. In emptiness there is no I, action, object. Now, with this awareness read the Heart Sutra. This awareness is itself the meaning of the Heart Sutra. -See more at: http://www.lamayeshe.com/ Return to Contents

CLASSES AND EVENTS IN JUNE AND JULY AT JAMYANG Full information about these and all our events can be found here on the

Jamyang Website

CLASSES and RETREATS with WEEK DAY EVENINGS AND

GESHE TASHI Enlightenment Potential Tuesdays to 7 July except 2 June at 7:30 Buddhist Practice - Step by Step Wednesdays to 8 July at 7:30 Summer Retreat Gradual Path to Enlightenment Retreat. Saturday 18 - Sunday 26 July 9.30am - 5.30pm each day Buddha Enlightenment Day Tuesday 2nd June 8am - 5pm VISITING TEACHERS AND WEEKEND TEACHINGS Andy Weber Art Weekend 29 - 31 May (see the Director's column for info) Sublime Continuum 2nd weekend with Andy Wishreich 13, 14 June (can be taken as part of the Basic Programme) Lamrim teachings and Green Tara Empowerment with Dagri Rinpoche Afternoons and evenings 26 - 28 June PRACTICE GROUPS Insight Meditation Practice Group 6, 20, 27 June, 4 July 10.30- 12.30pm Open to all Guhyasamaja Practice Group Saturdays 13 June, 11 July 2 - 5pm for initiates only Vajrayogini Practice Group Sundays 7, 14, 21 June, 5, 12 July For initiates only Kalachakra Practice Group 20 June, 4 July 2 - 5pm For initiates only SPECIAL EVENTS Buddha Enlightenment Day

AFTERNOONS Buddhist Meditation: Wisdom Mondays to 29 June 7.30. Buddhist Meditation in Practice with David Ford Thursdays 4, 11, 18 June 7.30pm Silent Meditation Thursdays weekly until 16 July 6.15 - 7.15pm

Tara Puja Tuesdays at 4.30pm to 14 July except 2 June Medicine Buddha Puja Tuesdays at 6pm to 14 July except 2 June Lama Choepa 12, 26 June, 11, 26 July COMMUNITY Open Garden Squares Saturday 13 June Death Cafe 27 June

Jamyang Walk 4 July

Chi Kung and Tai Chi Monday evenings to 13 July taught by William Walker. For more information and to book call William (follow the link above) Satyananda Yoga Tuesday evenings to 14 July taught by Judy Watchman For more information and to book call Judy (follow the link above)

Gentle Vinyassa Flow Wednesday to 15 July 6:00pm to 7:15pm Hridaya (Heart Centre) Yoga Taught by Naz to 15 July Wednesday evenings 7.30pm For more information please call

2nd June Book Launch 19th June Thupten Jinpa, HH Dalai Lama's principal translator, will be present at Jamyang on 19 June. He will launch his new book 'A Fearless Heart: Why Compassion is the Key to Greater Wellbeing'. Booking required. Please book for all weekend classes or retreats other than practice groups on-line if you can. If you can't call the office on 02078208787 or email admin@jamyang.co.uk You can drop in to all evening classes unless we state otherwise

Naz (follow the link above) Chair Yoga Taught by Cathy Brebion to 14 July Tuesdays 10.30am - 11.30am Meditation and Yoga for Mind and Body Fridays 6.45-7.45PM to 17 July For more information please call Nicolette (follow the link above) COMING SOON Summer Retreat with Geshe Tashi 18 - 26 July Vajrayogini Retreat with Geshe Tashi 10 - 16 July Book Fair 22 August Return to Contents

Geshe Tashi's column

Hello Everybody,

I was very pleased to see how much effort the Jamyang community has put into helping the victims of the Nepalese earthquake not just by offering extensive prayers but also through raising money for relief efforts. It is very important and very useful to continue to support communities when they are going through severe difficulties. Short term support is useful but also we must remember the long term support that is needed to help people rebuild their homes and to restart their lives. I was very encouraged to see how much work the monks and nuns of Kopan, and also many other monasteries from around Nepal are doing to support the ordinary people of Nepal, whatever their backgrounds. This really is putting the teachings into direct action, working for the benefit of others without thinking about the benefit to ourselves. Of course, for us here in the UK, it is not so easy to help these people, but we can offer our support through donations as well as prayers. This coming month we celebrate Saka Dawa, the day when we celebrate the birth, enlightenment and parinirvana of the Buddha. Even though this year, the celebration falls during the week and I know many of you will be working, it would be good if those of you who can make it, come if only for just part of the day to join us at Jamyang. I hope many of you can also come to the book launch by Thupten Jinpa. I am

sure many of you have heard him translate at the Dalai Lama's teachings here in the UK and you will appreciate that he has a great command of English - much better than mine! I am very happy that he will be launching his book here at Jamyang and, of course, I am also very happy that we will be hosting the visit of Dagri Rinpoche here later in the month. Other than that do enjoy the good weather! Return to Contents

Director's Column

The month of the summer solstice is very nearly with us. More light and a little warmth we have. Nature is late bursting into bloom but in other ways the spring never really seems to have sprung and it often feels as if we are still stuck in March and April. Better not hope to hard for a flaming June lest we don't get one! Our thoughts are still with those suffering following the Nepal earthquakes. Many, many thanks for your donations. The people of Nepal will still need your help and prayers for some time to come. Try not to forget the time recovery from events of that scale will take. We are very much looking forward to the visit of Dagri Rinpoche Dagri Rinpoche to Jamyang London at the end of June. Please save the dates. The visit will take place from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 June inclusive. See elsewhere in Gentle Voice for details and book early! On the subject of the early booking places, don't miss out on the opportunity for summer retreats. Here at Jamyang you can join Geshe-la on his annual retreat on the graded path from Saturday, 18 July to Sunday, 26 July and if you have the initiation, from Monday 10 August to Sunday 16 August you can join Geshe-la for the Vajrayogini retreat. The first season of retreats has begun at Land of Joy. Check out their programme of retreats running from June to August and book your places early: http://www.landofjoy.co.uk/programme/retreats-2015/ Land of Joy is a wonderful opportunity for us to further develop retreat culture in the UK. Keep them top of the mind, support the development of Land of Joy and most importantly, take some time out to visit and spend some time in retreat there. Besides the visit of Dagri Rinpoche, we also have a full programme this coming month with Geshe-la's teachings on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, the Monday Meditation classes, Andy Wistreich continuing his weekend sessions on the Sublime Continuum in the Basic programme and the full community and group practice programme. Check out the full programme here: http://jamyang.co.uk/index.php/whats-on/programme-calendar This weekend Andy Weber is running another Tibetan Art Workshop where you can learn how to draw, paint and create the auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism and Andy will be talking about the auspicious symbols this Friday

evening - well worth attending even if you can't make the course but book now! Andy Weber at Jamyang booking page Marina and Gabriella have moved on from their hospitality team service. Many thanks to both for their sterling service here at Jamyang. Anita from Chile and Ruth from Mexico have joined Oliver and Ilaria. Ruth is working with the Cafe team and Anita, Ilaria and Oliver the new hospitality team. Give them every support - they are working really hard to help deliver the programme and make everyone's experience here at Jamyang the best possible. As always, much look forward to seeing you here at Jamyang. If the sun shines, don't forget the Cafe and the beautiful garden coming into full bloom - a great place to meet, relax chill out and enjoy some down time with friends over a drink or something to eat. Roy Return to Contents

Thupten Jinpa Book 'A Fearless Heart' Launch 19th June

A Fearless Heart: Why compassion is the key to greater wellbeing Friday 19th June book event at Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London Entry by ticket only, which can be purchased via www.jamyang.co.uk or eventbrite How do you react when you hear the label 'compassion'? If you're a Jamyang student, then hopefully it brings a warmth to the heart, along with a sense of aspiration. Buddhism defines compassion as the wish for the suffering of others to end, as the inseparable partner of wisdom, and as something that is needed more than ever in the world. Initiatives such as Karen Armstrong's Charter for Compassion suggest that many other faith traditions feel the same way. However many people sadly have a different take on compassion. In our work for Universal Education, we've often been told (particularly by colleagues in Southern Europe) that it tastes of pity and powerlessness. To be compassionate towards others is seen to be limp and ineffective, while to be compassionate towards yourself is narcissistic and self-indulgent. "Part autobiography, part a training manual for a wholesome life, and part a beautiful tapestry woven between ancient Buddhist thought and modern science, this book has something for everyone." - Richard Davidson

Thubten Jinpa's new book A Fearless Heart moves into this territory with passion, humour and grace. Sub-titled Why compassion is the key to greater wellbeing, Jinpa draws on his personal story as a Tibetan refugee and former Buddhist monk, as the long-standing English translator to HH The Dalai Lama, and on his current role as university professor, scholar and family man in North America. Jinpa has also co-created a highly successful eight-week course on compassion for Stanford University Medical School, and is the current chair of the Mind and Life Institute, which gives him access to the wealth of scientific material about compassion included in the book. "A Fearless Heart is the bravest, clearest, and most engaging book I know on why we need to cultivate compassion, and on how to bring it more widely and deeply into our lives and into the world."- Jon Kabat-Zinn Jon Kabat-Zinn's praise for A Fearless Heart is particularly welcome given that Jinpa is arguing that mindfulness will only get you out the door, and that it's compassion practice that will actually take you where you want to go. Tim McNeill, Managing Editor of Wisdom Publications, told me some years ago about a conference in the USA where some long-term students of Buddhism were discussing the current craze for mindfulness in the context of the three principal aspects of the path: that we now have a responsibility to create a similar thirst for compassion, followed by the wisdom of understanding emptiness, the right view. How wonderful if the cultivation of compassion can become the next perceived elixir for a happy life! "We all wish to have good will toward the people in our lives - but how can we make that positive attitude a spontaneous feeling? Thupten Jinpa gives us that answer" - Daniel Goleman As a reader of Gentle Voice, you've already got the extremely rare karma to have connected with some of the most detailed and well-tested teachings on compassion in the world. Since many of the people we know don't have that karma, we have the responsibility to share whatever we can in ways that they will relate to. Books and book events such as A Fearless Heart - or similarly, Ven Matthieu Ricard's new book called Altruism - help us develop the knowledge and understanding that we need to do this. Alison Murdoch Return to Contents

His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the UK and LZR Worldwide

His Holiness the Dalai Lama A reminder that the Dalai Lama is on a flying visit to the UK in June. Book now for the Dalai Lama's public talk at Aldershot Football Club Monday 29 June 2015 from 12.45 - 14.45 organised by BCCUK Yes please register for a place at this Website or call 01252 338765 The Dalai Lama will also be in the UK in September. We'll publish more details as they become available but you can also register for updates here http://www.dalailama2015.uk/ Lama Zopa Rinpoche We are delighted to inform you that many of Lama Zopa Rinpoche's teachings in Australia will be livestreamed. These teachings will be webcast live on http://livestream.com/FPMT/au2015 The following times are local time in OZ: Buddha House, Adelaide May 30 at 7pm Teaching on "Making the Most of your Life" May 31 at 7pm Medicine Buddha initiation (motivation only may be streamed) Vajrayana Institute, Sydney June 13 at 7pm Teaching on "How to Apply Dharma in Daily Life" June 14 at 7pm Teaching on "The Joy of Compassion" June 15 at 7pm White Mahakala initiation (motivation only may be streamed) June 21 morning - Long Life Puja From our brothers and sisters in Denmark: Lama Zopa Rinpoche is visiting Denmark 24 July - 25 July. We are very happy to announce that Lama Zopa Rinpoche will be visiting Denmark and giving the Great Medicine Buddha initiation on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th of July 2015. We are looking very much forward to seeing you for this wonderful event! Details Here Return to Contents

Nepal Earthquake Update

Photo: FPMT.org

We have been doing what we can to support Nepal through these difficult times.As well as dedicating our Tara and Medicine Pujas and making Light Offerings, we have been raising money for relief efforts. The funds collected will be sent to Kopan for the distribution of aid to the local community as well as help with rebuilding where required. Many thanks for everyone who participated and collected money, especially those who attended Peace in the City and the special yoga class held on the 3rd of May. The proceeds from those events, plus the donations collected on the front desk and a donation by Jamyang total £1,807.00 Here are some links you may be interested in following: Practices Rinpoche is advising to do at this time

Get the latest news from Kopan monastery

There is also some interesting information on the state of the country from the Namgyal Foundation (headed by ex-Kopan monk Namgyal Rinpoche) Their website is www.nrfoundation.org.np

or find them on facebook under the name Namgyal Rinpochefoundation

You can still donate direct to the Kopan fund via this web page Nepal Earthquake Support Fund

And don't forget that the UK based charities are still working in the area and need your support. Here is a selection

Disasters Emergency Committee dec.org.uk

Save The Children savethechildren.org.uk

British Red Cross redcross.org.uk

Oxfam oxfam.org.uk

Medecins Sans Frontieres msf.org.uk

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Dagri Rinpoche at Jamyang

Dagri Rinpoche visit to London Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June. A Rain of Blessings

Please note the timings have changed for Dagri Rinpoche's teachings when he visits us at the end of June.

Teachings on the Gradual Path to Enlightenment Lam Rim (2 sessions a day) will take place between 2.30 and 6pm on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June. Making four sessions in all.

We hope Rinpoche will give a Green Tara initiation on the afternoon of Sunday 28 June. Currently this scheduled to start at 3pm but this may change. Please note that it is extremely unlikely that he will give initiation for Gonkar White Mahakala.

We are just awaiting confirmation that Dagri Rinpoche and Geshe Tenzin have got visas for the UK. Once we know this we will try to firm up arrival and departure times and dates and to firm up the programme and put the final (?) programme on the website. We will also be going out asking for sponsors/ donors for the visit as the suggested donation level we will be suggesting is unlikely to cover costs for the event. We really don't want lack of money to stop people coming and making a connection.

Please keep the space free in your diaries to meet a truly impressive Lama on his first visit to the UK. But please also be aware that everything is subject to change and will be so right up until the last minute. Thank you

Please note that we cannot provide dormitory accommodation during the visit.

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Buddha Enlightenment Day, 2nd June

Join Geshe Tashi and the Jamyang

Community to celebrate the Birth, enlightenment and Parinirvana of the Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of our tradition.

Geshe Tashi will give the eight Mahayana precepts (these last for 24 hours). He also gives refuge vows and the lay precepts. He may also give an Aspiring Bodhicitta ceremony. Day schedule 8.00 Motivation and Eight Mahayana Precepts 9.15 Shakyamuni Buddha chanted meditation 10.15 Tea break 10.30 Vajrasattva purification chanted meditation 11.30 Precept lunch made in line with Kriya Tantra dietary restrictions 13.00 Possible Refuge, lay vow, Aspiring Bodhicitta ceremonies 14.00 Chenrezig Compassion Buddha chanted meditation 15.00 Silent Meditation 15.30 Tea break 16.00 Green Tara energising meditation and dedications 17.00 The end

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Photo: blogspot.com

Highlights from our Programme

The Enlightenment Potential With Geshe Tashi: Tuesdays from the 9th June (no class on the 2nd June)

7.30 - 9pm.

A key text on Buddha Nature, the Uttara Tantra, forms the basis of this class.

This class is intended for students with a broad familiarity with Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhist Practice Step by Step with Geshe Tashi

Wednesdays from the 3th June 7.30 - 9pm. A guide to the essentials of Buddhist practice from someone with a life-time of experience.

photo: strangecosmos.com

Buddha Enlightenment Day with Geshe Tashi 2nd June

Come and celebrate the life of the Buddha with a day of practice

Dagri Rinpoche 26 - 28 June

See article above for details

Summer Gradual Path to Enlightenment Retreat

with Geshe Tashi Saturday 18 - Sunday 26 July

Vajrayogini Retreat

with Geshe Tashi: (only open to those with the initiation)

Monday 10 - Sunday 16 August

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Media & PR volunteer meeting

Media & PR volunteer meeting 10 June 2015, 6pm - 7pm, Jamyang library

To all interested in helping Jamyang with Media work & distribution of PR material

We are looking for volunteers to support the media production of Jamyang. We started the process to set up an audio/visual archive of teachings for future reference. We therefore need people to help us with sound recording and streaming on Tuesday & Wednesday evenings and some weekend teachings. Jamyang would benefit greatly if a team of volunteers could help us with organising and uploading those recordings. Furthermore we need people who have experience with video/sound editing - if you think of offering some of your time please do come along.

Furthermore Jamyang needs help with outreach to the local community and people living in and around London. Jamyang produces a printed version of its program three times a year and this needs to be distributed. In case of special events Jamyang would like to produce flyers and postcards. We currently have a list of places around London where the PR materials can be distributed. It would be great to extend this list! This requires us to approach Cafes, Health

Thanks to dragoart.com

Shops, libraries, schools and even Universities, etc. and ask people in charge if a regular update of PR material can be delivered. If you have some time at hand for that, please do come along.

For further information on 'media/PR volunteering' please contact Adnan on communications@jamyang.co.uk

Any help and input will be much appreciated. Thank you. Return to Contents

Community Day with a Difference

This year's Community Day will be on 26th September 2015 Our secret mole in the Community Day planning camp tells us that this will be a community day with a difference, maybe film shows, maybe multi-media events, maybe an afternoon of entertainment and fun...... we just don't know! Save the date and join Geshe Tashi and the Jamyang Community on this day. Return to Contents

Photo by Jaap Best (Guardian newspaper)

Death Cafe with Jon Underwood 27 June

At a Death Cafe people come together to discuss death over tea and cake. Death Cafes have taken place in 22 countries and this one will be here at Jamyang. The Death Cafe movement was the brainchild of ex-Jamyang Centre Manager Jon Underwood. Over tea and cake purchased from the Courthouse Garden Cafe we will discuss death without agenda or objective. The Death Cafe is open to all. To find out more about Jon's work listen to the following radio 4 programme in which Jon talks a little about the Death cafe Start the Week A Good Death Return to Contents

Photo: wikimedia.com

Open Garden Squares Weekend Saturday 13th June

Every year as part of the

London-wide Open Gardens Weekend, we throw open the doors to Jamyang and invite people in to take a look around. Many are fascinated by the building and the temples so we show them around. It's a great way to meet people in the community and share your love of Jamyang with them. So would you like to help welcome visitors to Jamyang courtyard garden on Saturday, 13th June?

Tea and cake as a 'thank you'!

Contact jane@jamyang.co.uk.

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Baby bird creche

Dharma Bites: The Royal Seal of Mahamudra by the third Khamtrul Rinpoche

At present, it seems we neither understand the Dharma nor know the preliminary or main practices. We don't know how to look at the mind. Even if we manage to look, we don't recognise it. We put the mind to rest but it doesn't stay still; it keeps swirling about. We try to have clarity, but there is none; instead there is dark dullness. We try to be aware but we aren't and fail to notice where the mind has gone. As a result we neither understand the Dharma nor know how to apply it; meditation doesn't occur and the mind is not recognised. It is possible that you may feel somewhat sad, depressed, frustrated, or disheartened, and think, "What is best for me now?" But there is no need to feel that way. Until now, since you haven't had the habit of meditating, you are not very accustomed to it; so how do you expect that, from the outset, you would easily be able to or that it may happen just like that? Although results may not come right away there is no need to become frustrated. The best is if your mind can remain composed. But even if that is not the case, to sit having a feeling that the mind is in composure would not be in vain or meaningless. To have this very feeling toward the true meaning is better that any other physical

or verbal virtuous action. Since the benefit and merit of meditating in samadhi for one session, or even for just a moment, are beyond measure, one's three doors become tamed from their depths. Right now meditating may not have dawned in you, and you may not know how to sustain the nature of mind;yet merely to gaze at the mind is still very significant. Other Dharma practices are conditioned virtuous actions focused outwardly. In this case, you are focusing inwardly towards your mind, the creator of samsara and nirvana. Just to have the intention to do this is very meaningful; it is a deep key point with great purpose. It is said that the merit of taking even just one or two steps with the intention of going to practice concentration or samadhi is boundless. To look at the mind has the capacity to instantly cleanse all wrongdoings, obscurations, and propensities. Through this observation you receive the blessings of all the buddhas, your being is benefited, you complete all the accumulations by completing one, you make all the paths converge into one, and you fully attain all the results. Therefore, even to just look at this mind and know the importance of doing so is better and more useful than any other practice. You may not know anything else, yet to think, "I must look at the mind" is also very meaningful. Think that for us to have met with such a profound Dharma and to have the opportunity to meditate is an unequalled and incomparable great fortune. Reflecting like this, generate a joyful heartfelt determination. At this moment, even before starting to look at the mind, feel glad and uplifted. Later, you may go through such things as not knowing how to look at the mind or not finding anything to look at, but you should comfort yourself rather that becoming depressed. You may not seem to trust yourself to rest the mind in composure; yet, considering it to be a great objective, do not become lax or lose the desire to sustain the practice. Thinking that it is sufficient to cultivate the determination to sustain the nature of mind, feel confident. Joyful and with the inclination to sustain precisely this meditative equipoise, do not become impatient. Extract from, 'The Royal Seal of Mahamudra', Volume 1 by the third Khamtrul Rinpoche, translated by Gerardo Abboud

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Poetry Corner

Extract from "The Flower Arrayed Tree Sutra" The perfect teaching of Buddha Is not accomplished by mere study. Dharma without meditation Is like people who die of thirst While being helplessly carried away By a great river. Dharma without meditation Is like a person who, having supplied Many beings with food and drink, Starves to death himself. Not to meditate on the Dharma Is like a doctor Who dies of a stomach ailment While possessing all the medicines. Not to meditate on the Dharma Is as if one counted huge numbers Of jewels in treasure stores, Without obtaining even one for oneself. Dharma without meditation Is like being born in the court Of a royal palace endowed with all pleasures, without getting any food or drink. Not to meditate on the Dharma Is like having a blind artist

Photo: strangezoo.com

Paint a picture in the middle of a crowded market, Unable to see it himself. Dharma without meditation Is like a boatman who takes many people Across a big lake In which he himself drowns. Dharma without meditation Is like someone announcing at a crossroads All the most wonderful things Without obtaining any for himself.

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Golden Light Sutra Recitation for Saka Dawa

We pass on this request from our friend ani lobsang tendron / beth simon Saka Dawa Duchen is celebrated in the 4th month of the Tibetan calendar. This year, the fifteen days of Saka Dawa begin on May 19, and Saka Dawa itself, June 2, is the day Buddha Shakyamuni took birth, attained full and complete Enlightenment, and passed into Parinirvana. Saka Dawa is one of the four great times during the year when the effects of one's actions are multiplied millions of times. From among the various meritorious activities recommended for Buddhist practitioners, recitation of the sublime Sutra of Golden Light is praised as a particularly beneficial one. For this reason, a continuous recitation of the Sutra of Golden Light begins today, May 19, and continues through June 2. We recite the Sutra to end suffering and the causes of suffering for all beings, to create conditions for compassion and loving-kindness to arise in one's heart, and to remove obstacles to the long, stable lives of our teachers.

Please join this recitation from wherever you are, in whatever way you can. Organize a recitation. You need no special permissions. Simply give voice to the exalted Golden Light. Visualize you are part of, or leading, a great gathering reciting the Golden Light Sutra. Set your motivation. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche notes, "Karma is more powerful when gathered by many ...The more people there are supporting, the more powerful it becomes. When karma is more powerful the result comes more quickly, whether it is a project or realization." We recite in order to lead all beings to complete enlightenment, to fulfill their needs, to establish peace, and to fulfill our teachers' inconceivably compassionate wishes. Think, I myself, can do this. "The holy Golden Light Sutra is ... extremely powerful and fulfills all one's wishes, as well as bringing peace and happiness for all sentient beings up to enlightenment. It is also extremely powerful for world peace, for your own protection, and for the protection of the country and the world. Also, it has great healing power for people in the country ... Anyone can read this text, Buddhists and non-Buddhists who desire world peace." (LZR) Before you begin, bathe your hands, face and feet. Take refuge and generate a good motivation. To multiply merits, say this mantra seven times: Om Dhare Dhare Bendhare Svaha. Recite a little bit, or all, one time, or many. When you finish, make heartfelt dedications. Then report your recitation to me here: http://fpmt.org/education/teachings/sutras/golden-light-sutra/ Include your location, dedications, and any experiences or questions you have. The Sutra is available for download in several languages. The Sutra "frees every being from countless oceans of suffering.. Removes the fear of the terrified and poor, and causes supreme virtue. ... If you have any problems or danger in your life, even just hearing or listening to the name of the Golden Light Sutra can give protection." Thank you, ani lobsang tendron / beth simon Return to Contents

Saving Mes Aynak

This story is the poignant tale of the modern world's inability to save its heritage. Mes Aynak is a Buddhist archaeological site in Afghanistan threatened by mining, the Taliban and corruption. Learn more by following this link http://www.savingmesaynak.com/

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Opportunities Around the FPMT

There are work and volunteer opportunities in many of the FPMT Centres around the world. You can find details of these on the FPMT website. There are also volunteer opportunities in France, India, Australia, New Zealand............................ And especially here at Jamyang, London! Return to Contents

FPMT

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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