THE MIRRORNEW GAR IN ROMANIA

MERIGAR EAST

SUMMER RETREAT WITH CHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBU

RETREAT OF ZHINE AND LHAGTHONG ACCORDING TO ATIYOGA

JULY 14-22, 2007

There is a new Gar in Romania called Merigar East. The land is 4.5hectares and 600 meters from the Black Sea. The Gar is 250 meters froma main road and 2 kilometers from the nearest village called the 23rd ofAugust (the day of liberation in World War II); it is a 5-minute walk tothe train station and a 10-minute walk to the beach. There are small, lesscostly hotels and pensions and five star hotels in tourist towns and smallcities near by. There is access by bus, train and airplane. Inexpensivebuses go up and down the coast. There is an airport in Costanza, 1/2 hourfrom the land, and the capital, Bucharest, 200 kilometers away, offerstwo international airports. At present we have only the land, but it willbe developed. As of January 2007 Romania has joined the EuropeanUnion. Mark your calendar! The Mirror Staff

C O N T E N T S

Newspaper of the International Dzogchen Community JAN/FEB 2007 • Issue No. 84

The Longsal Ati’i Gongpa Ngotrod Retreat at Tashigar South, Argentina December 26, 2006 - January 1, 2007

by Sergio OlivaTranslated by Laura Yoffe

December 2006. Summertimeis coming very soon, but therain (as it always happens in

Tashigar South) waits for the Mas-ter. Then the water flows every-where and life turns to be moreintense. With the presence of Rin-poche not even the stones remainquiet, all is in movement now. The small Gonpa at the main househas multiple functions: it is a play-ing room for long games ofBagchen with Rinpoche, during theretreat it becomes the “Tashishop”(our bookstore) and for many nightsit looks like a kind of cyber- placewhere people adopt strange postureswith their laptops trying to get thebest signal.For some time Tashigar becomes akind of Babel that concentrates allkinds of sounds from the most dis-tant places. All the variety of lan-guages that sounds everywherereveals how much effort ourTeacher has put in spreading hisprecious teachings during all theseyears.

In this latest retreat, which wastransmitted all around the world byclosed video and audio webcast,thanks to the great efforts and workdone by the webcast team,Rinpoche gave transmission of theteachings called “Longsal Ati’iGongpa Ngotrod”, the Upadesha ofthe Introduction to the State of Ati.Rinpoche discovered these teach-ings in many different dreams hehad from the year 1972 to the year1983. They belong to the Cycle ofLongsal Teachings of ChögyalNamkhai Norbu.On the first day of the retreat,Rinpoche spoke about the impor-tance of being aware of our real sit-uation - the condition of suffering ofsamsara - as being dominated by ouremotions we don’t recognize thebase of suffering that is underneathall of our actions. Little by little, theproblems develop and finally suffer-ing manifests. For that reason,Rinpoche said, it is necessary tohave consciousness of the FourMindfulnesses about our precioushuman life, the impermanence ofour life that manifests in time, thekarma that we produce due to ouractions and the suffering of samsaraas consequence of our own karma,although this presence cannot arisefrom the knowledge that we can get

through an intellectual analysis ofthese four, but from a deep under-standing of the real characteristicsof our human existence.On the following day, Rinpocheexplained that we do not have thepossibility to enter into our realnature if we do not have transmis-sion and that there are three types oftransmission according to our threegates of body, speech and mind.Entering into the LongsalTeachings, Rinpoche remarked theimportance of the lineage and thetransmission for the teaching. WhenRinpoche made a commentary ofthe first verses of the Root Text, hesaid that many people go after intel-lectual knowledge by judging andanalyzing yet staying totally condi-tioned by their mind; for that reasonthey are very unfortunate becausethey are so far from following a paththat allows to have a quick realiza-tion. Therefore, it is extremelyimportant the connection betweenteacher and student, in order to beable to follow a path in a correctway. So first of all we need tounderstand this relationship.Developing this topic, Rinpochesaid that the teacher needs to have aperfect transmission and knowledgeof the real meaning of the teaching,not only in an intellectual way, but

CHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBUSCHEDULE

MARCH 2007 - FEBRUARY 2008

2007:Tashigar Norte, Margarita Island, VenezuelaMarch 30 – April 5 Santi Maha Sangha Base Teaching RetreatOpen Webcast

May 31 – June 15Jñanadhakini Drubchen Retreat

June 20Leave for Merigar West, Italy

June 29Leave for Merigar East, Romania

July 14 - 22Merigar East RetreatRetreat of Shine and Lhagthong according to Dzogchen AtiyogaRestricted Webcast

July 27Return to Merigar West

August 10 - 30 Personal retreat of Mandarava

September 7-13Merigar West RetreatThe teaching will be Paltrul Rinpoche’s Dzogchen Man ngag ‘OdsalNangcha (The Upadesha on the Vision of Clear Light), [Paltrul Kabum Vol4 P.697].Restricted Webcast

September 21Leave for Barcelona

September 24 – 28Barcelona RetreatThe teaching will be Longchenpa’s Nyingtam Sumchu (Thirty Pieces ofAdvice from the Heart) [Sung Thorbu vol. I P. 354].Open Webcast

September 30Leave for Sao Paolo, Brazil

October 3 – 9Sao Paolo RetreatThe teaching will be Paltrul Rinpoche’s Shri Gyalpo Khyadchos (The ThreeLines Which Strike the Essence, The Three Statements of Garab Dorje)

TO BE IN INSTANT PRESENCE IS TO BE BEYOND TIME

continued on page19

continued on page 4

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in the Tashigar South Gonpa on his birthday N ZEITZ

Teaching, Chögyal Namkhai Norbupages 2 &3

ASIA: An Expatriate in Amdopage 5

Fire Boar Year 2007Special Practice Calendarpages 10 & 11

2

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

Merry Christmas and HappyNew Year to everybody!Today we are beginning

our retreat at Tashigar South inArgentina. All our activity at aretreat is related to the DzogchenTeaching. We have different seriesof teachings within the DzogchenTeaching, all of which are related tothe transmission. The most impor-tant aspect of the teaching is thetransmission, but firstly you need tohave a clear idea what Dzogchenmeans. Many people have the ideathat the teaching is a kind of tradi-tion, school or religion. You canbelieve that Dzogchen is a philoso-phy or religion because in theDzogchen Teaching there is no limi-tation, but Dzogchen is not that inthe real sense. The Dzogchen Teach-ing is to learn how to get beyond lim-itations. If we have any kind of limi-tation it is no longer Dzogchen, but itnot so easy to go beyond limitations.We live in a dualistic condition.Everything is limited in our societyand our condition. There is no wayto live beyond limitations. If there isa kind of limitation, there is a reason.When we learn the Dzogchen Teach-ing, we learn why we are limited andwhy limitation is a problem. Thenwe understand how our real condi-tion should be.

Going Beyond Limitations

For example, if you want to gosomewhere you need to have theaddress. If you do not have thataddress it is impossible to get there.In the same way, in the teaching, weneed to know basically what theproblem is. For example, if we areseriously interested to follow theteaching, we cannot learn by goingto the beach to enjoy a holiday for afew days. There is a reason we areinterested in the teaching. We havelimitations and through these limita-tions we have so many problems inour condition. For that reason, wefeel it is necessary to follow a teach-ing or method to overcome theseproblems. Then, of course, we needto know what the main point is andthe main point is that we are learn-ing to be beyond limitations. Dzogchen is everyone’s real condi-tion in the real sense. We do notknow how our real condition is, sowe need a teaching that helps usunderstand how to get in that knowl-edge. That teaching is calledDzogchen. Dzogchen knowledgewas not invented as intellectualknowledge; Dzogchen knowledgecame through its real condition andmanifested. It is very ancient knowl-edge, not something new. The trans-mission of this ancient knowledge iscalled the transmission of theDzogchen Teaching. That is whatwe are following. There are differ-ent ways to experience this knowl-edge because there are differentconditions. Firstly there are the dif-ferent conditions of the individual.If there are ten people, there are tendifferent capacities. If we receive ateaching and the transmission relat-ed to that teaching, we have moreunderstanding. When we say Buddhist teaching wemean the teaching taught by BuddhaShakyamuni. Buddha Shakyamunitransmitted his knowledge of whathe understood and discovered. Hetaught the same way for everybody,but those who received that teachingof Buddha divided it into differentways. When we say the teaching ofBuddha, or Buddhism, within thatthere are different traditions. We say

Sutra and Tantra, forexample, and withinSutra there isMahayana andHinayana. Buddhanever divided theteachings intoMahayana andHinayana. Buddhataught the teachingfor the individual todiscover his or herreal condition.Buddha didn’t teachto form a school orreligion; that was nothis aim. Buddha’saim was that every-one would be able todiscover his or herreal nature throughthe teaching. Whydon’t we discoverour real nature inthat way? We don’tdiscover in that waybecause everyonelives in dualisticvision and has somany limitations.Even if the teachergives a teaching togo beyond limita-tions, we immediate-ly make limitations.When Buddha mani-fested paranirvana, amanifestation of death,the followers ofBuddha’s teachingsimmediately dividedthe teachings intoeighteen differentschools. They did notagree with each other.Why did they dividethe teachings thatway? Buddha did notteach that way andnever limited histeachings to a school.Buddha also taught about goingbeyond the limitation of a school.That is the real teaching of Buddha.People can’t understand that. Nowyou can see what the problem is.

Four Noble Truths

In a very simple way, the first teach-ing of Buddha is Hinayana. In thehistory of Buddhism, in Hinayana,they say that Buddha taught theFour Noble Truths for the first timeto five students in Saranth. Buddhataught the First Noble Truth as theTruth of Suffering. That means thatall sentient beings have suffering. Inthe human condition, for example,first we have the suffering of birthafter nine months in the mother’swomb. There are often many suffer-ings in a lifetime. It is not alwayssmooth. A little later we get old andthere is the suffering of age.Through all our life we have manysufferings of illness. There are somany sufferings and problems inlife. We all have these problems. We look in the ocean and see otherbeings and it looks very nice, full ofcolors with many fish swimmingaround. If you look well, you see allthe bigger fish eating the smallerfish. The fish are always living infear. We hear birds singing and itseems that they are enjoying. Theirlife is hard in the winter, and notonly in winter, but even in summer.It seems very nice, but there aremany bigger birds eating smallerbirds. The small birds are eatingsmall insects. No one is happy.There is always suffering. This isthe real condition of our samsara,

our transmigration. For that reasonBuddha is saying that the nobletruth, the real knowledge, is tounderstand our condition. In general, we are very conditionedby emotions when we are not insidethe suffering. When we are not suf-fering it seems that everything isfine. Take the example of youngpeople falling in love. Young peoplesay how very nice life is becausethey are very much in love. At thatmoment there are no problems.People think they agree on every-thing, have no differing points ofview, etc. In the real sense webecome blind with emotion. We donot see any problems but they slow-ly manifest. In life, for example, somany people get married, separate,get married again, have many chil-dren, the parents separate, etc. Itseems like little animals, but some-times animals feel much better thanhuman beings. We don’t really understand suffer-ing. In the moment when we areenjoying with our emotions we for-get our problems and sufferings. Inthe teachings there is an examplethat when we see something verynice we get attached to that; like amoth to a flame. There are also ani-mals that enjoy music; sometimeshunters play nice music while mov-ing slowly in the forest and the ani-mals hear and enjoy the music andthen the hunter arrives near by andkills the animal. Also a being can bevery attached to smell. Like bees,when they enjoy a flower for a longtime and suddenly the weatherchanges, the flower closes and thebees suffocate and die. There canalso be attachment to taste. For

example, with afish, you see howthey taste some-thing and thensomeone catchesthem. For touch,with our body, wegive the exampleof elephants.When the ele-phants feel veryhot they go intomud and sleepthere and then theold elephants getstuck in the mudand die. In gener-al we enjoy withfive senses; webecome attachedand blind withemotion andsmall pleasureand suffer a lot.We have so manyof these kinds ofsufferings. That iswhy we say trans-migration is just adimension of suf-fering. It is veryimportant that weknow that. Thatknowledge andunderstanding iscalled the NobleTruth ofSuffering. No oneenjoys suffering.So that is howBuddha startedteaching.Buddha did notstart to teach in aphilosophical orintellectual way.No one disagreedwith Buddha andsaid there is nosuffering and wealways enjoy.

Everybody agreed with Buddha.When Buddha asked if people likedto suffer, everyone said no. SoBuddha explained the Second NobleTruth. If you don’t want to sufferthen you must discover the root orbase of suffering. Then we are talk-ing about the Noble Truth of theCause; cause and effect are calledthe famous karma. If we do some-thing good the consequence is good,if we do something bad the fruit isnegative. When Buddha started toteach cause and effect, he made peo-ple understand they must not strug-gle with effect but discover thecause. Buddha taught this 2500years ago. People have still notlearned that. When there is a problem people saythere is a solution in revolution andwe should struggle with that prob-lem. That problem is an effect. Youcannot struggle with an effect. Forthat reason, people struggle witheffect through revolution and theonly conclusion is killing thousandsand thousands of people. Nothingremains in the end, it is always thesame. Only some aspects change -the names of the people who aregoverning, the changing of posi-tions, etc. Politics is only an externalshow and does not really changeanything. Most countries talk aboutthe right and left parties, communistand fascist, accusing and fightingand doing many different kinds ofactions. In the real sense both partiesdo completely the same thing. Thereis not really much sense. It is betterwe are a little more free and discov-er our limitations. Buddha said we could learn what

the cause is through the effect. Weapply a different way of doingsomething, then there is a possibili-ty to change or modify. Buddha saidthat what we did in a past life wecan examine in this life. This life isan effect of a cause we made in thepast life. For that reason, you cansee that even though we are allhuman beings, if there are ten peo-ple, there are ten different condi-tions. We have different classes, dif-ferent families, etc. Sometimesthere are twins in the same familyand when they grow up, their livesare totally different. Even if thecause is something similar, the sec-ondary cause is related with effect.The primary cause we have forbecoming human, for example, ifsomeone is born in Tibet, someonein the West, someone in Africa, iscompletely different. In the Westernworld, small children play withmany small objects and toys frombirth. When I grew up in Tibet and Iwas a small boy, I never had any-thing to play with. So that is the dif-ference, the condition of the econo-my and situation. You see how thesituation is of children in Africa, forexample. The primary cause is thesame because they were bornhuman, but the situation is differentbecause that depends on what wecall karma. We discover that thiscause exists, both good and bad. Wetry to increase good cause and elim-inate negative causes. In that waywe can change and have benefit. Then Buddha taught the ThirdNoble Truth, the Noble Truth ofCessation. That means we stop neg-ative causes. If we don’t create neg-ative causes, there is no negativeconsequence. The Buddha said if wewant to know how we will be in thefuture we examine and observe ourpresent action. We know there aremany negative causes we create, sowe change and stop creating them.In this case Buddha taught what isrelated to our condition of body,speech and mind and which kind ofactions we apply. For not creatingproblems we eliminate those kindsof actions and that is the ThirdNoble Truth. The Fourth Noble Truth is the NobleTruth of the Path, all the differentkinds of paths. There are differentkinds of paths because of the differ-ent kinds of capacities of the indi-vidual. Some people have morecapacity to follow high-level teach-ing; a high level of teaching meansthat you not only receive that teach-ing but you know how to apply it.You know why and how it works. Inthe teaching there are instructions. Ifyou have the capacity to follow theinstructions it means you have thatcapacity. If people do not have thecapacity to follow instructions, itmeans they have only a kind offaith. For example, they can learnsome prayers or mantras. Theychant a mantra like Om mane padmehum and have some benefit. Withthis capacity of mantra obstaclesdiminish. That also means increas-ing clarity and when clarity increas-es one is able to go more into thereal sense of the teaching.

Three Gates

So we can understand that there aredifferent kinds of capacities and thatis why Buddha taught the FourNoble Truths in that way. In theFourth Noble Truth, Buddha mani-fested and taught in a different way.Buddha did not teach only a kind ofrule and one system. For that reason

Ati Longsal Gonpa NgotrodTeaching

Day 1 December 26, 2006

Tashigar South, Argentina

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in Peru

continued on next page

The document published here is an agreement between between Chö-gyal Namkhai Norbu and the Dzogchen Community and Lama Denisand the Sangha Rimay and has been signed by Rinpoche and Lama

Denis. It arose from the fact that Lama Denis and the Sangha Rimay have receivedChögyal Namkhai Norbu and his teachings into their own lineage. Since thiskind of opening up is quite rare, Rinpoche decided to create a connectionbetween the Dzogchen Community and the Sangha Rimay. This connectionis similar to a partnership but much more profound in that it concerns theDzogchen Teaching.Last summer the first meeting was held to start talks with LamaLhoundroup, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, Yeshi Namkhai and Luigi Ottavianiparticipating. Following this, Lama Denis and Rinpoche worked on the textpublished here as an official formal act.In November Yeshi Namkhai and Luigi Ottaviani took the document thathad been signed by Rinpoche to Karmaling, the Sangha Rimay centre inFrance, where Lama Denis signed it.Through these two meetings each of the two communities were able todeepen their knowledge of the other, of the physical as well as organization-al structures, and an exchange of knowledge and instruments was initiatedin order to be able to undertake some projects related to the dharma and toTibetan culture together.

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 3

there are different kinds of teach-ings. We learn in Dzogchen thatteachings are related to the condi-tion of the individual. Everybodyhas three gates. The three gates ofthe individual are the body, voiceand mind. The body means themore material level. For example, ifI see someone is coming and Iknow that person I say, “Oh Georgeis coming”. I say that because I rec-ognize that person. I recognizeGeorge because I see his figuredirectly. That is called body. Ourmaterial level is related to thatwhich is called body. Another thenis called speech or voice. Speechmeans the sound we speak. Soundis related to breath. Breath is relatedto our vital energy. In the DzogchenTeaching, sound is the root of allmanifestations from emptiness. Forthat reason it is called speech andthat is another gate. Then there ismind. Mind is the most importantexistence of the individual. Howcan we understand mind or recog-nize mind? If you think how can werecognize mind, that is mind; it isthe mind that is thinking. Alwaysthoughts arise, and that is calledmind. So these three, body, speechand mind, are the three gates.Everyone has them. They are calledgates because gates are for entering.If you want to enter in the knowl-edge or understanding for discover-ing your real nature, you should gothrough your gates - with bodyspeech and mind you can get in theknowledge. If you want to be freeof samsara and dualistic vision andlimitations, also our three gates arevery important. For example, if you are in jail andyou can’t go outside because thedoor is closed and then one daythey say now you are free, theyopen the door and you can go out-side, in the same way we needbody, speech and mind to be freedfrom transmigration. For that rea-son these three gates are veryimportant for everybody. Theteachings are related to these threegates. People who really have highcapacity can go to the teachingdirectly through the mind, becausethe mind is the most important ofthe three existences. Then peoplewho have medium capacity can gowith voice. That is related to theenergy level. People who have lesscapacity can go through the physi-cal level, the body, for example forsome beings of the bardo, bardomeans after death, there is no phys-ical body, so bardo beings are com-ing and going around here and wedon’t see them. If you see them itmeans you have developed yourcapacity. So you see, for seeing thatfigure you need such capacity.George, who is coming physically,you can see. This is the differencebetween body and speech. Mind ismore essential. If you can go intothe level of mind, that means youhave high capacity. So the teach-ings are transmitted that way. Forexample, Dzogchen Teaching ismore for people with high capacity.Tantrism is medium capacity. Sutrais lower capacity. This is how theteaching is related to the conditionof the individual.

Transcribed and Edited by Naomi Zeitz

JOINT DECLARATIONDZOGCHEN COMMUNITY & SANGHA RIMAY

" DAM DROG "SAMAYA FELLOWSHIP

- ALLIANCE & COOPERATIONS -

The Dzogchen Community and the Sangha Rimay are two Buddhist communities with their own history and theirown specific approach to the teachings. Both acknowledge the essential unity of Buddha Dharma underlying its diversity, thefinal goal being the same for all: the state of Nirvana. Both communities consider the diversity of expressions and themethods of the different lineages as a richness matching the numerous forms of receptivity and sensitivity of beings.

The Dzogchen Community and the Sangha Rimay have a particular relation in the transmission: both following thegreat Dzogchen tradition coming from Garab Dorje and Guru Rinpoche elaborated and diffused later on by the omniscient Longchenpa.

(See in the appendix, the spiritual filiations of both communities)

The heart link between the two communities is particularly strong as they both find a common source of inspirationin the Rimay movement inspired by great Tibetan masters of different lineages: such as Djamyang Kyentsé Wangpo from theSakya school, Jamgœun Kontrul Lodreu Tayé from the Kagyu school or Terchen Chogyur Lingpa from the Nyingmapa school.

Concerning the recent history, Lama Denys Teundroup, inspired by what he saw in Russia, approached ChögyalNamkhai Norbu in the late nineties requesting from him the transmission of the Vajra Dances in order to bring their practicein the Sangha Rimay. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu gave his agreement and a program has been developed in this direction.Moreover, the Sangha Rimay built, with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu's blessing, the Rimay Temple or House of Wisdom, inspiredby the temple of the Great Liberation in Merigar. During the same period, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu was invited three times toteach at Karma Ling Institute. The last time, in spring 2006, Lama Denys Teundroup requested him to teach the NyingthigMapu in order to enhance the connection between the two Sanghas. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu transmitted it to a largeaudience including teachers of the Sangha Rimay.

Therefore, because of all these aforementioned reasons and because of the personal affinities which has developedbetween Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and Lama Denys Teundroup and between the two communities, we are creating a new formof collaboration or cooperative alliance in a more concrete way that is called "Damdrog" (Dam Grogs in Tibetan), which means"Samaya Fellowship". This term express the sacred dimension of the heart link and friendship between the two Sangha.

Concretely, we wish to work together in a balanced reciprocity in all the possible areas of cooperation: transmission,Dharma studies, translation, publishing, humanitarian projects and communication, etc.

Concerning the transmission, the teachings asked from one or the other side can be developed in the other Sanghaunder the authority and the direction of its main teacher, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu or Lama Denys Teundroup. In the differentfields of transmission which are envisioned for this exchange, the teachers of one community can train themselves in theother community until they gain the required qualification. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and Lama Denys Teundroup together, willthen give a final accreditation for the qualified teachers to enable them to teach the discipline in their own Sangha. For theVajra Dances, for example, the project was since the beginning to promote the training of teachers of the Sangha Rimay qualifiedto teach it, finally, in the Sangha Rimay. Today, the same procedure is envisioned for the Yantra Yogas, which are transmittedin both communities.

At the same time we are considering to cooperate and exchange know-how in the fields of Information Technologies(IT), Organisation and Administration.

Understanding that cooperation is stronger than competition, our reciprocal motivation is to help each other inorder to assure the best continuity of the transmission and its integration.

May the Dzogchen community and the Sangha Rimay "Samaya Fellowship" contribute in the most auspicious way tothe spread of a profound understanding of the Dharma in our contemporary world.

SARVA MANGALAM!This document was written by the main teachers of both communities:

For the Dzogchen CommunityChögyal Namkhai Norbu

For the Sangha RimayLama Denys Teundroup

Teaching ChNN continued from previosu page THE DAMDROG (SAMAYA FELLOWSHIP)

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and Lama Denys at Karmaling

Prayer Flags and view at KarmalingStupa at Karmaling

Replica of the Merigar Gonpa at Karmamling

4

PERU RETREAT WITHCHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBUSHINE AND LHAGTONG

January 19-23, 2007Lima Peru

by Charo Verastegui

WHAT DO YOU TEACH, TEACHER OF LIGHT?

Oh Teacher, to what limits doyou take our minds, wherewe not only hear you but you

penetrate our Being in a space of aunique and magical dimension,teaching us beyond words. How canwe be so fortunate? How can yourmercy be so great?We began the retreat in Lima think-ing it could possibly be your finalretreat. Only to say this gives uschills. How could something likethis happen? Can the sun stop com-ing out? What is life without thesun?Led by your kindness, we enter theSuperior School for MountainSurvival, “Esmon”, on the outskirtsof Lima. We all feel at home since itis the third time we have hosted aretreat there. We were two hundredpeople, a big heart beating, with somuch excitement and so manyexpectations. For example, we had finished paint-ing the Mandala for the Dance, acherished wish for fourteen years,commanded by two young artistswho had just arrived to the Sangha.With great natural devotion, it waspainted during Christmas and NewYear’s under the care and persever-ance of our dear Fanny. We had theMandala, the retreat had to happen!How wonderful when the day thatwe had dreamed of arrived.

Rinpoche climbed the stairs, arrivedto the hall; a great silence and thethunder surged forth. What do you teach? Where do yourwords take us? How can youexplain that which cannot beexplained? It sounds so easy, like achildren’s story, so deep, like hear-ing the words chiseled in gold byBuddha himself. Is it really so easy,like this? We are so fortunate! Myheart jumps in my chest and wantsto escape.You talk to us, in your infinite kind-ness, of the essence, of the real rea-son of the search, which does nei-ther limit nor is limited to an intel-lectual inquiry. You celebrate howwell we are working and practicing.We were children being kissed bytheir father. What immense joy tomake you happy!Shine and Lhagtong in theDzogchen way was the theme of theretreat. These are strange names forsome people and you make themeasy to understand and apply byclarifying demystifying wrongbeliefs, picking up again in this lifewhat for sure we had started a longtime ago.There is so much we would like togive you! Our real understanding,now more than ever, living in thesesensitive times when you haveasked us to deeply reflect, andunderstand what it means to collab-orate, what it means to integrate likeone body to protect the Teachings inthe times to come.May the hearts of the practitionersopen like lotuses of light and fromthe mud of their mistakes may theycelebrate in the purity of its color,the glory of seeing you smile again!

Translation by Regina Robles

Mirror: What is the correspondence between the teach-ing and copyright? For example, why can’t we record awebcast and give it to someone who wasn’t there?

Luigi Ottaviani: This is a big question. Firstly, we arenot able to give things to people who have not partici-pated because this is Rinpoche’s wish. If a person waspresent at the webcast, received the transmission, thenthat person can practice. Otherwise it is not possible.This is not something that the Institute decided one day.In general, in a strict sense, copyright has nothing to dowith teachings. Copyright means that it is important topreserve the image of Rinpoche and his teachings. Itmeans that without the copyright anyone could take theteachings and do whatever they want - mix with otherteachings that are not good, put all the teachings in anenvironment that is not completely safe or good for theteachings, or someone could manipulate and use theteachings. It’s a danger for the teaching itself, because itcan be presented in an incorrect way. What copyright means is that we want to protect theoriginal in its correct form. For example, when theInstitute creates a product, we create the best possiblething so that a practitioner can learn the right thing. Wecheck with Rinpoche or with expert people like Adrianoor other Tibetan translators, to make it perfect. Everyproduct is approved by Rinpoche. Otherwise whatwould happen? A person records something saying:“Oh, I do this practice”. But what if he doesn’t know thecontext? For example, when you do practice of theguardians in a wrong way, it can be dangerous. Peopledon’t understand that and they think: “Ok, maybe I’ll doit like this.” Another thing is the unauthorized copyingof materials. That is a danger for the teaching and, inthis sense; the teaching is linked with the Institute. TheInstitute was founded by Rinpoche to spread the Tibetanculture and also to preserve the teaching for the future.This is the main purpose of the Italian branch of theInstitute. The Institute has to preserve the teaching and this is notsuch an easy thing. We need resources to do this. We arenot rich because we are a non-profit organization; wecannot earn money like private businesses. It’s difficultfor non-profit organizations to have income. We sell thisproduct just to survive, not to become rich. What peopledo not understand is that Institute has this important taskto preserve the teachings. The Institute survives on thiskind of product and it has nothing to do with becomingwealthy from the teachings. Therefore, if we are the only ones producing these prod-ucts we can survive. We can also survive offering cours-es about Tibetan culture, like Tibetan medicine, but themain occupation of our staff is archiving. In the futurearchiving will be very important. It’s strange that peopledon’t understand or think that the Institute is so rich thatit can be cheated. They don’t understand why they can’treproduce things. You can do that, but then Rinpoche’swish to have the teachings preserved for the future isdamaged. That is the meaning.

Mirror: But what if people sometimes make copiesbecause they cannot afford them?

LO: We noticed this problem and we are trying to solveit with the price list we asked for from different commu-nities. We would like to adjust pricing according to theregional financial circumstances, because this is a wideproblem. Many practitioners say they would like to havea practice, but can’t afford them, so, for example, theGar makes them a copy and doesn’t care about the rest.(The rest means SSI) But this means the real needs ofCommunity are not understood. If people would say that things cost too much for them,we would talk about it and try to find a solution.Regardless of what they have done in the past, peopleshould say this is a problem for them, they want to learn,and they need help. This is the right thing to do and noone will ever say no. It is an important duty of theInstitute to help preserve and spread the teachings.Otherwise we would be like a closed chest with usefulthings inside. This is useless. So we are trying to solvethis problem. There is no problem when people record webcasts fortheir personal use. The problem is usually when peopletry to make a profit from these things. They duplicatethings. They think it is for the benefit of the Gar, theLing, but that is wrong. In this case, you damage theInstitute. If a person saw the webcast, for example, andwanted to record it for himself, he can. There’s no rulethat says a person has to buy it.

Mirror: And if another person asks that person to ifrecord it for them also?

LO: In small situations, for example, if I want to recorda webcast and I don’t have a voice recorder it’s ok. On

a large scale this becomes unfair, because someone maythink they could buy something from the Institute(which means donating something for the teaching), butsince it’s so easy for them to get a recording, they won’tpurchase it. This is a problem. We know in the recentpast the Gars didn’t understand that and they used torecord things themselves and sell to practitioners. It’sincredible, but that happens. So you just need to under-stand the real value of the thing you are buying. You arenot buying a type of a product like music. You’re notbuying from someone who is rich; we are hardly surviv-ing. Every three to four months we send a report toRinpoche on how things are going, so I have looked atour financial situation lately. We are really just surviv-ing, but people don’t understand that. The important thing is for people to understand that theyare buying something that took a lot of work; it’s notjust a recording as many people think. And the profithelps the teachings survive for the future. This is the realmeaning of the products, not just to buy a CD of music.Then people can understand how they are contributingand participating a little better.

M: Is that also the reason for not recording privatevideos of Rinpoche’s public talks or retreats?

LO: The reason for that is what do people do with thatvideo? People can do what they want. And what hap-pens? I can tell you what happens. I have foundRinpoche’s teachings on a peer-to-peer network andother places on the Internet where you find illegal soft-ware. That’s why we are contacting people and sayingthey are doing something illegal and need to stop.Maybe some people don’t understand this, but they haveto be respectful with the image of Rinpoche. We are oneof the few Buddhist Communities that do the copyrightsystem. We believe it is important. Others don’t care;they can do whatever they want. But we care a lot.When a person wants to interview Rinpoche or publisha transcript of a talk, we check with Rinpoche.Sometimes people ask very strange things that are not soeasy to reply to, and then maybe people would under-stand Rinpoche’s answers in a very strange way. Inmodern society there are some ethical questions. OftenRinpoche says to work with yourself, with the circum-stances. If you ask Rinpoche what he thinks aboutsomething and expect a direct reply, Rinpoche just willnot do it. He doesn’t like that.

YN: Maybe you should call this copyright procedure arespect procedure. For Western Europe copyright isclear. In Eastern and Northern Europe people still don’tunderstand. Every time they see the word “copyright” itmeans, “I have to cheat, I have to copy”, like it’s some-thing bad, like they have to fight against it. This is verybad.

LO: Like “I shouldn’t pay for this!”

YN: This is very bad. Maybe we should call it respectprocedure, give it a double name and it would seemclearer. It’s not the problem about the money; it’s a cul-tural problem. When people see copyright, they do theexact opposite.

LO: It’s like with the word “democracy” insideDzogchen Community. Often people don’t understandthe real meaning in this context and the same with copy-right. We talk about copyright, but it has a differentmeaning in our context. Many times I meet people whowant to do a video interview with Rinpoche and butthey don’t want to sign the copyright agreement thatsays: “Please, when you put this piece in some context,just ask us before if it’s a good context or not”, it doesnot have to do with financial aspects. But they are fear-ful. They say: “My lawyer says this is not true becauseI’m not the owner of the item”. The agreement lets youdo whatever you want if we say: “Ok, it’s in the rightcontext and the right form.” Then you can do whateveryou want. If you want to sell you can sell, we don’t careabout the money, we care about protecting the image.Then people understand that we do it out of respect forRinpoche and his teachings. Then there should be noproblems at all.

Interview by Andrei Besedin for The Mirror

“Respect Procedure”

Excerpt from the interview with Luigi Ottaviani and Yeshi NamkhaiKharkov-Kiev train, 10/23/2006

October 11Leave for Buenos Aires, Argentina

October 12 –19Buenos AiresWeekend of Dzogchen Teaching

October 14Leave for Cordoba, Tashigar Sur,Argentina

November 12 -19 Retreat of Shine and Lhagthongaccording to Dzogchen AtiyogaRestricted Webcast

December 27 – January 3Tashigar Sur RetreatThe teaching will be Longchenpa’sChoszhi Rinchen Phrengwa (TheNecklace of the Four PreciousDharmas)

[Sung Thorbu vol. I P. 247]Open Webcast

2008:Tashigar Sur, ArgentinaJanuary 7-8 Santi Maha SanghaFirst Level ExamJanuary 11-17 Santi Maha SanghaSecond Level Training

January 27Leave for Peru

January 31 – February 4Peruvian Retreat Zer-nga (The Five Crucial Points)

February 6Leave for Tashigar Norte, MargaritaIsland, Venezuela

CHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBUSCHEDULE

MARCH 2007 TO FEBRUARY 2008

ChNN’s schedule continued from page 1

Rinpoche enjoying with retreatants inPeru

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 5

Last spring ASIA’s new office was inaugurated in Xin-ing, the capital of the Tibetan province of Amdo in EastTibet, the province northwest of Qinghai. This initia-

tive arose from the need to have a more systematic monitoringof the growing number of SAD (Long Distance Sponsorship)projects, and, at the same time, guarantee a more active andconstant presence in the area.On one hand it has favored cooperation with local partnerswhile on the other it has supplied a more realistic and up-to-date picture of the local situation, which, in recent years, hasbeen passing through profound and sudden socio-economicchanges. The office will provide ASIA with the instrumentsnecessary for long-term integrated development interven-tions.

An Expatriate in Xining

With the increase in the number of sponsors, the presence of anon-the-spot expatriate will help to guarantee a simpler andmore visible management of projects, shorten the intervals andstrengthen the relationship between the sponsor and the spon-sored student. It will be easier to monitor the nomadic areasduring the year and to sensitize staff at the schools by bringingthose in charge closer to a diverse and distant culture andworld. In the past, the monitoring carried out by ASIA’s staffwas annual, during which time weconcentrated on the more technicalpart of the work (monitoring stu-dents, collecting new reports, updat-ing the school situation), and it leftlittle space for interaction and inte-gration into the situation at theschool and the village. With thepresence of an expatriate in the fieldwe are now able to take part in thelocal situation; the participation ofASIA’s staff at events, activities andceremonies has had a decidedlystronger impact on the local com-munity.

The Continually Changing Situation

In September 2005 the new law concerning compulsory edu-cation became effective, according to which all children ofschool age have to attend school for 9 years (6 years at primaryschool and 3 at middle school) otherwise families have to paya fine. In spite of widespread checks by the central governmentand a campaign by the staff of the schools to make peopleaware of education as a guarantee of a better future for the newgenerations, in some of the remotest areas, these regulationshave been thwarted by families who are still reluctant to sendtheir children to school because it means having to give upmanpower and to face school expenses. In other cases, thelocal situation is far from the administrative centres and still

ruled by tribal laws, which govern the relationship betweenfamily and village.

The schools: centers of aggregation

The monasteries, colleges and schools havealways been centres of social aggregationaround which small commercial activitieshave often sprung up. With the passage oftime, these have given rise to the creation ofurban centers. The schools have also been thepoint of contact between the nomadic andagricultural communities and the central gov-ernment; it is through the scholastic institu-tions that the government addresses the localcommunities.So the importance of the schools really goes beyond the didac-tic-pedagogic sphere because they are also intermediaries forthe spreading of ideas. For this reason ASIA has decided to

invest more and more in these institu-tions, making them also centers forcampaigning to sensitize people toissues regarding theenvironment andhygiene which willhave a strongimpact even on thesatellite communi-ties of the villages.English languagecourses and refresh-er courses onmethodology ofteaching Tibetanlanguage will be

organized in turns at the schools during theyear in order to improve the quality ofteaching.

TESTIMONYA day with Drolkyi and Sonam by Margherita Carbonaro who supports Drolkyi and SonamPalmo

Traveling to meet DrolkyiLast summer I worked teaching English at the school built byASIA in Thanggan, in Qinghai. It was a fantastic experienceand also my first real concrete contact with the Tibetan world.

Having seen with my own eyes what ASIA isdoing in Qinghai convinced me to encourage myparents to adopt a child and to sponsor onemyself. At the moment I live in Beijing and therelative closeness to Qinghai, compared toEurope, meant that this year I didn’t hesitate fora moment to go and meet Drolkyi and SonamPalmo, the two children who we now support.On our arrival in Thanggan, Drokyi, the little girlsponsored by my parents, wasn’t at school yetbecause her adoption had been very recent andthe school year was just starting. So we went topick her up at the house of relatives where shewas living at that time. It was an hour by jeep,across the plateau, which in the middle ofSeptember had already had a sprinkling of firstsnow.Drolkyi is a lovely little girl and I think that thosehours we spent together were like a little party forher, a surprise. I like to remember her smiling andcourageous as she got ready to come with us tostart her life at the new school.

A word that encapsulates what I perceived within her and herrelatives the moment we said goodbye to them on our return to

Thanggan with Drolkyi:trust. And in myself thefeeling that it was right tosupport her and support thattrust at the same time.

The Shala School: A reallyspecial placeA few days later I metSonam Palmo in Shala. Itwas the first time I had beento Shala School, which issituated in a magnificentregion of bare greenplateaus and mountains,

inhabited exclusively by nomads. I had heard of Shala and theway in which the school had been created from the initiative ofthe local community and how it had then been supported andenlarged by ASIA. On my arrival I immediately felt that it real-ly was a special place. Sonam Palmo is a fantastic little girlwith light skin and very blonde hair – in fact she was born albi-

no with a face at times timid and shy, atother times curious, smiling and affection-ate.What was the meeting like with her andthen with her family? After a first momentof shyness, Sonam Palmo was extremelyspontaneous, as if we already knew eachother, I would say. We spent the wholeafternoon with them in the tent whereSonam Palmo’s family live during thewarmer season. And then I saw her again atschool, a little blonde head with a cheekyexpression standing out in the middle ofthe other Tibetan children.With her and with her family just as withDrolkyi, I had the feeling of a relationshipthat had begun and would continue. I willcertainly come back to see them.I would also like to recommend starting

distance support through ASIA to others. What ASIA is doingfor the Tibetan people is important. It is a country in which thespeed and mostly the means of development are threatening alanguage and culture which today, more than ever, it is urgentto safeguard.

AN EXPATRIATE IN AMDO: ASIA’S NEW OFFICE IN XINING

by Federica Grassi Project Manager for education and distance support projects in Tibet

Federica Grassi delivers a letter from a sponsor

Children’s party at the Dongche School, June 2006

Margherita and Sonam

Students at Rigmo school

Margherita with Drolkyi’s family

b o o k r e v i e w

INDIAN ESOTERIC

BUDDHISM: A SOCIAL

HISTORY OF THE

TANTRIC MOVEMENT

BY RONALD M. DAVIDSON

PUBLISHED BY

COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Indian Esoteric Buddhism is adetailed scholarly study of theroots of the Vajrayana tradition in

India. He traces it from its earliestbeginnings in the third and fourthcenturies through its florescence inthe eighth and ninth centuries until

its demise with the Muslin invasionof the twelfth century. He says thatby the years 650 to 700 C.E. the newesoteric tradition was fully formedand during the years up to 1150 theesoteric canon was written. The ear-liest or “proto-tantric” texts werewritten by at least 412 C.E. Thesetexts incorporate images of the Bud-dha sending out light rays that passthrough the body of the mediator topurify both the person doing thevisualization and the world at large.These texts represent the first histor-ical record where the person doingthe meditation visualizes him or herself as a Buddha.The book is a historical and literary

critique that is written from a west-ern academic tradition but one thatreaches deeply into its subject mat-ter much in the tradition of the greatEnglish scholar David Snellgrove.It details the birth of tantricBuddhism out of the Mahayanaschool and deals extensively withthe great Mahasiddhas who wereinstrumental in the transmission oftantra to Tibet. He provides anoverview of the characteristics ofthe Vajrayana or Esoteric traditionthat distinguishes it from the pre-vailing Mahayana view. He pointsout the use of the mandala, thetantric visualizations and mantrarecitation, the proclivity for ritual

performances, the erotic images andpractices, the emphasis on certaindeities, the use of coded language,the tantric feast, the use of specificritual implements, the empower-ments and initiations and, in thegreat saints, the complete disregardof monastic and societal moral stric-tures.He gives a broad sociopolitical pic-ture of medieval India and illustrateshow certain aspects of tantric sym-bolism are based on the politicalarchitecture of the medieval state.He sees this as the apotheosis of thepolitical kingship and the feudaliza-tion of the gods. India was a cul-ture of military opportunism and

consisted of a group of warringstates that were in continual con-tention during these years. Each ofthese small warring states had aroyal court. The greatMahasiddhas into the symbolicstructure of the mandala adopted theway this royal court was structured.He refers to it as “SacralizedFeudalism” with the guru, who rep-resents the deity, in the position ofthe king and the mandala as theroyal palace. All this was trans-posed from the real world to asacred dimension that can beentered in visionary experience.These detailed visualizations arehighly structured with long written

continued on page 7

6

Report of the Translation ProjectCOMPLETE WORKS OF CHÖGYAL NAMKHAI NORBU2006

The aim of the translation project of the international DzogchenCommunity is to make all the Tibetan Teachings of ChögyalNamkhai Norbu available in Western Languages, therefore it is

called “Complete Works of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu”.All of Rinpoche’s texts are written in Tibetan. Not many people in the Westhave the capacity to read and understand Tibetan, and even if they can, mostof them do not have the capacity to understand or to translate Tibetan textsabout Dzogchen. In order to be able to translate these texts in a correct and pre-cise way, a translator really needs to have very special skills.Adriano Clemente, a student of Rinpoche since 1976, is one of these very few peoplewho has such special capacities. Adriano studied Tibetan from 1976 - 1983 at the University of Oriental Studies inNaples under Professor Namkhai Norbu, and started to translate Tibetan Teachings already in 1981. Due to his prac-tice and effort in translations he has become a very qualified translator and therefore Chögyal Namkhai Norbu hasappointed Adriano Clemente to be in charge of the translations of his Teachings and writings in Tibetan. Severalyears ago the international Dzogchen Community has taken over the management of this project and thanks to indi-vidual donations, this important work has been financed up to now.Last year in 2006, we made two magnificent additions to this project: We all appreciate the work of Adriano verymuch and we are aware of the fact that the possibility to read correct translations of Rinpoche’s Teachings is sucha treasure for everybody who wants to follow the Dzogchen Teachings. To assure that from now on Adriano canconcentrate only on his translations, we not only started to offer him a regular monthly payment but also foundeda retirement fund, which guarantees him a small pension when he is 68 years old.All these changes were only possible due to an admirable collaboration of many people and members of the world-wide Dzogchen Community. As the coordinator of this translation project, I really want to thank all donors for theirsupport. Profound understanding, convinced dedication and humble generosity are the columns of this work. Pleaseassist us in our responsibility for the future.Already next month, in February 2007, we can get the latest book, which Adriano translated and edited: ChögyalNamkhai Norbu’s book LONGSAL 7, will be published by Shang Shung Edizioni. This seventh volume of teach-ings from the Longsal cycle contains four Upadesha and the histories of their discovery. These teachings werereceived through dreams over a period of time from 1959 to 2001. This book will be available either directly inMerigar or in the online-shop of the Shang Shung Institute. Further information will be sent out soon.

Thank you for your attention, your understanding and your support. For more information about this project pleasevisit our website.

Many Tashi Delegs and very best wishes,

Oliver LeickCoordinator of Complete Works of Chögyal Namkhai NorbuEmail: office@completeworks.infoWeb: www.completeworks.info

S h a n g S h u n g I n s t i t u t e

Here is the list of donors in 2006:

Chögyal Namkhai NorbuMarco AlmiciTanya AnsghuladzeDavid Sharp BequestRita BizzottoClara BordeuPaolo BrunattoLilianne BusbyUgo CardeaDzogchen Community Austria, RegionsDzogchen Community Austria, ViennaDzogchen Community ChicagoDzogchen Community GermanyDzogchen Community Kundrol-lingDzogchen Community New ZealandDzogchen Community PolandDzogchen Community TsegyalgarDzogchen Community VeneziaDzogchen Community Zen PhelingMiguel Angel CouchonnalJudith L DaughertyGianpiero DessoleShang Shung Edition AustriaThomas EiflerJoanna FaggMark FarringtonGregory ForguesTides FoundationLiz FukushimaAlastair GagerRiccardo GiambarresiFrancesco GracisStefano GuidottiFrances HanGabor HardyEd Hayes, TsagyalgarLarissa KatayevaAndy Kozhushnyy

Viola KrapivinaCarla LanzoniTony LaurentIgor & Anna LegatiGabriele & Oliver LeickOtavia, Roberto & Ciro LillaPeter LincenyiLibor MalyDavid MarshGiovanna MeloneDomenico MercoglianoAngela MijaresRiccardo MoragliaMassimo OrsiGloria PeraDesgue PhillipeJ.S.A. PluggeRicardo RebazaShambavi SarasvatiBernhard SchweizerAndrea SertoliShannon SiegelArtur SkuraGerald SteinbergLynn SutherlandAns SwartThea TamburiniSarah TheissRoberto ZamparoPaola ZamperiniPaola ZingaliGabriela ZollnerRaiffeisenbank Ilz

Training for Translators fromTibetan

An initiative of the inter-national Shang ShungInstitute the Training for

Translators from Tibetan is partof the Ka-ter Translation Pro-ject and started in 2003 andsince the beginning, Elio Guar-isco was entrusted to be the

instructor of the Training. Theaim of this training is to qualify

translators from Tibetan in order togain the ability to translate texts ofwisdom according to the view ofDzogchen. In that way it should beguaranteed that there will be precisetranslations of the sacred texts avail-able in Western languages in thefuture. In order to be able to translate in aqualified way one must have anadequate understanding of theTibetan language, of Tibetan gram-mar and one also must comprehendthe meaning of the text. In the sum-mer 2006, we concluded the firstseries of these trainings, which last-ed four years. In these years a con-siderable number of people (somemore consistently than others) haveparticipated with enthusiasm to thetraining. The texts used as the basisof familiarization with the under-standing of the language rangedfrom modern writings such as“Birth, Living and Death” (writtenby Chögyal Namkhai Norbu); theancient Dzogchen Tantras (Mejungand Kamyam), to Tantric literaryworks such as “Gyalwa Yangonpa’sHidden Explanation of theAdamantine Body”. These fouryears of training have providedsome basis for the comprehensionof the language and the principles oftranslation from Tibetan. In summer2007 there will start the next seriesof trainings for translators fromTibetan. It will take place fromAugust 8 until August 30 2007 atMerigar.

The focus will be to study shorterand more accessible texts that allowan easy grasp of Tibetan linguisticstructure and meanings, as well asto read sources using the terminolo-gy that is widely used in teachingsin our Dzogchen Community.About the coming training ElioGuarisco wrote: one of the texts thatwe will use this summer for thebeginner’s translator’s training iscalled “The Seven Transmissions”(bka’bab bdun ldan). It is a wonder-ful historical work on the life storiesof many Indian Mahasiddhas pro-tagonists of the transmissions ofvarious Tantric teachings:Mahamudra, inner heat, contactwith a real consort, luminous clari-ty, and phase of creation, word tra-dition, and miscellaneous secretinstructions. “The SevenTransmissions” records with preci-sion the lives and amazing feats ofthe masters of these seven transmis-sions.

The text is not too difficult to readand has all the key points of the lan-guage that anyone interested inworking with Tibetan languageneed to know and understand.Moreover, as it is an historical workthat recounts the biographies ofmost extraordinary masters, it isalso very enjoyable and inspiring toread. The author of this text is a spe-cial master known as Taranatha.Born in 1575 A.D. in the place ofthe great descendants of RaLotsava, Kunga Nyingpo?betterknown as Taranatha, is oftenreferred in Tibetan writings asJonang Taranatha or Jetsun

Taranatha of the Jonang school. At ayoung age he was recognized as theincarnation of Jonang KungaDrolchok, an important teacher ofthat school. Jonang is the name of aplace with a lofty Stupa and amonastery about a hundred miles tothe north-west of the famousmonastery of Trashy Lunpo, found-ed by Kunpangpa Thukje Tsondru(1243-1313) as Jonang PhuntsokLing, from which the Jonang, anindependent school of TibetanBuddhist derived its name.

A pronounced enthusiasm for theKalachakra Tanta appears to consti-tute an important part of the prac-tices of this school. Taranatha him-self, a later leader of the school, wasfamous as an author of severalworks on the Kalachakra. Taranathawas a prolific and exceptionalwriter. His works range from reli-gion to history. Well known is hishistory of Buddhism in India thateven nowadays remains a precioussource of information for the Indianhistory. In his writing, Taranathademonstrates an exceptionally inde-pendent and critical mind in expos-ing common Tibetan misconcep-tions about history and religion, his-torical dates, identification of per-sonages etc., which is very rareamong Tibetans and that has simi-larity only with the mind of themore recent great scholar, GendunChopel. Most of Tarantaha’s worksare exegesis on the Tantras, andexceptionally clear manuals ofinstruction. Although an adherent ofthe often considered heretical ‘otheremptiness’ approach to theMadhyamika system, Taranatha didnot write much on philosophy. Hehimself declared that he was moreinterested in writing on liturgicaland contemplative texts, for theirusefulness was more important.Taranatha met his Indian guru,Buddhanatha, on one of his travelsto Tibet, when he was about sixteenand the master seventy-six.Buddhagupta was one of the lastdepositories of many Tantric trans-missions and teachings in India, andhad a vast knowledge of India andsurrounding countries. It wasthrough his knowledge thatTaranatha was able to write hisastonishingly accurate works onhistory. And moreover throughBuddhagupta’s teaching Taranathaacquired a special place in the trans-mission and preservation of theTantric practice in Tibet. Lookingthrough his collected works, it iseasy to see how he recorded themajor teachings on all the mostimportant Tantric tradition andensured their preservation.”Everybody who has a basic knowl-edge of Tibetan Language andGrammar, everybody who can readTibetan and is a member of theShang Shung Institute can partici-pate. If you are interested pleasesend your application and yourshort Curriculum Vitae to the ShangShung Institute, office@ssi-aus-tria.at. For more information aboutthe Ka-ter Translation Project andthe Training for Translators fromTibetan please visit our website.Here you can also support our activ-ities by sending a donation.

Thank you very much for you sup-port and understanding,

Oliver Leick

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 7

Welcome, Greta!SSI/USA

The Shang Shung Institute ofAmerica is delighted toannounce that Greta Williamshas just joined its “ranks” as itsAdministrative Assistant inConway, Massachusetts. Gretabrings to us not only over sixyears of experience as anadministrative assistant andoperations manager for newlydeveloping companies withdomestic and international pres-ence. She also brings her back-ground in Eastern medicine, asa practicing acupuncturist inMassachusetts incorporatingJapanese and Chinese treatmentstyles, to her new role. Greta has previously studiedwith Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo as astudent in Kunye Massage andhas been a student of TibetanBuddhism and Dzogchen. Weknow that Greta is looking for-ward to collaborating with Dr.Phuntsog Wangmo, ShangShung Institute, and SSI’sTibetan Medicine students inmanifesting its vision, and we atthe SSI/USA board, as well asthe International Shang ShungInstitute team, are thrilled tohave successfully concludedour first hire ever for such aposition here at Conway.Welcome, Greta, and alsothanks to all of you who haveapplied and helped in thisprocess!

Paola ZamperiniPresident SSI/USA

texts spelling out exactly what to see and say.These were vigorously practiced in isolated med-itation retreats and in cemeteries and carnalgrounds.His main premise is that the esoteric practitioner,“configures his practice through the metaphor ofbecoming the overlord of a mandala...and reflectsthe political and social models in the surroundingfeudal society.” He presents a detailed analysisof the military and political background of earlymedieval India. He contends that esotericBuddhism was an “idealization of the universalconqueror...to recast kingship into a form ofdivinity” and in this process the divinities werereformulated in the image of royalty. Just as theKing becomes divine when he is coronated so theesoteric practitioner becomes the Buddha throughinitiation, empowerment and visualization. Justas the King rules over his kingdom the Buddhistpractitioner gains domination over phenomenalexistence. This imitation of the feudal systemspiritually subverted its goals and transformedthe humble practitioner into the lord of the phe-nomenal world. He shows how the Buddhistabhiseka or initiation is, “exactly analogous to theinvestiture of a prince”.Out of this came a new variety of Buddhist saint,the Mahasiddha and from their inspirationemerged an institutional esotericism where themonks in the monasteries began to adopt themodes of practice and ideation embodied in thescriptural sadhanas written in an amazing burst ofliterary creativity in the years 500 to 800 C.E. Inthis literature and in the visualizations embodiedin this literature the guiding metaphor is the trans-formation of the practitioner into the UniversalRuler. Out of this came a new canon with fresh-ly minted consecration rites and initiations.In this way the political paradigm of the time wassacrilized and subverted from its political importin the real world into a powerful symbol of spiri-tual transformation. In attempting to trace thishistorically he uses, “surviving documents, epig-raphy and modern tribal ethnography”. Headmits that this search for origins in religious his-

tory is a difficult subject because of the “elusive,difficult, incomplete and highly charged” natureof the available documentation, much of it hagio-graphic and highly suspect as reliable historicaldata.He demonstrates how the tantric tradition had itsroots deep in the Buddhist literary history andthat even in the earliest Pali canon much of thescriptures were visionary in nature with the scrip-tural message attributed to some divine person-age or else delivered by the Buddha in the godrealms. Then later in the Mahayana scriptures,in order to give the writings scriptural authentici-ty, they had to be attributed either to the Buddhaor to one of the Buddhist deities. In this fashionthe Buddha to the nagas who eventually deliveredit to Nagarjuna entrusted the famousPrajnaparamita. Others were hidden in smallcaskets or buried in the element of space until thehistorical moment when the Buddha releasedthemHe does occasionally interrupt the scholarlydemeanor of the text with a story taken from thehagiography of the siddhas. In one of these hereports a story about Virupa, one of the foundersof the esoteric tradition, who was widely knownfor his drinking. He describes one occasionwhen Virupa and his companion went into a localbar. The bar maid was somewhat reluctant toserve these disreputable holy men without someguarantee of payment. So Virupa showed her aray of sunlight falling across the table where hewas sitting and promised that when the sunreached a certain point on the table he would payfor all their drinks. This reassured the proprietorwho proceeded to pour their drinks. When thesun began to approach the point that Virupawould have to pay up he took out his knife andstuck it in the table right on the leading edge ofthe sunlight and nailed the sunlight to the table.At this point all the sundials and water clocks inthe kingdom stopped. After a while everyonebecame exhausted and dazed. Soon wordreached the King himself and upon inquiry hewent to the bar where Virupa was happily drink-

ing and the King personally paid the tab.This book makes a highly valuable contributionto the study of Buddhism in India and to the birthof esoteric Buddhism. The principles and prac-tices of esoteric Buddhism have survived forthousands of years and have had the viability tomove from country to country and are still beingmaintained and past down to new generations ofpractitioners all around the world. This kind ofscholarly analysis lays the groundwork for a farmore comprehensive understanding of the histo-ry and development of esoteric Buddhism andprovides a much-needed historical perspective onthe Vajrayana tradition as it impacts the westernworld.

Review by J. M. White91 Vantrease RoadBrush Creek, TN 38547

Book Review continued from page 5

Dear worldwide DzogchenCommunity and supportersof the Shang Shung Insti-

tute,

As the person in charge of the Ka-ter Translation Project, which wasfounded by Chögyal NamkhaiNorbu in 2004, I want to thank allof you who have given financialsupport to this important activity ofthe international Shang ShungInstitute up to now. Thanks to thehelp of 144 donations that wereceived in 2006 we were able tocontinue with our projects anddevelop them even further. I justwant to mention a few importantpoints:

- Our three main translators - ElioGuarisco, Adriano Clemente andJim Valby - were able to meet twiceover periods of several weeks tocontinue their translation work.They have been working on thetranslation of two very largeDzogchen Tantras over the last twoyears now.

- After a three-year period of trans-lating and correcting the text, thefirst product of our translation work- the book “On Birth, Life andDeath” - was finally published inJune 2006.

- In summer 2006 the first 4 yeartraining for translators from Tibetanconcluded successfully and morethan 15 translators from all over theworld profited from that uniqueopportunity to become qualifiedtranslators for Dzogchen texts.

- In late autumn 2006 we finallymanaged to set up a system of aretirement fund for our three trans-lators, so that it is guaranteed thatthey will get at least a small pensionwhen they are 68 years old.

All these achievements were onlypossible due to your generous sup-port.Thank you so much for recognizingthe importance of our work forfuture generations as well.Many activities of the Ka-terTranslation Project are planned for2007, here are some examples:

- In February the next issue of‘Teachings, Longsal 7’, will be pub-lished.

- Elio, Adriano and Jim are meetingagain in February/March inMargarita to continue their collec-tive work.

- The new training for translatorsfrom Tibetan will start in summer2007 in Merigar.

- Hopefully the first DzogchenTantra, translated by our translators,will be published in the second halfof this year.

The Ka-ter Translation Project isone of the major activities of theinternational Shang Shung Instituteand each of our projects is equallyimportant. All initiatives and activi-ties of the Shang Shung Institute arequite cost-intensive and for this rea-son we would like to ask you foryour support again. Through our on-line shop we havenew beautiful statues of theMedicine Buddha, which we wouldgratefully like to offer you inexchange for your donation. Wewould also like to remind you aboutthe Ka-ter Donation Package andthe Ka-ter Retirement Package.On our website you can read aboutour various activities and see theways in which you can support ourwork.Many Tashi Delegs,Oliver LeickProject Manager of the Ka-terTranslation Project www.ssi-aus-tria.at

Here is the list of donors in 2006:Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Alberth Lydia, AustriaAldrian Michael, AustriaAlonso Marisa, ArgentinaAndghuladze Tanya USAAnneco Blanson Henkemans,NetherlandsAnonymous donation AustraliaAnonymous donation Great BritainBarilli Pia, ItalyBarry Paula, USABaj Lucilla, U.K. Barker Ivan, AustraliaBebie Per, SwitzerlandBerli Didier, SwitzerlandBertin Rosalinde, CanadaBoni Giovanni, ItalyBraud Catherine, FranceBurduzha Violeta, RussiaCastle Helen, AustraliaChukov Ivan, RussiaClewley JonathanCoronas Ita, Great BritainDaugherty Judy, USAde Jonge Sebastian, AustraliaDessole Gianpiero, ItalyDzogchen Community BrazilDzogchen Community FranceDzogchen Community Milano ItalyDzogchen Community ViennaAustriaDzogchen Community GermanyDzogchen Community Germany &AustriaDzogchen Community Pelzomling,MexicoDzogchen Community RussiaElejalde Patricia, PeruEifler Thomas, GermanyFranck Dorothea, NetherlandsFrey Patrick, GermanyFriend Rosemary, Caymen IslandsGahartian Jérôme, FranceGalea Kevin, ItalyGaultier Lorrine, FranceGettler Alfred, AustriaGiacalone Beppe, ItalyGloess UweGolden Jan, IrelandGould Bob, AustraliaHaberkorn Lisa, AustriaHannah James, USAHarding Elaine, Australia

Hean Than LeeIdley Carey, AustraliaJoseph Paul, New ZealandKarlinska Milena, PolandKeutz Michaela, AustriaKing-Salter Julian, AustraliaKosicky Sveto, SlovakiaKrapivina Viola, LatviaKukk Alar, EstoniaLandsman Martin, NetherlandsLeick Gabriele & Oliver, AustriaLilly Simon & Sue, Great BritainLinczenyi Peter & Gabika, SlovakiaLMC Ltd., Czech RepublicLukianovic Andy, EnglandMagafurov Igor, RussiaMarkovic Radomir, SerbiaMatsiburskiy Igor, RussiaMatvejev Viktor, LatviaMc Donald Georgia, AustraliaMelone Giavanna, ItalyMoseley Erica, USAMusli CaterineNeve Sheila, U.K. Nixdorf Joseph, USANopp Alfred, AustriaNorden Paul, USANovgorodtsev AlekseyO’Kelly Carisa, USAOrel ArtemPappone Paolo, ItalyPeddi Stephan, AustriaPickering Ann, FrancePollack Alex, IsraelPollard Alexander, South AfricaPons Ruiz Romy, SpainPopova-Danjat Natalia, FranceQuintero Mercedes, MexicoRera Gloria, ItalyRotbard Yael, IsrealSaletu Karoline, AustriaSalvatore Michele, ItalySands Angela, AustraliaSands Meg, AustraliaScalzo David, USAScholz Michael, GermanySchuetzinger Gerhard, IrelandSchuster Ulli, AustriaSertoli Andrea, USASidoli Laura, ItalySilvermann JacobShimura Nami, USASkura Artur, PolandSteff Sandra Lynn, New Zealand

Stehr Mareike, GermanySterman Andrew, USAStorch Christian, GermanySuppanz Frajo, AustriaSutherland Lynn, USASpitaler Jörg, AustriaStone-Belic Ellen, USASveto Kosicky, SlovakiaTides Foundation, USAThibeau CynthiaTyshing J M, AustraliaTrojer Stefan, ItalyValli Elidia, ItalyVan Deuberg Francois, NetherlandsVitiello Gino, ItalyWalker John, USAWinter Claudia, GermanyWhite Peter, Great BritainWong Chee, SingaporeWood Merle Hawaii, USAWylie Rowan, U.K. Zamparo Roberto, ItalyZarina Liga, Latvia

Ka-Ter Update

Medicine Buddha

8

Saving the Gonpa at Merigarby Liz Granger

Last summer, during the two big retreats at Merigar,Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche spoke on several occa-sions about the urgent situation of the land corro-

sion of the hill the Merigar Gonpa is on. He wanted tobring the situation to the immediate attention of theDzogchen Community with the aim of getting financialsupport from members to finance the work to halt theincreasing land corrosion andstabilize the area around theGonpa.Merigar’s Temple of GreatLiberation was built on the top ofa hill bordering on a suddensteep drop into a small woodwhich is the area for personalretreats and contains three retreathuts as well as Rinpoche’s ownretreat cabin and further downthe Master’s residence,Gadeling. For some time the cliffwall and the land above it hadbeen deteriorating due to rainfalland the dense undergrowth thatwas cracking the rock cliff andfor this reason there was animmediate danger to the Gonpaas well as to all the buildingsbelow it.An appeal went out over thesummer particularly on the partof Chögyal Namkhai Norbu to raise money for theambitious structural work that was necessary to save thecliff and the area behind the Gonpa. The Master himselfgenerously dedicated many fantastic prizes from hisown personal belongings to various raffles that wereheld to raise funds for the difficult work of shoring upthe hill.

Thanks to Rinpoche’s efforts and the generous partici-pation and donations from many members of theCommunity, the amount required for the project wasfinally reached and in the autumn the work team swunginto action. On Rinpoche’s advice a ‘serkyem’ and‘sang’ ritual was done at the end of October before start-ing the project in order to harmonize the elements andpacify local guardians and other beings so that they

would not create obstacles. The project was not a simple one. It involved workingalong the length of the cliff face where it was impossi-ble to erect scaffolding. The trees and bushes growing

on the cliff had to be removedalong with their roots and theroot holes had to be filled withcement to prevent re-growth.The task could only be carriedout by some members of theteam hanging suspended inharnesses from the top of thecliff while they worked on thecliff face. The work force wasled by Migmar with the collab-oration of Angelo Petrosinowho taught the team the freeclimbing techniques they need-ed for the job.Besides the difficult work car-ried out on the cliff, the areadirectly behind the Gonpa hadto be reinforced, enlarged andpaved in stone slabs then havea high protective railing inbeaten iron erected the lengthof it. Since the trees and bush-

es have all been removed, there is now an unobstructedview right across the valley to the hills. When you arrivethere, the effect is surprising and breathtaking at thesame time. The absence of trees and bushes reveal justhow steep the drop into the wood is and one can seewhat a painstaking and laborious work has been done toprevent further corrosion and make the area more spa-

cious. In fact the new area is big enough to contain aportable Vajra Dance Mandala so that during the sum-mer months Dancers will be able to use a Mandala out-side the Gonpa as well as one inside.The work continued smoothly throughout the winterand was helped by the season being particularly mild,

without the usual snowstormsand icy winds. It has now beenconcluded successfully and thefinal touches are being given. With the completion of the mostimmediate work, energies aredirected to other building activi-ties in the basement under theGonpa. At the moment work hasstarted to create a new storeroomwhere the portable DanceMandala and many other thingscan be kept. The entire plumbingsystem below the Gonpa is beingrenovated, tubes are beingchanged and new ones put in, anew fire alarm system is beingset up, and, most importantly,two large water tanks are beinginstalled to hold extra water sup-plies in the summer when thereis a greater need for large quanti-

ties of water during big retreats. When this work is finished the team will start to reno-vate the retreat huts in the little wood. There is threeretreats huts in the wooded area below the Gonpa thatare available to practitioners: two for normal retreatsand one for dark retreat. Meritorious and sustainingmembers have free use of them and can book a person-al retreat by phoning the secretary.

C O M M U N I T Y N E W SI N T E R N A T I O N A L

merigar westMerigar West

Arcidosso 58031GR Italy

Tel: 39 0564 966837Fax: 39 0564 968110

Email:merigaroffice@tiscalinet.itWebsite: www.dzogchen.it

MERIGAR WESTCALENDAR OF EVENTS 2007

GENERAL PROGRAM

In case of any changes to the current calendar, we suggest checking ourwebsite – www.dzogchen.it - from time to time for confirmation of thecourses. The Tibetan letter A in this program indicates events that are par-ticularly suited to those who are approaching the Dzogchen Teaching for thefirst time. We would like to remind those who are genuinely interested thatit is indispensable to meet the Master. This can take place by following oneof his Teaching Retreats or by participating in one of the Worldwide DirectTransmission days.

MARCHMarch 30-April 5, 2007 (A)Chögyal Namkhai NorbuAudio/Video Webcast - Santi Maha Sangha Base Retreat Tashigar North, Margarita(open webcast)

APRILApril 6-9, 2007 EASTERPractice retreat on Contemplation and Yantra Yogawith Fabio Risolo, Laura Evangelisti, Tiziana GottardiThe retreat will be held according to the instructions of Master ChögyalNamkhai Norbu on how to organize practice retreatsThe retreat starts on Friday April 6 at 16.00Cost: 150 euro (with discounts for members)

April 21-22, 2007Explanation & practice on the Base of the Santi Maha Sanghawith Fabio RisoloTopic: The Precious Vase, Chapter II (from 3.2.7. to the end)The course starts on Saturday April 21 at 10.00Cost: 60 euro (with discounts for members)

April 25-29, 2007Jñanadakini practice retreat with explanationsand Dance of the Song of the Vajra (advanced students)with Prima MaiThe retreat starts on Wednesday April 25 at 16.00 and finishes on SundayApril 29 at 13.00Maximum number of participants: 11(6 for the male part and 5 for the female part)Cost: 200 euro (with discounts for members)

April 29-May 1, 2007Chöd practice retreat with explanationsWith Nina RobinsonThe retreat starts on Sunday April 29 at 16.00Cost: 60 euro (with discounts for members)

MAYMay 4-6, 2007 (A)Dance of the 6 Spaces of Samantabhadra CourseWith Maurizio MingottiOpen to everyoneThe course starts on Friday May 4 at 16.00Cost: 90 euro (with discounts for members)

May 25-27, 2007Yantra Yoga course for advanced students(4th series of Yantra and Pranayama)with Laura EvangelistiThe course starts on Friday May 25 at 16.00Cost: 120 euro (with discounts for members)

JUNEJune 16-17, 2007Explanation and practice of the Base of the SMSwith Costantino AlbiniTopic: The Precious Vase, Chapters III and IV (up to and including 5.5.)The course starts on Saturday June 16 at 10.00Cost: 60 euro (with discounts for members)

June 22-24, 2007Dance of the Three Vajras CourseRegular and irregular formWith Maurizio Mingotti

View of Rinpoche's retreat cabin and the cliff face from the wood

New open area behind the Gonpa

The work team

continued on next page

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 9

BORN:Jakub Zeman was born to Romana and Radim Zemanovion December 8, 2006 in the Czech Republic. He is veryactive, healthy and always smiling.

MARRIED:Michael & Ximo were married in Barcelona Spain on February 6, 2007.

VAJRA DANCE AND MANDARAVA INAUSTRIA

VAJRA DANCE COURSE OF THE THREE VAJRAS AND OF

THE SIX SPACES OF SAMANTABHADRA

WITH KARIN HEINEMANN

Vienna, AustriaVD of the Three Vajras: April 5, 6pm - April 7, 1pmVD of the Six Space of Samantabhadra: April 7, 3pm –April 9, 6pmCosts: 110 euros each course with the usual discounts200 euros with the usual discount for both coursesFor registration and further information please contactMonika Köllbichler, Phone: +43-(0)1-983 80 29, email:dzogchen.wien@gmx.at

MANDARAVA - PRACTICE AND EXPLANATION RETREAT

WITH NINA ROBINSON

Gutenstein, AustriaMay 24,5pm - May 28, 3pmCosts: 190 euros with the usual discounts.For registration and further information please contactElisha Koppensteiner, Phone: +43/(0)699/11 96 47 06, email: dzogchen.wien@gmx.at

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

C O M M U N I T Y N E W S

New Gakyil ZhenphenlingRome, Italy

BLUE:Christiane RheinEmail: c.rhein@libero.itTel: ++39 06 3701065 Cell ++39 348 7361563

Sergio QuarantaEmail: csquaranta@libero.itTel: ++39 06 6554218 Cell: ++39 333 6092454

YELLOWAngela TripaldiEmail: angela.tripaldi@gmail.comCell: ++39 340 2236619

Alessandra BuraliEmail: buraliale@gmail.comCell: ++39 347 6526153

REDGabriella DalesioEmail: gdalesio@tiscali.itTel: ++39 06 7096079

Monica FormichettiEmail: monicaformichetti@hotmail.comCell: ++39 333 2121907

We remind you to consult our website www.zhenphen-ling.it to get any information about the activities atZhenphenling. For any requests you can contact theGakyil at this email address: posta@zhenphenling.it

Best regardsZhenphenling Gakyil

ACCOMMODATION SERVICE AT MERIGAR

INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE WHO INTEND TO COME TO MERIGAR FORRETREATS OR TO FOLLOW COURSES

If you are looking for accommodation, airport transfer, local car hire or only logistic assis-tance, you can contact the following information and reservation service:

Accommodation Service

(Information available in English, German, French and Italian) Information service andreservation of accommodation during retreats, local transport, & logistic solutions:

Christina von GeispitzheimEmail: accomodationservice@libero.it

Tel: 0039 0564 957542Mobile phone: 0039 339 1370739

We cooperate with local hotels, family pensions, residences, agriturismo, Community mem-bers who have rooms or houses to rent or sublet. Also we can advise on car rental (at airportsor locally), on the best itinerary and time tables of trains and buses, and we have now a circuitof residents who offer various useful services like transfer from the airports, local taxi service,

translations, baby sitting, etc.

europeWeekend at ZhenphenlingDzogchen Community in Rome

March 30 and April 1st, 2007“EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT: HOW TO CONSULT THE TIBETAN CALEN-DAR”Predictions, symbols and cycles in your personalhorizonswith Maria Rita Leti10.30-12.30 am and 15-17 pmPrice: 60 euros (with discounts for members of theDzogchen Community)For information and admission by March 26th, pleasecontact: Christiane 348-7361563, 063701065c.rhein@libero.it

p a s s a g e sp a s s a g e s

The course starts on Friday June 22 at 16.00Cost: 90 euro (with discounts for members)

JULYJuly 1-7, 2007Mandarava practice retreat with explanations combined withThe Dance of the Song of the VajraWith Nina Robinson and a Vajra Dance teacher(participants in the Dance of the Song of the Vajra should know the stepsand register for the course)The retreat starts on Sunday July 1 at 10.00Cost: 200 euro (with discounts for members)

July 9-15, 2007Mandarava Tsalung practice retreat combined with Yantra YogaWith Elio Guarisco and Laura EvangelistiThe retreat starts on Monday July 9 at 16.00Cost: 200 euro (with discounts for members)

July 14-22, 2007Chögyal Namkhai Norbu - Audio/video webcast Shine and Lhagthong according to Dzogchen Ati YogaMerigar East, Romania(closed webcast)The retreats starts on Saturday July 14

July 28-29, 2007Explanation and practice of the Base of the SMSwith Fabio RisoloTopic: the Precious Vase, Chapter IV (from 6. to the end)The course starts on Saturday July 21 at 10.00Cost: 60 euro (with discounts for members)

AUGUSTAugust 2-6, 2007Tsalung of the Seltong practice retreat with explanationsWith Elio GuariscoThe course starts on Saturday August 2 at 16.00Cost: 150 euro (with discounts for members)

August 7-12, 2007Dance of the Song of the Vajra course for beginners (Part 1)With Rita RenziThe course starts on Tuesday August 7 at 10.00Cost: 180 euro (with discounts for members)

August 13-19, 2007Meditation practice retreat with explanationsCombined with Yantra Yoga and Vajra Dancewith Costantino Albini, Fabio Risolo and Yantra Yoga and Vajra DanceteachersThe retreat starts on Monday August 13 at 10.00Cost: 250 euro (with discounts for members)

August 20-23, 2007Teachers’ Training for the Breathing Course With Fabio AndricoThe course is limited to a maximum of 9 participantsCost: 160 euro (no discounts)

August 24-31, 2007Yantra Yoga Teachers’ Training (1st level)With Laura Evangelisti and Fabio AndricoThe course starts on Friday August 24 at 16.00Cost: 320 euro

SEPTEMBERSeptember 1-3, 2007Course on breathing and KumbhakaWith Fabio AndricoThe course starts on Saturday September 1 at 10.00Cost: 120 euro (with discounts for members)

September 7-13, 2007 (A)Chögyal Namkhai Norbu - Teaching retreat Paltrul Rinpoche’s Dzogchen Man ngag ‘Odsal Nangcha (The Upadesha on the Vision of the Clear Light) (Paltrul Kabum, vol IV, p. 687) (closed webcast)

Merigar Program con’t. from previous page

con’t on page 18

10

2ND MONTH, 6TH DAY

SAT. MARCH 24, 2007

This is an important day for the prac-tice of Ekajati, so try to do a Long orMedium Thun in the usual way, recit-ing the heart mantra of Ekajati asmany times as possible.

2ND MONTH, 10TH DAY

WED. MARCH 28, 2007

This is a special day of GuruPadmasambhava, the day on whichthe king Sahora tried to burn him aliveand when he transformed the fire intoa lake, so try to perform a Ganapujacollectively, but if that is not possibledo the long-life practice UniversalWisdom Union.

2ND MONTH, 12TH DAY

FRI. MARCH 30, 2007

This is the anniversary of JetsunDragpa Gyaltsen (1147-1216), one ofthe first great Masters of the Sakyapatradition, so try to do the Akar LamaiNaljor, the Guruyoga of the White A.

2ND MONTH, 15TH DAY

MON. APRIL 2, 2007

FULL MOON. This is one of the bestdays for doing the long-life practice ofGuru Amitayus, with a Ganapuja ifpossible. Try to do it collectively or, ifthat is not possible, alone.

2ND MONTH, 20TH DAY

SAT. APRIL 7, 2007

This is the anniversary of the greatDzogchen Master Do Gyaltsen YesheDorje (born 1800), a disciple of thefirst Dodrubchen Rinpoche and a mas-ter of Nyagla Padma Dundul. It istherefore a good day to do Akar LamaiNaljor, the Guruyoga with the WhiteA.

2ND MONTH, 25TH DAY

THU. APRIL 12, 2007

This is a Dakini day so try to do aGanapuja with your Vajra brothers andsisters or if that is not possible, aMedium Thun, either collectively oralone.

2ND MONTH, 30TH DAY

TUE. APRIL 17, 2007

DARK MOON. On this day, which isthe anniversary of the great TertonLoter Wangpo, try to do the AkarLamai Naljor, Guruyoga of the WhiteA with the Master Garab Dorje eithercollectively or alone, with a Ganapujaif possible.

3RD MONTH, 4TH DAY

SAT. APRIL 21, 2007

This is an important day for the prac-tice of Ekajati, so try to do a Long orMedium Thun in the usual way, recit-ing the heart mantra of Ekajati asmany times as possible.

3RD MONTH, 10TH DAY

THU. APRIL 26, 2007

This is a special day of GuruPadmasambhava. Those who havereceived transmission should do aGuruyoga with Padmasambhava withthe long-life mantra and a Ganapujaas we usually do, otherwise you cando the long-life practice “UniversalWisdom Union”. If it is possible, thebest time to do the Guruyoga andlong-life practice is in the morning

between 7 and 8. You can do theGanapuja later in the afternoon. Usually the best way to do theGanapuja and the Guruyoga is collec-tively, with your Vajra brothers andsisters, but if this is not possible youcan always do this practice alonewhen you have time. The importantthing is to try to communicate with allpractitioners linked to the same trans-mission so that you can develop thepotentiality of the transmission thatyou have received and through it yourunderstanding and capacity to inte-grate your daily life in the state of con-templation.Those who have not received thetransmission of the Thun practice canlearn it from other practitioners andthen receive the transmission whenthere is the opportunity. Otherwise onthis day those who have not receivedtransmission of the Thun practice cando a purification practice with breath-ing and Yantra Yoga exercises andmovements or practices linked to con-trolling the prana.

3RD MONTH, 15TH DAY

WED. MAY 2, 2007

FULL MOON. This is one of the bestdays for long-life practices and in par-ticular for the practice of the “Unionof Primordial Essences”. It is best todo it early in the morning between 7and 8am if you can but if this isn’tpossible you can do it in the afternoonor even in the evening when you arenot busy.Today is also the anniversary of theKalachakra, the day when BuddhaSakyamuni first gave the teaching ofKalachakra so it is good to do aGanapuja or Long Thun in the eveningeither collectively or alone.

3RD MONTH, 25TH DAY

SAT. MAY 12, 2007

Today is a Dakini day. It is also theanniversary of the Fifth Dalai Lama, agreat terton and practitioner ofDzogchen so it is a very beneficial dayto reinforce the function of our energyand create a more vital contact withthe energy of the universe. If you havethe possibility, it is good to do aGuruyoga of the White A in the morn-ing and in the evening a Ganapujawith an intensive practice of Ekajati,repeating the heart mantra as manytimes as possible. Otherwise you cando the Medium Thun with the practiceof Ekajati, repeating the heart mantraas much as possible. The best time forthis practice is around 8 in theevening.

3RD MONTH, 30TH DAY

WED. MAY 16, 2007

NEW MOON. This month the 29th

day is missing. Today is the anniver-sary of Sangyas Lingpa (1340-1396) agreat terton and Dzogchen master.You can do a Guruyoga of the White Afrom the cycle of teachings UniversalClarity with a Ganapuja. It is also agood day to do the Purification of theSix Loka.

4TH MONTH, 6TH AND 8TH DAYS

MAY 22 & 24, 2007

These are important days for the prac-tice of Ekajati so try to do a Long orMedium Thun with your Vajra broth-ers and sisters. If that is not possibleyou can do the Medium Thun alone,reciting the heart mantra of Ekajati asmany times as possible.

4TH MONTH, 7TH DAY

WED. MAY 23, 2007

This is the anniversary of the birth ofBuddha Shakyamuni, an importantday for all Buddhists, so try to aGanapuja with your Vajra brothers andsisters.

4TH MONTH, 10TH DAY

SAT. MAY 26, 2007

Today is the day of GuruPadmasambhava. In general you cando the practice of the Guruyoga ofPadmasambhava on this day. If youhave the possibility and enough timeyou can do a collective Ganapuja withyour Vajra brothers and sisters other-wise you can do the long-life practice“Union of Primordial Essences”.

4TH MONTH, 15TH DAY

THU. MAY 31, 2007

FULL MOON. This is the anniver-sary of the Paranirvana of BuddhaSakyamuni as well as an importantday for the long-life practice “Cycleof Life’s Vajra”. Therefore if you can,do the practice of the DakiniMandarava in the morning (the besttime is between 7 and 8 am) and a col-lective Ganapuja in the afternoon orevening according to your possibili-ties.

4TH MONTH, 25TH DAY

SUN. JUNE 10, 2007

Today is Dakini day. It is also theanniversary of Ngor Chen (a greatmaster of the Shakyapa tradition andinitiator of the Ngor lineage), there-fore it is a good day to do theGuruyoga of the White A, Akar LamaiNaljor, collectively or alone.

4TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

FRI. JUNE 15, 2007

NEW MOON. Today is the anniver-sary of Nyagla Padma Dundul (1816-1872), one of the Masters of Chang-chub Dorje and the main Master ofNamkhai Norbu Rinpoche. He discov-ered the Terma “Tsedrub Gongdu”which two of his disciples, AyuKhandro and Changchub Dorje, trans-mitted to Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche.Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche practisedthis method as much as possible andstarted to transmit it to his studentsafter visiting the sacred cave atMaratika. Therefore try to do the long-life practice “Union of PrimordialEssences” in the morning. In the after-noon or evening you can do theGuruyoga of the White A, Akar LamaiNaljor, collectively or alone, with aGanapuja if possible.

5TH MONTH, 1ST DAY

SAT. JUNE 16, 2007

This is the anniversary of ChogyurLingpa (1829-1870) a NyingmapaMaster of Dzogchen, one of the threemost important Rimed masters of the19th century. Try to do a practice ofthe Guruyoga of the White A, AkarLamai Naljor.

5TH MONTH, 10TH DAY MON. JUNE

25, 2007

Today is a special day of GuruPadmasambhava. In general you cando the Guruyoga of Padmasambhavapractice on this day. If you can, try todo a Ganapuja collectively with yourVajra brothers and sisters, otherwiseyou can do the long-life practice“Union of Primordial Essences”.

5TH MONTH, 14TH DAY

FRI. JUNE 29, 2007

This is an important day for thepractice of Ekajati, so try to doa Long or Medium Thuncollectively or alone, recit-ing the heart mantra ofEkajati as many times aspossible.

5TH MONTH, 15TH DAY

SAT. JUNE 30, 2007

FULL MOON. This isa special day for thelong-life practice ofAmitayus, so you can dothe Longlife practice“Union of PrimordialEssences”. The best momentto do it is between 7 and 8 in themorning, if possible, either collec-tively or alone. If you can, try to aGanapuja as well.It is also the Dzamling Chisang (Lit.‘smoke puja of the world in general’)so if you know how to do it, you cando the Sanqod (Sangchod) in themorning.

5TH MONTH, 24TH DAY

MON. JULY 9, 2007

This month there is no 25th day sotoday is Dakini day as well as animportant day for the practice ofEkajati, so try to do a Ganapuja or along Thun collectively with your Vajrabrothers and sisters, or a MediumThun alone. In either case recite theheart mantra of Ekajati as many timesas possible.

5TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

SAT. JULY 14, 2007

NEW MOON. This is a day forpurification practices. It is best to dothe Purification of the Six Lokas eithercollectively or alone, preferably in theearly morning. Otherwise you can doa Medium or Short Thun or aGanapuja.

6TH MONTH, 4TH DAY

WED. JULY 18, 2007

This is the anniversary of theDharmachakra (the first turning of theWheel of the Dharma): the first timethat Buddha Shakyamuni gave theteaching of the Four Noble Truths tohis disciples at Sarnath, after his illu-mination. To honour the Lord Buddhaon this special day you can do aGanapuja with your Vajra brothers andsisters.

6TH MONTH, 10TH DAY

TUE. JULY 24, 2007

Today is the anniversary of the birth ofPadmasambhava. On this day when itis 8 am in Oddiyana ChögyalNamkhai Norbu will give the trans-mission of Guruyoga with the specificpractice linked to the anniversary ofPadmasambhava. In this way thetransmission will be live because thetransmission has no distance.Rinpoche will transmit and through-out the world people who do the prac-tice at the same moment will be in thetransmission and will thus receive thetransmission. (In Italy, this practicewill be done at 5 am.)It is also the anniversary of YesheTsogyal, the main consort and discipleof Padmasambhava so it will be bene-ficial to do a Guruyoga ofPadmasambhava with the longlifemantra and a Ganapuja as we usually

do,o t h e r -wise you cando the longlife practice“Union of Universal Wisdom”.

SEE THE GLOBAL TIMETABLE

6TH MONTH, 14TH DAY

SAT. JULY 28, 2007

This is the anniversary of the ThirdKarmapa, Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339), a disciple of Rigdzin ChenpoKumaradza and a famous master ofDzogchen Upadesa. On this day it isgood to do Akar Lamai Naljor,Guruyoga with the White A, collec-tively or alone.

6TH MONTH, 15TH DAY

MON. JULY 30, 2007

FULL MOON. This is the anniver-sary of Gampopa, the main disciple ofMilarepa, founder of the Kagyupaschool and author or “The PreciousOrnament of Liberation”. It is, there-fore, an excellent day to do AkarLamai Naljor, the Guruyoga with theWhite A. It is also good to do thelonglife practice “Union of PrimordialEssences” of Guru Amitayus and, ifpossible, a Ganapuja.

6TH MONTH, 25TH DAY

WED. AUGUST 8, 2007

This is a Dakini day, so it is a positiveday for reinforcing the function of ourenergy and creating a vital contactwith the energy of the universe bydoing a Ganapuja with our Vajra sis-ters and brothers. If there are no otherpractitioners nearby you can do aMedium Thun on your own. In eithercase, when you transform into theDakini Simhamuka, recite her heartmantra as many times as possible.

6TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

SUN. AUGUST 12, 2007

NEW MOON. This is a very impor-tant day to do purification practices,especially the “Purification of the SixLokas”. If you have the chance, youcan also do a Short or Medium Thunor a Ganapuja, collectively or alone.

7TH MONTH, 9TH DAY

WED. AUGUST 22, 2007

This is an important day for the prac-tice of Ekajati.

SPECIAL PRACTICE CALENDAR FO

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 11

7TH MONTH, 10TH DAY

THU. AUGUST 23, 2007

It is a special day of GuruPadmasambhava as well as theanniversary of Jomo Menmo (1248-1283), a famous yogini, terton andreincarnation of Yeshe Tsogyal andconsort of the terton Guru Chowang.Therefore it is an ideal day to do Akar Lamai Naljor, the Guruyoga ofthe White A, and a Ganapuja, if youhave the possibility.

7TH MONTH, 15TH DAY

TUE. AUGUST 28, 2007

FULL MOON AND PARTIALLUNAR ECLIPSE. This is theanniversary of Tsarchen Losal Gyatsoand Padma Karpo, a famous 17th cen-tury Drugpa Kargyupa Master.Therefore it is an excellent day to dothe longlife practice of the DakiniMandarava, “Cycle of Life’s Vajra”,with a Ganapuja if possible as well asAkar Lamai Naljor, the Guruyoga ofthe White A collectively with yourVajra brothers and sisters or alone.

7TH MONTH 19TH DAY

SAT. SEPT.1, 2007

This is an important day for the prac-tice of Ekajati, so try to do a Long orMedium Thun in the usual way, recit-ing the heart mantra of Ekajati asmany times as possible.

7TH MONTH, 25TH DAY

THU. SEPT. 6, 2007

This is a Dakini day and also theanniversary of Phagmo Drugpa (1110-1170), the chief disciple of Gampopa.Try to do a Ganapuja together withyour Vajra sisters and brothers. If thereare no other practitioners nearby, youcan do a medium Thun on your own.In either case, when you transformyourself into the Dakini Simhamuka,recite her heart mantra as much aspossible and then do an intensive prac-tice of Ekajati.

7TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

TUE. SEPT. 11, 2007

DARK MOON. This day is ideal forpurification practices. Try to do eitherthe Purification of the Six Lokas or theNamchos Shitroi Naljyor, the Yoga ofthe Peaceful and WrathfulManifestations, either collectively oron your own. Try to do a Ganapuja aswell, if possible.

8TH MONTH, 10TH DAY

FRI. SEPT. 21, 2007

This is a special day of GuruPadmasambhava, therefore

you can do the Guruyoga ofPadmasambhava. If you

have time and the possi-bility you can do aGanapuja with theGuruyoga and thelong-life practice ofGuruP a d m a s a m b h a v atogether with yourVajra brothers and sis-

ters. Otherwise you cando the long-life practice

“Universal WisdomUnion”.

8TH MONTH, 15TH DAY

WED. SEPT. 26, 2007

FULL MOON. This is an importantday to do the long-life practice ofAmitayus, “Union of PrimordialEssences”. It is best to do it early inthe morning and a Ganapuja in theevening.

8TH MONTH, 19TH DAY

SUN. SEPT. 30, 2007

This is an important day for the prac-tice of Ekajati, so try to do a LongThun with your Vajra brothers and sis-ters, or if that is not possible, you cando a Medium Thun alone reciting theheart mantra of Ekajati as many timesas possible.

8TH MONTH, 25TH DAY

FRI. OCT. 5, 2007

This is a Dakini day and also theanniversary of two great Dzogchenmasters, Rigzin Kumaraja, who trans-mitted the Dzogchen teachings toLongchenpa and to the third Karmapa,and of Rigzin Tsewang Norbu (1698-1755), a great Dzogchen master of theNyingmapa school. It is therefore anexcellent day to do Akar LamaiNaljor, the Guruyoga with the WhiteA. If you can do it in the morning, thatis best. Then, if you have the time, youcan do a Medium or Long Thun laterin the day, with an intense practice ofSimhamuka, or a Ganapuja, if youhave the possibility.

8TH MONTH, 27TH DAY

SUN. OCT. 7, 2007

This is an important day for the prac-tice of Ekajati, so try to do a LongThun with your Vajra brothers and sis-ters, or if that is not possible, you cando a Medium Thun alone reciting theheart mantra of Ekajati as many timesas possible.

8TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

THU. OCT. 11, 2007

DARK MOON. This day is excellentfor practising the “Purification of theSix Lokas” if you know how to do it.Otherwise you can do the Medium orLong Thun or a Ganapuja.

9TH MONTH, 3RD DAY

SUN. OCT. 14, 2007

This is the anniversary of RigdzinJigmed Lingpa (1729-1798), a greatDzogchen master who was the authorof many books, among which is theLongchen Nyingthig, which he wroteafter having contact with Longchenpathrough visions. Therefore, on thisimportant day, you should try to do

Akar Lamai Naljor, the Guruyogawith the White A.

9TH MONTH, 10TH DAY

SUN. OCT. 21, 2007

This is a special day of GuruPadmasambhava. It is also theanniversary of the 16th GyalwangKarmapa and of Tertön Sogyal, a pre-vious reincarnation of SogyalRinpoche and discoverer of manyterma. It is therefore a good day to dothe long-life practice of GuruPadmasambhava “Universal WisdomUnion”, which is included in theMedium or Long Thun. You can dothis in the usual way or, if you havethe possibility, you can do it with aGanapuja.9TH MONTH, 15TH DAY

FRI. OCT. 26, 2007

FULL MOON. This is a day of theBuddha and a good day to do the long-life practice of Amitayus, “Union ofPrimordial Essences”, either collec-tively or individually according toyour possibilities, in the morning andin the evening a Ganapuja.

9TH MONTH, 22ND DAY

THU. NOV. 1, 2007

This day is the important celebrationof Buddha Shakyamuni’s descent toearth from the realm of the Divinities.It is called “Lhabab Tuchen”, theGreat Time of the Descent of theDivinities. It is an ideal day to do aGanapuja with your Vajra brothers andsisters. If there are none nearby, youcan do a Short or Medium Thun onyour own.

9TH MONTH, 25TH DAY

SUN. NOV. 4, 2007

The 25th is a Dakini day and also theanniversary of the great DzogchenMaster Adzam Drugpa (1842-1924), aprevious reincarnation of ChögyalNamkhai Norbu. He was a disciple ofJamyang Khyentse Wangpo and amaster of great masters such asChangchub Dorje and Ayu Khandro.Therefore, when it is 7 pm in EastTibet on this day, Chögyal NamkhaiNorbu will give the transmission ofGuruyoga with the specific practicelinked to the anniversary of AdzomDrugpa. In this way the transmissionwill be live because the transmissionhas no distance. Rinpoche will trans-mit and throughout the world peoplewho do the practice at the samemoment will be in the transmissionand will thus receive the transmission.This practice should be done at theappointed time together with yourVajra brothers and sisters or, if that isnot possible, alone. (In Italy, this prac-tice will be done at 1 pm.)

SEE THE GLOBAL TIMETABLE

9TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

FRI. NOV. 9, 2007

DARK MOON. This is a good day todo Namcho Shitroi Naljor, the Yoga ofthe Peaceful and WrathfulManifestations, in the morning. It isalso an important day for the practiceof Ekajati, so try to do a Long orMedium Thun, reciting the heartmantra of Ekajati as many times aspossible.

10TH MONTH, 9TH DAY

MON. NOV. 19, 2007

This month there is no 10th day sotoday is a special day of Guru

Padmasambhava, the day on which hearrived in central Tibet. It is consid-ered that on this day, at the end of the8th century, King Songtsen Gampo,the ancient king of Dharma, vanisheddissolving into a statue ofAvalokiteshvara. Therefore it is goodto do the Guruyoga ofPadmasambhava with the long-lifemantra and a Ganapuja. Otherwiseyou can do the long-life practice“Universal Wisdom Union”. If it ispossible, the best moment to do theGuruyoga is early in the morningbetween 7 and 8. You can do theGanapuja later in the afternoon.

10TH MONTH, 11TH DAY

TUE. NOV. 20, 2007

This is an important day for the prac-tice of Ekajati.

10TH MONTH, 15TH DAY

SAT. NOV. 24, 2007

FULL MOON. This day is consid-ered to be the day to honour the LordBuddha in general, and it is one of thebest days to do the long-life Practicewith the Dakini Mandarava in particu-lar. Generally the best moment to dothis kind of practice is between 7 and8 in the morning but if you don’t havethis possibility, then do it in the after-noon or later in the evening when youare free. It is also a good day to do aGanapuja.

10TH MONTH, 25TH DAY

TUE. DEC. 4, 2007

Today is a Dakini day and the anniver-sary of Tsongkhapa (1357-1491), whomade a synthesis of the previousschools and founded the Gelugpaschool. It is a very beneficial day forreinforcing the energy of the universe,so try to perform a Ganapuja withyour Vajra brothers and sisters. If thereare no other practitioners nearby youcan do the Medium Thun on yourown, transforming into the DakiniSimhamuka and reciting the heartmantra as many times as possible.

10TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

SUN.DEC. 9, 2007

DARK MOON. This is an excellentday to do purification practice so try todo the Purification of the Six Lokasand a Ganapuja in the evening.

11TH MONTH, 8TH DAY

MON. DEC. 17, 2007

This is a special day for doing thepractice of Ekajati so try to do a LongThun, collectively or alone, recitingthe heart mantra as many times as pos-sible.

11TH MONTH, 10TH DAY

WED. DEC. 19, 2007

This is a special day of GuruPadmasambhava called PadmaGyalpo: it is the day on which hearrived in the capital of Oddiyana andbecame prince to King Idrabhodi.Therefore it is an excellent day to dothe Guruyoga of Padmasambhavawith a Ganapuja.

11TH MONTH, 14TH DAY

SUN. DEC. 23, 2007

FULL MOON. This month there isno 15th day so today it is important totry to do the long-life practice of GuruAmitayus, Union of PrimordialEssences, in the usual way, and, if pos-sible, a Ganapuja.

11TH MONTH, 25TH DAY

WED. JAN. 2, 2008

This is a day of the Dakinis in general,so if you have the opportunity practisea collective Ganapuja, with the trans-formation of the Dakini Simhamuka,and recite her heart mantra as manytimes as possible. Otherwise you cando a Medium Thun either collectivelyor personally.

11TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

TUE. JAN. 8, 2008

DARK MOON. This is an excellentday to do purification practice so try todo the Purification of the Six Lokasand a Ganapuja in the evening.

12TH MONTH,10TH DAY

THU. JAN. 17, 2008

This day is the anniversary of GuruPadmasambhava’s coronation asPrince of Orgyen at the invitation ofKing Idrabhodi. We can perform aGanapuja collectively or do the long-life practice, “Universal WisdomUnion” either collectively or personal-ly, according to circumstances.

12TH MONTH,11TH DAY

FRI. JAN. 18, 2008

This is a good day to do a Medium orLong Thun with an intensive practiceof the mantra of Ekajati.

12TH MONTH, 15TH DAY

TUE. JAN. 22, 2008

FULL MOON. This is in general aday for honouring the Lord Buddha,and in particular an ideal day for theLonglife practice of Guru Amitayus,“Union of Primordial Essences”. Ifpossible try to do a collectiveGanapuja with your Vajra brothers andsisters in the evening.

12TH MONTH, 18TH DAY

FRI. JAN. 25, 2008

This is the anniversary of the greatDzogchen master Longchen Rabjam(Longchenpa, 1306-1363). On thisvery important day try to do theGuruyoga Akar Lamai Naljor,Guruyoga with the White A, eithercollectively or personally.

12TH MONTH, 25TH DAY

FRI. FEB. 1, 2008

Dakini Day. This is very positive dayfor reinforcing your energy and creat-ing a stronger contact with the energyof the universe so try to do a collectiveGanapuja with your Vajra brothers andsisters. If that is not possible, try to doa Medium Thun alone. In either caserecite the heart mantra of Ekajati asmany times as possible.

12TH MONTH, 30TH DAY

WED. FEB. 6, 2008

Today is the last day of the Fire Boaryear. It is a special day for purificationpractices so try to do “Purification ofthe Six Lokas” as much as possible.You should also try to do a Ganapujawith your Vajra brothers and sisters.

TIBETAN NEW YEAR EARTH MOUSE

[see Global Timetable page 19]

OR THE FIRE BOAR YEAR 2007–2008

12

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

C O M M U N I T Y N E W SNEW CENTER IN VILNIUS, LITHUANIA

We are happy to announce that our Community purchased a 50 sqm.prem-ises in the center of Vilnius, which will be used as our Dharma center infuture. Our gratitude to Master for his kind advice!

Also the Lithuanian Dzogchen community would like to inform that com-munity email has been changed to <dzogchen.lt@gmail.com>.

All the best,Gakyil of Dorjeling

MANDARAVA CHÜDLENWITH NINA ROBINSONAPRIL 15 – 22, 2007LITHUANIA

The Lithuanian Dzogchen community is happy to announce a MandaravaChüdlen Retreat with Nina Robinson, April 15 – 22, 2007. The retreat willbe held in English with translation to Russian language.

Location: 70 km north of Vilnius, nearby Moletai. It is nice area withlakes around. We will cook ourselves or meals will be prepared. Chüdlenpills will probably be available.

Cost: 50 EUR, lodging cost 5 EUR in rooms with 2 or 3 places.If someone wishes more comfortable accommodations, there are nicehotels within10-15.

For registration and additional info please write to<dzogchen.lt@gmail.com>.

P.S. The retreat would be free for someone (only lodging and food costs)who could translate from English to Russian,

Best wishes,Gakyil of Dorjeling

N E W A U S T R I A N G A K Y I L:

GAKYIL VIENNA:

Red: Walter CamerloherBlue: Elisha KoppensteinerYellow: Monika KoellbichlerEmail: <dzogchen.wien@gmx.at>

Contact person: Elisha Koppensteiner

GAKYIL REGIONS:

Red: Monica Wittib <monicawittib@hotmail.comBlue: Franz KatzmayerYellow: Oliver Leick <dzogchen@aon.at>

International contact person: Oliver Leick

K U N S E L L I N GEVENTS SCHEDULEUKMARCH - AUGUST2007

Below is the schedule of eventsat Kunselling until August2007. We hope that many of youwill take the opportunity toexperience this wonderfulretreat space.We would also like to encouragepractitioners to undertake per-sonal retreats at Kunselling. Forthis reason we have reduced theprice of personal retreats to ?5(€8) per night.

KUNSELLING EVENTS

March 24 - 31: Karma yoga withGarab Dorje practice led by DesBarry

April 1-7: 2nd half of Dance ofVajra with Stoffelina Verdonk

May 4 - 7: Yantra Yoga, begin-ners course at Kunselling withJohn Renshaw.

May 25 -28: Dance of theLiberation of Six Spaces withCindy Faulkner

June 1 – 14: Personal retreattime (self-organized)

June 16 & 17: AGM weekendwith fund-raising therapy/heal-ing event. AGM – 11am-1pm on Sun 17th

June 30 – July 1: Creative writ-ing workshop with Des Barry

July 7: Open day for local peo-ple (possibly with a demonstra-tion of the Dance of theLiberation of the Six Lokas).

July 30 – August 5: Week ofDance retreat & practice

August 10 - 19: Karma yogawith Chöd and Sang practice ledby Judy Allen & Julia Lawless

August 24 - 27: Yantra Yogaretreat at Kunselling with JohnRenshaw (with emphasis onkumbhaka).

If you would like to view somepictures to get an idea of what itis like here, have a look at these

links:http://www.dzogchencommuni-

ty.org/kunselling/http://www.flickr.com/photos/barryp3uk/sets/72057594076338906/

CHÖD, THE ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLE OFA DZOGCHEN PRACTITIONER’S CONDUCTRETREAT WITH SASHA (ALEXANDER) PUBANTSAPRIL 6 -10, 2007BERLIN/GERMANY

The practice of Chöd originates from the enlightened Tibetan YoginiMachig Labdrön. This is a profound path of realization through ‘cuttingof the ego’. It incorporates in essential way all kinds of practices of Sutra,Tantra and Dzogchen. The inner attitude of the practice is called trul shug,‘heroic effort’. This is one of the important behavior aspects of theDzogchen path. In this retreat we go thoroughly through our text of thepraxis, we learn the deep meanings of the words as also the way of visu-alization. Furthermore, we train the correct way of singing and of usingdamaru and bell. Several times a day we do the practice of Chöd in itslong, short or essential form.

Questions and registration: Sasha Pubants or Barbara Schwesig(0911/2774389, 0170/9147532, barbaschwe@web.de)Place: Bodhicharya Deutschland e.V., Kinzigstraße 25-29, 10247 Berlin

Fees: Payments until March 23rd have discount!Ordinary members: 115 Euro with discount, later 144 EuroReduced members: 72 Euro with discount, later 90 EuroSustaining members: 28 Euro with discount, later 36 EuroIf you cancel the booking after the March 23rd the process fee of 35Euro will be retained.

Bank account: Dzogchen Gemeinschaft Deutschland e.V., StadtsparkasseDüsseldorf IBAN: DE40 3005 0110 0011 0478 91 SWIFT-BIC: DUSS-DEDDXXX, note: “Chöd”

TWO VAJRA DANCE COURSES IN THE UKSPRING 2007

DANCE OF THE VAJRA (SECOND HALF) WITH STOFFELINA VERDONKSUNDAY APRIL 1ST - SATURDAY 7TH 2007AT KUNSELLING RETREAT CENTRE, POWYS, WALES, UK

In the Dzogchen Teaching sound and movement are very importantbecause they are the means to integrate oneself into the state of contem-plation. The Vajra Dance is principally a means to harmonize the energyof each individual. If one has a more profound knowledge of the meaningof the Dance, it becomes a method for integrating the three existences ofbody, voice and mind into knowledge of the state of contemplation. Thisintegration is one of the most important aims of a Dzogchen practitioner.The Vajra Dance is practiced on a Mandala that represents the correspon-dence between the internal dimension of the individual and the outerdimension of the world. This course is open to those who already knowthe first part of the Dance of the Vajra.This is a fantastic opportunity to learn or brush up on your practice of the

Vajra Dance under the precise and patient guidance of Stoffelina, whoseretreats are always such a joyful occasion.

Cost of the course £150 with membership reductions (see below).Accommodation at Kunselling with food £20 per day.Deposit Please send £25 non-refundable deposit, checks made out toDzogchen Community UK, to Rowan Wylie, 29 Almoners Avenue,Cambridge CB1 8NZ.Enquiries by e-mail or 01223 473 528

THE DANCE OF THE LIBERATIONOF THE SIX SPACES OF SAMANTABHADRALED BY CINDY FAULKNER

At Kunselling May 25th-28th.Open to all who are genuinely interested in the Teaching even if they havenot yet received transmission from the Master.

Cost £120 with membership reductionsAccommodation as above.Deposit £20 to above address.

YANTRA YOGA ADVANCED COURSE WITH LAURA EVANGELISTIIN FRANCEAPRIL 28- MAY 1, 2007

The course will focus on the Third Series of Yantras and Pranayama andpeople who would like to participate should have a good basic knowledgeof Yantra Yoga practice.Yantra Yoga or the Yoga of Movement is an ancient system of Tibetanyoga based on the text The Union of the Sun and the Moon, written in the8th century by the master and translator Vairocana. Chögyal NamkhaiNorbu wrote a detailed commentary on the root text and started to trans-mit this teaching in the West at the beginning of the seventies.Yantra Yoga is a fundamental method to integrate the profound essence ofthe Dzogchen Teaching in the three doors (body, voice and mind) of thepractitioner. Through positions and movements combined with breathingone’s energy is coordinated and harmonized, so as to let the mind relaxand find the authentic balance that is the basis for getting into contempla-tion.The course will take place in Déjam Ling (South of France nearMontpellier).If you are interested please send us your name and e-mail address andspecify that kind of membership you have at the Dzogchen Community.

Course fees:160 euros ORDINARY MEMBERS100 euros LOW BUDGET MEMBERS30 euros SUPPORTING & MERITORIOUS MEMBERS

Lodging fees:7 euros per night – six people dormitory (Déjam Ling)

Meal fee:Approximately 12 Euros per day

The course starts the April 28, 2007 at 10 a.m. and ends the 1st of May at3 p.m.

Please send your application to:Lorraine GAULTIEREmail: lorraine.gaultier@wanadoo.fr

BORN:Anna Rudneva and Mikhail Kislichenko are happy to announce that theirlittle son, Miroslav, was born into our world on the 16th of December 2006in Moscow, Russia.

NEW GAKYILSWITZERLAND

YELLOW

Charles Sarasin, Thalwil

BLUE

Tony Lehnherr, Zürich

RED

Per Bebié, Zürich

p a s s a g e s

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 13

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

C O M M U N I T Y N E W SNew Gakyil in The Netherlands

Mala Kubiliute Bluemalachiuk@yahoo.comDaiva Razmarataite Bluetrolio_blaxtiena@yahoo.comAgniezska Kubiszowski Redmashiroi@gmail.comLarissa Katayeva Yellowkatayeva@hotmail.comVera Taihuttu Secretaryinfo@dzogchen.nl

New Israeli Gakyil

Blue Alex Polak polakalex@hotmail.comYellowChana Sorek hsorek@netvision.net.ilRedGisele Gordon ggordon@zahav.net.il

Shalom,From the Dzogchen Community of Israel

tsegyalgar eastDCA Tsegyalgar East

PO Box 277Conway, MA 01341 USA

Tel: 413 369 4153Fax & Bookstore 413 369 4473

Email: secretary@tsegyalgar.orgWebsite: www.tsegyalgar.org

The Tsegyalgar East 2007 Gakyil

Yellow:Jim Trucano-Harp DirectorDeepak Ramachandran Treasurer[1 vacancy waiting to be filled

Red:John Foster SecretaryKathy CullenMonica Neff

Blue:Matt Hayat Vice DirectorJenny FoxSam Truitt

Tsegyalgar East 2007 Retreat Schedule (throughAugust)

Practice Retreats:April 14-15 Green Tara Practice Weekend

May 11-13 Dance of Song of the Vajra Retreat/Review Course withAnastasia McGhee

May 25-27 Yantra Yoga with Paula Barry: First & Second Series

June 8-10 Purification of 6 Lokas Practice Weekend

July 27-31 The Vajra Dance of the Six Spaces of Samantabhadra withBodhi Krause (open to the public)

August 3-6 & 8-11 Santi Maha Sangha Base Level Training with JimValby; Vajra Dance with Bodhi Krause; and Yantra Yoga with instructorsTBA.

August 13-16 & 18-21 Santi Maha Sangha Level 1 Training withJimValby; Vajra Dance with Bodhi Krause; and Yantra Yoga with instruc-tors TBA.

Weekly Practices:

Collective Practices: Sundays, 9:30am,Vajra Dance: Sundays, 11am,Bagchen: Sundays, 4pm, Yantra Yoga: Mondays, 5:45pm, NorthamptonYantra Yoga: Tuesdays, 6pm Sang Puja: Wednesdays, 6:30am VajraDance: Thursdays, 7pm Vajra Dance: Fridays, 9am

Please contact the Tsegyalgar Secretary for details, accommodations andmore information @ Tel: 413 369 4153; Email:secretary@tsegyalgar.org; Fax: 413 369 4473.

Lodging at the Tsegyalgar Schoolhouse: 1. Arrival and departure: Airportpick-up from Bradley is $20 Bus pick-up from Northampton is $10 2.Dorm is $10/night for members, $25/ night non-members. Please call toreserve a space. Contact us about bed and breakfasts in the area. 4. Wearrange half hour to an hour of karma yoga daily during your stay. 3. Foodcan be arranged when reserving bed prior to arrival. Breakfast is $3 to $5Lunch is $5 to $7 Dinner is $5 to $

(Sliding scale depends on ingredients and person’s funds and eatinghabits. There is a kitchen with possible fridge and stove access.) For moreinformation about staying at the Schoolhouse contact Leela atgeko@tsegyalgar.org.

p a s s a g e s

BORN:Kacper Mikolaj Borkiewicz wasborn on December 2, 2006 atCambridge Hospital, MA, USAto Rafael and Dorota Borkiewicz.

Introductory Course in the

Vajra Dance of The Six Spacesof Samantabhadra

taught by Bodhi Krause, CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR

In the Dzogchen Teaching sound and movement are veryimportant because they are the means to integrate oneself intothe state of contemplation. The Vajra Dance is principally ameans to harmonize the energy of each individual. If one has amore profound knowledge of the meaning of the Dance, itbecomes a method for integrating the three existences ofbody, voice, and mind into the knowledge of the state ofcontemplation. This integration is one of the most importantaims of a Dzogchen practitioner. The Vajra Dance is practiced ona Mandala, which represents the correspondence between theinternal dimension of the individual and the outer dimensionof the world.

July 27 - 31, 2007at Tsegyalgar East

18 Schoolhouse Road, Conway, MAFri, Mon, Tues, 7-9 pm • Sat, Sun, 10-12 and 3-5 • $140To register: 413-369-4153 or secretary@tsegyalgar.org

This is a sacred dance received and taught by the Dzogchen Master, NamkhaiNorbu, Rinpoche, to his students in the Dzogchen Community. He has givenhis permission to teach this dance. Please go to www.tsegyalgar.org to learnmore about his teachings.

DIED:Batodalai Dugarov 1946 - 2007

On January 27, 2007 the wellknown artist and extraordinarypractitioner, the founder of theDzogchen Community of Buryatia,Batodalai Dugarov, passed awayafter a short illness.Batodalai Dugarov was born in1946 into the family of a Buryatlama, Geshe Gutap Dugarov, whosemain practices were Chöd andSinghamukha. This lama came froman aristocratic Buryatian familywith a long history of practitionersand outstanding Buryatian politi-cians.When Batodalai was three yearsold, his father was arrested by theCommunists and shot, and as aresult his mother played the mainrole in bringing him up. From anearly age Batodalai was drawn to adeep faith in the Three Jewels anddoing kind deeds. I remember myGrandmother would often tell mehow, when he was two, my fatherwould spontaneously recite the longprayer to Green Tara by LamaChodpa and the long refuge prayer.He also knew the mantra Om ManiPadme Hum and Tara mantra.While at play with other children hewould always tell them he was alama, give them blessings and con-struct stupas, statues of Buddha andmonasteries from the sand. These,no doubt, were all signs that hewould become a practitioner.At the age of sixteen he joined thearmy (compulsory conscription)where he was made a member of theCommunist Party as his qualities asa talented and honest person wererecognised. On completing his mili-tary service, Batodalai worked inhis home town of Kizhinga for thelocal communist organization, whooffered him a career. It was duringthis time, in the sixties, that he metthe renowned Buryatian teacherBidiya Dandaron who was a rein-carnation of Zhayagsa Gegen, thefounder of the Lavran (blab rang)monastery in Tibet, which has veryclose ties with Tsongkhapa. As aresult of this meeting, Batodalai leftthe Communist Party and practisedBuddhism. He mainly practisedYamantaka, which was his mainpractice until he met ChögyalNamkhai Norbu in 1992.All of this took place under theCommunist regime, therefore theKGB arrested Batodalai and his firstteacher Bidiya Dandaron, and soBatodalai spent many years inprison. After leaving prison,Batodalai had no fixed work until1985 and so mainly made a livingpainting thankas for Buryatianlamas and the Ivolginskiymonastery (in Ulaan-Ude). He alsostudied with the remaining oldBuryatian lamas, learning the intri-cacies of Buddhist art and receivinginitiations from them.In 1990/91Batodalai chanced uponthe book ‘Talks in Conway’ and thisbecame a crucial point in his life.Batodalai decided that, come whatmay, he must meet with ChögyalNamkhai Norbu and become hisstudent. (My father often said thatreading that book was like meetingRinpoche himself.)And so it was that after the collapseof the Communist regime whenNorbu Rinpoche flew to Lithuaniain 1992, Batodalai travelled to meethim. The meeting took place at theairport and Batodalai attended thatfirst retreat in the former Soviet

Union. He immediately invitedRinpoche to Buryatia. ThusNamkhai Norbu Rinpoche’s firstvisit to Buryatia was organized inthe summer of 1992 on the shores ofLake Baikal. It was then that thefirst Dzogchen Community ofBuryatia was founded. In 1992/93,Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche invitedBatodalai and his eldest son, Zorik,to paint the inside of the MerigarGonpa.In 1994 Batodalai organizedRinpoche’s second retreat inBuryatia, this time in the city ofUlaan-Ude, as well as a retreat inUlaan-Baatar, Mongolia. My fatherrequested Rinpoche to give theempowerment of Vajra Kilaya atthat time as he felt that practitionerswould really need it. In response,Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpochegave the empowerment of GuruDragphur first in Mongolia and thenin Buryatia. Since then Rinpochehas often given the transmission ofGuru Dragphur in many places.In 1995 Batodalai and Zorik estab-lished a retreat center and a gonpa inthe Kizhinga region, in the sameplace as his father’s monastery hadstood. Rinpoche named this placeDüddul Ling and the DzogchenCommunity of Buryatia (PalbarLing) built several stupas and smallretreat cabins.Since that time, Batodalai devotedmost of his time to personal practiceretreats, painting new thankas andrestoring old ones, and in particularworked on the restoration of thefamous thanka ‘The Atlas ofTibetan Medicine’ which, at therequest of the Dalai Lama, has sincebeen shown at many museums inthe USA.In 1999, Batodalai invited the rein-carnation of Patrul Rinpoche toDüddul Ling and requested theempowerment of the LongchenNyingthig.The main aim in Batodalai’s lifewas the spread of the Dharma inBuryatia, Mongolia and Russia, andhe dedicated the best part of his lifeto this lofty goal. He particularlydevoted himself to the spread of theDzogchen teachings. Although hehimself did not transmit teachingsdirectly – except for rare exceptions(one day he asked me, his third son,to translate Yamantaka tantra fromTibetan for him but I refused, sayingI didn’t have transmission, so hegave me the Lung transmissionhimself so that I could work on thetranslation) – he brought many tothe practice of Dharma through hiswisdom, kindness and compassion.For the last six months of his life hepractised Zhitro and Longsal, asthough preparing himself for hisapproaching passing. With his deathwe have lost a lot, but he taught us aclear lesson in impermanence andthat all our thoughts and intentionsshould be directed solely to thepractice of Dharma.

Dorjo Dugarov

New Chicago Gakyil

Yellow: Jean Simmonsjeansim7@msn.comRed: George Blahageorge.blaha@yahoo.comBlue: Lynn Sutherlandlynn.sutherland@yahoo.comGakyil Email:gakyil@dzogchenchicago.orgWebsite:www.dzogchenchicago.org

NEW SEATTLE GAKYILYellow: Judith MarcusBlue: Heidi Schor Red: Daniel Winkler

NEWWASHINGTON DC GAKYIL

Laurie Blumberg - YELLOWMandarava Bricaire - REDLiz Clark - BLUE

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LUIGI OTTAVIANI’S VISIT TOTSEGYALGAR EAST, SNOWFIGHTS, AND THEGROWING PAINS (AND JOYS)OF GOING GLOBAL

by Paola Zamperini, SSIoA presi-dent, for the International ShangShung Institute Team

As we have already written awhile back in these pages,the International Shang

Shung Institute, following theexample of the Dzogchen Commu-nity, has begun a radical reorganiza-tion process, aimed to make it moreand more a global entity - devoted tothe preservation and the diffusion ofTibetan culture - based on collabora-tion and communication. Of course,as many of you may already havediscovered, collaboration can beslightly challenging at first, espe-cially if the people involved have tolearn totally new ways to communi-cate and grow together.However, even with all the techno-logical wonders at our fingertips,from Skype to cell phones to email,IMs, and collaboration software, allof us at the International team ofSSI have discovered over the pastfew months that there is nothinglike sitting down to speak face toface once in a while to make con-crete progress towards the realiza-tion of our goals. This is how at theend of January we here at SSI ofAmerica finally “managed” to cre-ate enough communication havoc toconvince Luigi Ottaviani, the direc-tor of Shang Shung Institute of Italy,to at last accept a long standing invi-tation to come and sit down with us.Luigi flew in on Friday evening intoBoston, and the first order of thingswas to sit down together to treat himto a true hearty American meal. Soit came to be that he and I spent adelightful evening eating burgersand French fries and talking aboutthe future of SSI, both locally andinternationally. At times it felt likewe were in a joke, along the lines of“what do two Italian Shangshungersdo in an a North-American diner?”,but as we laughed and chomped onour food, we were able to makegiant leaps in understanding keyissues that had come up and couldhave stomped our growth.The next morning we arrived at theGar, where we immediately satdown to a very productive meetingattended by Luigi, Will Shea -SSIoA wonderful treasurer—andDoctor Phuntsog Wangmo, theheart, lungs and liver of theTraditional Medicine Program, andmyself. Luigi had prepared a very

nice PowerPoint presentation (allmy fault, yes, I admit, I had askedhim to come technologically pre-pared) about collaboration and com-munication, and that constituted thebasis for a very productive

exchange of ideas, questions andsolutions. Then, after a wonderfulTibetan meal, courtesy of Dr.Phuntsog Wangmo, we continuedour meeting, this time with theadded presence of MatthewSchmookler, as the representative ofthe students of the TTM 4 year pro-gram. At the end of the afternoonsession, we all felt that we had beenextremely successful in sharingimportant information about ourindividual and collective work.Even with such busy schedule,Luigi found time to visit the Gar,and to meet with Anna Bartenstein,our irreplaceable bookstore manag-er. At 5 PM we moved to the Gonpa,where the wonderful gekö ofTsegyalgar East had prepared abeautiful tea reception attended bymany Tsegyalgar East Gakyil, staffand DCA community members,who were able to finally meet Luigiin person. The evening ended with awonderful evening meal offered toLuigi and to the SSI board by Efremand Marit Marder, during which wehad the chance to laugh, makemerry, and keep talking about ourfuture plans together.The next morning, satisfied with theprevious day’s solid progress, we(and at this point we were a nicegroup - aside from the SSIoA boardand Luigi, among those presentwere Matt, Anna, Christie, Jill,Naomi, Paula, Sean Quinn—Khandroling’s gekö) decided todrive up to Khandroling, to showLuigi the farmhouse, the Mandalaof the Universe, the GuardianCabin, and yes, to even engage in avery challenging sets of snowfights, as you can see from the pic-ture here. Having fun at times is justas hard and serious work as sittingin meetings, you know?Then back to the Gar we went, tohave a final meeting with the entireGakyil, to present SSI’s plan ofdevelopment and operating princi-ples. Especially at Tsegyalgar East,where SSI’s presence is becomingmuch more visible thanks to all theefforts of Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo, itis important for SSI and DC to keepworking and growing together inthe new directions given to us byour Master and by Yeshi Namkhaiand Luigi’s reorganization plan. Buttime flies when you are having fun,and before we knew it, Luigi and Ifound ourselves on my car, driving

New Gekö needed at Tsegyalgar East, Conway,Massachusetts

Our Geköe at the Tsegyalgar East Schoolhouse in Conway, LeelaWhitcomb-Hewitt, has announced her intention to leave the position at theend of June. We are grateful to Leela for her year of dedicated service, andfor her consideration in announcing her intention well in advance.We would like to invite any Dzogchen Community member interested inthe Geko position to send either an inquiry or a cover letter and resumé to<secretary@tsegyalgar.org>, or call 413-369-4153.The position would begin in June (exact date negotiable), and includes amonthly stipend and a room in the Tsegyalgar East Schoolhouse.

With warm wishes,Tsegyalgar East GakyilThe Tsegyalgar East Geko Job Description:

1.Welcome visiting teachers, members, guests, and retreatants, and arrangefor their comfort and needs; answer questions about the Dzogchen com-munity, the Master, the teachings, the practice and schedules as necessary;give tours to visitors and newcomers.2. Serve as the primary liason to the public and the local community inwhich the Schoolhouse is situated (Conway and beyond).3. Maintain the facility and take the lead in repairs and improvements;oversee maintenance of the building’s systems (heating, plumbing, electri-cal, etc.); contact responsible parties to maintain or repair any of the build-ing’s systems.4. Organize karma yoga for various tasks in the Gar, or perform theseduties him/herself.5. Work with the gakyil to help organize work-study programs and retreats.6. Inventory and purchase all supplies for the building itself and for anyscheduled activities, retreats, practices, etc., held there.7. Assume responsibility for Ganapuja preparation and ensure that thenecessities are provided; understand the Ganapuja ritual be able to lead itwhen necessary.8. Help to maintain and facilitate practice.9. Maintain an awareness of the behavior of people staying at the Gar,making sure that it is in accordance with Rinpoche’s guidelines for theDzogchen Community. Be able to deal appropriately with any conflictsthat may arise, inappropriate or illegal behavior taking place within thebuilding, etc.10. Maintain and service the dark cabin and retreatants there; schedule anddocument retreat times.11. Be aware of, and respond to, the need of our Master and certifiedinstructors when they are at Tsegyalgar.12. Coordinate proper parking at all events.13. Work in collaboration with the Khandroling Geko, who bears a simi-lar responsibility for the land, buildings and activities at Khandroling.14. Work collaboratively and in a spirit of open communication with theTsegyalgar East Gakyil in executing the responsibilities of this very impor-tant position.

SPRING – FALL 2007COURSES AT KUNDROLLING

151West 30th Street, suite 403 Level 4 New York, New York

KU-NYE MASSAGE Level I and II

with Dr. Phuntsog Wangmo

Kunye is a massage therapy unique to Traditional Tibetan Medicine. Mentioned in some of the ancient texts ofthe Bon and Buddhist religions, Kunye has been practiced for centuries in the Himalayan regions by Tibetan peo-ples. The term kunye is the combination of two words: “ku” and “nye.” “Ku” means to anoint the body of a sick orhealthy person with oils, which are appropriate to that person’s specific illness or constitution. “Nye” means toexternally rub or massage crucial points such as nerves and tendons. The combination of ku and nye is a methodto cure internal imbalances and disease. The practice of massage is very beneficial and does not have negative effects; moreover, it can be done by any-one, regardless of whether they are doctors, yogis, or not. For this reason, this therapeutic modality has alwaysbeen practiced throughout the centuries by the Tibetan people and continues to be practiced today.

The study of Tibetan massage is structured on three levels.

The first level consists of:

A brief history of Tibetan medicine The principle of the five elements as taught in the Tibetan medical texts The principle of the three humors The humoral characteristics of different types of people The diagnostic procedure of pulse-taking The diagnostic procedure of urine observation A review of cases in which massage is appropriate or contraindicated Finding massage points Measurement for finding massage points How to perform the actual kunye massage Benefits of kunye massage LEVEL 1: March 10/11, April 7/8, May 12/13

LEVEL II: September 8/9, October 13/14, Nov 10/11

Cost of each level $ 600.00 KUNDROLING donors and DZOGCHEN community members 20% discount

REGISTRATION REQUIRED

To register please email Pilar kekeusa2@juno.com

back to Boston’s Logan airport,where Luigi boarded his Italy-bound flight by the late afternoon.Luigi told me that he had a greattime, and his enthusiasm for andappreciation of the warm welcomeextended to him by the entireTsegyalgar East’s community, thechance to observe first hand thework we have done here, and lastand not least the beauty of WesternMassachusetts (and the other-word-ly goodness of its fantastic maplesyrup), were clearly written on hisface. As we said goodbye at the air-port, I repeated to him the strongwish we all feel to have him backagain as soon as possible, ideallywith Yuchen and Maya along aswell.Personally I feel that by havingLuigi here with us we were able toreally lay the foundations for a cul-ture of respect, friendship, andkindness that it is essential for ourwork together. I also want to takethe chance to say how incrediblythankful I am to everyone whoworked so hard on such incrediblyshort notice to make Luigi’s visit asuccess, from the staff to the Geköto the Gakyil to the Sangha: it wasincredibly moving to see howeveryone found time to cometogether on this occasion. I hopethis is just one of many other futureoccasions in which we will all meetto live up to the trust that our pre-cious Master has been kind enoughto give us when he entrusted uswith the task and the honor to pre-serve the Dzogchen teachings andthe treasure trove of Tibetan cul-ture. So, as always, at the end of theday, our boundless gratitude goes toChögyal Namkhai Norbu (and hisentire family), for his endless com-passion, generosity, and patience, inleading us and supporting usthrough the growing pains, butespecially growing joys, of ourjourney together.

Happy group with Luigi at the Barn on Lower Khandroling

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 15

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TSEGYALGAR WEST/BAJA GAKYIL & INFORMATION

REDVincent Moore: phone: 702-535-9408 (U.S. cell phone) svalaya@att.netJoel Janka: red@jardindelosnaranjos.org or jankajoel@yahoo.com

BLUEArthur Flynn: phone: 805-643-6980 (home) atiyoga@mindspring.com or aflynnmd@sbcglobal.netMargaret Bradford: phone: 925-798-8748 vajrapamo@yahoo.com

YELLOWCarolyn Bass: phone: 011 52 55 5813 0315 and 011 52 1 55 2699 5914(Mexico City) cbass@prodigy.net.mxCarol Fields: phone: 510-524-0593 (currently handling membership andbanking)carolmfields@aol.comJulia Deisler: phone: 505-473-2837 jmdeisler@aol.com orjmdeis@yahoo.com

Also part of the company,Daniel Kuzma (webmaster and secretary) daniel.kuzma@hotmail.com

Collaborating:Carisa O’Kelly cariokey@monkeybrains.netAnastasia McGhee anniemoment@yahoo.comSiobhan Allgood siobhan@jardindelosnaranjos.org Tsegyalgar West pio-neer

Contact person: Daniel Kuzma office@jardindelosnaranjos.org

TSEGYALGAR WESTWINTER RETREAT ATBAJA CALIFORNIA SURby Matt Hayat

The Dzogchen Community’sprecious Baja Gar in BajaCalifornia Sur, Mexico, was

the site of a recent month long inten-sive practice retreat hosting instruc-tion in Santi Maha Sangha, YantraYoga, and Vajra Dance. Nearly 30Vajra brothers and sisters traveledfrom all over to meet and practicetogether. The Baja Gar is located onthe Baja’s scenic peninsula betweenthe Sea of Cortez (the world’s rich-est marine biosphere) and the Pacif-ic Ocean. It is a 3,000-acre retreatland and the pioneers have workedhard and come a long way in itsdevelopment as a nice setting forpersonal and group retreats. In addi-tion to airport transportation by thepioneers, Miles Thomas, and gour-

met cooking by Tomass Marconiand Siobhan Allgood, a gourmetchef, treated us to solar poweredwireless internet access, acupunc-

tureand

massage. Meals included organicvegetables and fruits, fresh fish, andfor many, a first sampling of the deli-ciously unique avocado pie dessert.With sessions held under the aus-pices of an 800 year old white figtree (displayed in the picturebelow), Jim Valby led two SMSbase practice sessions a day cover-ing the essence of the theory andpractice of Sutra, Tantra, andDzogchen. Jim relentlessly sharedhis deep knowledge and under-standing of the teachings.Beginning with the invocation toGuru Garab Dorje and ending withDedication of Merits, each sessionincluded instruction and practice ofthe SMS base level practices anddirect and clear explanations of the

importance of taking refuge in theMaster’s transmission. Each sessionwith Jim included several intenselower abdominal workouts as hisperfectly timed humor helped torelieve deep tensions and inspireuncontrollable laughter and joy.During the first week of the retreatAnastasia McGhee taught theDance of the Three Vajras, and dur-ing the January days of the retreatBodhi Krause taught the Dance ofthe Six Spaces of Samantabhadra.The scenic backdrop of tall moun-tains and blue sky was simply per-fect. Lynn Sutherland taught YantraYoga on the open mandala in theafternoons, covering the NineBreathings, Tsigjong, Lungsang,Tsandul, First Series Pranayama andYantras, Second Series Pranayama,and the Vajra WaveThanks to the generosity of ourMaster and the Webcast Team, wehad the good fortune to gather eachmorning at 6am at a retreat cabinand tune in to the webcast ofRinpoche and his teachings onLongsal Ati’i Gongpa Ngotro fromDecember 26 to January 1.The winter retreat at the Baja Garwas a fantastic opportunity to gath-er for group practice. A warmthanks goes to the teachers and pio-neers and all Vajra brothers and sis-ters who participated in this won-derful retreat, and especially to ourMaster, without whom none of thiswould be possible.

TSEGYALGAR WESTINTENSIVE DREAM YOGA RETREATWITH DR. MICHAEL KATZ

APRIL 2 - 6, 2007JARDIN DE LOS NARANJOS/TSEGYALGAR WEST, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR,MEXICO

This is the first time that Michael has had a chance to offer a longer, deep-er Dream Yoga Retreat, one that will include not only many practices con-tained within the Dream Yoga book but also purification practices, includ-ing Rushen. There will also be many opportunities to relax and to exploresome of the 3000 acres of tropical dryland that make up North America’sbeautiful Winter Gar.

To register, please use our on-line registration form:http://www.jardindelosnaranjos.org/?url=news&id=1For further information/questions, contact Julia Deisler(jmdeis@yahoo.com), and see our Web site, http://www.jardindelosnaran-jos.org/.

COST: $80/day Apr. 2-6Discounts for members apply:Regular: 20%Sustaining: 40%Introductory: 5 %Low-income/student: 50% (with low-income or student membershipcard)

The retreat fee includes the retreat itself, a camp site (bring your owngear), three healthy meals a day, filtered spring water for drinking, andrides to and from the airport if needed. Also included: dinner and camp-ing the night before the retreat begins and camping on the final night withbreakfast the following morning.

Michael Katz, editor of Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light andauthor of The White Dolphin, is a psychologist who regularly lectures andleads workshops across the U.S. on dream yoga and lucidity for personalgrowth. He has studied Ericksonian hypnotherapy, Reichian therapy,Gestalt, Embodied Dream Imagery, and psychodrama. He has practicedTibetan Buddhism and Dzogchen meditation since 1974.

tsegyalgar westTsegyalgar West

Baja MexicoDzogchen Community West Coast

755 Euclid Ave.Berkeley, CA 94708

Email: cabass@prodigy.net.mxcarolfields@aol.com

Website: www.bahasangha.org

SEEKING NEW GAKYIL MEMBERS FOR TSEGYALGAR WEST/JARDIN DE LOS NARANJOS

At the end of April it will be time to select a new Gakyil for Tsegyalgar West. Several of us will be staying on, butwe will definitely have openings in all three Gakyil functions, Yellow, Red, and Blue, and we would like now toinvite people to consider joining us. If you are interested, please send us a note with a short statement letting usknow about yourself. (This statement should include things like how long you’ve been in the community, how youenvision participating, how your profession[s] or skill set[s] will help you collaborate with Yellow, Red, and/orBlue Gakyil in particular, and how much you think you could see yourself being down in Baja California, Mexico.)

To serve on the TW Gakyil, one should, preferably,1. Be a current member of the Dzogchen Community (this is required; preferred: regular membership [i.e., not intro-ductory membership]);2. Have attended at least three retreats with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu (either in person or via webcast) and/or havebeen a student of Rinpoche’s at least three years;3. Be (or become) familiar with both Yeshi Namkhai’s Collaboration Document and Rinpoche’s book on thenature, purpose, and organization of the Dzogchen Community (The Dzogchen Community: Principles andGuidelines for Practitioners and Gakyil Members);4. Have the desire and capacity to work collaboratively with members of the Gakyil and the International DzogchenCommunity at large to help support and sustain Rinpoche’s Transmission, Teachings, and vision for the DzogchenCommunity;5. Be able to attend monthly meetings via conference call and to collaborate on-line;6, be able to travel to the Gar at least once a year, preferably more;7. Commit to remaining on the Gakyil at least one year.(We also are seeking individuals with some knowledge of Spanish, but this is not necessary for being on the Gakyil.)

Tsegyalgar West/Jardin de Los Naranjos, consisting of 3000 acres of tropical drylands, is nestled in the mountainsabout halfway between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez and about 45 minutes north of Los CabosInternational Airport at the tip of Baja California Sur, Mexico. There is much work to be done developing the landboth for individual and group retreats and for sustainable land use. Projects currently underway include the com-pletion of 21 unfinished casitas (with 4 completed now, including Rinpoche’s), upgrading our outdoor kitchen, andplanning for the creation of a more permanent Gonpa and library. Our most recent retreat was a three-week-longBase-Level Santi Maha Sangha retreat this past winter led by Jim Valby and also with Vajra Dance instructorsAnastasia McGhee and Bodhi Krause and Yantra Yoga Instructor Lynn Sutherland. Forthcoming, in April, will bean intensive Dream Yoga Retreat with Michael Katz. Along with a repeat of our three-week winter retreat nextyear, if possible, and other more intensive Dzogchen Community retreats, we are discussing offering a series of“open” retreats (in the Eight Movements of Yantra Yoga, the Vajra Dance of the Six Spaces, and possibly in Shine).

Please let us know if you are interested in joining us!

Julia Deislerjmdeis@yahoo.com or jmdeisler@aol.com

Also, check out our new Web site: http://www.jardindelosnaranjos.org/

Jim Valby (center) and friends in Baja

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south americaTashigar SouthComunidad DzogchenTashigarCalle pública S/NTanti 5155Pcia. de CórdobaArgentinaTel & Fax: 0054- 3541-498 356Email: tashigarsur@gmail.com Tashigar North

Finca TashigarProlongación de la Calle Bolivar

Valle de Pedro González. Isla de MargaritaTel: 00 58 295 415 5800

Email: tashinor@mail.dzogchen.ruWeb site: www.dzogchenvenezuela.org

Kumbhaka Breathing Course with Fabio Andrico, February 27-29, 2007, Lima, Peru

NEW ITEMS AVAILABLE

AT THE TSEGYALGAR BOOKSTORE!

TWENTY-FIVE LONGCHENS MP3#10118$25.00The Twenty-Five Longchens (spacesof the universe) represent the dimen-sion of the wisdom ofSamantabhadra, and of the way thiswisdom manifests in all sentientbeings. Like the Song of the Vajra,these mantras are very important forthe practice and for integratingknowledge of our real condition. Therefore practitioners of Dzogchen usethem above all for contemplation and for realization. This mp3 CD con-tains the teachings Chögyal Namkhai Norbu gave related to the terma ofChangchub Dorje in Barcelona, Spain in October 2005. A recording ofAdriano Clemente performing the practice alone is also included.

THE EIGHT MOVEMENTS OF YANTRA YOGA DVD(reissue of VHS tape by the same name)V10066$30.00This DVD is a practical and simple guide for learning and practicing thisancient discipline. With these eight movements we harmonize andstrengthen our energy through simple and effective methods that act on thephysical level through the body movements and on the subtle level throughthe coordination of the breath. Set in the beautiful Himalayan Mountains,with a breathtaking view of famous peaks, the video is an enjoyable guidefor learning and applying this ancient Tibetan yogic practice. ChögyalNamkhai Norbu introduces the video in an interview about the origins andpurpose of the eight movements of Yantra Yoga. The next part gives step-by-step instructions and the final part shows a practice session.

THE THREE PATHS OF LIBERATION:THE ESSENCE OF THE BASE OF SANTI MAHA SANGHA

V10065$40.00This is the first of six DVDs in the series “The Three Paths of Liberation,”a fundamental teaching given by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in MargaritaIsland, Venezuela, in January-February, 2006. The series will explain themain subjects of the Base of Santi Maha Sangha in an essential yet com-plete way. Visual aids like pictures, photographs, symbols, and otherimages are provided in the video to illustrate the subjects explained by theMaster. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu established the Santi Maha Sanghastudy and practice program in 1992, in order to give students the opportu-nity to learn the foundations of Buddhist Dharma in general, and of theDzogchen Teaching in particular.

WEBCAST RETREAT MP3 CD’sNewly Available from Shang Shung Institute:

LONGSAL DZOGCHEN NAMKHAI GYALPO

MERIGAR WEST: AUGUST 9-15, 2006ORDER NUMBER: 10117PRICE: $25.00OPEN WEBCAST

THE INVOCATION OF SAMANTABHADRA

MERIGAR WEST: SEPTEMBER 8-12, 2006ORDER NUMBER: 10116PRICE: $25.00OPEN WEBCAST

If you would like to place an order for any of these items, or any other,please email, fax, or phone in to me the following information:

Your billing and shipping addressesYour VISA or MC number with expiration dateThe list of items you would like to order

All of our contact info is below.

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easily distracted by tiredness andsleep.When I think about writing an arti-cle about this retreat, the term flour-ish, flourishing comes to me. I cansee the flourishing of this student ofRinpoche’s and other SMS teach-ers, moving generously and confi-dently in their first steps as teach-ers, and I can see the maturing of along time of study, practice, andparticipation and of devotion to themaster.As a long time student of ChögyalNamkhai Norbu, Cheh has traveledand sacrificed to understand andpractice the Dzogchen teachings.Cheh is a good story teller and thestories he told were often storiestold by Rinpoche during retreats orin other settings, and sometimesthese stories were anecdotes orjokes from Cheh’s own experi-ences. When Cheh is telling stories

I strongly feelthe presence ofRinpoche’s styleof teaching. Ihave alwaysbeen amazed atR i n p o c h e ’ sdepth of knowl-edge of theTibetan cultureand the amountof stories he wasable to tell, bothspiritual andpopular stories.He has theknowledge of anentire culturalworld. Everyonelaughs whenCheh uses acommon Italians a y i n g ,

“Poco…ma buono!!” (“Alittle…but good!!”), a saying oftenused by Rinpoche to help us under-stand that the quality of practice isfar more relevant than quantity: Above all Cheh is gentle, humbleand quite relaxed. When he isasked questions, he is very preciseand exhaustive in his answers. He’salways careful to ensure that peoplelearn correctly the formal aspect ofthe practices but understand themain point, which in Dzogchen isto integrate everything in the instantpresence, in the state of contempla-tion. Each afternoon, before the practicewith Cheh, Emily Coeling, who is aqualified teacher of Yantra Yoga,gently takes care of our energiesand breathing as she leads sessionsof the Lungsang practice. Emily,who has been appointed with anSMS scholarship, now lives atNamgyalgar with her partner, ournewly established vigorous Gekös,Ezy from Slovakia.. The retreat with Cheh Goh is theresult of the ongoing great workthat the Gakyil is doing to ensurethe continuation of the Dzogchentransmission of Chögyal NamkhaiNorbu in Namgyalgar, throughqualified teachers. The next retreatlike this will be in April 2007, withJim Valby.Having this first retreat with Chehat Namgyalgar is important in ourunderstanding that another SMSteacher lives nearby in Singapore.This further enriches and strength-ens the sense of our possibilities for

the Community collect photos ofdifferent people throughout theyears in this kitchen and do a cele-brative exhibition before getting ridof it.We briefly inspect our tent site, as alight rain starts, and suddenly I seemy old friend Cheh Goh smiling atme from a distance. We welcomeeach other with a warm hug. It’squite a few years since I last sawhim and I always have a lot of funwith Cheh. I know him from theearly times of Merigar.He is now a qualified teacher of theSanti Maha Sangha Base Level andI am sure the retreat with him isgoing to be very helpful for all ofus. Cheh is light, full of goodhumor with a contagious laugh, andhe engages easily with people. Aswe enter retreat, people quicklyappreciate his depth of knowledgeof Rinpoche’s teachings and his

strong commitment to the Masterand the transmission, combinedwith his spontaneous qualities.Each morning Cheh comments andclarifies Rinpoche’s teachings ofthe previous night - the web castretreat from Argentina of the“Longsal Ati’I Gongpa Ngotrod”(Upadesha of the Introduction ofthe State of Ati ), and explains thePurification of the Six Lokas prac-tice. It is a pleasant surprise to listen tohis detailed explanation of the sixlokas, sometimes almost vivid anddramatic like visions described inDante’s Divine Comedy. One lokais examined each day, so that wecan understand the karmic visioncharacterizing the existence in eachloka. Cheh’s explanation totallyrefreshes and clarifies the sense ofthis practice and awakens thepotential of purification to lightenour dualistic vision.In the afternoon Cheh leads thepractice of the Six Lokas, dedicat-ing one day for each of the threelower lokas, and one day for thethree higher lokas. Day by day I seethat people are more and moredelighted to listen and consequentlypractice.Cheh also provides a good exampleof how to attend a web cast retreat –it is as though Rinpoche was trulythere with us. In Australia, thevideo web-cast is transmittedbetween midnight and 2 am, andduring this time Cheh sits respect-fully and listens carefully, whereothers, despite good intentions, are

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 17

namgyalgar & the pacific rimI N T E R N A T I O N A L

C O M M U N I T Y N E W S

“POCO….MA BUONO !! (“A LITTLE…. BUT GOOD!! “)A retreat with Cheh Goh in NamgyalgarDecember 26, 2006 – January 1, 2007by Bruno Irmici

It’s a long drive from Melbourne to Namyalgar.Ten hours for our old Toyota. To make it easierthis time we break the trip up and sleep in a motel

in Cann River. There is a heavy drought this summer and it hasn’trained for months. People are traveling on theirChristmas holidays and there is quite a sense ofapprehension all around because large areas of thestates of Victoria and New South Wales have beendevastated by bushfires. It looks like a cloudy day,but smelling the air we realize that it is not cloud butsmoke from the bushfires far away. Parking in a restarea we hear the radio from nearby cars continuous-ly updating the viability of travel. Drivers are warnedof the possibility of detours if bushfires come closerto the roads and a detour in Australia can mean manyhours of extra driving.Everywhere people cohabitate with strong and potentially destructive man-ifestations of the elements. I think of the role that Vesuvio, the volcano thatdominates the bay of my birth town Naples, Italy, plays in the character ofthe Neapolitans. It generates a pervasive (and only partially hidden) fearthat the power of the earth can suddenly erupt destroying all its surround-ings with earthquakes, as has frequently happened in Naples history. In thesame way for the Australians, the beautiful long tracks of wild bush and hotsunny days can be transformed into massive droughts and almost uncontrol-lable bushfires that can run at such speed if supported from strong wind.But luckily our journey is easy and smooth and finally we see the shape ofthe Gulaga Mountain, an aboriginal sacred land that has been for manyyears the place of Namgyalgar. Even though there is nice, blue, open skyeverywhere else, the top of the mountain is hidden by a large rainy cloudthat sits comfortably there. It looks like the mountain has the capacity togather all the small clouds in the area and hold them firmly together. As we drive toward the Gar the clouds are an auspicious sign. Often whenRinpoche has been to Namgyalgar, rain and clouds have manifested. And Ihave heard of similar circumstances at other gars after Rinpoche’s arrival;it’s like he is welcomed with blessings from the elemental energies of theplace. Despite the fact this rain and damp has always been a matter of con-cern for the Master’s health and well being while at Namgyalgar, for me, aswe approach the land, that cloud was a sign of his presence.When we arrive at Namgyalgar we stop first at the famous bush kitchen - asort of checkpoint, a sentinel - where we pause to say hello even if nobodyis there! I can imagine a new visitor may be tempted to visit this buildingthinking it is a piece of industrial archaeology, but in fact it is fully on dutyas usual!!! The bush kitchen deserves an article, a tribute, dedicated entire-ly to it.The bush kitchen is not just a kitchen, but also an accumulation of years ofstories, of retreats, of breakfasts, lunches and dinners together, a shelterfrom the rain and from the hot sun, and of welcomes; if the Gonpa is theheart of the Gar, the kitchen is somehow its belly.It is unbelievable how little it has changed in the many years of the Gar’sexistence, and yet how much service it has provided; ironically it hasbecame an involuntary monument to the slow pace of the Gar development.When the new kitchen is built (hopefully soon), I don’t know what isplanned for the old one. I guess it will be pulled down since its beauty is‘subtle’ and not one that shines, or that you want around. But if was mydecision, I would probably keep it as a piece of the Gar’s historical heritage,so I hope it will be transformed into something else. I certainly suggest that

NAMGYALGARMAINTENANCERAFFLE

Ist Prize - One return Air Ticketbetween two international airportsto attend a retreat with ChögyalNamkhai Norbu of your choiceanywhere in the world.

2nd Prize - Hand Painted Thanka

3rd Prize – One-week personalretreat at Namgyalgar.

Ticket price: AUS$30 each, or2 for AUS$50.

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu for theInternational DzogchenCommunity authorizes this raffleand is for the raising of funds tosupport Namgyalgar.The raffle will be drawn at theJim Valby Autumn Retreat atNamgyalgar at Easter, 6 -10April 2007.To purchase a ticket: pleaseemail Madeleine Fogarty,Fundraising Coordinator of theNamgyalgar Yellow Gakyil at:madeleinef@iprimus.com.au

New Gakyil in Japan

Red: Ms. Naomi Tsubaki <naomilacamelia@gmail.com>Yellow: Mr. Takatomo Sasaki<maha-sukha@docomo.ne.jp>

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Vajra Dance Courses at Tashigar Norte Margarita Island, Venezuela

March - April 2007

Vajra Dance Teacher Training 2° Level with Adriana Dal Borgo & Prima Mai

Date: 20-28 March 2007.Cost: Bs. 900.000

Course of the Vajra Dance of Six Spaces of Samantabhadra & Three Vajra

For advanced with Luda KislichenkoSupervised by Prima Mai

Date: 5-9 AprilCost: Bs. 300.000

Course and practice of the Vajra Dance of the Song of the Vajra andGomadevi practice

For advanced with Adriana Dal BorgoDate: 25-29 AprilCost: Bs. 300.000

We will announce very soon the requirements to participate in each course.

Gakyil of Tashigar Norte

Namgyalgar, Dzogchen Community in AustraliaPO Box 214 Central Tilba

NSW 2546Tel/Fax: 61 02 4473 7668

Email: namgyalg@acr.net.auWebsite:www.dzogchen.org.au

the future, to plan a substantial cal-endar of retreats and activities forNamgyalgar. Such activities are generating newenergies that are dissipating thevague feeling of isolation thatresulted from the news last year thatRinpoche was not coming toAustralia. The Gakyil took that sadcircumstance as an opportunity forNamgyalgar to “grow up” and as acall for all the community to bemore responsible and active towardthe sustainability of Namgyalgar,not depending mainly on theMaster coming for support. Throughout the retreat with ChehGoh the clouds have been constant-ly on the mountain and we have hadrain everyday. There was even twodays of intense storms with spectac-ular lighting and frightening thun-der. We still suspect that this pan-demonium is just for us on themountain and that in the surround-ing area, down in the valley; there isstill the usual blue sky, hot summerand silent drought. We feel strongly fortunate that wereceived all this generous rain, andwe wonder… if we could magical-ly move all that cloud and rain toother very thirsty parts of the sur-rounding region, could we arrangea good deal with the government(who are clearly having difficulty inthis matter), and thus give a boost toour Gar development? …. I don’tknow…. sounds like a good idea…maybe we don’t have practitionersskilled enough …… perhaps wecould ask to our precious Master…

18

Pain not Suffering In the Spring issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, four well-known Buddhist teachers offer techniques to lessen pain’s mental suffering, discover its true nature, and learn its valuable lessons. Also in the issue: Mahasi Sayadaw’s simple and direct method for slowing down and halting conceptual thinking.ChokyiNyimaRinpochepresents thefivenoblequalities that enableus toexperience the natural state of happiness. A panel of Buddhist teachers tackles the question that baffles so many Westerners: How does karma really work?

Many Buddhists, one Buddhadharma

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The retreat is open to all and starts on theafternoon of Friday 7th

Cost: 350 euro with discounts

September 15-16, 2007Explanation and practice of the Base ofthe SMSwith Fabio RisoloTopic: The Precious Vase, Chapter VIIThe course starts on Saturday September15 at 10.00Cost: 60 euro (with discounts for mem-bers)

September 21-23, 2007 (A)Yantra Yoga course for beginnersOpen to everyonewith Tiziana GottardiThe course starts on Friday September 21at 16.00Cost: 60 euro (with discounts for mem-bers)

September 24-28, 2007 (A)Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Audio/video webcastTeaching retreat - Longchenpa’sNyingtam Sumchu(Thirty Pieces of Advice from theHeart) (Sung Thorbu, vol.I, p.354) (open web-cast)Barcelona, SpainThe retreat starts on Monday 24 in theafternoon

OCTOBEROctober 20-21, 2007Explanation and practice of the Base ofthe SMSwith Costantino AlbiniTopic: The Precious Vase, Chapters VIIIand IXThe course starts on Saturday October 20at 10.00Cost: 60 euro (with discounts for mem-bers)

NOVEMBERNovember 1-7, 2007Dance of the Song of the Vajra coursefor beginners (Part 2)with Rita RenziThe course starts on Thursday November1 at 10.00Cost: 200 euro (with discounts for mem-bers)

November 12-19, 2007Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Audio/video webcastShine and Lhagthong according toDzogchen Ati YogaTashigar South, Argentina(closed webcast)

DECEMBERDecember 8, 2007Master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu’sbirthday

December 8-9, 2007Green Tara practice retreat

December 27-January 3, 2008 (A)Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Teaching RetreatLongchenpa’s Choszhi RinchenPhrengwa(The Necklace of the Four PreciousDharmas) (Sung Thorbu, vol. I, p.247)Tashigar South, Argentina

Dzogchen Community Merigar Arcidosso, 58031

Grosseto ItalyTel. +39 0564 966837 – fax. +39 0564

968110 email: merigaroffice@tiscali.it -

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con’t. from page 9

T H E M I R R O R J A N / F E B 2 0 0 7 19

N o r b u n e tThe Mailing List of the InternationalDzogchen Community Administrator: Loek Jehee loekjehe@xs4all.nlTo subscribe send an email to: norbunet request@mail.dzogchen.ruwith the subject line:subscribe

GLOBAL TIMETABLE

ANNIVERSARY OF PADMASAMBHAVA6TH TIBETAN MONTH – 10TH DAY

CELEBRATION AT 8 A.M. ODDIYANA TIME

Monday 23rd July 2007

17:00 Hawaii20:00 San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver21:00 Denver, Salt Lake City, Pagosa Springs, Edmonton22:00 Lima, Quito, Chicago, Mexico City23:00 Caracas, San Juan, Santiago, New York, Conway, Montreal,Atlanta, Detroit, Havana, Kingston, Indianapolis, Ottawa

Tuesday 24th July 2007

00:00 Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bermuda03:00 GMT, Reykjavic,04:00 London, Dublin, Lisbon05:00 Johannesburg, Rome, Berlin, Oslo, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam,Copenhagen, Brussels, Geneva, Prague, Salzburg, Stockholm, Budapest,Vienna, Warsaw06:00 Kuwait City, Riyadh, Tashkent, Helsinki, Athens, Ankara, Beirut,Jerusalem, Tallinn, Vilnius, Istanbul07:00 Moscow, Murmansk, Baghdad08:00 ODDIYANA, Islamabad08:30 New Delhi, Bombay08:45 Kathmandu09:00 Dacca09:30 Rangoon10:00 Bangkok, Jakarta, Saigon11:00 Singapore, Beijing, Lhasa, Manila, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur,Taipei, Perth12:00 Tokyo, Seoul,12:30 Darwin, Adelaide13:00 Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney14:00 Vladivostok15:00 Fiji, Wellington, Auckland, Kamchatka

ANNIVERSARY OF ADZOM DRUGPA9TH TIBETAN MONTH – 25TH DAY

SUNDAY 4TH NOVEMBER 2007

01.00 Wellington, Auckland02.00 Hawaii03.00 Fairbanks04.00 San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver05.00 Denver, Salt Lake City, Pagosa Springs, Edmonton06.00 Chicago, Mexico City07.00 New York, Conway, Montreal, Atlanta, Detroit, Havana,Kingston, Indianapolis, Ottawa, Lima, Quito08.00 Caracas09.00 Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago12.00 GMT, London, Dublin, Lisbon13.00 Rome, Berlin, Oslo, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam,Copenhagen, Brussels, Geneva, Prague, Salzburg, Stockholm, Budapest,Vienna, Warsaw14.00 Helsinki, Athens, Ankara, Beirut, Jerusalem, Vilnius,Johannesburg15.00 Moscow, Murmansk, Baghdad, Kuwait City, Riyadh,Tashkent16.00 Kabul17.00 ODDIYANA, Islamabad17.30 Delhi, Bombay17.45 Kathmandu18.00 Dacca19.00 Bangkok, Jakarta, Saigon20.00 Singapore, Beijing, Lhasa, Manila, Hong Kong, KualaLumpur, Taipei, Perth21.00 Tokyo, Seoul22.00 Brisbane, Vladivostok22.30 Adelaide23.00 Kamchatka, Melbourne, Sydney

The Mirror

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Main Office:PO Box 277

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Year of the Fire Pig

“...and long purplesThat liberal shepherds give a grosser name,”

Hamlet, IV vii 170

What’s not to reconsider in grosser terms?Disarrays - a casual display of hungersunabated or stout limbs to follow long afternoonsin nothingness where we dally no whereto the larger world of perfections. or split hairs of judgement. Let’s not forget that our designis on the other side of civility—Cracked open: a hue of fruit, its juice rooting our place in the cosmos, only to settle on the bud, with a taste of eternity.It’s the long purple we stroke into being:Wild snouts aflame,urgent FIRE PIGSwith noses to the groundsearching for the root.

Jacqueline GensBrattleboro, Vermont

also through deep understanding ofthe essential principles of them. Ateacher like this, who has greatcompassion towards his disciples,wants to awaken them.The disciple needs first of all torespect the teacher and have confi-dence in him; and at the same timehe needs to be committed to theteachings and to the path .The stu-dent does not have to hide theteacher as the real source of theteachings. He needs to have intelli-gence and know how to go to theessence of the teaching, have goodintention and finally have a gooddisposition to sacrifice himself incase it would be necessary. Somepeople participate in the teachingswhile they feel comfortable; but assoon as some difficulties arise, theyleave.The disciple must not be thinkingall the time in worldly matters andmust know that the teacher is theonly person who can lead him tototal realization and to liberation ofsamsara. To someone like this, whois a good student and has this sort ofcharacter, should be transmitted theteaching. The Introduction to the State of Atidevelops four deep methods of con-templation: Nepa, Migyuwa,Nyamnyid and Lhundrub, throughwhich one can discover one’s ownreal nature and realize the state ofAti, non–duality of original purityand self-perfection. The four con-templations correspond principallyto the series of teachings of theDzogchen Semde, but Rinpocheclarifies us that here we find themintegrated with the principles of theDzogchen Longde and the

Dzogchen Upadesha. When oneworks with these four yogas, onecan know in a precise way to enterinto the state of instant presence. Chögyal Namkhai Norbu told usthat when he received the introduc-tion to the teachings of his RootMaster Changchub Dorje, healready knew many principles of theDzogchen teachings; but he did notknow that being in the state ofinstant presence was being beyondtime, and this is something veryimportant Rinpoche explained it tous in the following way: first, athought arise, then it disappears andthese are two different moments,but when one is in the state ofinstant presence there is no differ-ence at all; one is beyond time ,beyond distance, beyond any con-ceptual limit.On the last day, Rinpoche spokeabout the need of following theteachings in a serious way. When hegives us transmission and wereceive the teaching that means weare all traveling in the same boat toreach total realization. Then, weneed to have a base of collaborationand respect between us. If we don’thave this base, then we have prob-lems and we will not be able toreach the place we are heading to.Problems arise frequently in ourCommunity and the root of them isthe lack of collaboration andrespect. For this reason, the Mastersaid that if we are interested in fol-lowing his teachings, we should doit in a serious way, so we should col-laborate.Collaborate, or in Latin “LaboroConiunctus”, that is to say, “work-ing together”.

Beyond Time continued from page 1

20

H O W I M E T C H Ö G YA L N A M K H A I N O R B Uby Alonso Espinosa

My story of how I met Rin-poche is not as flashy or asmagical as I’d like it to be.

It wasn’t the case that I saw a pictureof him or read one of his books andthen I got the feeling or the vibrationtelling me that this was going to bemy Master, or that I needed to meetthis person.Actually it was quite the opposite; itis a very organic story of unfold-ment, that unlike the romantic one,had been growing in time to depthsthat I couldn’t even imagine when Istarted.To begin the story, let me tell youabout my connection to spiritualityand Buddhism in particular. I gotinto Buddhism through Western phi-losophy. At the time I was concerned with theusual questions that bother humanbeings like: Who am I ? Where do I come from?Where do I go?What is my role in this play?To try to answer them I’d studiedHeidegger, Nietzsche, Merlau-Ponty, Dreyfus and many more.Eventually I ended up in Buddhistphilosophy and started studyingtheir answers to the former ques-tions. I devoured everything I couldfind, especially the explanationsabout dependent origination and theexplanation of shunyata via indirectlogic. Being kind of an intellectualguy, this made lots of sense and I

went deeper.After a time of going deeper into mystudies, when I learned some of theclassical concepts like meditation,yoga, emptiness, paramitas and soforth, a recurrent subject startedappearing. “You need to receive aknowledge that is beyond explana-tion from a qualified teacher” and“When the student is ready, theteacher appear”. I had lots of fan-tasies about this knowledge; thisenlightenment and I didn’t under-stand at the time what qualifiedteacher meant. That was in 1999 –2000.Finally in 2001, after living a longtime in different countries, in Chile,my own country, in the “Galeria delPatio”, I saw an ad for NamkhaiNorbu, who was going to teachDzogchen in Valparaiso, a city nearthe sea and very close to Santiago.Immediately, I decided to enroll andgo and see this teacher.So there I was in Valparaiso waitingfor a lecture on Tibetan Medicinethat was going to precede the retreatheld at the Mantagua Center inConcon. I didn’t know anybody andwas very sad, because I just had bro-ken up with a girlfriend who I loveddearly.I was waiting in a beautiful squarefor the arrival of the master, havingideas and fantasies of how he wouldbe, of what would happen, and final-ly a white sedan drove up to theentrance and there he was, theteacher, the master, the lama ... hecame out of the car and started

walking to the conference room. Hesaid “Hello Everybody” and he gavea very interesting lecture on TibetanMedicine. I think I asked him aquestion, but I don’t remember whatit was. The next morning the retreat startedin the three-four day format; wel-coming and general explanation,direct introduction, advice and trid-lungs. After that I took the commit-ment of trying to practice with thelocal Sangha, which was quite smallat the time. I didn’t know anythingabout this; didn’t know the song ofthe Vajra, the short Thun (didn’tknow what Thun meant), eventhough we had a Ganapuja withRinpoche at the retreat it was alsoalien to me, but I decided to keeppracticing and after a little while Istarted to understand some things.This is what I call organic unfold-

ing, because it had been a step-by-step process. Now I under-stand that my karma and con-nection to the teachings is not asgood as Jigmed Lingpa’s, butI’m very grateful for the one Ihave.So a year passed and the follow-ing year Rinpoche was comingto Tashigar South in Cordoba.By that time the little Sanghagrew stronger and a group of usdecided to go to see Rinpoche.He was going to give aGomadevi retreat afterChristmas. Then I met the SantiMaha Sangha for the first time;Rinpoche was there, Costantino,Fabio, Adriana plus lots of prac-

titioners coming from all over theworld. I had a blast and instead ofstaying the two weeks that I origi-nally intended, I ended up stayingtwo months till Rinpoche leftCordoba. It was fantastic!Something changed in me at thattime. After that I had less doubtsabout my path and more conviction,desire to practice and to really getwhat this instant presence was allabout.The following year was Margarita,here it was different, and I neededand really wanted to go there. Therewas a Longde retreat and in mymind having practiced AshtangaYoga for eight years and now YantraYoga for two, I felt that this was avery special teaching for somebodylike me and felt a deep yearning tobe there. And so I had the Margarita

experience. It was incredible, eventhough I almost died from food poi-soning and everybody was sayinghow dangerous it was there. I didthe retreat, got my meditation stickand belt and spent a couple of dayspracticing what we had learned. Idid lots of Yantra Yoga (everyday)and lots of fun. I also met Dr.Phuntsog Wangmo and took herintroductory course on Tibetan KuNye massage.And finally in 2006-2007, again inTashigar South, this time for theSanti Maha Sangha Exam, Retreat,Yantra Courses of different levels,Breathing Courses, trip to Peru withfew Community members, retreat inPeru with Rinpoche and a postretreat holiday with more practition-ers. We made Ganapujas every-where: Lima, Machu Picchu, Puno,and Amantani. I started writing thishow I met in Puno, polished it inCuzco a little bit, typing it at theLima airport and I’m now finishingit at home in Santiago. This is howit is for me, all over the place; veryconnected to the Master and theteachings and very thankful for allthe blessings he has given us. Thankyou; thank you, thank youRinpoche.I sincerely hope that all the obsta-cles in the Community get purifiedand that the teaching can be pre-served and continued for a very,very long time. As of this moment Iknow that there are many practition-ers working hard on this and Imyself am trying to do my best.

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INTERNAINTERNATIONALTIONAL GAKYILGAKYIL NEWSNEWS

Dear Gakyil Members of the International Dzogchen Community,

We are now ready to enter the next stage of setting up our Collaboration website. We wantto encourage all Gakyils to find some of their members with good computer skills whoare ready to help within their group.The best way would be to organize computer lessons with these volunteers for those intheir Community who are currently using the Collaboration Website.We believe that much of the uncertainties about the work at the site and many questionscould be resolved this way.Please also read the “Collaboration Paper” by Yeshi Namkhai, pages 17ff, regarding thework at the website.Feedback can be sent to the red IG garuda@bluewin.ch

Greetings from the International Gakyil

Yeshi Namkhai (Yellow/President)Mark Fulton (Yellow)Fabio Andrico (Blue)Karin Eisenegger (Red)

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