Essence of Mahamudra...Buddhist faction and a Bonpo faction of non-Buddhists. The Bonpos still...

The Wheel of Times • 1

December 2020

Iam happy to take this opportunity tospeak on a topic which is so profoundand vast.

As you know, all of the traditions ofBuddhism that Tibetans practise came fromIndia. We inherited the practices fromIndians, brought over by both Tibetans andIndians. Not only were Tibetans travelling toIndia in search of the most precious, mostesoteric, and the most advanced teachings.They then brought the teachings back toTibet, translated the texts and explain to theTibetans what those practices were all about.It was also the Indian teachers, even thosewho didn’t speak any Tibetan, also came toTibet to share teachings.

So that’s something that we actually needto think about. The Buddhism that we

practise we basically owe to the Indians. TheIndian origin of Tibetan Buddhism is to bevalued. I think it’s very important not tooveremphasise the notion that as Tibetanswe came up with something reallyextraordinary, but to value the roots fromwhich it came. I believe that to be veryvaluable because, after all, our roots meaneverything.

Tibetan Buddhism encourages that notionas do many other Buddhist traditions. In theZen tradition they talk about TheTransmission of the Lamp which is a verysacred Zen text that talks about thetransmission of the lineage.

Buddhism came to Tibet in two waves.They are known as the “spreads” ofBuddhism: the early and later spreads or

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

• Essence of Mahamudra

• Buddhist Summer School Online January 2021

• Interview with Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel

• Interview with Dechen Davies

• News from Maitripa Centre, Healesville

• News from Nyima Tashi Buddhist Centre New Zealand

• News from E-Vam Buddhist Institute U.S.

• News from Akshara Bookshop

• News from Shogam Publications

• E-Vam Institute 2021 Summer Teaching Program

• E-Vam Institute 2021 Autumn Teaching Program

Essence of MahamudraTraleg Kyabgon Rinpoche

This is the first of a series of four talks Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche gave on Mahamudra Meditationin Sydney in 2009. The next three talks will be featured in consecutive E-Vam newsletters.

Managing Editor: Matthew Dawson

2 • The Wheel of Times

Padmasambhava and other earlierTantricas, before Langdarma’s time.Buddhism was first brought to Tibet byGuru Padmasambhava and is seen inTibetan and Bhutan and many otherplaces as a master and a hero. In Tibet wethink of Padmasambhava as the secondBuddha: sang gye nyi pa (sangs rgyas gnyispa). Sang gye nyi pa means “secondBuddha” – sang gye of course means the“Buddha.”

With these new influences and eventsboth in Tibet and in India – politically,sociologically, religiously – it was a very,very interesting time and also veryunsettling as so many new things werehappening.

When we think of Mahamudrateachings and so forth we need to relate tothe notion that new forms of tantra werebrought to Tibet. You would not find a lotof the old tantras in the Tibetan canonical

literature. They are not there in theTibetan canon, for example, but the newtantras are. So the old tantras were putinto a separate collection, for example, theNyingma Gyübum (rnying ma rgyudbum), and have remained separate.

The newer forms of Tantricism taught aform of graduated path to enlightenment,in its own way. It was somewhat modelledon the sutric approach to enlightenment,as taught in traditional Mahayanateachings. Mahayana, as it is taught inTibetan Buddhism, emphasises twodifferent approaches. One is the sutricapproach, the exoteric approach, and theother is the esoteric approach. Theexoteric approach of Mahayana speaksabout five paths, ten stages ofenlightenment and so on, which is afamiliar model of a bodhisattva.

disseminations. The first one was knownas the Nyingma school, meaning “ancient”.Nyingma, in this context, means the“first,” the first Tibetans who embracedBuddhism. So the first people to embraceBuddhism became known as“Nyingmapas.”

Buddhism was basically destroyed inthe 9th century, around the time of KingLangdarma. There was a lot of conflictand factions within the courts – aBuddhist faction and a Bonpo faction ofnon-Buddhists. The Bonpos still wantedto practise their ancient Bön religion.

Originally what is often referred to asthe lama dance or “Black Hat’ dance – thedancers wear costumes with flared sleevesand broad hats, sometimes masks andother attire. This was originally a Bönpodance. Many of these rituals wereeventually incorporated into the TibetanBuddhist tradition. The Black Hat danceand many other ritual practices have manyelements of the Bönpo rituals remaining.

After King Langdarma’s death his twosons moved into power. One son was pro-Buddhist and the other was anti-Buddhist. They fought and the Tibetankingdom ended up fragmented. Thisushered in a whole new kind ofBuddhism, which is known as “new”, theSarmapas. Nyingma means “old or firstschool,” and Sarma means “new school.”So the Mahamudra types of teachings thatare followed mainly within the Kagyutradition come from that time, not onlyin Tibet but in India also. Those wereturbulent times in India as well. TheMoguls were making their way into India.The Moguls who saw themselves asMongolian ruled India practically untilthe British came to India.

At this time a new development ofBuddhism was taking place, known asTantricism, which is a form of esotericBuddhism. History scholars argue aboutthe timing but roughly it began aroundthe 9th, 10th century, to the 14th. Thesedates are not precise. You can even add acentury or two or take a century or twooff.

This new development in Tantricismthat was brought to Tibet ushered in awhole new way of looking at tantricteachings – quite different from thatwhich was introduced by Guru

In exoteric Mahayana the model of areally good aspirant on the path toenlightenment is known as the“bodhisattva: the one who has generatedenlightened heart,” which means one whohas made the commitment to cultivatemind which is both enlightened, imbuedwith wisdom, and also with compassion,love and things of that kind. Thecultivation of such altruistic qualities ispracticed for a long time, so five paths, tenstages of the bodhisattva path are spokenabout.

The tantric path of the new school, asopposed to the old school, is modelled onthat. Even the old school talks about thenine yanas, nine vehicles and so on. It isslightly different because the old schoolapproach is still not as gradual, not asdescriptive, and the path is not presentedin a very structured way as with the newschool approach to Tantricism, esotericBuddhism.

The newer wave of Tantricism was verystructured. You start with the kriya,charya, yoga tantras which are differentlevels of esoteric practices of which thehighest form is known as “Mahamudra.”Mahamudra in itself cannot really bedescribed as a tantric practice in manyways and I will try to explain over thesefour teachings what I mean by that.

For now it is sufficient to say that thehighest form of tantric practice you can doin the new tantras is what we call“fulfilment stage” practices. Practices likedream yoga, illusory body yoga and otherforms of yoga, yogas that will help you togo deeper and deeper into yourself, notjust using your mind but even your body.So you use physical exercises breathingexercises - the body, mind and breath, andvisualisation bring together the mentalaspect.

The mental aspect is the mostimportant thing and visualisation is a veryimportant part of that practice. So evenwhen you are dealing with the body, youare thinking of the body in a visualisedway. You are using imagination even withyour body. You are not just thinking: Oh,this is body and this is mind. I’m justthinking this or I’m just imagining this orthat. What you are actually imagining andwhat you are doing with your body andyour breath are integrating them.

“Mahamudra is seen as the highest

form of tantricteachings that are

discussed in Tantricism.How to integrate thebody, mind and prana

or motility – true integration.”


These teachings say that the breath,prana, is not just about breathing.I suppose it’s like oxygen and

energy so if we think of prana in that way,instead of just breath or wind, as it is oftentranslated, then we might get a better senseof what we are working with. Sometimes, ifsomething knocks you out for a fewseconds or you are rendered breathless andsuddenly you come back, you becomerejuvenated and reanimated, brought backto consciousness – that is prana.

Tantricism says our breath andresponsiveness is intimately related withour mind. When our mind becomes morealert and more conscious then we start tobreathe again. Your bodily sensations,bodily feelings and prana becomereactivated.

Mahamudra is seen as the highest formof tantric teachings that are discussed inTantricism. How to integrate the body,mind and prana or motility – trueintegration.

As an aside, Prana has many functions.There are pranas that move downwards,pranas that move upwards, pranas thatspread out all over your body, it is quiteintricate. While tantra focuses onteachings like that, Mahamudra goesbeyond that. In Mahamudra there is noneed for visualisation or any specific formsof tantric or ritual practice. At the sametime it is not like the exoteric approach tomeditation and the path of spiritualpractice outlined in traditional sutricteachings, the Mahayana teachings.

It is not the graduated path with the fivepaths and ten stages of the bodhisattvasand so on. Rather, it is a special form ofmeditation which really focuses on howto get into or uncover our own naturalstate, very much compatible with theDzogchen teachings of the old schoolbefore Langdarma’s time.

That’s why a little bit of the historicalbackground is important because there aresimilarities. Mahamudra has similaritieswith the Zen and Chan teachings of Japanand China as well. Mahamudra is veryadvanced but at the same time veryaccessible. It’s more accessible than manyother forms of esoteric practices.

If one does esoteric tantric practicesthen one is required to receive initiationsor empowerments, abhisheka, trans-

mission and receive instruction and thenpractice many rituals, visualisations, chantmantras and so forth. Tantricism is veryaffective in bringing contradictions intoone experience explicitly. You bringcontradictions together and then you aretransported to another level of being, astate which you have not been familiarwith within yourself. That is one of theextraordinary things about Tantricism.Tantricism is somewhat designed to bepracticed in such a way that it bringseverything to a head. It becomes visible tothe practitioner. You can’t play safe inTantricism. That is why politicalcorrectness and tantricism do not alwaysgo together. All the tantricas, the mastershave passed on their practices andmethods. One after the other, onetransmits the essence of the practice to theother and the other and other. So that’s

the thing about the highest form, what wecall the highest yogatantra – Maha-nuttarayogatantra it’s called actually –which is the last stage of tantric practice.

Mahamudra goes beyond suchpractices. Mahamudra does not demandthat we perform such rituals or that we dothese kinds of yoga practices or anythinglike that. But that does not mean we donot pay attention to physical postures,breathing, diet. These are still importantif you practise Mahamudra meditation.And explanation by a master is required.

The practice is about shamatha andvipashyana. It’s not very complicated andelaborate. It’s very direct and to the point.We use shamatha practice and vipashyanapractice similarly to the way in which

these practices are done in the exotericcontext but [we think of it] in a differentway, a non-graduated way – almost in anon-systematic way. Instead of thinking,“I have to approach everything in a step-by-step manner” you think in terms ofhow to empower yourself, how toactualise yourself, how to realise yourselfin a more direct manner.

That’s what Mahamudra teaches – asdoes Dzogchen of the old school. Being inthe natural state is what one is trying toattain and being in the natural state isequated with enlightenment itself.Enlightenment then is not seen assomething remote, hard to reach,something that we have to wait forever foror that we will not be able to realise unlesswe subject ourselves to countless years ofhardship and ascetic practices orsomething like that.

Enlightenment is presented, I suppose,in a much more human way. It issomething that we can realise but thatdoes not mean we can realise Mahamudrajust like that.

Obviously, you don’t attain Mahamudraor anything by being lazy. But on the otherhand, we may think, “Oh, it will takeforever – many lifetimes, or many, manyyears of arduous practice” and“Enlightenment is something so hard toget,” that kind of thing. So avoiding thosetwo extremes is the key, I suppose:knowing that you have to apply yourself,that you have to be attentive because thatis the whole idea of doing Mahamudrapractice – it is supposed to empower you.But the only way we can empower

we can actually relate to and aspire to,otherwise it might be a bit too remote. I’msure it is like that in life generally, in a way.Whatever it is that you aspire to – havingthat perspective is very important.

So in Mahamudra practice, basicallywhat one tries to do then is to bringtogether one’s own actual state of beingnow and the state that we aspire to. Inother words, what we want to become andwhat we already are – we try to bring themtogether. That’s the key and that’s what wealways want to do but we always end up inconflict because we don’t see any way toconnect what we are and what we want tobe. Mahamudra teachings really talkabout this on many different levels.

So that is a key point and it is talkedabout not just in regard to cognitivechange, of how we should change ourattitude in terms of how we see ourselvesnow and how we want to see ourselves inthe future – not just in terms ofenlightenment, spiritually or in religiousterms, but even on the psychological orpersonal or normal level. So it is dealingnot just with the spiritual level but


ourselves is if we are being attentive, if wepay attention and we learn to be aware –all those things. I will explain this moreover the four talks.

That is the key, and then enlightenmentis not so remote. Enlightenment is notsomething only Buddhas haveexperienced because, after all, enlight-enment also has degrees. Just likehappiness – some of us are less happy thanothers, some are happier than us and weget worried and then we get less happy!Enlightenment is also like that. We shouldbe thinking like that, in terms of degree.

We should not be thinking ofenlightenment as a fixed state, that it islike we are trying to get to some kind ofstate. That is not the case with anythingactually. Even when we want to get a PhDdegree or get married or something, justbecause all your life you have beenthinking, “I just want to get married andlive happily ever after, and this person isgoing to give me all the comfort I need”.

It is a very important point and if wethink like that then enlightenmentbecomes more tangible, something that

personally and psychologically as well –that’s the key.

In other words, Mahamudra teachingshave something to say about how weshould deal with our feelings, ouremotions, our experiences, on a daily basis– what we experience, how we shouldrelate to those experiences, things likethat, so it is not just in terms ofenlightenment, of attaining nirvana orBuddhahood.

And I think that’s a very importantpoint because there are many differentways to deal with emotions and feelingsand so on within Buddhism. Buddhismactually has a very rich literature on thesubject, as you know, but Mahamudrateachings present a different angle to it.

I would like to talk to you a little bitabout that over the next few talks. I willput that in context and talk about howmeditation practices are done, how we usemeditation to effect these changes, interms of our emotions, feelings, thoughtsand, of course, ultimately, how we try tolearn to be in our own natural state, justlearning to be, within ourselves. n

ONLINE9-11 January 2021

www.buddhistsummerschool.org

Start the New Year immersing yourself in Buddhist Meditation, Philosophy & Psychology


Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel has studied andpracticed the Buddhadharma for 35 yearsunder the guidance of her teacher andhusband Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. She isthe retreat master of Samten Ling inCrestone, Colorado and has spent over sixyears in retreat. She holds a degree inanthropology and an M.A. in BuddhistStudies and teaches throughout the U.S.,Australia, and Europe. She is the author ofThe Power of an Open Question: TheBuddha’s Path to Freedom and The Logicof Faith: the Buddhist Path to FindingCertainty Beyond Belief and Doubt.Elizabeth will be teaching at the BuddhistSummer School 2021.

Felicity Lodro: Thank you for taking thetime for this interview. We are excited thatyou can join us for the Buddhist SummerSchool January 2021. At the SummerSchool you are speaking on the MiddleWay. How would you describe theMiddle Way and what were some of yourmain reasons for selecting this topic?

Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel: In a moregeneral way, the Middle Way describes alife of balance and moderation. TheBuddha’s life story is an example of howwe can’t find unconditional happinessthrough external pleasures, or throughrejecting the richness of the sensual world.For example, we might think of themiddle way as trying to moderate our livesbetween two opposing activities, such asworking during the week and then doing

spiritual retreat on the weekends. That is avery practical and intelligent way to useour time. But, the practice is much deeperthan how we organize our life aroundextremes. It refers to stepping outside thisdualistic system of extremes altogether.

Eternalism and nihilism arephilosophical terms that the Buddhareferred to in certain texts, but it is alsoimportant to examine how these extremesexpress themselves in our lives.Experientially we might describe them as“rightness” and “doubt,” or “hope” and“fear”. Rightness (or fundamentalism)comes from our inability to embracecomplexity and nuance. When rigidbeliefs are challenged by circumstances,we fall into doubt. Rightness and doubtare two sides of the same coin. We mightcling, for example, to the positive qualitieswe identify with a specific friend, and thenfeel betrayed when we see another side ofhim; or we might fall into despair when

something happens in our spiritualcommunity that we don’t understand. Wemay fall into a spiritual crises when wefind ourselves unable to reconcile thesespiritual and temporal worlds, because weare clinging desperately to how we thinklife should look. The world is prettyrambunctious when it comes to ourpreferences, so to expect things to be as wethink they should, lacks nuance, clarityand depth.

The Middle Way teachings offer asolution — a resting place — that take usbeyond this system of dualism. I often usethe metaphor of “the mind of an openquestion,” to describe the wisdom aspectof this path, because almost everyone hasmoments of engaging life with opennessand curiosity, which can accommodate amore nuanced way of looking at things.

This is important to recognize inourselves. This way of poising the mind,makes dialogue, creativity and healthyparticipation in life, available to us.I think we humans needs us to find ourway out of extreme thinking now morethan ever. It is easy to look outside ofourselves and accuse others of beingfundamentalists, but in truth, if we arewilling to look, we can find a lot offundamentalism in our own mind…anddoubt too. It is really good to see — veryfreeing to expose all that to the light of ourintelligence.

Felicity: Aspects of the Dharma describessome of our experiences as illusory, alsothat our attitudes and habitual tendenciescreate an internal personal environmentthat cause varying degrees of separationfrom reality. Believing everything we seehear and experience is real andpermanent – eternalise, or that nothing isreal nor has meaning - nihilism are seen asextreme views. What philosophical pointof view would create a healthier and moremoderated or central view of existence?

Elizabeth: The Middle Way teachings ofthe Mahayana offer us a way to investigateour assumptions about the world weencounter. As you say, we often see thingsin a course way, clinging to them as “real”or “permanent.” Of course, this is trickyterritory because if we look out in theworld and say: “Oh, don’t worry aboutanything, it isn’t real,” it sounds like adenial of experience. We never want toundermine our own or others’ experience,which arises due to the nature ofinterdependence and is very powerful andacutely experienced. The point here is torespect the power of interdependence,while understanding that things are notlimited to what we think of them.

So how are things then? And what does“real” or “unreal” mean in the context ofthe middle way? That takes time tounpack, because we have so manyunexamined assumptions about “realness”.I promise to challenge everyone’sassumption about realness in this retreat,which is really fun!

I don’t want to get too philosophical

“It is easy to look outside ofourselves and accuse others

of being fundamentalists,but in truth, if we are willingto look, we can find a lot offundamentalism in our own

mind…and doubt too.”

Interview with Elizabeth Mattis-NamgyelFelicity Lodro


from a lack of information as to what theBuddha was actually saying. In fact, Iwould say that the middle way teachingsinvite us into a way of being in life that iscourageous and lively, because it has to dowith committing oneself to not shuttingdown around experience. Whoever trainsin the middle way, learns to embrace boththe pain and beauty of life withoutgrasping and rejection. Life within thesystem of hope and fear keeps our mindconstantly trapped in a disturbed state.Wouldn’t it be joyful to get free of that?

Felicity: Thank you for providing suchinsightful answer. What a lovely interview.I look forward to attending your course atthe Buddhist Summer School. n

here. Yes, these teachings do have aphilosophical aspect, but they are meantto be directly and personally explored.Philosophical views are abstract, and themiddle way path brings us out ofabstraction ideas into a more directrelationship with reality. A greatBuddhist master, Nagarjuna, said: “Iprostrate to he who has abandoned allviews.” He was speaking about theBuddha, and the views he refers to hereare eternalism and nihilism. He issuggesting that there is another way ofbeing in the world that is insightful, inaccord with how things are, and accessibleby direct investigation. It is “first personscience,” which also requires a lot of heart

and devotion, because through practicewe venture into discovering somethingvery deep about our mind and its world.

Felicity: It is easy to understand theimportance of moderating or carefullyconsidering ones approach, behavioursand extreme or polarising attitudes andviews. Sometimes it can be understood asnot being too passionate in life, curbingjoy, enthusiasm, and less engagement inlife. Can you speak about the essence ofthe Middle Way in relation to engaging inlife and enjoying life?

Elizabeth: It could be that some peoplethink of the middle way as passive,neutral, disengaged or indecisive. That isa language assumption that also results

Dechen Davies has been a student of TralegKyabgon Rinpoche for more than 20 years,for 8 of those she was ordained as a nun. Shehas engaged in short term retreats and hasbeen practicing meditation for more than 2decades. Dechen will be teaching on the Joyof Meditation at the Buddhist SummerSchool 2021.

Matthew Dawson: Thanks for taking thetime to do this interview Dechen. Whatschool of Buddhism do you practice inwithin the Tibetan Buddhist tradition?

Dechen Davies: Kagyu-Nyingmatraditions.

Matthew: And how did you first comeacross E-Vam Institute and the Kagyu and

Nyingma schools?

Dechen: It's probably a less commonanswer that I'll give. My parentsintroduced me to the Kagyu tradition. Myparents ran a Kagyu Centre in Sydney inthe 70s and 80s where I first grew up.After that we moved out of the Centre butwere still very closely involved. As a family,we would attend teachings there and visitthe Centre often. We would have visitingteachers stay at our house. So from ayoung age, I had Kagyu-Nyingmainfluences in terms of teachers just in mylife in a more casual way.

Matthew: And how old were you whenthey first started inviting teachers aroundto their Centre?

Dechen: They ran the Centre before I wasborn. And so it was my early life, I think,probably up until I was about two orthree, maybe two, was when we movedout of the Centre. Yes. I think my brotherwasn't born when we were at the Centre.And it just wasn't appropriate to have afamily there at the time. But in terms ofwhen I was first introduced, I was a baby(laughs). I can't remember the firstteachers. But there are photos of teachersholding me as a baby, so yeah, very young.

Matthew: How about your parents?How did they come across Buddhism orwere their parents Buddhists as well?

Dechen: And their parents parents(laughs)...I'm not sure exactly how mymum first got involved with Buddhism.But I know that she was at the first retreatnow known as Chenrezig Institute withLama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. I think thatwas the first Tibetan retreat in Australia. Ibelieve that was in the early 70s. And mydad was interested from a young age, froma teenager, reading some zen and someTrungpa Rinpoche books as well. But itmakes me realize how little I do knowbecause I couldn't actually tell you howthey came to the Dharma.

And so when His Holiness 16thKarmapa passed away in 1981 and thenhis cremation was held at Rumtek. And

Interview with Dechen DaviesMatthew Dawson


because my parents had the Sydney KagyuCentre they went as representatives and Iwent with them. So I suppose that was afairly big Kagyu influence in terms of earlyinfluences and getting to meet all theteachers as a baby at that point andattending His Holiness' cremation.

Matthew: Oh, so you actually went toRumtek Monastery for the cremation?

Dechen: I mean, I can't remember it. Butyes, I did.

Matthew: You were a baby or a smallchild?

Dechen: I was a baby. I was like one ortwo. And then you asked how I came to E-Vam Institute. So I started toindependently develop an interest inBuddhism. I wasn't raised Buddhist. I wasraised in a cultural environment withBuddhism. I wasn't taught anything. Thatwas a specific instruction from my parentsteacher. Not to teach my brother and IBuddhism. So we learnt about storiesabout the masters, we read King Gesar, weread Siddhartha's life story. So we had thatcultural kind of environment. Also, we saidmantras for insects when they died. Andwe understood, very superficially, aboutkarma, but we didn't understand whatBuddhism really taught. I really becameinterested when I left home. I separatedmyself from my parents because they werebig figures in the New South Wales andSydney Buddhist scene. I moved toBrisbane, became interested, startedpracticing and studying there. Then I wasreally wanting a teacher, and praying forand aspiring to find a teacher. Around thattime, Traleg Rinpoche came to Sydneywhen I was down visiting my parents. Andso I did Mahamudra teachings with himthen. It wasn't the first time that I'd methim, but it was the first time I'd takenteachings from him. And from then on, Ijust kept taking teachings with him. And,yeah, that's how I got involved.

Matthew: And you say you had metTraleg Rinpoche previously, was thatwhen your folks had invited him up togive a teaching at their Centre?

Dechen: That was when he would visitedour house. I never attended the teachingsthen. But yes, he was doing teachings. Buthe might come over for a meal, both

Rinpoche and Felicity, so yeah, more onthat kind of casual social basis.

Matthew: It's amazing to hear that kindof background because I've known you foraround 10 years, but I had no idea aboutthat. I sort of knew that your parents wereBuddhists, but I didn't know that theyactually ran a Buddhist Centre up inNSW and that you were raised from sucha young age, in that kind of environment.So I guess your background would colourhow you see spirituality and the modernworld because you've grown up in thatkind of environment. So I just wonderedwhat your thoughts on how you seespirituality, and how you see being amodern person and engaging withspirituality is for you?

Dechen: I mean, it's hard to say how yourbackground colours your perception, isn'tit? Because it's hard to say unless you buttup against someone with a differentbackground. I was discussing this theother day. I think that I have less of aproblem accepting what a lot of modernpeople might consider non-scientificideas, like karma. I work in science, I workin research, but I don't have any issue withkarma. And there's no kind of dissonancewithin myself in accepting that. And Ithink that perhaps, in that way, I might besimilar to someone who was raised in aBuddhist country where it's just part ofyour belief system. I feel like I don't haveto put in energy to reconcile my modernbeliefs and my spiritual beliefs. In terms ofpracticing in a modern world, I think thatis the key to it. We put in a lot of energyinto trying to understand what is faith,and what can I back up with evidence, andthough those things are important to adegree, we use so much energy doing itthat it can take away from just relaxingand going with a belief system that you'vedecided to go with. And I don't mean thatin a blind way, that we should acceptthings in a blind way, but I feel like a lotof people struggle with just the energy iswhat I see. There's a lot of energy havingto be put out, or if you don't think thatyou're putting out energy reconciling thenperhaps you're kind of almost repressingand going, “I'm just going to put it on theback burner”. But to me, that also is a wayto expel energy putting it on the backburner, because it's still there, unresolved.

And that sounds like I'm being a bitpsychoanalytic. Do you get what I mean?With something like karma or rebirth I'mvery aware that I might come across asvery unscientific, but I don't care becauseI don't have to worry about it. Like I geton with my life. It's not an issue for me. Interms of, other ways of living in the world.I don't know, have I answered thequestion?

Matthew: I think you have. I feel likewhat you were getting at was that thereseems to be a lot of resources dedicated tomaking everything scientific. And some ofthat energy could be directed into justdoing an experiment on yourself. To seewhether you think it works for you. Andyeah, everything seems to be, well, at leastmost things seem to be quantitative andbacked up with statistics and everythinglike that. But on the other hand, there'salso that subjective experiential aspect tolife as well, which is very hard to quantifyand break down into, numbers andpigeonhole. I very much resonate withwhat you're saying about the energy beingdedicated to different world views.

Dechen: And I think that it's a misplacedenergy in some ways because, we all arebelieving things that aren't scientific all thetime. You just decide what you're going tobelieve and that's it. You have somethought about it, but then you go with it.That's just my opinion.

Matthew: I understand that you were anun for a while. So you were part of amonastic community for a time in theTibetan tradition. Might you want to saysomething about what that was like? Andhow do you think it compares, lifestylewise, to being a lay practitioner?

Dechen: It's very different. I'd clarify bysaying I wasn't part of a monasticcommunity. I was a monastic. But I didn'tever live in a monastic community. So Ididn't really get to experience that. As anun, there definitely was something aboutwhen I would be with other monastics,that just felt wonderful. And I'd seesomeone and I'd be drawn to them, evenseeing Catholic nuns, I'd be drawn tothem, just as others who have alsocommitted to that way of life. And I wasspeaking to other nuns and monks, theyalso felt like that a lot. So there is


come for a drink. (Laughs) Like, I say thatas a joke, but it's actually true. Peoplearen't going to ask you to so many events,to so many social things. If you say no,you're not going to have people questionyou on it, or they're not going to say, 'Oh,come on just this once.' You know, youhave a very visible sign and people kind ofleave you alone in that sense.

Matthew: Yeah, that's an interesting one.On a personal level, taking the nointoxicants vow has been a reallyinteresting experience for me because Istarted to notice in social situations, howmuch people talk socially, just aboutdrinking alcohol. So one thing taking thatvow has made me take stock of is the typesof social groups that I mix with. But also Ifind in some social situations even ifsomeone knows you are a Buddhist, thatin some ways, you might not get invitedto so many social situations, like going fora drink because of the perception thatBuddhists don't drink or like to have fun.I mean, it hasn't happened overly to me,but on occasion I’ve felt that way. I couldbe projecting too of course. I'm just sayingthat I can relate to what you're sayingabout the robes being a symbol. And thatit sort of tells the world to perhaps treatyou in a different way.

Dechen: We just mentioned drinking,and that's kind of an obvious one, but it'salso other kind of wastes of time, andconversations. So, as a nun, peoplewouldn't make sexual jokes around me.Generally. I can think of a few exceptions.But there would be less kind of inaneconversations. Less gossip. In generalpeople have a sense that you are a holy

person (Laughs). I mean, most peoplewho knew me, knew I wasn't, but there issome level of respect for the robes, andthat certain behaviours around someonewearing robes is not really appropriate.And if those conversations happened, Igenerally stayed quiet. And that happens.If people gossip around me now, I oftenstay quiet. But I think I'm more perceivedas rude for not joining in. Whereas in thepast, I had a good reason.

Matthew: And might you want to saysomething about – and this ties in to thesocial dimension of being a Buddhist –Buddhists engaging in social issues. Mightyou want to say something about that?

Dechen: Are you talking about comingfrom what we've been talking about orsocial activism?

Matthew: I'm talking more about socialactivism. I guess it can be seen as anextension of those social situations, forinstance, you're in a social situation havinga conversation and a social issue mightcome up, whatever that issue might be.

Dechen: I think as a Buddhist, youshould be engaged and you should not beapathetic to the world. You should take aninterest, when you have the energy and the

ability to do so. Some people don't havethat ability. And I think it's completelyfine if they turn a bit insular in their focus.But I do think where possible, you shouldbe engaged. However, it's important to dothat with a sense of a greater perspectiveand that we are aware, in terms of theimpermanence of things. The worldconstantly changes. And we should havegreat intentions to change the world. Butalso understand that it will never beperfect. While beings have a dualisticmind, they will never be free of suffering,no matter how hard we try. But thatshouldn't dampen our efforts. Also,because we don't have great wisdom, andwe can't see clearly, even if we think we'redoing something righteously, and we haveall the facts, that whatever we do, mayactually end up causing harm to others. Sothat's, I think, evident throughout history.People thinking they’re doing good, if youlook back, perhaps there have beenramifications that were unforeseen. Andso I think having some sense of, alwayshaving good intentions, we should try our

something about community that is reallyimportant, but I didn't experience that. Soyeah, I was ordained for eight years. Interms of the difference betweenordination and being a lay person... Isuppose it really does depend on how youare a lay person. I spent three yearstraining to be a monastic and so my lifewas different, but it wasn't as different as itis now, if that makes sense. So, pre takingrobes was not as different as post takingrobes. And that makes sense because pretaking robes, you're gearing up, you'repreparing for something. So it's not such abig shift in your life. The key one is, whenyou're wearing robes, it's a massive symbolto everybody that you are on a differentpath. And that they should probably treatyou differently. And also to yourself everymorning, when you put on robes, it's areminder that you have taken vows andwhat that means, and what your purposethat you're giving to your life is. The actualactivities might not differ to somebodywho is able to spend a lot of their timepracticing and studying the Dharma as alay person. But there aren't many laypeople who have the ability to make vowcommitments every day and then alsotwice a month, making confession andpurifying your vows. You know, unlessyou're doing something like Vajrasattvapractice regularly maybe some laypractitioners don’t really experience that. Ithink that although the activities might bedissimilar to someone who is living in aretreat centre, or is full time in a Dharmacentre and not having another job outsideof that, the difference is that it's veryunlikely that you'll be asked by others to


joy! I really think this is important. Andit’s what I’ll be talking about at BuddhistSummer School practicing with joy,because, if you turn it into a hard slog, it’snot going to happen. And you’re just notgoing to want to do it. And it soundsobvious, but I feel like spiritualpractitioners, Buddhist and others canreally fall into this pit of turning it intoanother form of self- flagellation, findinganother way of having negative thoughtsabout yourself. Guilt because you didn'tpractice. Guilt because you didn't act theway you should have. Yes. So do it, but tryto create positive reinforcement around it.For example, always end on a high, don'tpush yourself until it feels negative.

Matthew: That's a very important point.

Dechen: Yeah. I mean, there's no pointbeing an unhappy spiritual person or anunhappy Buddhist. Personally, I think joyis one of the most fundamental qualities.If you're joyful, you have the energy topractice, you are going to impart positiveenergy to other people. Even if you're notactually practicing, you're going to be in amind that is more likely to practice. So tome, that's one of the keys.

Matthew: I'm looking forward todropping in on your Buddhist SummerSchool course. Thank you so much fortaking the time.

Dechen: Okay. Thank you Matt. n

hardest, but not be fixed on what we'redoing, not become obsessed, andoppositional or polarised. It may be thatperhaps people who are doing somethingdifferent, maybe their course of actionmight be the best one. We don't have greatwisdom to see, we don't have thatforesight to see what the implications ofour actions will be. So engaging inactivism, engaging in social issues, whilealso maintaining a greater perspective.

Matthew: And what advice would youhave to people interested in spirituality ingeneral and Buddhism in particular, whohave the interest or the inclination? Whatadvice would you have for them?

Dechen: Do it. Keep doing it. Do it with

subsequent travel, enough toilet paper tosee both groups through!).

Since then we have been attending toroutine maintenance tasks plus a fewminor upgrades to make sure Maitripa isin good condition for re-opening.

During lockdown we stayed busy witha range of upgrades. We have installed anew solid-wood staircase outside thelower bedroom wing (driveway-side) inorder to keep our exit-pathways safe. Wehave improved the plumbing in the upperbathroom block, small laundry, washroom and smaller resident kitchen. Also,we now have an improved hot watersupply to these areas and the excess pipinghas been removed.

It has been an interesting year forMaitripa. In 2019 as many may know,

due to a massive effort by some of theSangha and contractors we now have avery impressive and immaculatelyrenovated kitchen area. Due to covid wehaven’t been able to show it off very much.Thank fully, we are looking forward towelcoming back groups to Maitripa in thenear future.

Maitripa has been closed since March2020 due to covid restrictions. The lastgroup activity was a double-site bookingon Labour Day weekend between OneHeart Yoga & Meditation and ZiranKung Fu Academy. (We managed tosecure, through extensive searching and

Michael Neighbour has been apowerhouse in the gardens over the lastcouple of months since restrictions haveallowed for him to come on site. Hiscontributions have included fire hazardreduction, reduction of harmful weeds,rejuvenating some of the garden beds withnew shrubs, and ferns, planting treesthroughout the property, and installingpossum guards on trees near buildings tominimise any potential damage. We arevery fortunate to have Michael at Maitripaand extend our sincere appreciation forhis efforts.

New residents Damian and Bec settledinto Maitripa just a few weeks before thelockdown and were absolutely wonderfulat adapting to the new situation andcarrying out various maintenance andgardening tasks.

We have developed a clear covid-safeplan at Maitripa and look forward towelcoming the different groups and the E-Vam sangha once again. It is alreadylooking like a busy start to 2021. We lookforward to hosting retreats again soon,both group and solitary, and are open forbookings and site visits. If you would liketo find out more or inquire about holdinga retreat at Maitripa please feel free tocontact us at [email protected]

Wishing everyone a safe and healthySummer ahead. n

Daniel BlazeMatripa Caretaker

Maitripa Centre, Healesville Update


Throughout all of this, regular activityof the Centre has continued throughweekly meditation classes and Book Club– which this year has been readingShogam’s publication of Traleg Rinpoche’sbook “Desire : Why it Matters”. TheShedra class has focused on TralegRinpoche’s teachings on MiphamRinpoche’s great treatise “Gateway toKnowledge”.

We wish to take this opportunity toacknowledge our genuine indebtedness tothe indomitable Ani Jangchub Lhamowhose unceasing devotion upholds theprecious legacy of The 9th TralegKyabgon Rinpoche. We look to the 10thTraleg Rinpoche with the unendingaspiration that He will one day return toHis Centre here in Auckland. n

Meaghan DuffyFor more information about Nyima Tashi:

Website https://nyima-tashi.org.nz Email [email protected]

government to contain the spread ofCOVID-19. Through this time, activityat the Centre has not ceased as it has beena ripe opportunity for practice and retreat.

Nyima Tashi offered teachings via zoomstarting with topics elucidated by the 9thTraleg Kyabgon Rinpoche such asMahamudra practice & Compassion.

When open to the public, Nyima Tashihas concentrated on short term coursesthat have been well attended by Buddhistsand non-Buddhists alike. Examples ofthese courses are “Are we Unhappy?”,“Learning to Sit” and most recently ashort introductory course explaining thebasis of the practice of Tonglen.

News from Nyima Tashi Buddhist Centre Auckland, New Zealand

We at Nyima Tashi send our warmestgreetings to all and offer the best

wishes for everyone’s good health andhappiness.

Nyima Tashi opened for 2020 with theannual Auckland Buddhist SummerSchool. This was the first Summer Schoolin our beautiful new premises at 717 NewNorth Rd in Mt Albert. This year’sSummer School featured the masterfulZen teacher, Ekai Roshi, as well as thelucid Judy Lief from Shambhala in the USand also Dr Tony Fernando, a practicingpsychiatrist based in Auckland with aspecial interest in how to support medicalprofessionals to develop and maintainCompassion.

Plans were well underway for a 7-dayretreat with Lama Chonam & SangyeKhandro on the practices of TromaNagmo Chod from the Dudjom lineagein April 2020. But as the situation withCOVID-19 rapidly unfolded and out ofconcern for the wellbeing of our esteemedTeachers and the many students who werearriving from overseas, the course wascancelled. We continue to hold the sincereaspiration that it will be possible to inviteLama Chonam & Sangye Khandro backto Auckland in the future to receiveteachings from this most auspiciouslineage.

Like many other Centres around theworld, Nyima Tashi has spent many weekswith its doors closed to visitors throughthe various measures taken by the NZ The anniversary of Traleg Rinpoche’s parinirvana


Traleg Tulku, Nyima Tashi. This was aprofoundly moving time to reflect on ourteacher’s beginnings as a Master in theMahamudra tradition. The second studygroup topic was on the “Essence ofDzogchen”. We studied a series ofteachings by Traleg Rinpoche, nowincluded in Shogam Publications newbook, “Actuality of Being”. The teachingsby Rinpoche supported by the bookprovided not only some of the pithinstructions of Dzogchen but also somedetailed practice advice. It was both atheoretical and practical study journey. Tocomplete this years activities three of theSangha members – Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, Joyce Isabelle and Nina Widger leda day of meditations. Reviewing theDzogchen practices, contemplating the 4immeasurable – love, joy, compassion andequanimity; and resting the mind intranquility meditation. A beautiful way to

This year due to Covid we had our firstonline Retreat, Study Group Series

and Meditation Day via zoom. TheSangha in the U.S. live quite at a distancefrom one another so the opportunity tomeet online on such a regular basisbrought a closeness and intimacy that wereally weren’t expecting. In this year’sannual retreat we studied a series ofteachings on Grasping and Fixation, and asecond series on Mahamudra by TralegKyabgon Rinpoche. The teachings were soprofound and extremely helpful innavigating this most difficult of years.Lama Jinpa, a western Lama from KhenpoKarthar Rinpoche’s Sangha providedguidance for Chenrezig Puja, a practice wedid daily on retreat.

Over October and November weexplored two study group topics. The firsttopic was the study of the book “NyimaTashi”, a translation of a text from the first

complete our practice and study timetogether for the year. We look forward tocontinuing more online activitiesthroughout 2021. Please check out the E-Vam US website https://evam.org orFacebook for details, or send an email [email protected] for further information.

Earlier in the year E-Vam assistedShogam Publications to fund raise for thedocumentary now being completed onTraleg Rinpoche’s life. We wish Shogamevery success with the premiere andeventual release of the documentary.Premier invitations will be going out inthe new year to all the donors and Sanghawho have made this project possible.Thanks to all.

We pray for the long life of TralegRinpoche the 10th. On behalf of the USSangha I want to wish everyone a safe andprosperous New Year. n

Traleg Khandro

News from E-Vam Buddhist Institute in the United States


Also, congratulations to Sangha member MatthewDawson’s new Publication company Platform Booksellers andPublications and the wonderful new release of “MakingFriends Out Of Enemies” by Dungse Lama Pema.

“When destructive emotions control us, we fail to actin ways that benefit others. Instead, our enemies ofpride, jealousy, anger, greed, and ignorance hurtourselves, and moreover, the beings and theenvironment around us. This book introduces us to theclassic Tibetan Buddhist “mind training”, or lojong,instructions, which tell us how to regain our profoundlypeaceful and compassionate minds”.Also soon to be released by Platform is a new book compiled

from talks given at E-Vam Institute: Timeless Truths andModern Delusions: Buddhism, the Perennial Philsophy andModernity, By Dr Harry Oldmeadow.

As the sub-title of Timeless Truths and Modern Delusionssignals, this compilation of talks and articles focuses onBuddhism, the perennial philosophy and contemporarytensions between tradition and modernity. The authorexpounds the traditionalist perspective informing the work ofsuch figures as René Guénon, Ananda Coomaraswamy andFrithjof Schuon, focusing on their affirmation of traditionalreligious forms and their critique of modernity. HarryOldmeadow explores the challenges and opportunities facingEastern religious traditions in the contemporary West,examines the role of several key figures in the East-Westencounter, and elucidates traditional doctrines about time andcosmic cycles. The book is directly addressed to Buddhistpractitioners but will repay the attention of anyone seeking aspiritual path amidst the confusion of our age.

Both these book are and will available for order via Aksharabooks, and you can check out Platform Booksellers andPublicationss here: https://platformbooks.co n

Mark Dawson

Akshara Bookstore offers an extensive collection of BuddhistBooks and Ritual items, and I am always amazed by how

people come to the store young or old and are blown away by therange of Buddhist titles. It also surprises me that there are so manyhidden Traleg Rinpoche enthusiasts who come to the store eagerfor the Dharma!

During Melbourne’s lockdown, although Akshara was closed towalk-in customers, we were open online for contactless delivery.And with the help of the latest Traleg Rinpoche ShogamPublications, people enthusiastically kept purchasing their Dharmabooks locally. These books are excellent. If you haven’t purchased acopy of Rinpoche’s latest Shogam Releases, make sure you drop byAkshara or call us to get a copy.

New Releases from Shogam books include: Vajrayana:

An Essential Guide to PracticeTraleg Kyabgon Rinpoche explains theprofound meaning of Vajrayana, inclusive ofthe Six Yogas of Naropa, and Dream Yogademystifying the practices and providing thenecessary elucidations.

Desire: Why it MattersIn this book, Traleg Kyabgon discusses thenotion of desire from Buddhist and otherperspectives. He reviews commonly heldbeliefs of desire that are often misguided andcan be diametrically opposed. On the onehand there is the belief that desire is animportant human experience that is natural,which leads to happiness and pleasure. Thenthere is the juxtaposition that desire is a typeof demon whose expression leads to

diminishment and destruction. There has been a long standingbelief in some Eastern, Western religious and philosophicaltraditions that all forms of desire are bad and that our ultimate goalis a state of complete desirelessness.

Actuality of Being: Dzogchen and Tantric Perspectives

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche elaborates on keyaspects of the view, meditation and action ofDzogchen practice and outlines the way inwhich confusion arises; the notions of self-existing wisdom, primordial purity andnon-conceptuality; the four levels of mind;the three ways of resting the mind; the threeaspects of energy; authentication of body,

speech and mind; and the actualization of the ground; and presentsprofound practice methods to deepen one’s understanding andexperience.

Here is a link to the Shogam Website orders can be made throughAkshara books! https://www.shogam.com/books/

News From Akshara Bookstore

We are happy to announce a 10% off Sale of all titles(except new releases) during the month ofDecember. For a Member of E-Vam Institute, that is20% off! Supporting Akshara Bookstore alsosupports E-Vam Institute, helping to provide theeducation, practice, and support to the diversity ofpeople’s practice and understanding.

10% off Sale

ACTUALITYOF BEING

DZOGCHENAND TANTRIC PERSPECTIVES

TR ALEG KYAB GON

Foreword by Dzigar Kongtrül RinpocheEdited by David Bennett

Traleg KyabgonForeword by Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche

Edited by Salvatore Celiento

VajrayanaAn Essential Guide to Practice

DesireWhy

It Matters

TRALEG KYABGON

Foreword by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche

Edited by Traleg Khandro


shared with sufficient detail that thepractices can be incorporated into oneshome meditations. It provides newinsights, and demystifies many aspects ofTantra creating a far more relatablerelationship with the ritualised processesdesigned to help us all understand themind better. Actuality of Being is aprofound journey into the essentialDzogchen practices of the Ningmatradition. It not only elucidates the viewand path of Dzogchen, it also givesastounding meditational practices to giveglimpses of a purer state of minduntainted by our constant and excessiveconceptualisation.

We were also able to announcetranslations completed in 2020 by ourfriends and overseas Dharma publishers:German translation of Luminous Bliss isnow available and the Chinesetranslations of Karma: What It Is , WhatIt Isn’t and Why It Matters is also nowavailable. Thanks to some very talentedtranslators we have an ever growingselection of Rinpoche’s books throughShogam Publications and ShambhalaPublications in a variety of languages.

Next year we are planning to producetwo more books of Traleg Rinpoche’steachings, as well as introducing a newauthor to our esteemed community ofauthors. We will be able to announce ournew author in the coming year.

Shogam Publications introducedeBooks in 2019, we plan to introduce

audio books in the coming year. These areexciting developments. What is arguablyeven more exciting is that we haveventured into a new world, and we arecalling it Shogam Multimedia in line withRinpoche’s wishes, as an arm of ShogamPublications. For our first project we willbe releasing a documentary on the life ofTraleg Kyabgon Rinpoche the 9th in2021.

I don’t want to share any spoilers so itsjust a matter of waiting and then viewing,and I hope you will all do that. Thisproject has been made possible by manymany people. All the financial donors –thank you thank you thank you. Tocinematographer Leigh Tilson, whosetalent appears unending and our DirectorEditor Jocelyn Meli whose creativity hasbeen boundless. What a delight it hasbeen to work with you both. I lookforward to announcing the onlinePremier in the new year.

The core of Shogam Publicationsactivities is the books. The book team atTraleg Rinpoche’s publishing businesswere excited to release two new books in2020 by Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche:Vajrayana: An Essential Guide to Practiceand Actuality of Being: Dzogchen andTantric Perspectives. Vajrayana, providesdetails and some practices not often

I want to take this opportunity to thankthis years wonderful Shogam team fortheir commitment to sharing Rinpoche’steachings and their commitment toproducing quality books. Thanks toClaire Blaxell, David Bennett, SalvatoreCeliento, Jhampa Dhadak, and ournewest editor Sue Howes. Also,importantly I want to thank the manytranscribers and the many people whoover the years recorded Rinpoche’steachings, digitised those that needed itand stored the teachings safely. This hasenabled us to review and study Rinpoche’steachings and continue to share themmore and more with others. While TralegRinpoche the 10th is growing we cancontinue to educate ourselves in the manyaspects of the Dharma that TralegRinpoche presented. We look forwarddeeply and joyously for the time whenTraleg Rinpoche the 10th has grown andis ready to return to his Centres. It is agreat honour for all of us at Shogam toprepare books of Rinpoche’s teachingsand the documentary of Traleg Rinpoche’slife to share globally. May all beingsbenefit. Wishing you all the very best forthe new year. n

Traleg Khandro

News From Shogam Publications


16 February-9 March8-9.30 pm OnlineSpecial Event: Do Tulku Rinpoche on the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra: The Way of the Bodhisattva – Part One

The Way of the Bodhisattva is known asthe path of the awakened beings, it issynonymous with the Mahayana or GreatVehicle. In this series Do Tulku Rinpochewill introduce the teachings of theBodhisattvacaryāvatāra which provideboth the inspiration and guidance weneed to bring compassion and wisdomtogether on the path. This is part one of atwo-part series. Details TBA.

Born in South India in 1985, Do Tulku Rinpoche wasrecognized by H.H. Sakya Trizin as the 6th Raktrul Rinpoche atthe age of 17. He completed eleven years of training in Buddhistphilosophy, practice and concluded his studies in debate withthe title of Acharya at the Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi LodroInstitute. He is a lay practitioner with family. Do TulkuRinpoche is a translator in the 84000 project; and is appreciatedfor his learned, interactive and often unconventional andhumorous way of teaching Buddhist teachings.

13 March 2021Urban One-Day Retreat for Under 35sAs part of E-Vam Institute’s ongoing Under 35s Program, wewelcome newcomers and those with an interest in Buddhism toparticipate in the Urban One-Day Retreat. This full Saturdayprogram includes Indo-Tibetan yoga, meditation, Buddhistphilosophy and ritual practice. As well as incorporating aspectsof retreat such as noble silence and adopting a mindful andpositive attitude, the program offers an opportunity toexperience the fullness of retreat in a day of practice. Details TBA.

9-11 January 2021Buddhist Summer School – OnlineThe 38th Annual Buddhist Summer School is online! Start yourNew Year by immersing yourself in teachings from Theravada,Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. The Summer School offers courseson Buddhist philosophy and meditation, as well as psychologyand comparative philosophy. Teachers in 2021 include: EkaiKorematsu Roshi, Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, Ajahn DrBuddharakkhita, Sam Bercholz, Dr Ruth Gamble, Dr KathleenGregory and Dechen Davies. Reserve your place now:http://www.buddhistsummerschool.org/

29-30 JanuaryAn Evening and Day of Teachings and Practice Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IX Teachings on “View,Meditation and Action”“We cannot separate Buddhist meditation from Buddhistteachings. I think sometimes we may try to do that in moderntimes but from the Buddhist point of view, the teachings guideus with our meditation”. Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IXMany Tibetan Buddhist teachings are organised within theframework of View, Meditation and Action, providing guidanceto the practitioner on the interrelationship between ourperception of reality, subjective experience and how we interactwith others. We welcome you to join with us for a Friday eveningand Saturday of meditation practice and teachings whereRinpoche explains how these notions fit together and theirrelevance not only to our meditation practice, but to ourinteractions with our world. These teachings were presented atthe Buddhist Summer School in 2007. Details TBA.

1-5 FebruaryA Week of Daily Meditation Practice“As it is said, meditation itself is a practice in habituation”

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IX (BSS 2007)Please join us for our summer series of meditation practice inthe evenings from 1-5 February. These sessions are open toeveryone – from beginners to experienced meditators – offeringan opportunity to encourage and consolidate daily practice. Thedaily meditation practice series provides a welcoming andsupportive environment, guided by the meditation instructionsas taught by Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IX. Details TBA.

E-Vam Institute 2021 Summer Teaching Program

1-5 April The Annual Easter RetreatWe look forward to sharing details with you soon.

22 April-13 MaySpecial Event: Do Tulku Rinpoche on the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra: The Way of the Bodhisattva – Part TwoDo Tulku Rinpoche will continue his teachings on theBodhisattvacaryāvatāra which provides both theinspiration and guidance we need to bring compassionand wisdom together on the path. Please note thatcompletion of part one is not a prerequisite for enrollingin part two. Details TBA.

PLAN AHEAD E-Vam Institute 2021 Autumn Teaching Program

ETHICS • CONCENTRATION • WISDOM

Essence of Mahamudra...Buddhist faction and a Bonpo faction of non-Buddhists. The Bonpos still...

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