May 2014

In This Issue

The Importance of Compassion

This Month at Jamyang

Geshe Tashi's column

The Director's Column

Lama Zopa Programme News

Lama Zopa sponsorship Opportunity

Chitra Ramgoolam

Communities Day

Open Garden Squares

Media Volunteers Evening

Poetry Corner

Is it possible to be a cycling champion, a good Catholic and a Bodhisattva?

40 Years of the IMI

One World Many Faiths

About FPMT

Your Thoughts for Gentle Voice

Quick Links

Jamyang Website

Current Programme

Talking Buddhism The Foundation Study Course The Lamrim Chenmo Study Course

Editor's welcome

Dear friends,

Apologies if this

newsletter seems

overlong but there just seemed a lot to pack in this month.

I've repeated some information about Lama Zopa's visit and there are some very nice photos from Communities Day. Can you believe that Geshe Tashi has been with us for twenty years? We celebrated the fact on Communities Day - if you weren't there then let me tell you the cake was delicious.

Of course it has also been a sad time for us with the passing of Chitra Ramgoolam. I was very pleased to be able to include a poem by her, do read it, it is quite amazing.

And I shall be testing you all on the past winners of the Giro D'Italia - what a special person Gino Bartali was.

I hope you enjoy reading this issue, I have added some links so that you can keep returning to the contents when you reach the end of any particular article. Just like the one below.

John

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FPMT

The Importance of Compassion by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

There are many different kinds of Dharma practice - hundreds of different mantras to recite, all kinds of meditation - but the most important of them all is the practice of compassion. Since each of us has taken personal responsibility for the happiness of each and every sentient being, our development of compassion becomes even more crucial. If the practice of compassion, the good heart, is missing from your life, then no matter what other practices you do - even the profound, esoteric ones from the highest yoga tantra division of Mahayana secret mantra, which is undertaken for the express purpose of attaining buddhahood as quickly as possible for the sake of all sentient beings - they don't become the quick path to enlightenment that they're supposed to be. Without compassion, no practice can lead to enlightenment and can even become a cause of not only samsara in general but rebirth in the lower realms - the hell, hungry ghost or animal realms. Therefore, no matter how profound or advanced a practice might be considered - dzog-chen, the natural great perfection, or dzog-rim, the completion stage of highest yoga tantra - if it's done without the good heart, the intention of benefiting others, instead of being of benefit, it can be of harm. This is not the fault of the practice but of the practitioner who does it with improper motivation, the wrong attitude. If the practices you do - prayers, mantra recitation, meditation - are motivated by compassion towards all sentient beings, they become an incredibly skillful means of collecting vast amounts of merit and purifying the mind of eons of obscurations and negative karma. This applies not only to formal practice. If everything you do in the course of a twenty-four hour day - walking, sitting, sleeping, working, talking, eating, whatever - is done with the good heart, with an attitude of compassion towards all sentient beings, then even if you don't have much time to do sitting meditation or other formal practices, all these regular daily activities are transformed into service for other sentient beings. Even if your life is fully occupied by work and family obligations, if you bring the essential practice, compassion, the thought of benefiting others, into everything you do, it becomes the best kind of Dharma, the cause of happiness and success for yourself, and, more importantly, all the numberless other sentient beings. Therefore, no matter how you lead your daily life - in retreat, studying Dharma, chanting sadhanas, reciting mantras or putting in long hours in the office - if you never let compassion leave your mind, if you constantly keep in mind the thought of benefiting others, everything you do becomes work for the welfare of others. Before, when what you did was motivated by ego and attachment, it was work for simply your own happiness. Therefore, everything you did was non-

virtuous and created only negative karma, the cause of suffering. But now, like iron transformed into gold, the alchemy of compassion transforms your previous samsaric actions into the cause of not only happiness, peace and enlightenment for yourself, but also happiness for each and every sentient being without exception. Your life itself becomes like gold - pure, rich, extremely meaningful and highly beneficial. Your mind becomes a wealth of merit and good karma, the cause of every happiness. If you keep the intention to benefit others in mind, if there's compassion for all sentient beings in your heart, even if you are just going to work, every step, every moment in your car, generates infinite merit in your mental continuum. Because your main goal is the happiness of all sentient beings, every step is very important, extremely precious. Every step you take creates merit as infinite as space. If you are giving a speech with bodhicitta motivation, compassion, the thought of benefiting other sentient beings, every word, every sentence, generates great good karma, the cause of happiness. Why? Because your speech is motivated by the wish for all sentieng beings to experience happiness and benefit. Similarly, if you eat and dring with the motivation of compassion for all sentient beings, every mouthful you swallow creates merit as vast as space. You collect infinite good karma, the cause of happiness. If you work at your job keeping the happiness and welfare of all sentient beings in your heart, every second, every minute, every hour you spend at work continuously generates infinite merit, boundless good karma, the cause of happiness in your mind. Every action that you do with bodhicitta motivation, compassion, the thought of benefiting others, becomes the cause of happiness of all sentient beings. From "Virtue and Reality" by Lama Zopa Rinpoche Return to Contents

June and July 2014 highlights at Jamyang

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

Jamyang Website

LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE IN LONDON Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche Enlightened Courage: the Buddha's Path of Compassionate Wisdom Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1 10th July 7.30 - 9.30pm (book via Jamyang website) Kyabje Lama Zopa: Heruka 5 Deities Initiation 11 - 13 July (at Jamyang)

WEEK DAY EVENINGS AND AFTERNOONS Buddhist Meditation: Wisdom Mondays 7:30 until 23 June Buddhist Meditation in Practice with David Ford Thursdays 7:30 to 26 June and 17, 31 July Vajrasattva Purification Practice with Venerable Angie Muir Thursdays 5, 19, 26 June

Lama Choepa long Life Puja offering to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche Wednesday 16 July 9am - approx 1pm CLASSES and RETREATS with GESHE TASHI Jewel Lineage Tuesday evenings until 24 June (revision seminar 10 June with Mike Murray) Refined Gold Wednesday Evenings until 25 June (revision seminar 11 June with Mike Murray) FBT: Tantra weekend was 7-8 June This class is postponed Enrolled students only Jamyang Summer Retreat with Geshe Tashi 19 - 27 July VISITING TEACHERS Compassion and Wisdom in Daily Life with Jon Landaw Thursday 5 June Three Evenings with Venerable Kerry 29, 30, 31 July RETREATS, WEEKEND TEACHINGS and PRACTICE GROUPS Prostrations with Ven Angie 22 June Extensive Lama Choepa & Animal Liberation with Ven Angie 28 June How to set up an Altar with Ven Angie, 29 June Insight Meditation Practice Group 2 August 10.30-12.30pm open to all Guhyasamaja Practice Group 7 June For initiates only Vajrayogini Practice Group Sundays to 29 June For initiates only

7.30pm Tara Puja Tuesdays 4.30 - 5.45pm to 24 June and 15 July Medicine Buddha Puja Tuesdays 6:15 - 7pm to 24 June and 15 July Silent Meditation Thursdays weekly 6.15 - 7.15pm to 26 June and 17 July Lama Choepa Puja 8, 22 June, 7 July check website for times COMMUNITY Chi Kung and Tai Chi Monday evenings taught by William Walker. For more information and to book call William (follow the link above) Satyananda Yoga Tuesday evenings taught by Judy Watchman For more information and to book call Judy (follow the link above) Hridaya (Heart Centre) Yoga Taught by Naz Wednesday evenings 7.30pm For more information please call Naz (follow the link above) Chair Yoga Taught by Cathy Brebion Tuesdays 10.30am - 11.30am COMING SOON

Jangtse Choje Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin: Wisdom of Emptiness Saturday 16, Sunday 17, Monday 18 August 2.30 - 6pm Tuesday 19 August, 7- 9pm Vajrasattva Jenang Initiation 20 August 7- 9pm White Tara Long Life Initiation Thursday 21 August, 9am - 11.30am

Kalachakra Practice Group 21 June For initiates only SPECIAL EVENTS Buddha Enlightenment Day 13 June 8am - 5pm, (Mahayana precepts, precept lunch at 11.30am) Please book for all weekend classes or retreats other than practice groups on-line if you can. If you can't call the office on 02078208787 or email admin@jamyang.co.uk You can drop in to all evening classes unless we state otherwise

Jamyang Work Camp 8 - 10 August Basic Programme: The Heart Sutra with Glen Svensson 31 August - 5 September Aspiration and Meditation: Do Bodhisattva's actually get round to meditating on anything ? with Gareth Sparham 9 and 10 August Full details of these and all other events are on our website jamyang.co.uk Return to Contents

Geshe Tashi's column

Hello Everybody,

I am really looking forward to the visit of Lama Zopa Rinpoche in July. It is now quite a long time since Rinpoche was in London so I would really like to encourage you all to attend at least some of his teachings. Listening to teachings from a great spiritual practitioner is a rare opportunity that is not presented to us very often. Listening to the teachings is the first step in gaining an understanding and then really making the teachings live within our own selves. First you listen, then you contemplate and really think about what was said, then you meditate to really establish your understanding. In that way a teaching can become a very enriching experience in our lives. Many of you will not have met or heard teachings from Lama Zopa, so this is a great opportunity to establish a connection with Rinpoche. These connections are important and can have a profound influence on our lives.

So I encourage you all to book your place at one of the teaching sessions either in Leeds or in London. You know I travel to Leeds quite often to teach there and it is a lot closer than most people in London seem to think!

As for myself, I am enjoying teaching at Jamyang on both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and I hope to see you all there.

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Director's Column

June already! It is nearly half way through the year. Tempus fugit...time flees and "... time flees irretrievably, while we wander around, prisoners of our love of detail." So said the great ancient Roman poet, Virgil. Points classically made so often remain perennially relevant. Speaking of the detail close to hand, the focus is now firmly on Rinpoche's visit here in July. If you want to volunteer, there are still opportunities to offer service to the centre and to Rinpoche - contact the Ven. Angie on angiemuir2@yahoo.co.uk We are also particularly looking for two volunteers with experience in house painting to work under supervision with a small team dedicated to re-painting the reception area and the ceiling of the Tara room. Anne is looking for more volunteers to help with getting the garden ready and especially to populate her watering rota. We are also exploring options for securely covering the courtyard garden area for the duration of Rinpoche's visit, so if you have any good ideas or expert contacts get in touch and let me know. We also now need to directly raise more funds to cover the cost of the visit. If you are able to make a donation, please either send a cheque, make an online bank transfer or use the donate facility on the website. Don't hesitate to ask if you are interested in knowing more about what specific projects connected with Rinpoche's visit we are looking to raise money for. You can also pledge funds for payment later in the year if you want - it is just really helpful for us to be able to plan ahead knowing more clearly what will be coming in to cover the costs of the event. The merit of the Nyung Nay retreat taking place here over this weekend is being dedicated to Chitra Ramgoolam's swift passage through the bardo and precious human rebirth under the guidance of kind Mahayana teachers. Chitra died just over a week ago on Saturday morning after a long illness. Chitra was a much loved and close member of our community and a celebration of her life took place at Amersham Crematorium on Friday afternoon. Following the celebration of her life there were appropriate and beautiful Hindu funeral rites to honour her Brahmin family roots. Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Dagri Rinpoche and other high lamas are doing prayers and pujas on her behalf, as they have done for quite some while now. At Jamyang we will hold bardo pujas of 108 Lights with Medicine Buddha and King of Prayers recitations at 7pm on most of the 7th day anniversaries of her passing until the 49th. These will be at 7pm on Fridays 6, 13, 20, 27 June and 4 July The Centre is fully booked on the 7th and 49th anniversaries (for a Nyung Nay and start of the Heruka Great Initiation) so we cannot hold them here then, but we ask that her friends and well wishers offer Medicine Buddha puja with

mantra recitation and the King of Prayers for her and her family on Friday 30 May and Friday 11 July at home on the morning of those days. Many thanks. The teachings of His Holiness start in Livorno, Italy this month. He teaches in Livorno on Saturday and Sunday, 14 & 15 June - here is the link to the site for the event: http://www.dalailama.it/en/ Geshe-la will be accompanying and offering service to His Holiness while He is here in Europe as part of His entourage. His Holiness will also be teaching and blessing the ground for new monastery buildings at the FPMT's Instituto Lama Tsongkhapa at Pomaia in Tuscany on the Friday before the Livorno teachings, Rinpoche will be there as well. The FPMT European Regional Meeting is also at ILTK on the Tuesday and Wednesday, 17 & 18 June following the Livorno teachings. Whatever you do, make the most of the coming month and much look forward to seeing many of you here at Jamyang. Return to Contents

Kyabje Lama Zopa's Programme in the UK

I know we covered this last month but, if you are a bear of little brain like me, you will appreciate a reminder of Rinpoche's schedule. Book your tickets, not many are left!

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the UK

Details of the much anticipated visit by Lama Zopa to the UK have now been finalised. He will start his trip to the UK at Jamyang Leeds. The details are as follows:

'Making Life Meaningful: Teachings on the stages of the Path'.

Saturday 5 July and Sunday 6 July 2014 at Leeds Trinity University, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 5HD

For details please visit the Jamyang Leeds website

www.jamyangleeds.co.uk

Public Talk in London Enlightened Courage: the Buddha's Path of Compassionate Wisdom 10th of July 7.30 - 9.30pm. Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1 (doors open 7pm) Please book via the Jamyang webiste www.jamyang.co.uk

Heruka Five Deities Great Initiation at Jamyang Buddhist Centre Friday 11 July from 7pm onwards (for a minimum of 5 hours) Saturday 12 July from 7pm onwards (for a minimum of 5 hours) Sunday 13 July from 7pm onwards (for a minimum of 6 hours) Please book via the Jamyang webiste www.jamyang.co.uk Lama Choepa Long Life Puja offering to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche Wednesday 16 July at Jamyang Buddhist Centre 9am - approx 1pm IMI Ordained Sangha register free Yes that is it. You simply have to register and sort out your accomodation Donors (giving donations of £500, £1,000 or more) are registered free Yes, obviously. Without you these events wouldn't happen. Thank you so much to those who have given already. Return to Contents

Kyabje Lama Zopa's Visit - Opportunities to help

Lifts for Sangha to and from Leeds for Rinpoche teachings Can anyone offer car space to a sangha member who would like to travel from London to Leeds and back for Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche's teachings? If so please would you contact Ven monk Kerry Prest on kerrynprest@gmail.com Accommodation in London Can you offer floor space to visitors for the London teachings of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche? If you can accomodate a visiting FPMT student then please contact Mike Murray at the Centre on spc [at] jamyang.co.uk

Opportunity to co-sponsor the production of Sutras with gold letters engraved on silver. You may recall that last month we mentioned the possibility of sponsoring the production of these beautiful offerings. You can still participate. The offerings will be engraved copies of the heart sutra, Silver A4 size with gold lettering. The cost will be £220 each. One will go in a stupa he is building in his garden.

If anyone would like to contribute to the making of these beautiful objects please contact Mike at the Centre on spc@jamyang.co.uk and he will then pass your email on to Dino who is organising this. Return to Contents

Chitra Ramgoolam

Chitra, as you will know, passed on earlier in the week. We will have a full article on her life for the next edition of Gentle Voice. Until then, we wanted to share with you a poem she wrote.

Dzongsar Rinpoche sent out his new year wishes and this was Chitra's response to him, Jeremy Mannheim forwarded it to Rinpoche and Rinpoche tried to contact her but the vagaries of India's telephone system defeated him time and again.

However this was read by Holly at Chitra's funeral.

2013

I spent half the year in bed. Was it wasted, i ask myself. As i review the last six month, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Impermanence at play Uncertainty rejoicing Reality showing itself, surreal Kindness immeasurable Who do i thank? Where do i start? The day i was born or before... No word except a smile and a drop of tear in this vast ocean, a token of appreciation from my limited capacity. No beginning, no end Like a wave, i came crashing at life Time to recede back, until the next one Fortunate lives, i have May i have the honour of serving you Every being, in all my lives, I thank you 2014 A new year My battered old body Housing my fresh as a daisy mind

Will i see this year end!!! Does it matter!!!!' Where i sit, life is precious Life is gratitude in action A good life flowing into a good death May i be reborn with blessings To be of utmost benefit at each breath Whatever little merit i may have Be for the benefit of all May i always be true to my nature

Chitra Ramgoolam

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Communities Day Saturday 17 May

Just in case you missed Communites Day here are some pictures taken by Natascha.

Ani Barbara Makes a presentation to Geshe Tashi to mark his 20 years as teacher at Jamyang

Mike Murray and Roy Sutherwood presenting Jamyang's plans for the

next year

Roy Gillett, Chair of the Trustees,

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addresses the massed crowds whilst Geshe-la enjoys his present

Lunchtime in the garden. It wasn't raining!

Open Garden Squares Weekend 15th June: Help Required

Jamyang Courtyard Garden will be open from 10-5 pm on Sunday, 15th June. Members of the public from all over London and much farther afield will visit Jamyang, along with the many other gardens in London which are not normally open to the public as part of the popular Open Garden Square weekend.

We need some help with this and with collecting some trees. If anyone has a van and would be willing to pick up some small trees from New Covent Garden market sometime in the next two weeks let us know. We also need help sprucing up the garden in advance of the big day so if anyone would like to come along to Jamyang on Saturday 7th June to help that would be great. Please let Lorena know if you can help with either of these on admin@jamyang.co.uk

Tickets for Open Garden Squares are available at Jamyang. Details from: jane@jamyang.co.uk The cafe will be open all day and Ani Barbara will lead a guided tour of Jamyang, along with a guided meditation, at 2 pm.

Details of the OGSW from: www.opensquares.org

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Media volunteers evening (17th June 2014 6pm)

We are looking for volunteers to support the media production of Jamyang. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays evenings, and some Weekends Jamyang records the teachings. Our aspiration is to set up an audio/visual archive of teachings for future references. Therefore we need volunteers for the recording, uploading, cleaning up, and organising of those recordings. If you have experience with video/sound editing and think ofoffering some of your time please do come along. Furthermore Jamyang needs help with outreach to the local community and people living in and around London. If you are a photographer, graphic designer, web designer you can help us with our PR materials. If you are available for distributing flyers, writing press releases, and contacting newspapers, mailing list, etc. please do come along. For futher informations on 'media volunteering' please contact Adnan on communications@jamyang.co.uk Return to Contents

Poetry Corner

William Shakespeare Sonnet 62 Sin of self-love possesseth all mine eye And all my soul and all my every part; And for this sin there is no remedy, It is so grounded inward in my heart. Methinks no face so gracious is as mine, No shape so true, no truth of such account, And for myself mine own worth do define,

Err.. Not Shakespeare - of course it's Rembrandt They could almost have been friends

As I all other in all worths surmount. But when my glass shows me myself indeed, Beated and chopp'd with tann'd antiquity, Mine own self-love quite contrary I read; Self so self-loving were iniquity. 'Tis thee, myself, that for myself I praise, Painting my age with beauty of thy days. Return to Contents

Is it possible to be a cycling champion, a good Catholic and a Bodhisattva?

The editor is a keen cycling fan - no please don't look away yet. This May the second most important race in the cycling calendar, The Giro de Italia, started in Northern Ireland (three days of cold and rain before moving back to Italy). I came across this story of a previous champion of both the Giro and the Tour de France on the BBC website. I was particularly struck by the incredible modesty of Gino Bartali, a true sporting hero. There is so much I could say about him, but I'll just let you read this for yourselves. As they say in cycling circles: Chapeau! Here is a summary of the article. Gino Bartali: The cyclist who saved Jews in wartime Italy

As one of the cycling world's biggest races, the Giro d'Italia, begins in Belfast, more is being learned about the daring activities of one of its former winners in wartime Italy. "He had everything to lose. His story is one of the most dramatic examples during World War Two of an Italian willing to risk his own life to save the lives of strangers." Film director Oren Jacoby is describing Gino Bartali, one of the leading cyclists of his era - a three-time winner of the Giro d'Italia, who also notched up two Tour de France victories, 10 years apart, before and after the war. During his lifetime, Bartali didn't talk about his wartime activities. It was only after his death in 2000 that details began to emerge, and Jacoby fills in some remaining gaps in a Storyville documentary film about Italy's secret heroes, due to be premiered this year. Bartali, a villager from a poor Tuscan family, was reaching the peak of his career as the war approached. He won his first Giro d'Italia in 1936, retaining the title in 1937. Then - to Italy's delight - he won the 1938 Tour de France. It was a

Born in Florence in 1914 Started work as a mechanic in a bicycle shop, became a professional cyclist in 1935 Won the Giro d'Italia in 1936, 1937 and 1946, and the Tour de France in 1938 and in 1948

moment the country's fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, had been looking forward to eagerly. "Mussolini believed that if an Italian rider triumphed in the Tour it would show that Italians too belonged to the master race," says Bartali's son Andrea in Jacoby's film. "It was a matter of national pride and fascist prestige that my father won the 1938 Tour, so he was under real pressure." Bartali was invited to dedicate his win to Mussolini, but refused. It was a grave insult to il duce and a big risk to take. In the middle of that year's Tour, Mussolini had published a Manifesto on Race, which led later to Jews being stripped of citizenship or any position in government or the professions. Italy remained, however, a country in which Jews could take refuge, until it surrendered to the allies in 1943. The German army then occupied northern and central parts of the country and immediately started rounding up Jews and sending them to concentration camps. At this point Bartali, a devout Catholic, was asked by the Cardinal of Florence, Archbishop Elia Dalla Costa, to join a secret network offering protection to Jews and other endangered people. His role in the network was uniquely suited to his talents - he became a courier. On the face of it he was undertaking the long training rides for which he was renowned, but in reality he was carrying photographs and counterfeit identity documents to and from a secret printing press. All were hidden in the frame and handlebars of his bicycle. "We've seen documentation that he travelled thousands of kilometres across Italy, travelling the roads between cities as far apart as Florence, Lucca, Genoa, Assisi, and the Vatican in Rome," says Jacoby. By taking on this role, he put himself at huge risk. At one point he was arrested and questioned by the head of the Fascist secret police in Florence, where he lived. For a period he went into hiding, living incognito in the town of Citta Di Castello in Umbria. In addition to this, Bartali hid his Jewish friend Giacomo Goldenberg, and Goldenberg's family. "He hid us in spite of knowing that the Germans were killing everybody who was hiding Jews," Goldenberg's son, Giorgio, says in Jacoby's film. "He was risking not only his life but also his family. Gino Bartali saved my life and the life of my family. That's clear because if he hadn't hidden us, we had nowhere to go." Approximately 80% of Italian and refugee Jews living in Italy before World War Two survived, partly thanks to the efforts of Italian sympathisers. It's taken a lot of detective work, by a number of people, to piece Bartali's story together over the last 14 years. Andrea Bartali says that eventually little by little his father told him about his actions during the war but made him promise not to tell anyone at that time. "When I asked my father why I couldn't tell anyone, he said, 'You must do good, but you must not talk about it. If you talk about it you're taking advantage of others misfortunes' for your own gain.'" According to Jacoby, Bartali's reticence is a "defining characteristic" of many of

the Italians who were willing to risk their lives in World War Two. "He didn't want to be acknowledged for what he had done: few of those he helped ever knew his name or what role he had played in their rescue," says Jacoby. Last September he was posthumously awarded with the honour Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial and education centre in Jerusalem. "When Bartali was stopped and searched, he specifically asked that his bicycle not be touched since the different parts were very carefully calibrated to achieve maximum speed," the citation points out. Andrea Bartali says his father refused to view his actions as heroic. "When people were telling him, 'Gino, you're a hero', he would reply: 'No, no - I want to be remembered for my sporting achievements. Real heroes are others, those who have suffered in their soul, in their heart, in their spirit, in their mind, for their loved ones. Those are the real heroes. I'm just a cyclist.'" With thanks to Peter Crutchley, BBC, Belfast

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40 Years of the IMI

Doesn't that make you feel old?

Here is an extract from a newletter to mark the ocassion issued by Chantal Tenzin Dekyi, Director, IMI

The International Mahayana Institute (IMI) recently celebrated its 40 year anniversary since it was established by Lama Yeshe in December 1973. During this time the IMI has grown from a handful of monks and nuns to its current membership level of 275. Our community is truly international with members from 28 different countries.

Since its inception the International Mahayana Institute has been striving to secure conducive conditions for its members to protect their ordination and become qualified to serve others, in particular through FPMT centers, projects and services.

One of the primary ways IMI supports Sangha is by promoting a sense of community, through disseminating important information to its members. When Lama Zopa Rinpoche wishes to send advice to all FPMT Sangha, this is communicated through the IMI Office. The IMI office acts as a centralized

resource for members' questions and requests for help, as well as a resource for the larger FPMT community.

In order to further help its members and FPMT centers, projects and services, IMI has set up a network of Regional Representatives to help cultivate a sense of community for its multi-national members and to better understand what the needs of its members are. The IMI Regional Representatives are also a resource for FPMT centers for help with local Sangha issues.

The international FPMT community helps IMI address the financial needs of its members through annual donations from FPMT centers, projects and services to the Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund (LYSF). NB: International Sangha Day this year falls on July 31st. IMI also runs other fundraising campaigns. This income enables IMI to financially support some IMI Sangha activities. The LYSF is currently providing monthly support to monks and nuns in need who are engaged in full time FPMT study programs and solitary retreat - we hope that these individuals will thereby become better qualified to serve, perhaps as an FPMT registered teacher. In addition, the LYSF sponsors the annual pre-ordination training course at Tushita Meditation Centre, Dharamsala, India as well as group retreats with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In 2014 the LYSF will provide support for Sangha in need who wish to attend the Light of the Path retreat in North Carolina and the Bodhicaryavatara Retreat in Australia.

IMI's vision is to expand its ability to support its members by providing greater opportunities for living within monastic communities along with the more extensive training monastic communities can provide. Caring for our aging Sangha is also a priority.

We hope that this update gives you a helpful insight into IMI and how we are working as part of the FPMT community to support the vision of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche to serve sentient beings!

Chantal Tenzin Dekyi Director, IMI

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One World Many Faiths

In an age of growing intolerance we received the following invite which we are pleased to pass on to you all. Dear Jamyang Buddhist Centre, I hope you are well. I wanted to bring to your attention two events taking place in London this June and July. Welsh National Opera in conjunction with Maimonides Interfaith Foundation is launching a series of events exploring faith and culture in contemporary society titled 'One World, Many Faiths' that will take place across the country. The series will open in London with 'Is there room in Britishness for cultural difference?' In this debate leading social commentators consider whether multiple cultures and religions can exist side by side in modern day Britain. The panel will tackle questions such as 'is multiculturalism really to blame for the erosion of community?' The panel will include Abdul Rehman Malik, journalist and Programme Director of the Radical Middle Way, Julie Siddiqi, from the Islamic Society of Britain, Dave Rich, Deputy Director of Communications at the Community Security Trust and Daniel Trilling, Editor of the New Humanist magazine. The event will be at Royal Opera House on Monday 2 June from 7.30pm. You can purchase tickets for the event here http://www.roh.org.uk/events/96pck In a debate titled 'Why the world needs compassion now', UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and Karen Armstrong FRSL, internationally renowned scholar on comparative religions will be in conversation to discuss religion and conflict in the world. In a year marking the centenary of the First World War, when arguably the world increasingly seems to resemble the world of 1914, how do we contend with a global environment that is increasingly multipolar, unpredictable and ravaged by conflicts driven by ethnic and religious divides? The event will be at Royal Opera House on Tuesday 1 July from 7.30pm. You can purchase tickets for the event here http://www.roh.org.uk/events/pdmz2 For more about the 'One World, Many Faiths' programme, please view the WNO website for the series http://www.wno.org.uk/faith. On Religion - a magazine for those who believe faith matters Issue 7 now out! Subscribe for just £19 a year Many thanks, Joseph Adams Return to Contents.

Opportunities Around the FPMT

Media Resource Manager, FPMT office, Portland USA

Details of this and numerous other work opportunities can be found on the FPMT website at http://fpmt.org/fpmt/jobs/

FPMT

Jamyang is affiliated with FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) and is one of more than 150 centers and projects worldwide.

FPMT is based on the Gelugpa tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught by our founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe and spiritual director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. If you would like to receive FPMT's monthly newsletters please subscribe here.

Your Thoughts

What do you want to see in Gentle Voice? We would love to hear your ideas and comments about Gentle Voice, please contact John at: admin@jamyang.co.uk

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