Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche strongly encouraged Lama Karma Drodhul to request that Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche tell the stories of accomplished tantric practitioners (siddhas) from Kham, Eastern Tibet. Photo of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso, from a trip Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche made to Nepal last ear.

Traleg Kyabgön Rinpoche once remarked that there is nothing like these accounts of Siddhas of Ga.

A Bouquet of Utpalas: Brief Accounts of the Lives of Siddhas of Ga, whom my guru actually met or whose stories he heard from trustworthy sources, set forth here as medicine to restore faith.

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche strongly encouraged Lama Karma Drodhul to request Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche to tell the stories of accomplished tantric practitioners (siddhas) from Kham, Eastern Tibet. Most of the holy beings whose lives are recounted here began as ordinary people like us, and were not recognized emanations of buddhas or bodhisattvas. This book clearly demonstrates that we can, through diligence, achieve the same result.

Beautifully recorded by Lama Karma Drodhul, these are stories of siddhas that Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche actually knew.

SEE YOU THERE!

SIDDHAS OF GA: Remembered by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, written by Lama Karma Drodhul, translated by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso, published by KTD Publications.
BOOK SIGNING: Saturday, May 18, 2013; 1:00 pm (during the Khenpo Gangshar teaching) at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, Woodstock NY

Photos courtesy Lama Karma Drodhul; from his Facebook page.

EXCERPT FROM PAGES 31-33:  Droril the Yogini

Droril was a yogini from Rima.

Through the unchanging faith and devotion in your heart
For the supreme deity, the great treasure of nobility of heart,
And your repetition of his six-syllable heart-essence,
You revealed the heart of everything. Yogini, I bow to you!

This yogini was from Rimar in Kham. She was called Droril because her hair was whiter than a conch, and she usually bundled herself in an outer garment of white felt.
Droril means “wheat-colored and round.” As she worked constantly as a shepherd, she never learned to read. However, she continuously recited the MANI with stable
faith and trust, and eventually recited more than three hundred million. Her brother recited one hundred million and had a good practice.

When Droril herded her sheep in cold weather she would recite MANIs on the mountain slopes and then, imagining a fence surrounding her flock, would blow air in their direction. She would say, “Through the compassion of Arya Avalokita, they’ll be fine.” Then she would sleep through the day, without checking on the sheep even once. The sheep would never stray from the area she had blessed for them as pasture. In the evening she would imagine summoning them to her, and they would follow her home.

When the weather was fine she would circumambulate the mountain’s peak while reciting MANIs. At that time my kind guru was about ten years old, and loved to accompany her when she tended her flocks. He told me that there were several reasons for this. As she was a bodhisattva who had perfected love and compassion she was loving to all beings, including him. In addition, because she blessed her sheep they were protected from all harm, including the predation of wolves. They therefore did not require much actual shepherding, so accompanying her was free of stress. Also, although he had barely enough clothing to survive the weather, she would let him lie down to sleep inside her outer garment.

Because she used her mala so much, its cord was always breaking. He often helped her restring it with yarn. She cured the blindness of both humans and animals simply by blowing on them; her benefit of others was not inconsiderable.

It is said in authoritative sources that those who complete one hundred million MANIs will grow a new tooth even if they are advanced in age; accordingly, she grew three. They were as bright and white as a conch; everyone who saw them was amazed and inspired. I have heard from others that she passed away while sitting up with her palms joined in prayer. It is said that in these times of decadence and short lives it is better to accumulate a spark of merit than a mountain of learning. I have never heard of a source of merit greater than meditating on the single deity Avalokita and reciting the single mantra of six syllables.

Unfortunately, most people are like me; they neglect the accumulation of merit in favor of elevated, empty words about the view, meditation, and conduct while abandoning their bodies, speech, and minds to mediocrity. This is our worst problem, both for this life and for the future. I have not seen this do anyone any real good, only bring about their ruin and that of others.

Through the virtue of writing this may beings in the six states
Rely upon the six syllables, the king of mantras;
Purify the six kleshas that cause rebirth;
And reach the state of Vajradhara, the sixth buddha.

Bill Alexander is a self-described “free-lance storyteller” who leads sobriety workshops at such venues as Union Theological Seminary, the Esalen Institute,  and  Hazelden Foundation.  He is now in the process of moving to Ojai, California, to work with Byron Katie.

He recounted his recovery story in the classic book, “Cool Water” (now known as “Ordinary Recovery”), and his story of living the sober life in “Still Waters”. 

“Hi, I’m Bill and I’m Old” is his latest work.

Bill and Lama Losang (David Bole) will be teaching at KTD August 2 – 4: a weekend workshop on “How Buddhism and the Twelve Steps can help in Recovery from Addictions.”

At the conclusion of Bill Alexander’s program at KTD last year, a Twelve-Step Group was started here. The group is now celebrating its one-year anniversary.

May 7, 2013

Dear Will,

For reasons that remain between you and me and Masha and L.A. Peter and a couple of anonymice, I want to remind you of a prayer that the theologian Howard Thurman taught to my mentor, Sam Keen, who taught it to me.

Thank you, thank you, thank you so very much, thank you.

My friend Byron Katie said recently that she’s at the point where her life is entirely about gratitude. She added that she sees little difference between gratitude and humility.

Ditto.

“The only wisdom is humility.”

Let’s talk, quite soon.

Now I’m going to put on that brilliant and perfect buffalo felt Stetson that Win gave me last night and head out into the open, and finally, warm air.

Love, Dad

c

May 8, 2013

Dear Will,

Here is a truth it only took me 70 years to learn.

I hope you can see it and adopt it now. It could save a lot of needless suffering. And it could also reframe the suffering you may already have had.

I can say, truthfully, that all of the hard times I have gone through, including the challenging calendar year just past, were gifts.

So here it is:

My life does not happen to me; it happens for me.

Love, Dad

c

May 9, 2013

Dear Will,

Today I’m telling you something you already know. So this letter is for the dozen or so people who read these meandering thoughts from time to time.

On Monday, I came to an agreement with a teacher and friend and remarkable visionary named Byron Katie, that I will be working with her, beginning in mid-June.

If there’s a lesson in this astonishing gift, it’s that when I stay out of my way, live in aliveness (my preferred way of saying in the present moment) and pay attention, there are currents deep in my life that will carry me, without my intent or volition, to the unknown waters of my destiny.

I didn’t plan this. All I did was listen and act, without knowing where I was headed.

One place I’m headed is Ojai, California. I will leave Minnesota early in June, probably right after having dinner with you and Julie in a restaurant of your choice, and on your nickel (I envision burgers and fries and iced tea – the three basic food groups) and then, as you have seen me do, us do, in the past, I’ll hop in my beat up Jeep, which will be packed with everything I own, and head first to the Northwest, then south down the pacific coast, on into LA to spend a little time with Masha and then to Ojai, the day before my 71st birthday.

I guess. Katie said to me recently that “guesses work in my world as all is only that.”

Minnesota has been a wonderful gift for me. And, in a sublime way, for Toni, my soul mate who died here not many months ago. She told me, right before her death, that she reckoned I came here so that she would.

And I see, as well, that the hard times I’ve had here were necessary in order to open me to the deeper realities. So I’m grateful to those who pushed me to what I thought were the limits of my tolerance and patience and taught me love in a different way.

Who’d ‘a thunk it.

I repeat – my life doesn’t happen to me, it happens for me.

As is inevitable, I’ve got to quote Leonard Cohen:

“you lose your grip/ and then you slip/ into the masterpiece”.

Yup.

Love and beauty, Dad

c

May 10, 2013

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Zip-A-Dee-A

My oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine heading my way
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Zip-A-Dee-A

Mister bluebird on my shoulder
It’s the truth
It’s actual
Everything is satisfactual

Love, dad

PS – pay attention to what song is playing on your emotional jukebox – more wisdom there than in any of our ponderous figuring it all out minds.

c

Bill Alexander’s “Silver Tea” blog here

Content reprinted courtesy Bill Alexander, 2013

Click to view at full size.

We thank Marianna Rydvald for donating 42 art prints of White Tara and Chenrezig, which helped raise $2,100 for the repair of the roof at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, Woodstock, New York.

Marianna, who created the original artworks upon which the prints were based, was born and grew up in northern Sweden in what is called Lapland or Samiland.

We asked the artist to tell us a little about her work. Here are her comments:

“Through the blessing of the Three Jewels I was fortunate to meet many great Teachers of sacred Dharma. That has inspired me to paint sacred art.

“His Holiness the 16th Karmapa told me in the late ’70s: ‘be true to your own style, study the old traditions and work on the transition from the old to the new.’   This is what I have done.

Click to view at full size.

“I am grateful for the invitations to paint murals in the wonderful Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, HP, India, which is my current project, and to paint, “The Twelve Deeds of the Buddha,” for His Holiness Situpa Rinpoche, Sherab Ling, India. Also to paint murals depicting “The Life of the Buddha” on the walls at Karma Tharjay Chokhorling, Bodhgaya, India during the 1980s. I was very happy to paint murals inside the Lhabab Peace Stupa, at Karma Rime O Sal Ling on the island of Maui, Hawaii, that has been my home for 21 years.

Click to view at full size.

“May this sacred art bring inspiration for peaceful actions of body, speech and mind.

“May we all experience peace within and may World Peace manifest swiftly and gracefully.”

To see more of Mariana’s inspiring art, please visit  http://www.dakiniart.com

All photos in this article courtesy Stephanie Colvey.

More than 200 dharma students from all over the United States – including a couple visiting from Hawaii and a gentleman who flew in from Paris – gathered in the shrine room at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra May 17-19 to hear a special teaching on Mahamudra and Dzogchen from Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche.

Khenpo Rinpoche shared a teaching given in 1958 at Thrangu Monastery in Tibet, where he and dozens of other laypeople and monastics heard the remarkable Khenpo Gangshar give a teaching called “Naturally Liberating Everything You Meet.”

The teaching, a special transmission from Khenpo Gangshar, was designed to be easily practiced and to be used during the difficult times that lay ahead for the Tibetan people. In the modern day, they can be used to work with any situation in life – happiness, misery, sickness, and death.

Students listened to Khenpo Rinpoche’s teachings with the aid of Lama Yeshe Gyamtso, who translated for the special instruction. KTD Staff hosted more than 80 students on campus, feeding and housing students who said they felt the sacredness of the event.

“It was like a weekend in Dewachen,” said one student. “Even though the shrine room was crowded, people were so kind to each other and were so peaceful. It was such a blessing.”

Stephanie Colvey’s photographs from this event

Pilar Arthur-Snead’s photographs from this event

From Left, Patricia Myerson, Cathy Jackson, Jan Tarlin, Bonnie Snyder, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, and Lama Kathy Wesley

On Sunday May 19, in front of a large crowd gathered to hear Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche teach Khenpo Gangshar’s Mahamudra instruction “Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet,” four members of the greater Karma Triyana Dharmachakra sangha were honored for completing KTD’s first-ever Pastoral Care Training Program.

Cathy Jackson (Columbus, Ohio, Karma Thegsum Choling), Patricia Myerson (Cape Ann Massachusetts Vajra Vidya), Bonnie Snyder (Greenville NC Karma Thegsum Choling), and Jan Tarlin (who lives at KTD and serves as a Meditation Instructor and Program Specialist), were given Letters of Completion by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, who said that their training marked a new phase for KTD’s introduction of Dharma in the West.

The graduates, Khenpo Rinpoche said, would enter hospitals and prisons in their community, representing the Buddhist ideals of compassion and love in places where those qualities were needed most. He complimented the students on their hard work, and presented them with white Tibetan scarves (kataks), exhorting them to continue their development and not tire in their service of sentient beings.

The ceremony capped an effort begun three years ago, when several dharma students approached Lama Kathy Wesley, asking if they could train as chaplains in the Karma Kagyu tradition.

“I wrote to Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, asking him if this would be possible,” Lama Kathy said. “And his answer was brief. He said, ‘you do it.’”

So, with the help of the aspiring students and various Kagyu teachers, Lama Kathy designed a two-year Pastoral Care Curriculum for the pilot program. KTD Trustees gave the program their approval in 2010, and in 2011, the program began.

Students took classes with Lama Kathy once a week by conference call, and visited KTD four times a year for special Pastoral Care seminars. The course of study was  given in four six-month Semesters.

Semester One: Lojong and Bodhicitta
Semester Two: Basic Buddhist Teachings
Semester Three: Helping the Sick and Dying
Semester Four: Working With those in Crisis.

Lama Kathy was assisted in leading weekly discussions by the students themselves, most notably KTD’s Jan Tarlin, a retired university instructor and Karma Kagyu practitioner who also is an ordained Unitarian minister.

In the First Semester, students were confronted with a question: “What does it mean to help others? And for you, what stands in the way of your benefitting others?”

“Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche had told the students in their first meeting that training in Bodhicitta was the most important thing they would need to do,” said Lama Kathy. “I’d had success in teaching Geshe Chekawa’s “Seven Point Mind Training,” and thought it would be excellent for this purpose.”

Students were asked to examine themselves for their greatest faults, and to use the practice of Lojong to address those faults. They also were given daily practices to do to increase their awareness of (and practice of) bodhicitta in their everyday lives.

The Second Semester included study of Gampopa’s “Jewel Ornament of Liberation,” as well as an introduction to the Medicine Buddha practice.

The Third Semester included tutorials in the Tibetan practice of P’howa, prayers and practices to be done for the dying. They also met and spoke with chaplains from several parts of the United States, to gather practical perspectives on practicing Pastoral Care.

The Fourth Semester revisited the Lojong and Bodhicitta practice, and encouraged students to get involved in volunteering at hospitals and hospices.

Students responded enthusiastically. By the conclusion of the program at the end of 2012, three of the students had at least partially completed Intensives in Clinical Pastoral Education, the “gold standard” for non-denominational chaplaincy training in the United States.

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche had encouraged students to work on CPE credits, which he said would be important for them if they wished to work as chaplains in American hospitals and prisons.

Lama Kathy says that although most of the KTD Pastoral Care Class of 2012 plan to work in hospital chaplaincy, graduates also hope to provide support and training for dharma students in the Karma Thegsum Choling/Karma Kagyu Study Group network.

“Some centers don’t have lamas yet, and it’s important that they have Sangha Care Teams who can help when sangha members are in the hospital or in hospice care,” Lama Kathy said. “While our trainees aren’t Lamas, they know how to be with the sick and the dying in a positive way, and we hope to pass along some of this information to KTC members so they can feel more confident in helping their own members when they are ill.”

In commenting on the KTD program, graduate Patricia Myerson wrote, “In my role as Hospital Chaplain it is acceptable for me to stop and pray silently before each patient encounter, so before each and every patient who I talk to I take a moment to pray to His Holiness, and to Rinpoche, to be with me and to guide me to be effective and of benefit.  My CPE supervisor is extremely grateful for what I bring to the program as a Buddhist and I know he is eager to have more Buddhist chaplains interning in his CPE program.”
At the conclusion of the May 19 graduation, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche requested Lama Kathy to continue the Pastoral Care training program, so others in the KTD/KTC sangha could benefit from its work.

Those interested in the program can send “Letters of Interest,” expressing their wish to receive information about the program, to Lama Kathy at kmwesley@me.com.  Letters will be answered in July or August, 2013. May all beings benefit!

Stephanie Colvey’s photos of the Pastoral Counseling Graduation Ceremony

All photos courtesy Stephanie Colvey.

Thanks to Stephanie Colvey -

Thanks to Pilar Arthur-Snead -

These days, Jeff Sears is a familiar face around Karme Ling Retreat Center. Even though he is not a Buddhist, he has become an integral part of Karme Ling’s day-to-day operations. Whether he is helping to create a beautiful organic garden, hauling stones for drywall, or cleaning and repairing the retreat buildings, he has become a valuable addition to the Karme Ling community.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Jeff says that his position as Karme Ling’s handyman started as a case of mistaken identity. Some friends of his were working on the driveway at Karme Ling and they saw a white pickup truck and figured it must belong to their friend Jeff who lived just around the corner from Karme Ling. They asked the retreat manager, Lama Karma Lodro, if he knew Jeff. But the white pickup truck they mistook for Jeff’s actually belonged to Karma Lodro. Nonetheless, they had piqued his interest in their friend, and one day Karma Lodro decided to knock on Jeff’s door, introduce himself, and ask him to come and work at Karme Ling.

This was in 2012, and Karme Ling was sorely in need of help. The three-year retreat had just ended, the retreatants had dispersed, and there was a lot that needed cleaning, painting and repairing in the two buildings after the three-year, three-month closed retreat. So Jeff started out doing the repairs on these buildings, and he did such a great job that the temporary position morphed into a regular part time job. Now he does just about any kind of work that’s needed, including gardening and landscaping.

Jeff is a working artist and is married with a 16-year-old daughter and two grown sons. While he is not religious, he says he feels very comfortable at Karme Ling. “As an outsider I don’t really know what goes on at Karme Ling [in the retreats], but I do see a lot of people creating things. People are often making tormas or in Rinpoche’s case, he’s constantly sewing. Lama Karuna is making a beautiful organic garden. The emphasis seems to be on creativity.”

Jeff said that ordinarily in the world, people run around trying to make a lot of money, but maybe they should stop and create something with love.

“I think that Karme Ling is a joyful place. I enjoy coming here to work because the people are sweet and welcoming. Also the people here really care about me. I’ve had some difficult medical issues that Lama Karuna and Lama Wu Fang have helped me with. A year and a half ago I sustained a head injury, after slipping and hitting my head on the edge of the sink and then on a tile floor. From that point on I saw fireworks constantly behind my eyes and when I closed my eyes at night to sleep, I saw weird, flashing lights. I haven’t been able to sleep well since the accident and I had terrible migraines. The doctors would not listen to me, nor were they able to help me.

“Then I met Lama Wu Fang at Karme Ling. He listened carefully to my symptoms and then worked on my ears and gave me some herbs. I felt immediately relief! For the first time since the accident, when I closed my eyes I saw black; it felt normal. I no longer saw the disturbing lights. It was as if he readjusted my inner vision– like getting a new pair of glasses. And the headaches went away too.”

Jeff spends about 20 hours a week on average at Karme Ling and he thinks it’s a perfect fit for him. Jeff said, “I wasn’t looking for a job. On our taxes I’m listed as the homemaker for my family. I’m a very hard worker but I hate formal jobs, so this activity at Karme Ling is perfect for me. I happen to love digging in dirt and hauling heavy stones around.”

Jeff’s Background

Jeff is from Ithaca, New York and he and his wife feel like they have come full circle being back in New York, because several years ago they decided to quit their full-time jobs and travel. So one day about 17 years ago, they pulled up roots and moved to Puerto Rico. When they got there they had only $2,000 in their pockets and a crappy car, but decided to have a baby. In retrospect it may have seemed like an odd choice, but everything worked out very well. Now their child is 16 years old and Jeff’s wife, who holds a Masters degree, is working for the Dept. of Agricultural in partnership with the New York Watershed.

Jeff has two sons from an earlier marriage: the eldest is 29 and lives in Rochester studying engineering; the youngest is 27 and is in the Coast Guard in Hawaii.

On a warm day last week I happened to be walking by the retreat cabins and spotted Jeff pushing a wheelbarrow piled high with rocks. The midday sun was scorching hot overhead, but Jeff seemed oblivious to any discomfort. He smiled and waved and asked me if I wanted a tour of the garden he was planting with Lama Karuna. This garden is an impressive undertaking, the first of its kind at Karme Ling. Completely organic, there is a huge greenhouse and several raised outer beds. Jeff started the plants from organic heirloom seeds in his own home and transplanted them about about a month ago to the greenhouse. They’re growing tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, Chinese greens and vegetables, herbs, and beans, to name a few.

Jeff said that he had a landscaping business in Puerto Rico that provided organic vegetables to restaurants so he has had a bit of experience with gardening. After living in Puerto Rico for three years, Jeff and his family moved to Hawaii. There he worked for a man who owned 16 acres of tropical rainforest that had become overgrown with invasive species like Koster’s Curse, a perennial shrub that creates serious damage in many tropical regions of the world.

Jeff’s job was to take out the foreign undergrowth using a chain saw, pick ax and weed whacker. It was quite an arduous undertaking, but once that wild growth was removed, they were able to create a tropical paradise on the land by planting fruit, hardwoods, bamboo, vanilla orchids, chocolate trees and pineapple. Basically Jeff turned a large weed patch into a botanical garden and then helped to maintain it for 8 years.

He was able to put those impressive skills to use at Karme Ling when Lama Karuna asked him to help the manifest the garden she had conceived in her imagination. Together they have made it a reality and are expecting a huge yield of organic produce this summer.

Jeff’s Art

For a practicing artist, a part-time job with flexible hours is perfect. And while Jeff has had no formal training as an artist, he has been making art for many years. He says he has always had an affinity for working with natural materials and these days he is making animal puppets out of bones. These skeletons are made with bones that he finds or that people give him. Jeff is a vegetarian, so he only works with found skeletal objects. These pieces live in shadow boxes and are comprised of mixed media—bones, glass, metal and paint. The largest piece is a 3-headed dragon, six feet long. The smallest is a scorpion 6-inches long. He creates the eyes out of flame-work glass. Besides the sculptures, Jeff also makes jewelry.
“I’ve shown these at the Mercer Gallery in Rochester and also at various events and shows in central New York State through a program based in Rochester called ‘Future of the Finger Lakes.’ People either seem to love or hate the pieces. They are quite dramatic and some are even disturbing.”

Buddhists may find that the skeletal pieces remind them of impermanence but Jeff didn’t have a conscious intent to create memento mori. He said, “I never intended to make art but these ideas come into my head fully formed. Once I have the idea, then I seem to stumble upon the materials I need to make the thing–it’s like they find me. If I don’t create the piece, then the idea won’t leave me alone until I finish it. Then when I finish one, another idea comes and I go through the same process until completion. I don’t seem to have a choice.”

He continued, “I’m not interested in selling them or making money from them. I started producing sculptures on a regular basis about 15 years ago, but even before that I always had to create things. I think that creativity is an essential part of being human. People need to bring things into being.”

For Jeff, working at Karme Ling is just an extension of his life and provides many opportunities to be creative.

For instance, he said that Lama Karuna wanted to create a peaceful space near the vegetable garden. “She asked me to do this. So I looked around and saw that there were a lot of rocks near the maple tree. I had to move some of them around, but for the most part the rocks seemed to know where they wanted to be and with only a little help from me, they formed a spiral. Then next to that, I planted a flower bed with Tibetan rhododendrons, azaleas and several varieties of spruce.”

In this way, Jeff finds working at Karme Ling enjoyable–not like a normal job. “It’s a beautiful thing,” he said.

– Mary Young

All photos courtesy Amy McCracken.

Traleg Khandro demonstrates Kum Nye, Tibetan self-massage.

The Karma Kagyu lineage and students of Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IXth suffered a terrible loss last July, when Rinpoche died unexpectedly of a heart attack.  None were more affected than his long-time student and gracious wife, Felicity Lodro, who now goes by Traleg Khandro at the instruction of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche.

Although he lived in Australia, Traleg Rinpoche endeavored to come to the U.S. once a year to visit students at E-Vam Institute in NYC and Chatham.  When he was here, he considered it part of his service to His Holiness the Karmapa to teach at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in Woodstock, New York.

So KTD is profoundly grateful that Traleg Khandro will continue this tradition by teaching on LuJong on Friday, June 21st (7 – 9 p.m.) and Saturday, June 22nd (10 a.m. – noon and 2 – 4 p.m.)  Khandro-la also plans to join us on June 23rd for the birthday celebration of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa.

LuJong, the Tibetan Buddhist term for physical training, is rarely taught in the United States, but has tremendous benefits for meditators and yoga practitioners alike.  It is the companion to mind training, which Traleg Rinpoche wrote about in his book “The Practice of LoJong.”

“The mind is fundamentally not stable,” Traleg Khandro said in one of the wonderful LuJong teachings I attended last year.  “The mind is in a constant state of flux.  So trying to fix things and make them permanent will not work.”  What does work?  “Stabilizing the mind is moving with the flux without being disturbed.”

Traleg Khandro’s LuJong classes are designed to help practitioners achieve that ability, deepen their meditation experience and engender a general sense of well-being.  They combine traditional Hatha Yoga Asana (physical postures) and Pranayama (breathing exercises) with Kum Nye (Tibetan Yoga and Relaxation techniques).

Traditional Kum Nye practices including self-massage, physical and breathing exercises, visualization techniques and meditations. Aspects of Kum Nye, particularly the visualization techniques, are incorporated into each session.

This course will assist in the development of meditative concentration,
energize the body and relax the mind. The yoga exercises are quite gentle.
The course is suitable for new and experienced yoga students and meditators alike.

No matter who you are or what your practice  — sitting meditation, Ngondro, White Tara, Medicine Buddha, yoga  — these LuJong teachings will give you techniques to calm and stabilize your mind.

And the truth is we all need that, living as we do in a world where we can lose our most precious loved ones in an instant.

– Anitra Brown

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Click for full size.

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Cost:  $75 for all three sessions.  ($60 for KTD members).  Accommodations are available.  Please call 845-679-5906 ext. 3 to register or go to www.kagyu.org.

Note: You may come to individual sessions, but the teachings will be cumulative and the effects more powerful if you attend all three.

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About Traleg Khandro

Traleg Khandro, long-time student and wife to the late Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche IX, is the Director of E-Vam Institute New York, and Yeshe Nyima in Sydney, Australia.

Traleg Khandro studied Buddhism directly under Rinpoche for 30 years and has undertaken numerous long meditation retreats. Under Rinpoche’s guidance, Khandro-la received LuJong (Tibetan Yoga) training and is also a qualified Hatha Yoga teacher. Khandro-la has been teaching Buddhism and LuJong for several years now throughout Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Traleg Khandro received her qualifications from the International Yoga Teachers Association and has been teaching Yoga for 20 years. Her style
is strongly influenced by Iyengar and Desikachar.  She also has a Degree in Empirical Psychology.

The Sandy Hook mass murders, the Boston Marathon bombing, the epidemic of PTSD among veterans, and the prevalence of spousal and child abuse are only a few instances of the degree to which American society is now permeated by extreme violence that leaves trauma in its wake. More and more Americans have either survived such violence themselves or have survived the equally traumatic loss of friends, neighbors, or loved ones to violent death.

 

Because we believe that Buddhism has a unique contribution to make in promoting resilience and healing for individuals and communities that have suffered trauma, KTD will offer a program titled ”Mindfulness: A path to Mental Health and Recovery from Trauma” on the weekend of June 14-16.

 

The program will explore the relationship between Buddhist teachings about the healing power of compassion and Western psychological approaches to healing from trauma. Teachings, dialogue, and opportunities for creative expression will all be part of the weekend.

Lama Tsultrim Yeshe

The featured teachers are ideally suited to combining Western psychology with Buddhist principles and practice.  Lama Tsultrim Yeshe (John Samuelson) is the resident lama at the Hay River, Wisconsin KTC, a fully ordained monk, and a retired prison chaplain. James L. Knoll IV, MD, a Zen practitioner, is Director of Forensic Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY.

 

Experiential sessions devoted to the role of creativity in resilience and healing will be led by two Tibetan Buddhist practitioners with backgrounds in psychotherapy.  Trish Malone, M.A., LCSW-R is a psychotherapist and clinical social worker; she has worked intensively with crime victims and children in therapeutic foster care.  Kell Julliard, MA, is Assistant Vice President for Clinical Research at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY; holding a masters degree in Expressive Therapy from the University of Louisville, he has a clinical background as a psychotherapist.

 

The facilitator for the program will be David Kaczynski, Executive Director of KTD.  David is the brother of Theodore Kaczynski, the so-called “Unabomber;” he formerly served as Executive Director of New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

 

Mindfulness: A Path to Mental Health and Recovery from Trauma is an outgrowth of conversations that David had with other KTD staff following the mass murders at Sandy Hook elementary School in Newtown, CT. In those conversations, David developed the idea that trauma is now so prevalent in American society that it must be approached as a public mental health emergency–an emergency to which Buddhists must respond with the best spiritual resources we have to offer. KTD’s June 14-16 program is part of our ongoing response; we invite all who have been touched by or are simply concerned about this emergency to attend.

–Jan Tarlin

Group photo at the Padmasambhava Stupa, Crestone. June 5, 2013. This was the last of the seven stupas we visited on this pilgrimage.

After traveling more than 500 miles and making offerings at seven great Stupas, the KTD Stupa Pilgrimage continues to inspire pilgrims and other dharma students with its blessings.

Inside a stupa – Questa’s Kagyu Mila Stupa. Photo by Therona Ramos.

We undertook the trip (from Albuquerque NM to Crestone, CO and back) as a way of introducing the practice of Pilgrimage and Merit Accumulation to the American Dharma community.

Our Tibetan spiritual guides, including His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa and Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, have spoken frequently about the benefits of making offerings and reciting aspiration prayers in front of consecrated images of the Buddha (and, by extension, stupas, which contain great beings’ relics). It is said that making offerings and aspirations in front of such images provides focus, blessing, and energy for our aspirations, making them more powerful and more effective.

We chose the Southwest for this pilgrimage because of the high concentration of stupas (also called choten, or “recipient worthy of offerings”) built in the area by Tibetan lamas and their students. It is said that there are 15 or more stupas in the area of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, and we decided to start our pilgrimage by visiting many of the stupas built by Kagyu masters in the area.

Photo by Therona Ramos.

The overwhelming feeling we had during the five-day trip was of ease. We were very busy – we saw three stupas on the second day, one on the third day and three on the fourth day – and spent the first and fifth days traveling to and from the pilgrimage starting point of Albuquerque, NM. But despite being a little tired from the pace of the pilgrimage, everyone kept saying how happy they were, how awed they were by the stupas, and how blessed they felt to be together on their journey.

The pilgrims themselves came from all over; one US citizen came from her home in Mexico, but others came from such far-flung places as Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and West Virginia. In all, 10 states were represented.

Pilgrims arrive at the Kagyu Deki Choeling stupa in Tres Orejas, NM. We were warmly greeted by the local dharma community, who hosted us for tea and prayers.

Everyone got along instantly – even though few of the people knew one another beforehand. Our bus driver told us he was not a religious man, but he was so kind and gentle and patient, he seemed like a hidden bodhisattva. He made sure we had cold water on hot days, and that we got as close as we could to the stupas, so the older people who couldn’t walk well wouldn’t have as far to walk.

The dharma communities who welcomed us to the stupas were incredibly generous, and fed us delicious food. The people we hired to cook for us in Crestone made us delicious food. Everyone remarked about it, saying that the blessings of the pilgrimage were manifesting to us as comfortable lodgings and great food!

The weather was remarkable. Every place we visited, the people said, “yesterday (or last week, or whatever) the weather was windy and uncomfortable; today it wasn’t so windy and wasn’t so hot.”

At every stupa, we used the practice format Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche had given us. We bowed to the stupa, recited the Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya, Namo Sanghaya, set up a small altar with a brocade cloth, a crystal Buddha statue, silver offering bowls filled with water; incense, electric lights (flames were not permitted because of wildfire danger), and flowers. Through the help of pilgrimage volunteer Linda Yellin, we offered a vase of flowers at virtually every stupa, and a few potted plant flowers, also.  Angie Martin of Colorado and her teenage children Tucker and Meadow were our Shrinekeepers, efficiently and reverently putting together the shrine and offerings as each stop.

At the Maha Bodhi Stupa in Santa Fe, our Shrine Team (Angie Martin, daughter Meadow and son Tucker) work on assembling our “accumulation of merit” shrine.

After assembling the shrine, we offered a mandala, recited The Four Immeasurables, an aspiration prayer, and then dedications. We also invited pilgrims to make silent Aspirations of their own at each stupa.

Susan Pasternack of Woodstock, NY was responsible for carrying a bright yellow folder holding additional aspirations and photos from our patrons around the country,  so we could “carry others with us” on the trip.

Ani Samten of Karme Ling Retreat Center in Delhi, NY, carried a bundle of multicolored protection cords made by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche and was responsible for touching the cords to each stupa to give the cords a special blessing. We circumambulated, and ended with Karmapa Chenno mantras and dedications. We did this at each and every stupa. But we also did some special prayers, reciting the aspirations in English, as Khenpo Rinpoche had instructed us.

Ani Samten and Duke Carlson offer a white ceremonial scarf to the Maha Bodhi Stupa in Santa Fe. This was the first stupa we visited on our pilgrimage. June 3, 2013

When we visited the first of the seven stupas – the charming Maha Bodhi Stupa built in Santa Fe in 1973 by the students of the Nyingma master His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche – it felt as though we were in Dewachen. There was a courtyard with soft grass and shade trees swaying in the breeze, and birds sang continually with us as we recited the King of Aspiration Prayers in English.

At Kagyu Shenpen Kunchab stupa in Santa Fe the day before the pilgrimage begins, wildfires produce smoke over the mountains

Fred Cooper gives orientation and talk at the Kagyu Shenpen Kunchab Stupa in Santa Fe, NM June 3, 2013.

The second stupa was the Kalu Rinpoche stupa in Santa Fe. The wind wasn’t as bad as usual, although the sun was warm. So we went into the magnificent shrine room inside the stupa and recited the Maitreya Aspiration Prayer in English. The community at the stupa made lunch for us, and we met Lama Karma Dorje and Lama Mingma Sherpa and made offerings to them. Lama Karma Dorje, who has lived in the Southwest for decades, was responsible for building (or helping build) most of the stupas we visited.

Kagyu Deki Choeling stupa in Tres Orejas, NM. With Pilgrims and Accumulation of Merit Shrine.

The third stupa was in the unique community of Tres Orejas, near Taos. The dharma students connected to the Kagyu Deki Choeling Stupa were exceptionally gracious, offering us tea and refreshments and making us feel welcome. In their Kangyur House, in front of a relic of Dharma Lord Gampopa, we recited the Aspiration for Mahamudra of Definitive Meaning by Lord Ranjung Dorje, the Third Karmapa.

At Questa’s Kagyu Mila Stupa and Herman Rednick Center, we recited an Aspiration for Rebirth in Sukhavati and sang a song of Milarepa translated by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso in English and meditated.

At Karma Thegsum Tashi Gomang stupa in Crestone, CO, a stupa dedicated to His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, we recited the Bodhicaryavatara Aspiration, and recited many Karmapa Chennos!

At the Tulku Ugyen stupa in Crestone, again we recited King of Aspirations.

At the Guru Rinpoche stupa in Crestone, we recited the Bodhicaryavatara aspiration again, because we liked it so much!

We also visited the Temple at the Three-Year Retreat Center at Vajra Vidya in Crestone, and did meditation with Khenpo Jigme and Khenpo Lobsang. Later that day, Khenpo Lobsang spoke to us on the benefits of pilgrimage. And the night before we visited Karmapa’s stupa in Crestone, we saw the wonderful film “Eye of the Land” (about the construction of the stupa) and got a chance to talk with filmmaker Mark Elliot and his son David after the film.

Tseringma Shrine at the Tulku Ugyen Stupa in Crestone. June 5, 2013

As Khenpo Rinpoche had told us at the outset that one of the purposes of pilgrimage is to accumulate merit toward the purification of our negativities and the development of compassion and wisdom, we tried to make offerings to every stupa and every teacher. we also made offerings to centers that gave us food. On top of this, the Stupa Pilgrimage (the group who helped me organize the event) gave an offering to every stupa group and to Vajra Vidya. One stupa caretaker said they had already scheduled maintenance and repair of their monument, and that our donation would help make the repair work possible.

Our pilgrimage caravan consisted of our tour bus, Linda’s car, Angie’s car, and a motor home. The motor home was driven all the way to New Mexico from Massachusetts by a retired couple who wanted to see even more stupas after our tour was completed. They were so happy and so full of devotion – they inspired all of us with their joy.

When the final stupa prayers were completed and we gathered for our last group photo, we were astonished that our pilgrimage was done. Some pilgrims said they had wonderful meditations and felt great enthusiasm for pilgrimage during the trip, and are already planning to make more pilgrimages in the future.

At Karma Thegsum Tashi Gomang stupa in Crestone, CO, a stupa dedicated to His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, we recited the Bodhicaryavatara Aspiration, and recited many Karmapa Chennos!

On our way back to Albuquerque, we were surprised that beautiful blue flowers were thick and blooming on both sides of the highway. More blessings from our gurus!

Everyone in the group had been instructed back in March to start reciting the Tashi Prayer once a day for the success of the trip. A few days into the pilgrimage, I checked, and two-thirds of them had actually done it! And a few pilgrims said they planned to continue reciting it daily, to continue the blessings of the retreat.

Whether or not their prayers had anything to do with our experience during the pilgrimage, we will never know. But one thing is certain: the habit of repeating auspicious words will offer them uncountable blessings in the future!

Everywhere we went, we met people who had been part of the construction of these monuments. And the reaction everywhere was the same: the builders were astonished to realize that the structures they had built were attracting pilgrims, and that those pilgrims were using the structures that the builders had constructed to enhance their own faith and devotion to dharma. The builders’ work and their lamas’ intentions had come full circle – drawing the faithful into sacred relationship with the Buddha and gurus embodied in their structures.

“If you build it, they (the pilgrims) will come,” one stupa builder said. “Now we see that this is true!”

We dedicate our pilgrimage to His Holiness Karmapa, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, and all of our teachers – may they live long and healthy lives and benefit beings without limit!

– Lama Kathy Wesley

(All photos by Lama Kathy Wesley if not otherwise captioned.)

Pilgrim circumambulating the Tulku Ugyen Stupa, Crestone, CO.

Word for word transcript by Margaret Erlewine of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche’s comments, 6-9-2013. Light editing.

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche and Lama Thendup work on hangings for the Protector Shrine

“As most all of you know, we’ve not only completed the construction of this monastery, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, but we have now completed the creation of a protector temple or gonkhang. We have not only completed the creation of the protector temple or shrine room, but we now have a protector lama, Lama Thendup. And so we have everything we need in order to relate in the fullest and most traditional way to the protectors.

We mention this because, since you have never had such a thing in your culture, you’re unfamiliar with the community function of the protector lama and the protector shrine. For many years up to the present whenever any of you have been in difficulties, you’ve often come to me and ask me to pray for you or to bless you so you transcend these, which is very sweet of you, but I don’t actually have any power to protect you or bless you. I have good aspirations for all of you, but I don’t have any power. The best thing I can do is to pray, on your behalf, to the protectors, such as Mahakala and Mahakali. But traditionally the person, who is supposed to intercede on your behalf with the protectors, is the protector lama.

So from now on, whenever you have difficulties and you feel you need particular help, I want you to go to Lama Thendup and make an offering, whatever size you want, and ask him to talk to the protectors on your behalf. This is traditional; this is the way it’s always been done. It is Mahakala and Mahakali who protect us. It is the function and responsibility of the protector lama to communicate to them our particular needs and issues. The reason why you need to make an offering to him or the temple is to create the interdependent condition for help to come to you. Just as if you want to eat you first have to plant seeds, so then the food will grow and then eventually you eat it.

Now there is one thing about this. When you request the assistance of the protectors in such a way, don’t think that you’re being selfish, because it is their function to help you and protect you. They are dharmapalas, dharma protectors. However because they are dharmapalas they are going to assist you in anything virtuous, but they will not assist you in anything unvirtuous. If you ask for their assistance in doing something bad, they will assist you by making sure that it doesn’t work out.

They’re dharmapalas; they’re not protectors of negativity; they’re protectors of dharma.”

We are thrilled that Traleg Khandro, who just gave a magnificent teaching based on Indo-Tibetan Yoga and Traleg Rinpoche’s thoughts on Integral Buddhism, will be joining KTD’s second annual  Tsa-Tsa Retreat July 5-7, 2013.

Slide show of last year’s retreat here.

She will join Marianne Marstrand, a member of the “stupa team” that made tsa-tsas for the famous Tashi Gomang Stupa in Crestone, Colorado.  One reason for the retreat is to develop KTD’s tsa-tsa-making expertise so we can build and fill our own stupa in the future. 

The tsa-tsa retreat will include a visual presentation on tsa-tsas and hands-on instruction by Marianne.  Traleg Khandro will give a talk, lead daily meditations and learn how to make tsa-tsas alongside us. Here Marianne writes beautifully about her experience making tsa-tsas for the Tashi Gomang stupa.

We began making the tsa-tsas needed for the Tashi Gomang Stupa around 1991, about five years before its completion. The 3rd Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, who inspired and initiated the construction of the Tashi Gomang Stupa on HH Karmapa’s land, advised the stupa team*  to make at least 100,000 of the 2 ½-inch plaster tsa-tsas to be placed within the 42-foot stupa. A small group of us met two days a week.

Tsa-tsa making became our meditation practice. On a good day we could make 250 of them, using special latex and rubber molds created by Paul Kloppenburg.  He had visited Tibet, India and Nepal beginning in the 1970s to collect sacred relics for stupas and locate and discover the diverse forms of tsa-tsas used by Buddhists for many centuries.

With knowledge and skilled craftsmanship, Paul restored authentic tsa-tsas made from clay in copper molds to their original detail, bringing out more clearly the holy images and mantras that time had worn away.  From these restored tsa-tsas he created the new molds used by many lamas and stupa builders around the world with tremendous appreciation for his invaluable contribution.

Strong bonds of friendship were created in those thousands of hours in Mark Elliott’s studio where the tsa-tsas were made. Laughter, frustration, cold, cracked and bleeding hands and dusty white faces were a part of this human experience.

The Final Surprise

It seemed that the teachers did not want to overwhelm our small group all at once with the daunting task of making so many tsa-tsas so they only revealed one step at a time.  Little by little they explained to us the next step required, such as the long roll of prayers to be placed within each tsa-tsa, either when the plaster is still soft (easier) or placed within a drilled hole after the tsa-tsa has hardened (not as easy!).

When Mark’s garage was filled to the ceiling like a Costco warehouse with boxes of layered tsa-tsas we were told that each now needed to be painted yellow and red!  This was a favorite activity of many of the young children in Crestone who came to assist us, bringing their wholesome energy, joy and enthusiasm to the work.

Once painted, the 100,000 tsa-tsas were ready to be moved up to the actual stupa site for one month of consecration prayers and pujas. Volunteers from other Buddhist centers came with trucks and strong arms to help move them to the site.

The long and complex consecration of the tsa-tsas was performed by lamas Karma Chodrak and Tashi Dhondrup. In the harsh elements of the high mountain valley in Colorado, not unlike Tibet I imagine, with sun, winds and rain, these two great Tibetan masters chanted and prayed most of the day under a canopy tent while Maria kept four small fires burning in the cardinal directions as part of the ritual.

By late afternoon, the tent under which the lamas sat often blew away down the hill and the sunburned and parched lamas returned to the center some miles down the road to work all evening to prepare the tormas and other ingredients required by the Buddhist texts for the following day’s ceremony.

Before the final placement within the stupa, we were informed that it would be best if each tsa-tsa was crowned with a square ‘brocade silk hat’ glued to its top syllable “AH” before being placed on the mandalas and forever sealed within the stupa. Under great time pressure, my sister Jytte Marstrand helped to oversee and ingeniously orchestrate this final stage. A great fear in those last days before the stupa consecration was that they would not all fit within the ‘bumpa’ of the stupa. Of course, they did.

Taking Time To Engage in The Sacred

I regard those many days of tsa-tsa making as a special time in my life.  I am grateful I had that opportunity to participate along with others in this.  It is rare now that we take time to engage in the ‘sacred’ in life. Often our days are taken up by work, by the busy flurry of distracting activities that mark this current era – we even think its normal.

While I struggle sometimes to recall our thoughts and conversations during those days, I hope that each of us approached the practice with a pure heart, with a sense of offering, not doing it for or desiring  ‘the merit’ that is said to come from such activity.  I believe that the many individuals who helped over the years brought their generous intentions and clarity of mind so that something pure would emerge for the whole.

It has helped me value much more the extraordinary contributions of Buddhist culture in Tibet where for a thousand years such rituals, ceremonies, and prayer were held in the highest regard and therefore flourished. Many in Tibet sought to enrich themselves not with ‘stuff’ or money-making, but by blessings of the everyday rites of the human journey -  linking the sacred with the ordinary, the divine with the worldly, the formless expressions of wisdom and compassion rendered into form.

This is our gift and power as humans, the ability to bring these together, conjoin the physical with the invisible and by doing so honor the power of divine expression in our world.  Tsa-tsa making is of course, only one of many sacred traditions the Tibetan Buddhists offer us.

Note: The stupa team included myself, Maria Eugenia Pelaez, Mark Elliott, Paul Motsinger, Bo Wiberg, Paul Kloppenburg, Joey Townsend, Barbara Falconer and Robert Flagg. Over the years much help was offered by sisters, mothers, daughters and sons, visiting Buddhists, friends from the Crestone Mt. Zen Center and Dzigar Kongtrul’s center, as well as members from other local spiritual traditions.

– Marianne Marstrand, New York City, July, 2012

Photo of Traleg Khandro and Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche by Anitra Brown; photo of Tashi Gomang Stupa by Lama Kathy Wesley; all other photos by Nathan Tice.

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche in Mexico last year.

KTD is rejoicing to be hosting its very first Spanish-speaking Retreat, July 13-21, 2013! Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche will teach Chenrezik to 65 pilgrims from all over  Latin America and Spain, deepening Rinpoche’s and KTD’s growing connection with the world’s Latin communities.

The entire retreat (except the empowerment) will be transmitted live by webcast so Spanish-speaking students can connect with Rinpoche and KTD in a substantial way, even if they are not able to come to the retreat.

On July 6, 2012, Rinpoche was welcomed to Mexico with great joy by 68 very happy Mexicans, plus a handful of non-Mexicans. They were all so happy and amazed to actually have Rinpoche there.

The story of how the pilgrimage came about with Karmapa’s blessing is quite moving.  Rinpoche traveled to Mexico in July of 2012 and inspired so many people so deeply, according to Ani Damchö, an American nun who helped His Holiness the Karmapa edit his new book, “The Heart Is Noble.”

Ani Damchö and other members of Dharmadatta Nuns Community had a strong aspiration to support the people in Mexico who received Rinpoche’s teachings and continue deepening the connection.

“We would like to invite Rinpoche again, but also know that such travel is not so easy or comfortable for Rinpoche, so we tried to think more widely,” says Ani Damchö. “Our nuns’ community had an audience with His Holiness and received extensive guidance from His Holiness for 2013.

“We asked our kind master whether he felt it would be good for our community to organize a pilgrimage and retreat for Spanish speakers to KTD in 2013, requesting perhaps Chenrezik or Medicine Buddha empowerment from Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, and then do a practice retreat and pilgrimage at KTD itself.”

“His Holiness responded very firmly that yes, we should do that. So now we wish to place before Rinpoche all the merit we have generated until now, and especially also all the merit of his students in Latin America and particularly those who did the three-month Vajrasattva retreat based on his empowerment and instructions, to request Rinpoche to offer Chenrezig or whichever initiation Rinpoche feels will be most beneficial to those Spanish-speaking students who wish to travel to KTD to see Rinpoche’s glorious face and hear his Dharma and receive his blessings and empowerment and teachings.”

Rinpoche was delighted with the idea of the pilgrimage, and agreed the give teachings on Chenrezik and an empowerment.  His Holiness gave his blessing for Chenrezik to be the group’s first retreat at KTD.

Ani Damchö says, “Our idea is to make an opportunity for people in KTCs and study groups in South America and the students who made a Dharma connection in Mexico to deepen their connection to the lineage, to His Holiness, to Rinpoche, and to KTD, by offering a full program with everything translated in Spanish.”

And so it shall be in 2013, for the very first time, and we at KTD hope for many years to come.

– Anitra Brown

Spanish version here.

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoché en México el año pasado.

KTD siente gran regocijo de poder servir como anfitrión en su primer retiro para hispano-parlantes, del 13 al 21 de julio, 2013.  Khenpo Karthar Rinpoché ofrecerá enseñanzas sobre Chenrezig a 65 peregrinos provenientes de toda América Latina y España, fortaleciendo así la conexión entre Rinpoché y KTD con las comunidades latinas alrededor del mundo.

El retiro será transmitido en vivo a través de la Internet (excepto la iniciación).  De esta forma los estudiantes de habla hispana podrán conectarse con Rinpoché de manera muy profunda, aún si no pueden asistir al retiro.

El pasado 6 de julio, 2012, Rinpoché es recibido en México con gran gozo por un grupo de 68 mexicanos, acompañados de otros estudiantes de América Latina. Todos experimentaron gran alegría al tener a Rinpoché entre ellos.

La historia sobre el origen de esta peregrinación-retiro con la bendición de SS el Karmapa, es muy conmovedora. Rinpoché viajó a México en julio del 2012 e inspiró profundamente a muchas personas, según relata Ven. Damcho, monja norte americana que colaboró con SS el Karmapa en la edición de su último libro, “El corazón es noble”.

Damcho y otros miembros de la Comunidad Monástica Dharmadatta, se sintieron sumamente inspiradas para apoyar a los estudiantes latinoamericanos que  viajaron a México para recibir enseñanzas de Rinpoché y para fortalecer la conexión con él.

“Hubiéramos querido invitar a Rinpoché a México nuevamente, pero también reconocemos que este tipo de viaje no es fácil ni cómodo para él, así que tratamos de pensar de manera abarcadora,” afirma Damcho y continúa.  “Nuestra comunidad monástica tuvo una audiencia con Su Santidad, de quien recibimos guías muy extensas para el 2013.”

“Preguntamos a nuestro amable maestro si pensaba que sería favorable para nuestra comunidad el organizar una peregrinación-retiro a KTD en el 2013.  Hemos pensado solicitarle a Khenpo Karthar Rinpoché una iniciación de Chenrezig o quizás Buda de la Medicina, y luego hacer un retiro de práctica en KTD.”

“Su Santidad respondió de manera muy firme que sí, que deberíamos hacer esto. Así que ahora deseamos ofrecer a Rinpoché todo el mérito que hayamos generado, especialmente el mérito de sus estudiantes en América Latina, y particularmente el mérito de aquellos estudiantes que asistieron al retiro de Vajrasattva luego de haber recibido iniciación e instrucciones de él.  Ofrecemos todo este mérito para solicitarle a  Rinpoché que nos ofrezca la iniciación de Chenrezig o cualquier otra iniciación que Rinpoché piense pueda ser de mayor beneficio a este grupo de hispanos que desean viajar a KTD a estar frente a su rostro glorioso, escuchar su Dharma y recibir su bendición, iniciación e instrucciones.”

A Rinpoché le deleitó la idea de una peregrinación y aceptó darnos enseñanzas de Chenrezig más una iniciación.

Nuestra idea es, afirma Damcho, proveer a los KTC’s y grupos de estudio en América del Sur, al igual que a los estudiantes que hicieron una conexión de Dharma con Rinpoché en México, la oportunidad de ofrecerles un programa completamente traducido al español y fortalecer así sus vínculos con el linaje, con Rinpoché, y con KTD”.

Así se hará, por primera vez en el 2013, y nosotros en KTD, esperamos que se haga por muchos años subsiguientes.

– Anitra Brown

English version here.

I am so happy to continue volunteering for KTD, looking for ways that the Monastery can keep renewing its “Green Monastery” status.

Sustainability, by any definition, means that a system is able to continue long-term and, since things are always changing, being able to react and adapt to those changes.  Since sustainability is so broad a term, there are many projects that would help KTD improve its sustainability and ability to grow stronger as an organization.  The more people we have supporting KTD, the more that can be done.

For this reason, I am overjoyed to  begin working with another volunteer, Steve Soszynski, who has already brought a wealth of knowledge and energy to maintain the health of the KTD grounds.

Pictured here, he and I are working on a pathway connecting the sidewalk of the main building to the ramp at the back of the Gompa.  This project is a good reminder of the need to importance of flexibility in all things, as the design of the path has to take many factors into account including fire truck access.

Of course, the community at KTD has been very important in sharing ideas and support for a side project such as this.  For my part, I am always especially excited to lead other volunteers, so I have greatly appreciated the help of the Karma Yogis that offer their time in between teaching sessions!

We thank Anonymous KTD Staff Member for these photos. May All Beings Benefit!

Progress continues, and we have high hopes to work with our facilities director Clifton Skye on future projects.

Hope to see you up there!

– Robyn Glenney

On August 2-4, KTD will present a weekend workshop on “Buddhism and Addiction Recovery”.  Teacher/Facilitators for the workshop will be Lama Losang (David Bole) and Bill Alexander.

Lama Losang, a fully ordained monk, is Resident Teacher at the Gainesville, Florida Karma Thegsum Choling; he also holds a Ph.D. in psychology, and is a licensed Doctor of Acupuncture.

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Bill Alexander is the author of Ordinary Recovery and several other books looking at the process of addiction recovery from a spiritual point of view; a self-described free-lance storyteller, Alexander is an Episcopalian with a Buddhist spiritual practice who leads sobriety workshops in extremely diverse venues across the US.

The weekend will be a dialogue between three traditions—Buddhism, Christianity, and the 12 Step recovery tradition– with distinct but mutually clarifying viewpoints on how human beings can free ourselves from destructive dependencies.

Buddhism has a particular contribution to make to this dialogue because it teaches, in effect, that all sentient beings are addicts.  According to the Buddha’s teachings, beings are destructively dependent on a variety of things that they falsely believe will bring them unshakeable stability and permanent happiness: comfort, pleasure, material goods, status, affection…

The Buddha’s key insight was that there is a primary dependency that is the source of all the others – dependence on a fabrication that is called “I” or “me”, an illusory self that is imagined to be solid, unchanging, and eternal.  Buddhism may usefully be described as a collection of techniques for breaking this primary dependency.  As such, it has something unique to offer in a dialogue about addiction recovery.

Participating in and hosting such dialogues is part of the exciting new direction in which KTD is now moving.  As KTD President Tenzin Chonyi and Executive Director David Kaczynski wrote in a recent letter to individuals who might become members of KTD: “Now the focus of operations has shifted from the construction of physical buildings to a much broader horizon of dharma activity intended to benefit all beings by cultivating mindful compassion and loving-kindness throughout the world.”

Attending “Buddhism and Addiction Recovery” on the weekend of August 2-4 is a perfect way to experience one facet of the new KTD.  We look forward to sharing this experience with you.

Registration for the Buddhism and Addiction Recovery Program

Poster for the Buddhism and Addiction Recovery Program

Flyer for Buddhism and Addiction Recovery Program

En medio de una mañana lluviosa, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD), empieza a llenarse del sonido chispeante del español.  La llegada de los peregrinos al monasterio para recibir las  enseñanzas de Khenpo Karthar Rinpoché y la iniciación de Chenrezig, ha estado llena de todo tipo de obstáculos y sorpresas. Sin embargo, el sólo hecho de entrar y hacer contacto con este espacio, disipa de sus rostros cualquier dificultad.

Pérdidas de vuelo por sobreventas, largas esperas para obtener un taxi que los traslade al monasterio, pérdidas de autobuses, el encuentro inesperado con amigos que se dirigen al mismo destino, la ayuda desinteresada de extraños y muchas cosas más han sido parte de la llegada de muchos de ellos.  Peregrinos de México, Colombia, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Perú y Venezuela, entre otros países,  empiezan a llenar los pasillos con preguntas y miradas de asombro.

Muchos de ellos, por internet, han sido parte de los diferentes cursos en línea que Venerable Damchö ha impartido a través  del Instituto Budadharma. Y este retiro es la oportunidad de recibir los frutos de su esfuerzo y dedicación.

El equipo organizador irradia energía y gozo cuándo logra conectar personalmente con las personas con las que han estado trabajando por largo tiempo a través de la distancia.  Ahora este trabajo empieza a tomar forma, como un rompecabezas al unir sus piezas para formar este hermoso mandala.

La bienvenida por parte de los colaboradores de KTD es una puerta cálida para cada uno de los peregrinos.  El personal de KTD ha hecho grandes esfuerzos por hablar con nosotros en español,  haciéndonos sentir que somos bienvenidos. A  las ocho de la noche dio inicio el retiro, cerrando con esto un día de bienvenidas.

Las palabras de David, el director de KTD, han sido la forma perfecta de comenzar haciéndonos conscientes de lo que este evento significa, no sólo para nosotros como peregrinos sino para la historia del Dharma en occidente.  David, con un esfuerzo digno de reconocer, nos expresa en un suave y divertido español, que esta es una ocasión muy especial para KTD. Recibir este primer grupo de hispanoparlantes es histórico para ellos y para el Dharma. Su entusiasmo y sinceridad nos transmiten un mensaje de aprecio y bienvenida, que manifiestan para todos nosotros la importancia de ser parte de este momento.

Ha sido un esfuerzo grande para mucha gente.  Entre ellos, el personal de KTD; para Alberto, el líder del equipo organizador quien ha realizado esta labor entregada, sabiendo que no podría gozar en persona del fruto de su esfuerzo; para su equipo de trabajo y para muchos de los participantes.

Finalmente llegamos aquí, donde no sólo la estructura física habla del Dharma, sino que cada espacio está lleno de esfuerzo, de expresiones artísticas,  de la presencia de los maestros y especialmente lleno de la presencia de Su Santidad el Karmapa.  Este suceso es una promesa de algo  grande que está ocurriendo y del cual formamos parte los presentes, los que participan a  distancia y los que vendrán en un futuro.

Las fotografías de este evento son cortesía de: Almendra Ramírez, Miriam Cuevas-Fournier y Alessandra Otero.

In the midst of a rainy morning, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) begins to fill with the sparkling sound of Spanish. The arrival of the pilgrims in the Monastery to receive the teachings of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoché and the Chenrezig Initiation has been filled with every type of obstacles and surprises. Nonetheless, the very entry and contact with this space, dissipates all difficulties from their faces.

Losing flights due to overbooking/oversales, long waits to take a taxi to the Monastery, missing the bus, the unexpected encounter with friends heading towards the same destination, the uninterested help of strangers and many other stories have been a part of their arrival. Pilgrims from México, Colombia, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Peru and Venezuela, amongst other countries, fill the aisles with questions and sights of amazement.

Many of them, have been part of the diverse online courses Venerable Damchö has given through the Budadharma Institute. And so, this retreat is the opportunity to receive the fruits of their effort and dedication.

The organization team radiates energy and joy when they connect personally with some of the people they have been working long distance for a lengthy period of time. Now their work is shaping up, like a jigsaw puzzle when its pieces unite to form this precious mandala.

KTD collaborators welcome the pilgrims as if entering a warm passage. The KTD team has made great efforts to speak with us in Spanish, letting us know we are welcomed. At 8 pm, the retreat has formally begun, closing the first day of activities.

The words of David, director of KTD, have been the perfect way to begin, making us conscious of the significance of this event, not only for us as pilgrims but to the history of Dharma in the Western Hemisphere. David, expresses himself in a soft and funny Spanish, making a visible and recognizable effort, saying how this is a special occasion for KTD. The reception of this first group of Spanish speaking pilgrims is historic for them and Dharma. Their welcome message expresses enthusiasm and sincerity, making us realize the importance of being a part of this moment.

This has been a great effort for many people. Amongst them, the staff in KTD; Alberto, the organization leader that has done a very dedicated task, knowing he could not enjoy the fruit of his effort in person; for his team and many of the participants.

Finally, we have arrived here, where the physical structure of Dharma is evident but also, each space is filled with effort, with artistic expressions, the presence of other teachers and specially, filled with the presence of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa. This event is a promise of something big that is already happening and of which we are a part: the face-to-face participants, those joining in through distance and those that will come in the future.

Photos from this event are courtesy of: Almendra Ramírez, Miriam Cuevas-Fournier y Alessandra Otero.
Slide show here.