Springtime in Paris - Sogyal Rinpoche Teaches in the Rigpa Centre

Astrid Hubert, from the Paris Sangha, reports on Sogyal Rinpoche's recent visit to Rigpa's Paris Centre:

On the first warm days of Spring, Rinpoche came to Paris and taught for four days in the Rigpa Centre, to a rather new crowd who chose to leave the sun outside for the chance to spend the weekend receiving precious Dharma teachings.

Sogyal Rinpoche taught on the mind and on meditation.

On Sunday, there was a surprise visit from Lodi Gyari Rinpoche, His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy.

He arrived just as Sogyal Rinpoche was sharing a remarkable video teaching on meditation given by Dudjom Rinpoche, Lodi Gyari Rinpoche's own root teacher, to Rigpa students in London in 1979. Dudjom Rinpoche was also one of Sogyal Rinpoche's beloved teachers.

On the screen you can see Dudjom Rinpoche teaching in London in 1979, while Sogyal Rinpoche translates (right side of screen).

Gyari Rinpoche gave us some powerful and moving heart advice on appreciating our good fortune at having met the Dharma and being able to understand it, and the importance of always remembering this and being thankful for it.

Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche - The new head of the Nyingma School

Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche has accepted the position of the new head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. The previous head, Kyabje Minling Trichen Rinpoche, passed away in 2008, and so it fell to his monastery, Mindrolling, to initiate the process of deciding the next head of the Nyingmas. 

You can read about the process by which Trulshik Rinpoche came to be the new head on the Mindrolling website. 

(Photo courtesy of Raphaele Demandre)

Greening Dzogchen Beara

Dzogchen Beara, Rigpa's retreat centre in Cork, Ireland, was pleased to take part in National Tree Week (7th - 13th March 2010), an annual event organised by the Tree Council of Ireland. The theme was ‘Twenty Ten – Plant Again’. The aim of National Tree Week is to raise awareness about trees and to encourage local communities to participate.

We were delighted to be offered two Rowan, four hawthorn, three oak and three ash saplings which were all placed around the car park and welcome area to shade and shelter future guests as they arrive at Dzogchen Beara!

In the preceding months we planted 200 pines and 150 broadleaves, and miscellaneous others that we had propagated ourselves.

Karen O'Neill (Head Gardener) and Noel O'Sullivan planting the trees

Dzogchen Beara thanks West Cork Development Partnership, Coillte, Glenmore Forestry Services, Green Belt Limited, Cork County Council (Southern and Western Divisions) and Hosford’s Garden Centre for their help and co-operation.

To support tree planting and other green and sustainability initiatives at Dzogchen Beara, go to: Rigpa Ireland site

1,500 People visit Lerab Ling on Open Day

Last Sunday, Lerab Ling held it's annual Open Day. More than 1,500 people visited.

Under bright spring sunshine they roamed all over Lerab Ling, visited the different shrine rooms in the temple and retreat chalets. They were also given a tour of Lerab Ling's new renewable energy heating system, as well as other parts of the site.

It is also possible to visit Lerab Ling and take a guided tour of the Temple on Sunday afternoons. For information go to: www.lerabling.org

Help the people of Yushu

On 14 April, an earthquake, measuring 7.1, struck Kyegundo, which is on the border of the two Tibetan regions, Kham and Amdo, in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The population of this region is 97% Tibetan. It is also one of the poorest and remotest regions in the country.

Current accounts say that the area has been devastated. More than 2,000 people have died so far, and 100's are still missing. 12,000 people are reported injured, many seriously, and 100,000 have been made homeless after their earth and timber houses collapsed. Many of these had been the homes for compulsorily resettled Tibetan nomads.

At an elevation of 4,000m, the people of Yushu now face freezing temperatures in makeshift tents or under blankets in the open. There is also shortage of food, water and basic supplies, and the altitude and the remoteness also make relief and rescue efforts more difficult.

Sogyal Rinpoche is greatly saddened by the devastation and loss of life caused by the earthquake. Together, with Rigpa students around the world, he continues to pray for those have lost their lives or are injured, and their loved ones.

If you would like to contribute to the relief effort, these charitable organisations would welcome your donation. Both have a well-established presence in the region so they can provide assistance quickly, which is critical. Please be sure to note that your donation is for the relief effort in Yushu.

Tibet Foundation (UK) and The Bridge Fund (US)

(Photos courtesy of the Jinpa Trust)

Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche Arrives in Lerab Ling

The Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche visited Lerab Ling this week and taught Rigpa students on the Four Foundations of Shangpa (the Shangpa Preliminaries).

This text was composed by Tai Situ Rinpoche in 2009 at the request of Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche. It was Tai Situ Rinpoche who recognised this third incarnation of Kalu Rinpoche in 1992 and formally enthroned him as the holder of the Shangpa Kagyü and Dashang Kagyü lineages on 25 February 1993.

Greeting Mayum Tsering Wangmo (Sogyal Rinpoche's mother) at Lerab Ling

In September of 2008 Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche completed his first three-year retreat.

Teaching in the Lerab Ling Temple

This is the Yangsi Kalu Rinpoche's second visit to Lerab Ling. He first visited as a child in 1994, before the temple was built.

Her Eminence Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro teaches at Berlin Rigpa

Her Eminence Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche recently visited the Rigpa centre in Berlin. This was her second visit. Last year she taught for several days on the “Essence of Buddhism” and “The Path of a Bodhisattva”. This year she gave extraordinary teachings on “The Healing Power of the Mind”.

Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche 's teaching style was very direct, warm, humorous and extremely "down to earth". She covered the Buddhist view of healing and suffering and presented the method of meditation essentially - making it completely accessible to both Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

She explained how meditation and self-reflection can help to access the healing power of one’s own mind and that everything depends on our determination and how we put the teachings into action. She encouraged the audience to start immediately with little things and to do it in every single moment.

In the afternoon Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche met the Rigpa Sangha and the residents of the Rigpa Centre in Berlin. She gave advice and shared her experiences about how to build a genuine Dharma community and encouraged us to put all our effort into practising compassion amongst each other and to truly embody the Buddha Dharma.

About 200 people attended the teachings.

Biography

Khandro Rinpoche Tsering Paldrön (b.1967)  is the eldest daughter of Kyabje Mindrolling Trichen Gyurme Künzang Wangyal, the 11th Mindrolling throne holder of the renowned Mindrolling lineage. The Mindrolling lineage is one of the six main Nyingma Lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.

She was recognized at the age of two by the 16th Karmapa as the reincarnation of the great dakini of Tsurphu, Khandro Ugyen Tsomo, one of the most renowned female masters of her time. 

Khandro Rinpoche began receiving teachings and transmissions from a very young age from some of the most accomplished and revered Tibetan masters of the twentieth century, such as His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, her father, Kyabje Mindrolling Trichen, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, Kyabje Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, Kyabje Tulku Ugyen Rinpoche and Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche.

She holds the lineages of both the Nyingma and Kagyü traditions and teaches all over the world. 

(Photos courtesy of Viktoria von Flemming)

Announcing the new Rigpa News Blog in French

We now have a Rigpa news blog in French.  It's called Rigpa Actualités and you can find it at www.rigpa-actualites.blogspot.com

Rigpa Actualités has news reports 

If you would like to contribute news, in French, from your local Rigpa centre, including photos, or make a suggestion, we would love to hear from you.  Just email us at rigpa.news@rigpa.org

You can also leave comments on the blog about anything you read there.

Nous avons le plaisir d'annoncer que Rigpa News est désormais disponible en français. Rigpa Actualités propose des traductions d'articles publiés sur Rigpa News ainsi que des reportages qui s'adressent plus spécifiquement au Sangha de Rigpa francophone.

Nous invitons tous les membres du Sangha francophones à soumettre des articles sur leur centre local et ses événements accompagnés de photos, ainsi que toute activité des membres du Sangha qui mérite d'être partagée, des réflexions et des informations sur le bouddhisme, les enseignements et Sogyal Rinpoché.

Nous sommes impatients de recevoir vos articles, photos et suggestions. Envoyez-les à rigpa.news@rigpa.org

À bientôt!

L'équipe de Rigpa News et de Rigpa Actualités

Sogyal Rinpoche gives Tendrel Nyesel Empowerment to Rigpa students around the world

At the end of his annual Easter retreat in Haileybury, UK, Sogyal Rinpoche gave the empowerment of Tendrel Nyesel.

The empowerment was video-streamed live to Rigpa centres around the world so that, in addition to those attending the retreat at Haileybury, 1,500 of Sogyal Rinpoche's students were able to receive the empowerment in Lerab Ling and in their local centres.

(Photos courtesy of Graham Price)