HH Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche

We at Lotus Speech Canada are very happy and fortunate to hear the announcement on June 2, 2012 of H.H. Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche as Supreme Head of the Nyingma Lineage. Rinpoche will meet with His Holiness Dalai Lama today to make the position official.

Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche was born in central Tibet in 1926. He was recognized as a tulku when he was five years old. In Tibet he studied with great masters and received many empowerments and transmissions. After escaping from Tibet in 1959 he received empowerments and transmissions from the great 16th Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa and from Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche. From Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche he received transmissions for the collected teachings of Mipham Rinpoche and empowerments and transmissions for the Heart Essence of Longchenpa and other dzogchen practices and tantras.

When Kyabje Tsetrul Rinpoche finally agreed to accept the position of head of the Nyingmapas, he spoke with great humility and humour: “My accepting this position is like a dog getting the title of a lion. I will only take on this responsibility if Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche and Khochen Rinpoche will also assist me.”

We at Lotus Speech Canada pray for all the activities of Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche to flourish and to benefit all beings.

Lama Tsundro

Lama Tsundro came from Tibet. While in Tibet he did retreat in a cave for six years practicing Vajrasattva. His practice was continuous and he did not give up his practice or come out of the cave even when he ran out of food. His teacher said that by the power of his practice he would go to a place where they are speaking a different language and he would be able to benefit the people there.

He didn’t understand what his teacher was trying to say but later he found himself in this place called Munsong which was full of Nepalese people. They were practicing a shamanic tradition and conducting animal sacrifices. Lama Tsundro introduced the Buddhist path of nonviolence and the ten virtuous practices. By the strength of his own practice he stopped more than 1000 families from practicing sacrifices. These families also came to embrace the practices of non-violence and the ten virtuous actions.

An older woman offered land for the dharma and Lama Tsundro developed the temple where people now gather to practice and study. The centre now supports six monks and two nuns as well as a few hundred devout Sikkimese and Nepalese country folk. There are now lots of young people showing interest in practice.

As of this morning, Lama Tsundro is still resting in meditation posture. His remains will be cremated on February 10th.

Changling Rinpoche has asked that we begin Guru Yoga and Mani recitations. There is a special blessing and power to practices done when a master passes away and it is a great opportunity to gather merit and purify negativities.

You can read more about Lama Tsundro and Munsong Gompa on the Munsong Gompa website.

The Sikkim Pilgrimage concluded on the 3rd of May and everything went well. We were fortunate to meet with Dodrupchen Rinpoche at his monastery in Gangtok to receive his blessings and to visit the Guru Rinpoche image which grew and went through the ceiling after being blessed by Dodrupchen Rinpoche.

We celebrated Rinpoche’s birthday on the 1st of may in Gangtok with dinner at a hotel and then on the 2nd of May celebrated Momo-la’s birthday with a big party given by Gyatso, Rinpoche’s father. Rinpoche gave a lovely speech to the pilgrimage group and he dedicated all the merits from the pilgrimage for all the masters to live long and for the dharma to flourish, as well as to all the victims of the natural disasters last year and early this year.

He also said for next year’s pilgrimage – maybe to Sri Lanka or to northern Sikkim.

Best regards,
Min Li

Today’s tsog offerings were distributed to the Central School for Tibetans with 1000 students. Most of them are borders at the school and are from poor families from surrounding areas. They would not have afforded to have such luxuries like biscuits, sweets and chips. For them this is indeed a treat!

The purpose of this puja is to clear obstacles for Lotus Speech, for the dharma to flourish for all, may all the masters live long and spread the dharma, and to accumulate virtuous karma. Rinpoche would like to continue this event on a yearly basis.

Many thanks to Lotus Speech Canada, Lotus Speech Australia and various sponsors who have contributed to the tsog offerings.

Min Li, Lotus Speech Australia, in Kalimpong

Bumchok Puja

Happy children

We are very excited to have more people wishing to be a part of Changling Rinpoche’s activities around the world and welcome your support. Whether simply listening to Rinpoche’s teachings and practicing more loving kindness mindfully in your daily life, to actively providing financial support or volunteering your time and ultimately increasing and spreading enlightened activity to all corners of the world. We are very excited for the year ahead for in 2010 many of us will be fortunate enought to meet and receive  teachings from Changling Rinpoche’s root teacher here in Canada and the US, the Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche.

May this be the continuation of many more wonderful events, benefiting all!
Trevor Jones
President, Lotus Speech Canada

This seminar will be different than the previous ones, as it will require advance registration and a firm commitment from the participants.

After repeated requests Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche has agreed to teach a group of committed students the complete spiritual path based on the spiritual treasures (termas) of his guru and grandfather, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. We will follow the same practice program used for the graduates of Shechen Monastic College. It will now be offered via English medium to students who are interested in the practice.

This first three years of the program will focus on the preliminary practices (ngondro) according to The Spontaneously Arisen Heart Essence of Padmasambhava (Rangjung Pema Nyingtik) a mind treasure of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

2011 The First Year:
The first year will cover teachings on calm abiding meditation, the four thoughts that turn the mind toward spiritual practice, refuge, bodhicitta, and the meditation and recitation of Vajrasattva’s hundred-syllable mantra.

Students should be committed to practice these instructions throughout the year and complete them prior to the following year’s teachings.

The commitment for the first year is:

For two months, to focus primarily on calm abiding meditation. The next stage is to begin the preliminary practices in earnest: contemplating the four thoughts that turn the mind toward spiritual practice, offering a hundred prostrations along with the recitation of the refuge prayer, and thereafter reciting a hundred bodhisattvas’commitment/prayer per day for the entire three years. (This comes to a total of a hundred thousand of each of these practices over the three years.) After the bodhisattva recitation, the commitment is to recite three hundred Vajrasattva’s one-hundred-syllable mantra per day for the year. This is a total of a hundred thousand repetitions of this mantra over the year.

The Second Year:
The second year teaching will include further meditation advice, mind training instruction (based upon the spiritual advice and prayers of Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche), as well as detailed teachings on the mandala-offering practice.

Throughout the second year students should continue with the above practices, and also perform three hundred mandala offerings daily.

The third year will focus primarily on meditation and guru yoga.

During the third year, the students will offer three hundred recitations of the guru-supplication and twelve hundred guru-yoga mantras per day.

By bringing the preliminary practices into our daily-life in this way the entire ngondro can be completed easily within the three-year period. Thereafter the empowerments for the various sadhana practices will be given and taught in great detail. There will also be opportunities to practice with and participate in retreats on the practices with the teachers.

** If you are already engaged in the Nyingma preliminary practices, or have completed them at least once, you will be asked to commit to at least a tenth of the above commitments of the Rangjung Pema Nyingtik Ngondro.**

Teaching Schedule for The First Year (Jan 3^rd -9^th 2011)

Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche and Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche will offer the empowerments of Rangjung Pema Nyingtik, Manjushri, Vajrasattva, and a longevity empowerment.

Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche will give advice, teachings on mind training and the oral transmissions of the practice materials.

Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche will teach Calm Abiding Meditation (based upon Mipam Rinpoche’s Sadhana of the Buddha,The Treasury of Blessings, and its commentary) and on the Rangjung Pema Nyingtik preliminary practices up to and including Vajrasattva.

Ven. Changling Rinpoche will teach the Thirty Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva.

Ven. Khenpo Gyurme Tsultrim will teach the Twelve Deeds of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Four Noble Truths.

All teachings will either be given in, or translated into English. English translations of all the practice materials and commentaries will be available.

To register for the seminar and for any further enquiries please contact: Shechenseminar@gmail.com.

For help with accommodation please contact: seminaraccommodation@gmail.com.

The seminar is free of charge: However, if you would like to make a donation toward the offering of mandalas, representations of the enlightened one’s body, speech and mind (i.e. statues, books and stupas) and/or toward the seminar and publication of the practices materials you are most welcome to do so.

The dates for the Rangjung Padmai Nyingtik drupchen are on the Shechen web page: www.shechen.org. All are welcome to attend.

There will be no special accommodation and/or activities for children. Children will remain the responsibility of their parents.

For future seminars you will be asked to declare that you have completed the previous year’s commitments and are thereby ‘ready’ for the coming years seminar.

Many people travelled from across the world to see Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche and Rabjam Rinpoche and received beautiful teachings from both great Lamas in Vancouver’s UBC Long House.

Read the article from Northwest Dharma.

See photos from Wonderlane.

If you have photos or a short paragraph of your experience you would like to share please email them to info@lotusspeech.ca. Thank you!

Under Lama Tsundro’s tutelage, community members have turned their minds towards the
Buddhist path. The center is an important part of their daily lives, and even
during school holidays most of the student body and their parents attend
week-long retreats.

Rinpoche visited this center last November to bestow long-life empowerments and the
transmission of Vajrayogini coming from Rechungpa. Well over 400 pilgrims made
the trek to the center; many had journeyed by foot for three days or more.

I had the privilege of staying in the temple compound while attending the
empowerments. After three days it became quite apparent that the one and a half
very small outbuildings that accommodated eight monastics was clearly
inadequate. There were five people, and at times more, sleeping head to toe in
a 10 X 10 foot shed. Seeing this, I committed to helping to build better
housing.

In April of this year Lotus Speech gave $5,000 to initiate construction of a new
dormitory and kitchen. With progress well under way, it was determined that
another $5,000 was required to see the project through to completion. Thanks to
the compassionate and generous donations made by the Lotus Speech sangha, these
funds have been met. This devout community of practitioners will soon have the
facilities it needs to support its monks and nuns.

It is Changling Rinpoche’s wish to have 10 monks and 5 nuns who can continue their
training and practice to support the Rechungpa Lineage in this special
Monastery. To date, Lotus Speech sangha members have generously donated to
support 2 nuns and 3 monks for the year, but we need more help!

For $30/month you can support one monk or nun, this includes their clothing,
bedding and food. You will be sent a photo of who you are supporting and
updates on the building of the facility and practices there. If you would like
to contribute please email info@lotusspeech.ca.

Thank you Lotus Speech Canada!
Trevor Jones