The Wisdom Age Newsletter of Drogmi Buddhist Institute A Tibetan Buddhist Centre in the Sakya Tradition Issue 69 February 2024 Dear Dharma Friends, Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe and Drogmi Buddhist Institute wish you all a very happy Losar 2151. Please join us if you can for our Losar celebrations at Kamalashila Tibetan Buddhist Centre, on Sunday 11 February. You can read all about the meaning of Losar below, in this coming Year of the Wood Dragon. Please enjoy the read. Yours in the Dharma Happy Losar 2151 – the Year of the Wood Dragon Losar is celebrated for 15 days, with the main celebrations on the first three days. A month before the New Year a special kind of barley is planted in little flowerpots so that by the time New Year rolls around three-inch-high seedlings can be offered to Buddha.  Read More SAKYA NEWS Audiences and Empowerments in Bodhgaya Photographs captured by The Private Office of The Dalai Lama during the private audience between His Holiness the Great 14th Dalai Lama and Kyabgon Sakya Gongma Trichen Dorjichang, the 42nd Sakya Trizin, the 43rd Sakya Trizin, Dungsey Akasha Vajra Rinpoche, Jetsunma Kunga Trinley Palter, Jetsunma Kunga Chimey Wangmo, Gyalyum Tashi Lhakee, Dagmo Kalden Sakya, and attendants of Kyabgon Sakya Gongma Rinpoche recently in early 2024 in Bodhgaya. Followed by images of empowerments and transmissions at the Bodhgaya Sakya Monastery, and commemoration of the Parinirvana of one of the greatest Sakya masters of our time, His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche. Read More DROGMI NEWS MEMBERSHIPS/FRIENDS FEES DUE 2024 On behalf of Khenpo la and the Committee, thank you so much for your support of the centre in 2023 by being a ‘DBI Financial Member’. We would like to invite you to renew your ‘DBI Membership’ for 2024. Your Annual ‘DBI Members’ fee offers you a 15% discount on DBI program events and generous discounts on Retreat Hut Hires. Importantly, it contributes to the running of the centre’s Dharma activities, and through Khenpo la’s guidance, helps many people in the community each year. Once you have paid your 2024 fee, you will be sent the 2024 coupon code to be used when you book for events on the website. Thank you again for your support and we wish you and your family a very safe and happy New Year and look forward to sharing the Dharma with you in 2024. Become a Friend of Drogmi ​ KAMALASHILA HUT RENTALS ARE AVAILABLE The samadhi huts at Kamalashila Tibetan Buddhist Centre, Tilba are fully self-contained huts available for hire on daily (minimum of 2 days), weekly or monthly rates for those wishing to undertake retreat or spend time in self-reflection. Many remark just how perfect an environment this is for meditation and contemplation. Your backdrop is Mount Gulaga. In front are views of the shimmering ocean. Enjoy a personal retreat in this quiet and healing environment. All huts are fully self-contained with kitchenette and ensuite facilities. Hut 2 has full disabled access and facilities. Retreat Hut Hire ​ UPCOMING COURSES & EVENTS UPCOMING PILGRIMAGE to india & nepal holy sites Led by Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe 27 December 2024 – 18 January 2025 Bookings available from June 2024. THE SIX DOME WHITE TARA RETREAT Thursday 1 – Sunday 4 February Led by Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe. Prayers to White Tara are especially effective for health, healing, and longevity. She offers healing to our wounds, whether it is our bodies or our minds that have been hurt. White Tara is extremely powerful. Like a mother to a child, she is very quick to fulfill our wishes and to grant us happiness and a long life, as well as to help us develop wisdom. By taking refuge in White Tara and practicing meditation, visualisations, and having faith, you have the power to remove obstacles to your life and to prolong your life. Prerequisite - to have received the Six Dome White Tara empowerment from a Sakya Lineage Holder. If unsure of this, please check with the organisers. More details and bookings INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION COURSE Tuesdays, 13 February – 12 March, 10am – 11:30am Learn and practice the basics of meditation in a beautiful and peaceful bush setting, from experienced instructors. Meditation is proven to increase alertness and energy whilst decreasing anxiety and stress. Leading to a healthier body and mind. More details and bookings FAMILY MEDITATION COURSE Sundays, 18 February – 17 March, 11:30am – 12:30pm Held at the beautiful Kamalashila Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Centre, your whole family is invited to take part in this nurturing 5-week course, under the auspices of Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe, Kamalashila’s highly qualified resident teacher and Zara Kaye, primary school teacher. In a world with ever more complex demands placed on families, the development of mindfulness and meditation can support us to maintain healthy balance. Values of kindness, compassion and togetherness are taught through meditation, music, storytelling, and craft. More details and bookings PUBLIC TALK IN WINDSOR How to Create Happiness in Troubled Times – a Buddhist Perspective Thursday 5 March, 6.00 – 7.30pm We invite you to an enlightening evening where Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe will share invaluable insights from a Buddhist perspective on finding true happiness during challenging times. This is an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of timeless practices and principles that offer solace and clarity in the face of turmoil. More details and bookings PUBLIC TALK IN WENTWORTH FALLS How to Live a Meaningful Life Thursday 7 March, 6.30 – 8:00pm In this talk Khenpo will discuss how we can transform the outer world turmoil and constant change, into a sense of inner peace and resilience. For centuries this ancient method of inner reflection and meditation has been proven to bring greater meaning and happiness to one’s life. And in so doing, shifting from our usual habitual self-centeredness to other-centeredness. More details and bookings WEEKEND OF MIND TRAINING TEACHINGS In Croydon, Sydney or via Zoom Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 March One of the key themes of mind training practices is a radical re-orientation of our personality, attitudes, and thoughts, shifting these from our usual habitual self-centeredness to other-centeredness. Mind training begins with an emphasis on cultivating a completely new way of relating to other beings. Khenpo la will draw on a number of the profound mind training teachings given by Buddha, equipping us with the tools and techniques to be able to undertake this profound training of our minds. More details and bookings RECENT EVENTS Impromptu Working Bee Over the holiday season, after the conclusion of the Healing & Purification Retreat one our sangha members, Rob planned a bit of an impromptu working bee. Together with Peter T., Tony, Oli, Phil, Kate and Milhara, they all worked very hard on finishing the repairs to the stairs and pathway leading to the dining room, as well as creating a new pebble pathway in a rough and hilly section nearby. Read More Tibetan Doctor We were pleased to host at KTBC the visiting Tibetan Doctor Amchi Dolma. There was strong interest in her visit within the community, with the public talk and private consultations well-attended. Amchi la gave a talk on the role of Tibetan Medicine in this modern world, describing just how profoundly deep and holistic this ancient, yet so relevant, method of health care is.  Read More Reflections from a Student of the Autumn Buddhist Philosophy Course Out of the Dharma slipstream – samsara. Likened to being in a wild stormy sea that has been whipped up by crazy strong winds. Being in meditation and contemplation for a few years now, is my refuge. A place of peace away from the hardships of life or as the Buddha might have said ‘all the sufferings’. Suffering of suffering, suffering of change and the all-pervasive suffering. In the Dharma slipstream, The Triple Gem is like being carried along peacefully and effortlessly through life’s ups and downs. Not getting caught up in them just observing them. Just like watching a cloud or a bird fly across the mind’s sky leaving without a trace. Read More Annual Healing & Purification Retreat 2023 Day 1 of the Annual Healing and Purification retreat commenced with Khenpo la giving the Vajrasattva transmission and providing brief yet detailed teachings to explain the history of the ancient practice and unbroken lineage. Khenpo la explained the benefit and meaning of the visualisation practice ‘to use the mind to heal the mind’ and reminded us that our minds have the same potential as all the previous Buddhas and great masters: we practise polishing the mind and eliminate the negative states, but the nature of mind is always pure and perfect. Read More FROM OUR MASTERS “These four immeasurables create a solid foundation for the mind path. They establish a very healthy seed for bodhicitta. For this reason, if you want to have healthy bodhicitta, you must train yourself in the four immeasurable first. Once you have solidly established these four immeasurables, you will be able to cultivate real bodhicitta mind.” On equanimity: “If we meditate on equanimity just because we Buddhists believe every being is equal, that is not good enough. We need to understand the reason that every being is equal. This can be explained: first, from the relationship point of view; second, the sentient being’s interest point of view; third, the dharmic point of view. “First, the relationship point of view. In our normal life, we do not see everyone as equal because someone is our partner, some you dislike and there are others who are strangers to you. In meditation, you consider these relationships as only temporary – in your past lives, these people had different relationships with you, and in your future lives they will have different relationships with you. Your loved ones, your enemies and strangers are always