The Wisdom Age Newsletter of Drogmi Buddhist Institute A Tibetan Buddhist Centre in the Sakya Tradition Issue 58 July 2021 Dear Dharma friends, Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe along with all members and friends at Drogmi Buddhist Institute would like very much to wish His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama a very glorious 86 th birthday celebration on 6 July 2021 in the western calendar. May His Holiness continue to have excellent health, to have an exceptionally long life, as to continue teaching the most precious Buddhadharma universally for the benefit of all mother sentient beings. Please refer to the section in masters’ quotes below for excerpts of His Holiness’ teachings and some selected wonderful images. Kamalashila Tibetan Buddhist Centre, Tilba NSW will continue to offer many COVID safe retreats and events over the next few months as well as to the end of the year. Khenpo la has so kindly offered to resume some teachings via Zoom on Chapters 4 & 5 from Shantideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra (The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life) , and offer upcoming retreats over the next few months; please read further for all relevant information. We wish all beings to stay safe, be healthy, and experience true and everlasting happiness. Enjoy the read. Yours in the dharma UPCOMING COURSES & EVENTS ONLINE TEACHINGS WITH KHENPO NGAWANG DHAMCHOE The Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra or Bodhicaryāvatāra (Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ་), sometimes translated into English as “A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life”, is a famous Buddhist text written c. 700AD in Sanskrit verse by Shantideva, a Buddhist monk and scholar, at Nālandā Monastic University in India. Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe will give detailed teachings over a series of five weeks, on Chapter 4 “Conscientiousness” and Chapter 5 “Guarding Awareness” (Mindfulness) of this text. At this time there are four more Tuesday evening sessions please don’t miss out. Read More INAUGURAL KARMA YOGA GROUP RETREAT Friday 6 August from 8.00 am, concluding at 3.00 pm Sunday 8 August “This Karma Yoga Group Retreat is being held for the sake of creating a beautiful home for the Dharma” ~Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe During this weekend retreat, there will be a mix of physical work, guided meditation sessions and a nightly yarning around the campfire. All participants will be allocated a task to work on in a small group. These tasks will be chosen with you, to suit your level of capacity and interest in a particular area, such as the garden, painting, building maintenance, cleaning etc, so there is an opportunity for everyone to contribute in a meaningful and joyful way. There is also the opportunity to provide a valuable contribution by becoming a sponsor of meals for the workers and materials for the jobs to be undertaken. This might be particularly helpful for those who are unable to attend in person. Read More MEDITATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN MIND & BODY WORKSHOP WEEKEND Friday 3 – Sunday 5 September Dr Tony Richardson is a renowned Somatic Psychiatrist and Tibetan Buddhist practitioner, having worked in both Australia and the USA for many years. He is currently working as a Psychiatrist at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, specialising in chronic pain and physical illness. Dr Tony Richardson will return to Kamalashila and again lead us in a meditational process whilst looking at ways to work with our bodies, to make friends with our emotions, thoughts and impulses, improving our spiritual practices, bringing tolerance and effectiveness in all aspects of our ordinary life. All proceeds will be generously donated towards the centre. Read More family day Saturday 19 September 2021 Under the guidance of Khenpo la, Kamalashila’s Family Day aims to bring families closer together, with a shared experience of kindness, learning and spaciousness in the beautiful natural environment at Kamalashila Tibetan Buddhist Centre. Bookings are essential. Read More ANNUAL SHAMATHA RETREAT WITH KHENPO NGAWANG DHAMCHOE Friday 1 – Saturday 9 October Khenpo will give detailed teachings on this ancient meditation method, including many practical sessions to strengthen our understanding of Shamatha (calm abiding meditation). Khenpo teaches with wisdom, gentleness, humour and clarity. This retreat is suitable for those beginners to the more experienced meditator. Read More THE 2ND THREE VISION FESTIVAL Saturday 30 October 2021 Put this date aside!!! There will be a celebration of Tibetan, Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians with traditional foods, stalls, music and dance of these cultures. Stay tuned for more details to come. NEWS FROM DROGMI BUDDHIST INSTITUTE AUSPICIOUS DATE OF CHOKHOR DUCHEN The First Turning the Wheel of Dharma This is one of the most important great occasions of the Tibetan Buddhist calendar as it marks historic Buddha Shakyamuni’s first sermon (turning of the Dharma wheel). The first turning is said to have taken place at Deer Park in Sarnath near Varanasi, located in northern India. This important day falls on the fourth day of the sixth lunar month in the Tibetan calendar, which is Wednesday July 14 this year. AUSPICIOUS DATE OF LHUMSU ZHUNGPEI DUCHEN The Buddha entering his mother’s womb This year falling on 24 July, the Anniversary of Buddha Shakyamuni’s entering the womb of his mother, Queen Mayadevi, by taking the form of a six-tusk White Elephant descending from Tushita and entering the womb immaculately. This date also marks the historical beginning of the rainy season retreat for 45 days in the time of Lord Buddha and is still carried out in many nunneries and monasteries to this day. “Cherish this life when the teaching of Buddha is still taught and practised. Do not waste your time and energy for meaningless thoughts, speech and activities.” ~Gyalwang Drukpa SPONSORED HUTS FOR RETREAT Drogmi Buddhist Institute has received sponsorship from a very generous sponsor, for the fee of retreat hut hire. We can, therefore, offer two fellow sangha members the opportunity to complete a retreat for one week each. This is being offered to anyone who has an interest in undertaking a one-week retreat and who would otherwise not be able to afford it. This offer is available from now until mid-August 2021. Please email your interest to
[email protected] RECENT EVENTS Inaugural Shri Vajrapani Bhutadamara Retreat The Inaugural Shri Vajrapani Bhutadamara Retreat at Kamalashila Tibetan Buddhist Centre was led by Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe. It had been a day leading into the retreat with very auspicious signs of many rainbows in the skies around the centre and students reporting rainbows travelling down the coast from far and wide to attend retreat. Read More The Holiest Month in Buddhism of Saga Dawa Commemorating the most auspicious month of Saga Dawa with Khenpo Ngawang Dhamchoe who led programs in Sydney and Tilba. Khenpo la lead practice, prayers and light offerings to mark Saga Dawa Duchen with Praise of ‘The Twelve Great Deeds of the Buddha’. Sangha came in person and via Zoom. Read More The 4th Uluru Retreat, Part 1 “We are finding that we have become attached to this wonderful, sacred land. As we pack up our things and close our cases, I think we are not brushing off ALL the red sand. We have made a heart connection to this place and deepened our connection to Khenpo la and the Dharma. And as an aside: it turns out that by camel is a great way to see a Central Australian sunset!” Read More The 4th Uluru Retreat, Part 2 “It is with enormous gratitude that I write a few words to acknowledge the potency, purity, and treasure of our recent Pilgrimage to Uluru. This journey had so many components: firstly, the focus on pilgrimage with a great Tibetan teacher as in Khenpo la, whose knowledge of the Buddha’s teachings is matched to his excellent warm, friendly, and joyful nature and his reverence of place, culture, and people of wherever he visits.” Read More FROM OUR MASTERS “As long as we live in this world, we are bound to encounter problems. If at such times, we lose hope and become discouraged, we diminish our ability to face difficulties. If, on the other hand, we remember that it is not just ourselves but everyone who has to undergo suffering, this more realistic perspective will increase our determination and capacity to overcome troubles. Indeed, with this attitude, each new obstacle can be seen yet another valuable opportunity to improve our mind! Thus, we can strive gradually to become more compassionate; that is, we can develop both genuine sympathy for others’ suffering and the will to help remove their pain. As a result, our own serenity and inner strength will increase.” ~His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso Read More excerpts from His Holiness’ teachings Find out more by visiting our website. Home Courses & events Venue hire Support us Contact Home Courses & events Venue hire Support us Contact We only use this list for The Wisdom Age newsletter. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list below. To unsubscribe from general mailings from Drogmi Buddhist Institute, please email
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