Month: May 2016

Invitation from Lama Sonam Rinpoche

~ DudjomTersarNgondro
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John and Lama Sonam Rinpoche
Lama Sonam Rinpoche asked us to send a message to all of you regarding our upcoming Summer Retreat, June 14 – July 14. This annual summer gathering of our sangha has been going on since 1989. It was started by Lama Tharchin Rinpoche who called it our sangha’s “dharma party”. The Summer Retreat is usually one month long and during that time we do several short retreats. You are invited to come for any length of time, one session, one day, one week or the entire month. Lama Sonam Rinpoche has requested you to try and come to help with preparations and immerse yourself in a rich and deep dharma experience.
 
We will do the Ngondro practice everyday but the focus of the retreat will be on other aspects of Vajrayana practices. For the first week we will be practicing and accumulating the Troma Ngondro and receiving teachings from Sangye Khandro, a extraordinary western practitioner and translator. The teachings are basic to any Ngondro and can be applied to your practice.
NOTE: This Troma retreat is restricted for those who have had a Troma Empowerment.

The following retreat sessions will be taught by Lama Sonam Rinpoche and various guest Lamas, of which there are usually many.

The second retreat session will be a Black Hayagriva practice. This practice is said to be a profound healing practice for serious illness and for removing obscurations. There will be a two day Shitro practice for purifying broken samaya.  Geypa Rinpoche will be giving  a Troma empowerment on July 2nd. Finally, the last portion of the retreat will be our annual Drupchen, which is a profound practice in which the Vajra Guru mantra is recited continuously day and night for nine days. There are 6 practice sessions that are divided up in the day and night. The retreat is very powerful and is said to be the equivalent of doing a one year retreat.

Lama Sonam Rinpoche has expressed the desire to see all of you integrating with the Vajrayana Foundation sangha, meeting fellow practitioners and deepening your experience of the dharma. Participating in the retreat will certainly inspire your practice and help you to build friendships and a network of support.  You will have the opportunity to meet amazing Lamas and receive profound teachings. You will learn about ritual and depending on your interest, how to make tormas, play instruments, prepare ritual substances, and sacred dances.
 
The retreat is held at our Pema Osel Ling retreat center in the Santa Cruz mountains. The property has been blessed by many wonderful Lamas, such as H.H. Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, Namkai Drime Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, and most recently Khenchen Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche. You can camp or stay in cabins, eat delicious meals and spend time in a beautiful environment with redwoods, stupas, ponds, birds, and deer.
 
All are welcome. We operate on a sliding scale, depending on your circumstances. Offerings are encouraged for your own benefit, and no one is ever turned away for lack of money.
 
If you have children, we do have a children’s retreat during Drupchen. Please let me know if you want more information about that.
 
You can read more about the retreat at the Vajrayana Foundation website.
 
We hope we will see you there.
 
Your Dharma friends,
Regina and Stefan


The Dudjom Tersar Ngondro Program
of the Vajrayana Foundation at Pema Osel Ling
TEL: (760) 89LAMA0   (760-895-2620)
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SAVE THE DATES ~~~> June 14 – July 14
2016 Annual Summer Retreat at Pema Osel Ling 
 
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Fault in No Faith

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

imageThe fault in not having faith.

People who lack faith are deprived of the good fortune of being able to practice the Dharma, and their not having faith is therefore an immeasurable defect. Just as a rock on the bottom of the ocean will never appear on the surface, without faith it is impossible to reach the dry land of liberation. Just as a ferry without a helmsman will never reach the other shore, without faith it is impossible to traverse the great river of suffering. Without faith, it is as impossible to nurture good qualities in one’s being as it is for someone with no hands to pick up anything even if he were to find himself on an island of gold. Without faith, it is impossible for the shoot of bodhichitta to grow, for nothing can ever sprout from a burned seed. Without faith, one is like a blind person who finds himself in a temple: it is impossible to see the light of the Dharma. Without faith, however clever one is, one is trapped in the deep pit of cyclic existence: everything one does becomes an action that leads to cyclic existence, and it is impossible to ever attain the freedom of enlightenment.

As the Sutra of the Ten Qualities puts it,

“From roasted seeds no greenery will sprout.
In those who have no faith No virtue will appear.”

Dudjom Rinpoche
A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom
Padmakara Translation Group
© 2011 Shambhala Publications

In the service for public disclosure,
this post has been reprinted under the Fair Use Law.

Characteristics of Faith

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

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What are the particular characteristics of having faith?

When one has faith, one is like a fertile field, in which the shoot of bodhichitta will sprout and grow. Faith is like a great ship crossing the river of cyclic existence. It is like a reliable escort protecting us from our enemies, the afflictive emotions. Like a good mount taking us to the land of liberation. Like a wish-fulfilling jewel accomplishing everything we desire. Like a mighty hero annihilating all that is nonvirtuous. Faith is thus a sublime quality, and for this reason it is the first of the seven noble riches.

People who have faith are especially exalted, and yet they are extremely rare,
as the Sutra of the Precious Lamp points out:

Faith gives birth to delight in the Buddha’s teaching,
Faith points the way to the city of happiness and excellence.
Faith banishes lack of opportunity, it is the best of all freedoms.
Faith turns one from the path of the demons,
Faith is what makes one attain Buddhahood.
Among the hosts of ordinary beings,
Rare are those who have such faith in the Dharma.

Dudjom Rinpoche
A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom
Padmakara Translation Group
© 2011 Shambhala Publications

In the service for public disclosure,
this post has been reprinted under the Fair Use Law.