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His Holiness the Dalai Lama Visits Lam Rim Buddhist Centre in Johannesburg.

On the 4^th of November 2004, during his third visit to South Africa, His Holiness the XIV^th Dalai Lama briefly visited the Lam Rim Buddhist Centre in Johannesburg.

His Holiness planted a tree at the centre, and thereafter he blessed the shrine room, followed by a question and answer session to about 400 Buddhist Devotees in the hall before he departed.

The auspicious visit took place on the most holy day of Lha Baba Duchen, the 4^th of the Buddhist Great Festivals. 

The day commenced with a prayer flag blessing ceremony at dawn, conducted by our resident teacher Geshe Ngawang Phende.  The prayer flags were blessed and hoisted in anticipation of His Holiness’ visit.  This was followed by a teaching and brief meditation in the shrine room.  The big moment finally arrived when His Holiness and his entourage arrived for the tree planting ceremony, the blessing of the shrine room and the talk in the hall.  A Tibetan Festival was held at the centre during the course of the day. Films were shown, Tibetan food was served and various stalls selling Tibetan and other Buddhist items could be found on the lawns. 

The visit was preceded by a renovation project of the tower and other parts of the buildings, including the shop and library area.  Everybody gave generously of their time and help and other means to make this possible.

The Lam Rim Buddhist Centre also wishes to thank The Office of Tibet in Pretoria, who made this auspicious visit a reality.  We are a very small Centre and an auspicious visit of this nature by His Holiness is a real blessing. 

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Retreat news update

Ven Geshe Phende had recently conducted 2 very successful retreats

25 February 2005 to 1 March 2005 a resident retreat was conducted at the Buddhist Retreat Centre at Ixopo, in Kwazulu Natal.  Ven Geshe-la gave Teachings on “The Thee Principal Paths”, a Lam Rim text composed by Je Tsong Khapa. 

THE THREE PRINCIPAL PATHS – Developing renunciation, compassion and wisdom

The teaching contains the heart of Tibetan Buddhist practice – learning to understand the unsatisfactory nature of a life caught up in the pursuit of worldly goals, and the encouragement to let go of our tight, self-centered way of relating to others.  This leads us naturally to aspire to develop the qualities of the heart, such as kindness and compassion, and to experience their gradual transforming effect on our lives and our relationships.  In the third of the paths, we explore impermanence and interdependence, and how they help us to see with more clarity into the nature of our mind.

Ven Geshe-la was also invited to conduct a retreat at the Sat Chit Anand Buddhist Centre in Plettenberg Bay between 4 March 2005 and 6 March 2005.  The topic was “Transforming Negative Emotions and Overcoming Obstacles”.

Both retreats were fully subscribed and we rejoice in the Dharma teachings that we given.  We also thank Ven Geshe-la for his generosity and kindness, it has been a wonderful and rewarding learning experience!

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Inside the Lam Rim Buddhist Centre in Wales

by ANNABEL HUGHES

For 27 years Monmouthshire's Lam Rim Buddhist Centre has been helping people to find a fresh perspective on everyday life. Based in the manor house at Penrhos, near Raglan, the Centre offers retreat, study and educational facilities to `students' of all ages and from all walks of life. Some are seeking inner strength at a time of personal crisis - to cope with bereavement, illness, stress or broken relationships. Others are seeking a positive, spiritual dimension in a material world.

Through its resident Spiritual Director, Venerable Geshe Damcho Yonten, pictured above, the Centre offers teachings in the theory of Mahayana Buddhism together with meditation practices. It also hosts regular conferences and workshops whose participants include doctors, nurses, social workers and counselors interested in learning about the self-healing potential of ancient practices like yoga, tai chi and shiatsu.

The Centre adheres to Buddhist principles and values. Visiting students must refrain from harming or killing any living creature, taking anything which is not offered, telling lies, all forms of immorality and the use of tobacco, alcohol and recreational drugs. Offering your time is also an integral part of Buddhist practice, and students who attend courses help to tend the gardens and prepare vegetarian meals. In addition, there is also the opportunity to do individual, programmed retreats in the adjoining Coach House. Peace and tranquility are the essential ingredients. The Centre's aim is to create a spiritual environment so that the mind can be calm and clear in meditation. This applies not only inside the Centre but also in the grounds, where there is a prayer path for `mindful walking' and sitting areas for quiet reflection.

The focal point of the Centre is the Shrine Room - used every day for puja (offering) and meditation, where Ven Geshe Damcho gives weekly teachings from the text called Lam Rim (the Graduated Path to Enlightenment).

Ven Geshe Damcho, now 74, entered the great monastic university of Drepung Loseling near the Tibetan capital Lhasa at the age of six. For 23 years he studied Buddhist philosophy, psychology, logic, debate and scriptural subjects and the practice of meditation under the direction and guidance of some of the most learned and experienced Lamas in Tibet. After escaping from the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959 he completed his studies in India and Ladakh, attaining the high qualification of Lharampa Geshe. He came to the UK in 1976 at the request of his Western students.

In 1978 a small group of them decided to sell their houses to establish the Lam Rim Buddhist Centre at Penrhos as the first Buddhist centre in Wales, a place where Ven Geshe Damcho could teach and practice. Two of the founder members, Edita Kliesch and Margaret Travis, are still permanent residents - looking after Ven Geshe Damcho and other highly-regarded Buddhist teachers who give classes there, as well as organising the programme of activities and welcoming the Centre's many visitors.

At the heart of these activities Ven Geshe Damcho rises at 3am every day and devotes many hours to meditation practices and study. He joins his students for puja each evening, except on Wednesdays and Thursdays, which are his silent days. He particularly enjoys the time he spends in the garden, tending to the birds, animals and insects, walking the prayer path and the surrounding countryside reciting mantras to promote peace and harmony in the environment.

Another of the principal aims of the Centre has always been to integrate with and serve the local community, inviting them to share this special space for morning and afternoon silent meditation sitting. There are one-day monthly workshops and non-residential places for weekend courses.

Ven Geshe Damcho is also Spiritual Director of the Lam Rim Centres in both Bristol and Johannesburg and has taught in other Centres in the UK and South Africa. His modesty and kindness as a simple Buddhist monk belie the fact that in his own culture he is held in very high regard.

In 1993 His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a public talk in Cardiff and agreed to a request from Ven Geshe Damcho to visit the Centre to bless the new Shrine. On the day of my visit the topic of Geshe Damcho's teaching was the difference between self-confidence and self importance.

Among the students was John Allman, who has been closely associated with the Centre since 1984. John helped establish the Lam Rim Bristol Buddhist Centre and spent six years in South Africa - `the dynamic years after Nelson Mandela came to power' - helping the new centre in Johannesburg.

Another student, a musician called Caroline, moved from London to Abergavenny to be nearer to the Centre which, she says, changed her life. "I'd been leading quite an exciting life but I sensed I needed something more. I came here initially for retreat and found it extraordinarily beneficial. It enabled me to give up alcohol and cigarettes and made me feel much more alive. "Buddhism seems to me the kindest of all religions. The news you hear every day can be quite depressing, but you can't control world events. What you can do is learn to think in a way that helps you make sense of your own life and have a positive affect on those around you."

For further information About Lam Rim Buddhist Centre Wales, telephone 01600 780 383 or email [email protected] or log on to www.lamrim.org.uk 

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