JAMPA LING NEWSLETTER SPRING 2013
Tel: (049) 9523448
E: [email protected]
www.jampaling.org
Welcome to the Spring 2013 Newsletter In this issue:
The days are getting longer and brighter, the garden
is starting to come back to life; it’s that wonderful
time when Nature starts all over again the cycle of
birth and death. It never fails to amaze me to see the
shoots of life popping up everywhere outdoors as if
on automatic cue from the great beyond!
This spring, a new event was held at Jampa Ling,
which you can read about in the Newsletter, called
‘A Day of Sitting with Rinpoche’.
Then there was the Easter Retreat. Around 22 people
took part, including several people who had never
been to Jampa Ling before. As always, Rinpoche
sat with us all day. Desmond led the retreat and
faciliatated the lively discussion each evening.
We were in silence from Good Friday morning until
Easter Monday lunchtime, so the evening sessions
were a valuable time for sharing insights as well as
learning that one was not alone in finding at least
some of the contemplations a bit challenging!
Photos from Losar 2013 .............................. page 2
Panchen Otrul Rinpoche - a poem ................. page 3
A student’s personal experience ..................... page 4
A day of sitting with Rinpoche ..................... page 6
School visit to Jampa Ling .......................... page 7
The Power of Forgivcness .......................... page 8
Other news items/upcoming events .......... page 9-10
Upcoming Events - details inside
Sat 18th/Sun 19th May Silent Meditation W/end
A residential retreat weekend spent in silence. One
can do either or both of the days. The weekend can
be a time of spiritual renewal. People can do meditation from the Buddhist tradition or from their own
traditions. Suitable for everyone.
Cost: Residential: €160
Sat 25th May - Introduction to Meditation
Feeling anxious? Stressed? Learn techniques on how
to develop a calm and peaceful mind. Please bring a
It is always a great joy to read the inspiring contribu- vegetarian lunch. Time: 10.30am - 4pm
Cost: 25 euros
tions to these Newsletters and send them out to be
enjoyed by all, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.
Please note we are holding two events this weekend.
If you have family or friends who would enjoy
Some people may enjoy the opportunity to stay on
receiving the Newsletter by e mail, please feel free
Saturday night and attend Saga Dawa the next day.
to forward it. Also, if you have any personal story
about being inspired by Rinpoche and Jampa Ling,
Sun 26th May - Saga Dawa - A celebration of the
you would be very welcome to send it to us at
Buddha’s life, enlightenment and entering Nirvana.
info”jampaling.org
We invite you to share in this special day, everyone
welcome.
Losar 2013
Despite the rain, about 40 or 50
people turned out for the Losar
(Tibetan New Year) celebrations.
The traditonal fire was lit and
smoke puja ceremony for the
purification of the environment.
Afterwards, we all gathered in
the shrine room. Kim gave a
short talk and highlighted the
importance of celebrating Losar
when so many Tibetans under
Chinese rule cannot celebrate.
Then Desmond read a childrens’ story. Prayers
were then said for the long lives of His Holiness
the Dalai Lama and our own teacher, Ven
Panchen Otrul Rinpoche.
After the presentation of gifts to Rinpoche and
his blessing to each person together with th giving out of Katas (scarves), we all enjoyed a wonderful buffet. Everyone had brought food to
share. These occasions are a wonderful way to
catch up with other members of the wonderful
family which is made up of the students and
friends of Rinpoche and Jampa Ling.
Panchen Otrul Rinpoche
Far from your people
you live amongst us.
Teach by doing
by example.
We struggle to follow
your instructions.
Watch you day by day
year on year
see perseverance
amidst
disturbances
that do not unsettle you.
You relieve suffering,
your sole motivation.
Panchen OtrulRinpoche giving teachings in Belfast in 1989 on his first visit
to Ireland
Beings seek you,
find solace in your mandala
of unrelenting compassion
endless kindness
boundless wisdom
which flows
in a river of love
a waterfall of equanimity
a dance of truth
a song of joy.
We pray:
May you remain with us.
If we have good fortune
one day
we might acquire
a tiny fraction
of your incredible
patience.
by Angela McCabe
“What did I expect?” -
A personal account
by Judith Hoad
I used to bring my ironing to Jampa Ling. It was a handy
way to pass the time between patients. In the early 1990s
I had a growing practice of Chinese Medicine –
Acupressure – and I found quite a few
people making the long journey from Cavan and
Monaghan to County Donegal, where I live. So I had
decided I needed to find somewhere to hold regular
clinics in County Cavan. A friend from Belturbet
‘found’ Jampa Ling for me. I visited and talked with
Margery Cross. We negotiated a rent for the room she
called the Library and I booked it for alternate Mondays
for many years after that.
In those days Margery was cook, cleaner, receptionist,
organiser – she was everything. What energy she had!
I received lunch on the days I was there and met occasionally the Tibetan lama she had invited to come to
live in her house. Shortly before I started going there,
Margery had, with a few others, created the Jampa Ling
Trust, and Jampa Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre was
what the large farmhouse, formerly known as Owendoon
had come to be called. I learned that the name meant a
Kindly Place and it certainly was. There were usually
several people sitting at the circular dining table where
we ate in the kitchen. Some were residents for different
lengths of time, others visitors.
And often, also, the quiet, friendly Panchen Otrul
Rinpoche, as I learned was the lama’s name.
I was drawn to the peace, calm and cleanliness of
Jampa Ling. The other space I had been offered for a
clinic was a smoke-impregnated bedroom in the
Farnham Arms Hotel in Cavan Town. The library at
Jampa Ling was ideal for my patients’ needs.
After a few visits, I learned that the lama was going to
give a teaching, so I signed on for the weekend.
Although I had read so much, I realise looking back,
how rudimentary my knowledge of Buddhism was;
reincarnation, karma – the law of cause and effect –
the aspiration to reach enlightenment and a childhood
fascination with Tibet was really the height of it!
When I got to the teaching, I found it was actually an
Initiation – the Amitabha Initiation.
It was very demanding to listen to Rinpoche.
His English construction was very limited and one had
to concentrate hard to understand him, but, as with any
speaker, or teacher, the Teaching wasn’t just verbal.
This uncharismatic man – he had no group of adulatory
followers, no flamboyance, or emanation of an eager ego
– he just was; and what he was came over as loving and
caring in a way I had never encountered before.
I went to other Teachings by Rinpoche. I made friends
among the long term residents and people who began to
move house in order to live near Jampa Ling.
It was many years before I realised that Rinpoche is
the human embodiment of Amitabha – how a radiance is emitted from his heart calling to him all
those who are awake to the Dharma – the Teachings
of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Despite the many Teachings I attended and the
repeated encounters with Rinpoche, it was over ten
years before I committed myself to taking Refuge.
I took very seriously the Buddhist admonition that
one should scrutinise any potential teacher with a
critical mind and only if he, or she, was found
‘without blemish’ was one to feel free to ask to take
Refuge. This short, simple ceremony is a two-way
commitment between the Teacher, who undertakes
to give spiritual care to the Student, who commits
to follow faithfully the Teachings and the advice the
Teacher offers.
The Five Precepts are often included and I was
happy to make those vows; not to kill any sentient
creature, not to steal, not to gossip, or malign anyone, not to practise inappropriate sex, (which I
interpreted as adultery) and not to partake of
alcohol, or drugs.
Over the ten years up to taking Refuge, I had seen
how Rinpoche’s Teaching and the Initiations he
offered created a pattern for us to become absorbed
into and imbued with the Tibetan Buddhist
tradition. White Tara is the Buddha who is specially
honoured at Jampa Ling. She is the Buddha of Love
and Compassionate Wisdom and she is invoked
during a puja every evening, every day of every
year, while Tsong Khapa is the subject of veneration each morning. I learned that this was no
figurative character, but an historical Tibetan
scholar-monk who had been invited by the King of
Mongolia to take his Teachings to the King and his
subjects in the fourteenth century. He was also the
founder of one of the four lineages of Tibetan
Buddhism, the one known as the ‘Yellow Hats’ Gelugpa - the lineage which includes Panchen Otrul
Rinpoche.
When the U.S.S.R. and its satellite countries fell apart, Mongolia, seventy years a
communist state, became again a democracy in 1990. Shortly after that, it
appears that a group of Mongolians
wrote a letter to His Holiness the Dalai
Lama to ask him to send them a teacher
so that they might revive their national
religion. From 1995, Rinpoche has spent
weeks and months in Mongolia every
summer.
On each visit he welcomes a few of his
students to accompany him. This is
because he is not only giving Teachings
and ordaining monks, he is constantly
exploring practical ways to help the
impoverished people of that huge,
Rinpoche with some of the Mongolians who often visit him
sparsely populated country and he values the different
perspectives his students bring to bear on what they
The very idea of ‘blind faith’ is, in any case,
observe.
anathema to Buddha’s Teachings, which demand of
In 2002, I went to Mongolia for the first month of
us a constant alertness to detect those things that we
Rinpoche’s annual visit. When we finally touched
can understand and accept, because they make sense.
down in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia’s capital and only
These experiences have also brought me realisations,
city, Rinpoche and the four of us in his party, were
taken to a room for visiting dignitaries and treated to a the most powerful being that all things – from
microbes to mammoths – are imbued with intelliformal meal of welcome. It was, therefore, some time
before Rinpoche emerged into the main reception area, gence, not the intelligence we associate with our
intellect, but the intelligence in every minute cell of
(it may be the national airport, but it was small and
every creature; the intelligence that lets each cell
very provincial looking) but what a crowd awaited
him! Hundreds of Mongolians, mostly in their national develop into the relevant constituent part of the
being in which it grows and the intelligence to
dress, all ages from children to greyheads, eagerly
function appropriately in its allotted role. This
smiling, some crying, each with a blue or yellow
intelligence represents to me the wonder of the lifekhatak on their outstretched hands, containing gifts.
force in every creature that inhabits the oceans, the
They knew who this man is! His formal name,
forests, the fields, be they plants, amoebae, birds,
Panchen Otrul, means ‘Panchen Candidate’ and while
he was selected, but, (because of Chinese interference), fish, reptiles, insects, or mammals, like us humans.
never enthroned as Panchen Lama, he has nonetheless And it’s this intelligence that makes us all equal,
that fulfils the biodiverse necessity for Life on this
had that role as supervisor of the spiritual welfare of
Tibetan Buddhists for most of his adult life. How non- planet, (and, probably, for life on other planets too),
chalantly we accept this man here in Ireland, compared that all make the One and the One needs all. Our
responsibility is to love and to cherish all living
to the veneration he receives in Mongolia, because
they recognise him for who he is. (The boy who was beings. It’s so simple – and so hard!
enthroned as Panchen Lama had a very hard life under Because the great Teachers were and are human, not
Chinese rule and died several years ago. His reincarna- divine beings – Shakyamuni Buddha, Tsong Khapa,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Panchen Otrul
tion, if alive, now a teenager, vanished along with his
Rinpoche – and so am I, one day, in some life,
family and the abbot of the monastery in Tibet that
somewhere, I too can become enlightened, if my
confirmed his selection and none has been seen, or
intention is strong enough.
heard of since).
Thank you, Rinpoche, for all you continue to teach
Every Teaching, every Initiation, indeed every
me through the Initiations you gave me and the
encounter with Rinpoche deepens one’s knowledge
twice daily practice I have made for the past several
and experience of the philosophy that is Buddhism.
However, all the years of seeking alone, despite taking years. This bIessing is not what I expected when I
rented the Library all those years ago.
Refuge, haven’t turned me into a devotee with blind
faith.
Judith Hoad © 2013
A day sitting with Rinpoche
As I rushed from the car park along the path to the main
house I noticed mid-step that I was speeding towards my
destination. My mind and my body sprinting ahead without me. As my foot touched the ground I became aware
of myself. How long had I been disconnected from the
actions of my mind?
I took a deep breath and my awareness brought my
focus up to the trees waving and rustling in the wind,
I could feel the energy of Mother Nature and the safety
of Jampa Ling. I felt embarrassed in that moment
because I knew that I’d been lost in the chaos of my
own mind. Who knows for how long?
I should know better because Rinpoche has given me the
tools over and over, yet I still lose my awareness to
myself and my creation. The sound of the wind chimes
brought my attention back to the main house and in a
split second my awareness was gone again. This time
I wasn’t lost in chaos, this time I was lost in happiness.
The excitement of spending the day with Rinpoche and
the happiness I felt seeing all of my friends. Regardless
of the cause, my mind was distracted once again.
either on our breath or on a visual point, trains the
mind muscle. I was waiting on Rinpoche to quote his
saying of “train the monkey” but he didn’t, so I’ll borrow it now!
Someone shared with the group that their sitting practice wasn’t successful; they felt their body resist and
distract them. Rinpoche explained that five minutes of
successful practice was very beneficial but three hours
of restlessness was not. So if five minutes of meditation
is all that you can manage without distraction, that’s
completely fine. One lady explained that five minutes
of practice in the morning and at night had changed her
life. She developed a connection to herself again and
began to feel happy and safe in her own company.
But what about the chaos outside of ourselves, how can
we change that? There’s so much that we don’t have
control over. How can we stop ourselves being pulled
off balance? Famine, war, noise, other people, these
were some of the examples that came up. Rinpoche
explained that we do what we can and then we release
the attachment. We can offer help to our family and
friends but we can’t control how they utilize that help.
A day sitting with Rinpoche, was a teaching day to
We can give our time or money to reputable charities
remind us all about the importance of meditation. The
majority of students attending were new to Jampa Ling but we can’t control the outcome. We may have to live
and the practice. Rinpoche began the day talking about or work in a very noisy environment but don’t have the
means to change that environment. Rinpoche explained
the importance of having a teacher that you can totally
that if I decide that I hate the sound of a barking dog
rely on. When you find your teacher you should study
him/her for a long time, he explained. Be sure that this is and can’t sleep because of it, I can also decide that I
the right teacher for you and someone that you can total- love the sound of a barking dog and that it helps me to
ly trust. He added that no one should leave their religion sleep. We may not have control over what’s outside of
in favour of Buddhism because they wish to practice an ourselves but we have complete control over our reacelement of it. Rinpoche never tries to convert anyone to tion to it. This is why we train the mind muscle. This is
why we practice meditation.
Buddhism; the correct practice for you is the one that
you are most compatible with.
The subject of anger and other negative emotions came
Sitting with Rinpoche, many examples of being discon- up. Rinpoche explained that negative thoughts and
nected from oneself were given. Although the stories and emotions have no power on their own. We must feed
experiences seemed to be very different from each other, and fuel them in order to keep them alive. If something
happened to me last week and it still angers me today, I
the solution remains the same. We need to become
must understand that it is in fact my own choice to be
mindful of ourselves and our creation. It took a lot of
practice, focus and dedication, for us to become experts angry today. The incident is gone, last week is gone,
at creating chaos, in our own minds. So much so that we and it’s only me that keeps the anger alive. This is why
the practice of meditation is so beneficial and so essendon’t even realize that we are doing it. This same
tial in order to have peace and harmony in our own
method is the key to the practice and to peace and harminds and in our lives. We may not have control over
mony. We are already experts at the practice. We just
what happens outside of ourselves but we have comneed to be aware of our motivation and our intention.
We need to use this same skill to re-train our minds and plete control over what happens within.
create a life that is of benefit to ourselves and others.
The people I spoke to on this day, never considered that
life itself was a meditation in action. They thought of
cushions and candles when they thought of meditation
practice, but Rinpoche explained that when we sit to
meditate it is here that we develop the skill which we
use throughout the day. Focusing in the sitting practice,
Thank you Rinpoche for introducing me to the teachings of The Buddha and the practice of mindfulness
meditation. I know my mind is still like a leaf blowing
in the wind but it does land from time to time and I do
get a glimpse of my true nature. Thank you Ani La for
bringing Rinpoche to us and for giving the best hugs
ever.
Helen Wixted
School Visit to
Jampa Ling
by Anne Boland
In February, students from Wilsonís
Hospital School, Multifarnham, Co.
Westmeath, visited Jampa Ling as
part of their Religious Studies
curriculum. Wilsonís Hospital School
is a Church of Ireland boarding and
day school, but it accepts pupils of
all denominations. Their teacher,
Lesley Ann, brings the second or
third year Junior Cert students each
year to the centre over two days.
All of the students had done the
required study of Buddhism and
other world religions, and nearly half
of them had decided to research
Buddhism further for their project
work. The question options on their
course included: the importance of
regular religious practice in relation
to Buddhism and meditation,
investigating how a personís faith
can grow, and investigating the
importance of Buddha and Buddhist
symbols as religious icons.
Desmond instructs the students on how to meditate
Valerie gave a very comprehensive
talk to the students. Having never
been one for public speeches, I paid
close attention, because it would be
my turn the next day. Ani La had
given us some instructions; we
were to talk about the Four Noble
Truths, we should not get too complicated, and we should not ‘tighten
up’.
Several students thanked us on
their way out, and one said she
would be looking in her home
town for a meditation group!
All of them enjoyed meeting
Rinpoche and having a group
photograph taken with him.
For me, I really appreciated the
interest Rinpoche took in the
task that we were undertaking
Being with the students was inter- those two days. During the late
Desmond and Will had helped faciliesting, they kept us on our toes
lunch that we enjoyed at 2pm
tate the school visit in previous
with their questions. Some were
each day after the students had
years, and Valerie and myself were
interested in Buddhism in compari- boarded their bus for home,
asked to join them.
son with other religions, and some Rinpoche sat with us and asked
were interested in it as a philosohow it had gone, what quesWhen the students arrived, we gave
phy. There were lots of personal
tions they had asked, and what
them orange and biscuits in the comquestions. Had we given up our
had been our answers. Then he
munity room in Tara House. It was
own religion to become Buddhists? would correct us on our
amazing how many biscuits they got
Did we feel we had changed since answers if necessary. All the
through! Then Lesley Ann divided
becoming Buddhists and if so,
time, he was giving a teaching.
the group into two, one group to stay
how?
Here was our own teacher
for a general talk on Buddhism and a
They had questions about some of emphasising how wonderful an
video The video was ‘Compassion in
the traditions that seem strange to opportunity it was to be
Action’ which explains Rinpocheís
westerners, like prostrations, the
imparting of the Dharma to
connection with Mongolia and his
presence of so many deities, etc.
school students. I realised that
work there. The other group was
We explained to them the symbol- for some of them, it would be
taken by Desmond to the shrine
ism of these in as down to earth
the only contact with the
room to learn about meditation and
manner as possible. I hope the stu- Dharma in their lives, and my
to experience it for themselves. Then
dents went away with the impres- own nervousness about giving
when they had eaten their packed
sion of Jampa Ling as a place
a talk to them paled into
lunches, the groups would swap over.
where people are approachable.
insignifance.
The Power of Forgiveness
by Angela McCabe
His Holiness the Dalai was with us again on 18th
April. Like many people who have been fortunate
enough to experience his teachings in person, I was
looking forward to a wonderful experience.
To come together with thousands of fellow practitioners, to receive the blessings of His Holiness, his
presence and his wonderful teachings, lifts our lives
and practice for months to come.
When he visited Ireland last in 2011, it was wonderful to see him at the City West Hotel lecture hall.
Like thousands of others, I tried to get tickets for his
visit to Limerick, but they sold out in a very short
time. However I was able to listen to His Holiness
via the University of Limerick’s website (it is now
on His Holiness’ own site). His Holiness spoke for
about an hour and a half in English about life, about
compassion, and about his commitment to help all
sentient beings.
HH The Dalai Lama with Richard Moore and Charles Inness
In 2007- the first meeting with Richard and Charles
in Derry - the Dalai Lama said ‘Compassion is the
radicalism of our time.’ On that day as people
emerged from the Children in Crossfire conference
they almost seemed shocked by the compassion they
had witnessed. Many remarked ‘now we have seen
everything.’
He introduced us to Rickard Moore, who founded
Coming from Northern Ireland and having lived
the Children in Crossfire organisation. Richard invit- through the Troubles and its bitterness I would have
ed His Holiness to Ireland in 2007, and again in
to agree with this statement.
April 2011.
Richard Moore had lost his sight to a rubber bullet as
a child. There with him was also the man who had
fired the bullet, Charles Inness. The two men are
now good friends. Richard had sought out the soldier
who had blinded him, in order to forgive him and to
befriend him. This amazing story inspires all who
hear it.
The former soldier accepts that Richard was an innocent victim. Richard came to understand that Charles
carried his own burden of guilt in consequence of his
actions.
Richard and Charles communicated on a regular
basis and made a remarkable connection. In 2010
they were invited to India by the Dalai Lama. They
travelled together across the country to meet the
Dalai Lama at Dharamsala, his place of residence in
exile from Tibet, which has been under Beijing’s
control since the Chinese invasion of 1951.
The Dalai Lama agreed to become patron of the
charity, remarking to Richard that ‘it is my hope the
spirit of forgiveness and compassion you have
revealed can be passed on from generation to
generation.’
We are greatly indebted to the Dalai Lama for coming repeatedly to Ireland North and South during the
Troubles. In 2005 he spent three days in the North.
He took part in a series of events including opening
the Mediation Northern Ireland’s Headquarters. He
also visited Corrymeela Community for Peace and
Reconciliation in Co. Antrim.
We are truly fortunate that this Noble Peace
Laureate, now in his late seventies, took the time
once again to visit Northern Ireland. Richard reportedly said about the Dalai Lama’s second visit to
Richard’s own home city.‘We know that His
Holiness is looking forward to returning to Northern
Ireland, and we hope to make his visit special,’ he
says.
Proceeds of the event, where the Dalai Lama
addresses the crowd, will go to Children in
Crossfire.
If you would like to listen to the wonderful talk by
His Holiness “The Power of Forgiveness” from
2011, you can get it via:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWXkZjx1YwM
or search “Dalai Lama the Power of Forgiveness.”
Natalie
our much loved long term woofer, left Jampa
Ling in February. Her hard work is much
appreciated and we wish Natalie well in
whatever she does in the future.
Network
magazine
Jampa Ling has been featured in the April
edition of Network magazine.
We have a quarter page advert, and Valerie
has written a lovely feature on the centre and
her experiences.
The magazine can also be purchased in
8 outlets in Belfast, 12 in or around Dublin,
Rinpoche with Natalie
3 in Limerick, 2 in Cork and various other
locations. For info see
www.networkmagazine.ie
A yearly subscription to Network costs €16
to some of Rinpoche’s
(Ireland) or €24 (rest of the world), they
students who won a
produce 4 full colour issues per year.
prize in the St Patricks
Day Parade in
Ballinamore!
Well done
Garden:
on her last day at Jampa Ling
New look
website
Our freshly designed new website is now up and running and
updated regularly.
www.jampaling.org
This is the time of year when a lot of the spadework for the coming season has to be done. Even if it is
cold outside, the walled garden is wonderfully warm and sheltered place to get back in touch with nature!
Here are some of the delicious fruit and veg that we enjoy here almost all year round which is grown in the
walled garden at Jampa Ling:
Garlic, onions, leeks, celery, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, runner
beans, herbs, rhubarb, apples, pears, gooseberries and blackcurrants. Plus what is grown in the tunnels;
tomatoes, peas, courgettes, salad greens etc.
Community Gardening Day is on a wednesday each week, between 10.30am and 4pm, but if you can’t
make that, please just call the Centre on 049-9523448 and arrange to come along on whatever day suits
you, as there will be a list of Garden Jobs ready for volunteers.
New shop in
Ballinamore
New shop in Ballinamore
Two of Rinpoche’s students, Amy and Mick
Mulcreevy have opened a secondhand shop in
Ballinamore next door to The Nature Trail wholefood shop (Colm’s). The shop sells secondhand
clothing, books, DVDs, bric a brac etc, home baking,
and also higher value items on a ‘sale or return’
basis. There are currently musical instruments, bicycles and computers for sale in this section. The shop
takes a commission on any sales. Amy is donating a
portion of the proceeds from the shop to Jampa Ling.
She is also looking for secondhand bicycles in any
state of repair to restore into saleable bikes. So if
you have a bike or bike parts to give away, please
call into the shop or phone Amy on 086-0316589.
“Spring Treat” weekend
A new event planned for Jampa Ling takes place as
this newsletter goes out, on Saturday 27th and
Sunday 28th April. It is the first one to be run at
Jampa Ling where Chi Gong has been included in
the weekend. This is a gentle retreat in the heart of
the Irish countryside. Guided meditations (suitable
for all levels), mindful walking, Chi Gong and a
chance to express your experience through artwork
and compassionate sharing are offered. Participants
are also invited to join the daily practice of Jampa
Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre.
Led by Valerie Whelan
Silent Meditation
weekend
Based on the success of lthe Siloent Mediation weekend last autumn, this will be held again on Saturday
18th and Sunday 19th May. A residential retreat
weekend spent in silence. One can do either or both
of the days. The weekend can be a time of spiritual
renewal. People can do meditation from the Buddhist
tradition or from their own traditions.
There will be time for relaxing and absorbing the
peace and quiet of the centre, with an option for a
discussion on the Saturday evening if people would
like this.
Suitable for everyone, led by Desmond Gough.
Cost: Residential: €160
New Pond for the garden
Following Ani La’s wish for a flowering herbaceous
border, Valerie would like to build a pond at the
centre of same. Does anyone have knowledge of
pond building they could share and/or old or no
longer desired pond equipment (later on there will be
a request for cuttings, seeds and plants but that will
be at the end of the summer). Thank you!
Retreat Mobile
Situated in an undisturbed tranquil area in the
grounds of Jampa Ling, facing south over the
fields, the retreat mobile offers a venue for retreats
and solitude. The accommodation is minimal – as
befits a retreat space: it is comprised of a kitchen,
bedroom and meditation room. There is electricity,
a wood burning stove. The staff at the centre offer
help with shopping to anyone doing a retreat. The
retreat mobile is available short or long term and
the rent is very reasonable. Please contact the
Jampa Ling office for further information.
Introduction to
Meditation
On Saturday 25th May, led by Desmond Gough who
also leads the regular Monday night Meditation for
Beginners. Feeling anxious? Stressed? Learn techniques on how to develop a calm and peaceful mind
through meditation.
10.30am - 4pm. Cost €25.
Please bring a vegetarian lunch.
Saga Dawa
Sun 26th May - Saga Dawa - A celebration of the
Buddha’s life, enlightenment and entering Nirvana.
We invite you to share in this special day, everyone
welcome. Starts at 12noon
Please bring vegetarian food to share and your musical instruments
Please see our website for
details of other events
on from June onwards