Rays of the Immaculate Vajra Moon at Bodhi Path Renchen-Ulm
At the end of September Lama Lampa Thaye traveled to Germany and visited the Bodhipath centre Renchen-Ulm as well as Sakya Dechen Ling in Stuttgart. This ended a long dry spell for both centres without a visit from Lama Jampa or indeed any other visiting Lamas this year, during which time their activities were almost exclusively online. So naturally everyone was extremely grateful and delighted that Lama Jampa was able to come, despite all the obstacles to travel and the other health restrictions in place. This was Lama Jampa's fourth visit to Renchen Ulm, the headquarters of Bodhipath in Europe, a very special and blessed place where Shamar Rinpoche stayed on so many occasions since its founding in 2006 until his passing in 2014. It is a great testament to Sabine and the team that the event was so well organised and the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed throughout the weekend. For those who could not come in person, due to the restriction on how many people could attend, participation via a live video link was also possible.
Students came from all over Germany and Switzerland to receive this precious Zhentong transmission that was composed by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye (1812-99), ‘Rays of the Immaculate Vajra Moon'. The special feature of the text is that it not only intellectually establishes the Zhentong View as the pinnacle of the Madhyamaka system, but also functions as a practical guide to meditating on, and ultimatly recognising the buddha nature, free of the surrounding stains which temporarily obstruct it, and are inherently pure. The students followed with great interest and enthusiasm, and thanks to Beat who had come from Bodhipath Zurich, the teaching was skilfully translated into German throughout.
Initiation of Chenrezi & the Triple Vision at Dechen Stuttgart
From Renchen Ulm the drive to Stuttgart on Sunday afternoon was relatively short, and so Lama Jampa was able to bestow the initiation of Chenrezi (Mahakarunika & mahamudra combined) at the Dechen centre that same evening. In fact Lama-la somehow found time to bestow it twice in immediate succession, so that everyone could receive it. Everything was skilfully managed by the centre coordinators Wolfgang and Hilde, who as usual hosted Lama-la throughout his stay in their house in outer Stuttgart.
On Monday and Tuesday evenings, Lama Jampa continued the teachings on bodhicitta from the text by Ngorchen Khonchok Lundrup, ‘The Triple Vision’ (Tib. Nang Sum). The bodhicitta of application, especially equalising oneself with others and the exchange of oneself and others, were the focus of this part of the text. With clarity and inspiration, Lama-la explained how our self-attachment prevents us from experiencing real happiness and ultimately enlightenment. He showed how through the practices of equalising and sending & taking, the rigidity of self-attachment is loosened and we can open our hearts ever more to the happiness of all beings and embrace the spirit of bodhicitta. In Khonchok Lundrup's text, there are also meditation instructions for each section so that at each stage the student can personally experience and internalise the teachings, and thereby transform our actions and emotions in everyday life.
Meditation in Turbulent Times for Bregenz
Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions between Germany and Austria, Lama Jampa was unable to continue onto Bregenz to give a public lecture at the Bodhipath centre as originally planned. However, in order not to disappoint the many people who had registered to attend, Lama-la went ahead with the lecture by means of live-streaming on the You-Tube channel of Dechen Stuttgart, so that it was fully accessible to the Bregenz sangha and to the interested public in general. The video remains available to view online - click here to access.
Lama Jampa traveled back to London on Thursday in time for his next teaching engagement at the weekend in Bristol. We all hope and pray that Lama-la will be able to return to the German-speaking world early in the new year 2021.