Author Archives for Rachel Deeming
June 12, 2024 8:45 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
On Saturday 8 June, Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol hosted a day of Buddhist teachings with Lama Jampa Thaye. The venue was the 6th floor of the Future Inn, with its lofty, bird’s eye view over the city. Over 100 people gathered for this joyous event, from across the UK and beyond. During this visit, Lama Jampa continued with part 9 of Sakya Pandita’s ‘Discriminating the Three Vows’. Over the course of the morning, we made further progress in the chapter on the vajrayana vows. In this section, Sakya Pandita covered topics such as the real meaning and practice of mahamudra meditation, as outlined in the source texts, the tantras, and communicated through the teachings and songs of great masters. He also emphasised the necessity of receiving vajrayana initiation, as through this, the appropriate connection is made with the relevant meditation deity and one has a basis for cultivating this through subsequent practice. Another vital point was on the nature of realisation and the qualities associated with this. In Tibet at that time, some said that whilst one may have true realisation, the qualities, such as being able to travel to many buddha realms, will not be displayed until after death. This would be similar to saying that whilst the sun is in the sky, the rays will show tomorrow! Such clarity on these points means that we don’t mistake temporary experiences for true realisation, we understand what’s needed for practice to work, and we will not be tricked by those who assert that they are enlightened when this is not the case. In short, we can travel the path to buddhahood with greater knowledge and confidence. In the afternoon, Lama Jampa bestowed the initiation of Green Tara. Green Tara is known as the mother of all buddhas, as she is…
January 17, 2024 2:16 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
On 13 January, in a rather chilly Bristol, Lama Jampa Thaye gave his first teachings of 2024 to around 100 people gathered in the familiar surroundings of the Future Inn, with its great city views. Due to sponsorship by a generous donor, Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol was able to keep facility fees at 2023 levels for this day of dharma, in the face of continuously rising costs, to make this as affordable as possible for those attending. In the morning, Lama Jampa continued teaching ‘Discriminating the Three Vows’, a work by the great 13th century master, Sakya Pandita. In this chapter, Sakya Pandita clears away confusion about the nature of the vows associated with the vajrayana, the swift vehicle that can lead to the wisdom, compassion and power of buddhahood in this very life. He cautions that whilst the vajrayana has many powerful methods that can transform our ordinary perception of the cycle of birth and death, this transformation needs to have actually taken place for us to be able to put it to the test, as in the examples of the great realised ones (mahasiddhas) of India such as Tilopa, Naropa and Birwapa. Sakya Pandita also explains in this section some of the differences between the common mahayana – the gradual path to buddhahood – and the vajrayana. Whilst both paths are motivated by the wish to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, the common mahayana sees enlightenment as something to gradually approach, through gathering merit and wisdom, by practice of the Six Perfections (giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, meditation, wisdom). This path is effective but takes many, many lifetimes; aeons in fact. In contrast, through quickening the seeds of buddhahood in us now, the process of initiation in vajrayana, along with subsequent practice, can bring about…
October 5, 2023 10:40 am
Published by Rachel Deeming
Last Saturday we welcomed Lama Jampa, family and fellow Buddhists to the Future Inn in Bristol for a day of Buddhist teachings. Amid the unseasonable warmth, around 100 people gathered from around the UK and beyond to listen to part 5 of Sakya Pandita’s master work, ‘Discriminating the 3 Vows’ and to receive the vajrayana initiation of Mahachakra Vajrapani. In this instalment of the text, Sakya Pandita describes how to clarify misunderstandings about the vow of the bodhisattva, the promise to become a buddha not for ourselves but for all beings. This aspiration arises through the recognition of our profound connection with others, through our common wish to avoid suffering and to experience happiness. In this chapter, Sakya Pandita covers such topics as the different lineages of the vow so we know how to take and maintain them properly, the different aspects of the vow – imbued with compassion and wisdom, and how to train to keep our promise alive. Introducing the morning’s teachings, Lama Jampa also commented on the role of this text for us as Buddhists in the West, receiving it outside of the traditional and structured setting of a monastic college. As beginners in the dharma, it may not yet be possible to understand all that is contained in the text, however by receiving it now, it will be there for us when we can most benefit from it. Hence, it is important to be flexible in receiving teachings, taking what we can from them now, and then coming back to them as we progress along the path. In the afternoon, Lama Jampa gave the initiation of Mahachakra Vajrapani, from the lineage of Marton Rinpoche. This buddha, the most powerful of all the forms of Vajrapani, is the embodiment of the wisdom of all the buddhas and…
August 22, 2023 10:08 am
Published by Rachel Deeming
News from our retreat centre in the Dordogne, France, Sakya Changlochen Ling. Two weeks of teachings and initiations from Lama Jampa Thaye, opened with a very special visit from His Holiness Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche.
June 3, 2023 10:30 am
Published by Rachel Deeming
On Saturday 3 June, we welcomed Lama Jampa Thaye and family to Bristol for a glorious summer weekend of wisdom, blessings and joy. The first day opened with Part 4 of the great master Sakya Pandita’s ‘Discriminating the Three Vows’ at the usual venue of the Future Inn in the heart of the city. This work is taught in the monastic colleges within the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and in it Sakya Pandita skillfully points out the mistakes that can be made by having a simplistic view of such topics as karma. With great kindness and clarity, he gives a sophisticated and nuanced view of how to conduct ourselves as a Buddhist and why, freeing us from the burden of rigidly following rules that aren’t required or aligned with what the Buddha intended. In the afternoon, Lama Jampa gave the initiation of the deity Manjushri Arapatsana, renowned for helping Buddhists to increase wisdom and thus travel more swiftly along the path. He also gave the reading transmission for this deity’s practice by Sakya Pandita, who was himself seen as the embodiment of Manjushri. For Sunday’s programme of activity, the focus shifted to Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol’s vibrant shrine room. The morning began with prayers to Chenrezik to help the cultivation of compassion, followed by a question and answer session on the dharma path. Questions ranged from whether Buddhists should take holidays (a resounding yes!), to how to understand experiences that arise in meditation and how to approach the Buddhist view of non-self. The packed shrine room was full of joyful attention and laughter as we all heard good advice on how to bring study and practice into all of our everyday life, along with realising that whilst meditators may look calm, a volcano may be simmering or even…
May 9, 2023 12:05 am
Published by Rachel Deeming
Each summer, our European retreat Centre, Sakya Changlochen Ling, hosts a college of studies (Tib. shedra) by the Buddhist meditation master and scholar, Lama Jampa Thaye. Ahead of this major event, which is attended by over 100 Buddhists from a range of countries, the Centre needs to be brought out of its winter sleep and into the sunlight and fresh air of a new year. Fortunately, this spring, a number of our community gathered to help, cleaning, tidying and taking care of the Centre’s grounds, with its numerous flowers and trees, along with putting up some splendid new prayer flags. Happily, all this activity coincided with Lama Jampa’s recent time in France, during which he visited Sakya Changlochen Ling a few times. Students there were delighted to spend some time with Lama Jampa and Dechen Dolma, not only saying Green Tara and Chenrezik prayers together and viewing the planned site for our stupa, but also sharing meals and conversations too. Garlanded with blessings, we look forward to Lama Jampa’s return to Changlochen this summer. For more pictures, please visit the gallery here.
January 24, 2023 11:07 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
On Saturday 21 January, Lama Jampa gave the first major Buddhist teachings of 2023 at the Future Inn in Bristol. In an eerily misty and softly lit cityscape, over 130 people gathered from the UK and beyond to reconnect with the dharma – and dharma friends – and to breathe new life into their study and practice. In the morning, Lama Jampa continued with part two in his series of teachings on ‘Discriminating the Three Vows’. This text is by the great 13th century master, Sakya Pandita, renowned for his ability to clear away the confusion and misunderstandings that had arisen following the establishment of dharma in Tibet. In this text, he addresses mistaken ideas around the three vows that underpin the Buddhist path: the pratimoksha, Bodhisattva and vajrayana vows. Correctly kept, these vows are the fuel for progress along the path. The focus of this session remained on the pratimoksha vow, the essence of which is to not harm others or oneself. The articulation of this commitment is in the various precepts taken by both monastic and lay or householder Buddhists. These help create the space in our behaviour and attitudes for compassion to arise. In this part of the text, Sakya Pandita also describes how the good results that are created through virtuous actions should not be confused with the true nature of mind, the buddha nature. Why is this? As Sakya Pandita mentions, “The nature of mind… is luminosity, immutable like space.” Virtuous actions do create temporary happiness and transform how we act in the world, but they cannot create the buddha nature. That is the true nature of reality, not created by any action or through causes and conditions, but revealed when the darkness of ignorance is cleared away. Without this understanding, we reduce enlightenment from…
September 3, 2022 12:02 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
On Sunday 28 and Monday 29 August, Sakya Dechen Ling in London, supported by Sakya Thinley Rinchen Ling in Bristol and many other Dechen centres, were delighted to host two days of teachings with His Holiness Sakya Gongma Trichen Rinpoche.
August 6, 2022 5:55 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
From 17 to 29 July, Lama Jampa led two weeks of teachings and group practice at Dechen’s European retreat centre, Sakya Changlochen Ling. This much-anticipated course was the first major event here since summer 2019. Under blazing blue skies, over 80 people came from far and wide to further their own dharma practice and connect with friends both old and new. Lama Jampa opened the course with the initiation of Manjushri Arapatsana, a deity renowned for increasing the wisdom of practitioners. This was the ideal way to start this first week of teachings, which featured the extraordinary work on the graduated path to buddhahood by the 11th-century Indian master, Atisha. Entitled ‘The Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment’, Atisha gave this teaching at the request of a Tibetan prince, who wished for a text that brought together all the aspects of the Buddhist path, without omission, whilst being sufficiently short and straightforward to understand. In 68 verses, it describes the three different motivations and goals of the Buddhist path, namely a good rebirth, individual freedom from suffering and, finally, complete enlightenment for the benefit of others, ultimately showing how these aspects form one, systematic path. Given in the context of a country that was internally fragmented and where there was much confusion over what was – and was not – part of the Buddhist path, it enables those encountering Buddhism today to have a sound basis for their study and practice. The week closed with the initiation of the three deities of Amitayus, Namgyalma and White Tara, whose practice is renowned for increasing longevity to support one’s dharma activities. In the second week, Lama Jampa gave the initiation of Vajrapani Bhutadamara, along with the reading transmission and instructions for the practice by Zhuchen Tsultrim Rinchen. Students then undertook several days…
June 4, 2022 9:17 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
On Saturday 4 June, Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol welcomed the Buddhist meditation master and scholar Lama Jampa Thaye to give a day of teachings on the 8th century Buddhist master, Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche. Over 100 people gathered for the event, not only from across the UK but also from Ireland, Bulgaria, Sweden and Australia. During the morning, Lama Jampa outlined the life story of Guru Rinpoche, the extraordinary vajrayana master from Oddiyana (thought to be located on the Pakistan/Afghanistan borders), who was so vital to the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. To begin the teaching, Lama Jampa explained why it’s beneficial to hear about such life stories, describing how they offer a living example of the Buddha’s teachings so we can be confident in both where they originate from and their effectiveness in bringing about the fulfilment of our own Buddha nature. He also described how they point to the need for a fully qualified teacher who forms a bridge between us and the teachings so we receive those that are most appropriate for us. The rest of the morning focused on the major events in Guru Rinpoche’s life, from his manifestation as an 8 year old boy in a lotus flower and his adoption by King Indrabhuti, to his coming to Tibet and the founding of the very first Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Samye. During his time in Tibet, Guru Rinpoche spread and concealed many teachings as treasures, hidden in caves and other places, ensuring that they would be revealed when the time was appropriate for the benefit of future practitioners. Among his Tibetan disciples was Khön Nagarakshita, a member of the great Khön family that went on to found the Sakya tradition in the 11th century. In the afternoon, Lama Jampa bestowed the initiation of Guru Rinpoche,…
