Author Archives for Rachel Deeming
February 27, 2020 2:10 am
Published by Rachel Deeming
Lama Jampa Thaye arrived Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol on Friday 24 January, accompanied by Dechen Dolma, Kate and the four legged member of the family, Roxie. On Saturday, people came from across the UK to receive further teachings on the mahayana Buddhist path from the great Sakya master, Chogyal Phakpa. This section of the text focussed on the bodhisattva path of the perfections, the paramitayana. Beginning with an explanation of the verses on equalising and exchanging oneself with others, followed by those on each of the six perfections in turn. Knowing the shortcomings of samsara and nirvana do not aspire to either; Through recollecting the qualities of the Buddha, always aspire to that. Lama Jampa concluded the mornings teachings by emphasising the importance of studying what one has received. In the afternoon Lama Jampa bestowed the Initiation of the protector Gönkar (The Great White Lord), the practice of which can increase the necessary material means for the flourishing of the holy dharma. On Sunday, Lama Jampa gave individual advice about practice to many students at Sakya Buddhist Centre. Lama Jampa will return to Bristol in June to teach the next section of the text, beginning with the Four Means of Gathering. This article was originally published by lamajampa.org and is shared here with their kind permission.
October 12, 2019 3:08 am
Published by Rachel Deeming
On 5 October, around 100 people from across the UK gathered to hear Lama Jampa Thaye teach part three of ‘A Garland of Jewels’. This text, beautifully written in 204 verses, was composed by the 13th century Sakya master, Chogyal Phakpa for the Mongol Prince Gibek Timur and surveys the whole of the Buddhist path, from a beginner to enlightenment itself. In this part, the text focuses on the practice of the Mahayana, the Great Vehicle, underpinned by the motivation of bodhichitta or the wish to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all beings. The text talks through how to open out, without partiality, to all beings without limit or exclusion through the cultivation of loving kindness and compassion, the recognition of the beginningless nature of mind and the acknowledgment that all beings suffer needlessly, as enlightenment is present in nature of mind itself. Lama Jampa explained that we may think that it is natural to be in samsara, the cycle of birth and death, but actually it is samsara that is wrong, the natural state is the buddhanature. All that is necessary is to clear away the illusions and wake up to our true nature through the path of compassion and wisdom. In the afternoon, Lama Jampa gave the vajrayana initiation of Namgyalma (Ushnishavijaya in Sanskrit), one of the three main Buddhist deities of longevity, along with White Tara and Amitayus. She is also associated with the development of transcendental wisdom. Revering and meditating on Namgyalma grants the mundane accomplishment of preserving and strengthening life energy, and the profound accomplishment of transcendental wisdom. The following morning saw a well attended and insightful question and answer session with Lama Jampa at Sakya Buddhist Centre. In just over 45 minutes, we heard advice on topics as diverse as organ donation, climate…
July 7, 2019 10:55 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
A sunny Sunday 30 June was the setting for our study and meditation day on the second part of Sakya Pandita’s ‘Reply to Nyimo Gomchen’. This study text, written in the 13th century by the Sakya master, Sakya Pandita, contains key points about dharma, clarifying many of the queries we may have about following the path. It takes the form of a written interview between Sakya Pandita and a meditator (Nyimo Gomchen) who asks the kind of searching questions that are still very relevant today. Paul Rogers, a long standing student of Lama Jampa from Sakya Namgyal Ling in Exeter, skilfully took us through questions on what makes someone a lama, how to understand and realise emptiness and how study and meditation work together. A key theme of the text was that focusing on one aspect of the path alone, such as meditation, doesn’t lead to enlightenment as, just like any other journey, we need a range of provisions along the way. In amongst the sessions, there was time for refreshment and conversation as well as a very sociable lunch, all combining to make for a worthwhile and enjoyable day. We’ll continue exploring the text in our weekly study group on Sundays at Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol from 14 July. With heartfelt thanks too to Paul for travelling to Bristol to lead this day – we hope to see you back at Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol soon!
June 21, 2019 1:10 am
Published by Rachel Deeming
It is turning out to be a wild, unpredictable and not particularly summery June this year. Fortunately, the weather did not deter over 100 people from coming to Bristol to receive teachings from Lama Jampa Thaye. The day was well worth braving the elements for. In the morning, Lama Jampa gave the second part of a teaching by Chogyal Phakpa, one of the greatest masters in the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Back in the 13th century, Chogyal Phakpa became the principal master of Kublai Khan and many of the Mongol princes, travelling frequently to China to give teachings at court, as well as in the form of written correspondence. This teaching, entitled ‘A Garland of Jewels’, is a letter to one of these princes, Gibek Timor, comprising a wonderful and accessible introduction to the Buddha’s teachings, outlined in 204 verses. It traces the Buddhist path by considering three types of practitioner: the person who wishes for happiness in this life and future lives, secondly, the person who wishes to be free from suffering and finally, the person who wishes to achieve Buddhahood to free all beings from suffering. In part one, Chogyal Phakpa described how to live a good life, focusing on generosity, kindness, contentment and respect. In this part of the teaching, He explains the meaning of taking refuge from suffering in the three jewels: the Buddha, the teachings and the community of practitioners, and how to acquire true wisdom by hearing the teachings, reflecting on them and meditating so they become a lived experience. In these verses, he emphasises the importance of becoming learned so that we have an understanding of the whole path, summarised in the three trainings of moral discipline or ethics, meditation and wisdom. During the afternoon, Lama Jampa gave the initiation of White Tara…
December 9, 2018 6:07 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
On Saturday 8 December, the Sakya Buddhist Centre’s traditional, vibrant shrine room was home to a wonderful evening of poetry and music by the acclaimed artist, Emily Maguire. This was the culminating event in Emily’s tour celebrating the publication of her third book, ‘Meditation Mind’, a collection of poems inspired by her Buddhist practice. Emily, performing on acoustic guitar and accompanied by her husband Christian Dunham on double-bass, moved, amused and captivated a sell-out audience, then took time to answer questions on her work, such as how she approaches song writing and what comes first – music or words?! Emily has been a student of Lama Jampa Thaye, the spiritual director of both the Centre and the Dechen community for many years. Proceeds from this gig will go towards supporting the work of Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol. Everyone at Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol extends heartfelt thanks to Emily for her support and wishes both her and Christian all success and happiness as they start the next chapter of their adventure in Australia in 2019. We’re already looking forward to hearing the new album when they return in 2020 so watch this space for details! To find out more about Emily’s work and to join her mailing list, visit https://emilymaguire.com/. You can also follow her on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/emily_maguire_music/.
October 22, 2018 1:04 am
Published by Rachel Deeming
A typically autumnal day on Saturday 6 October greeted over 100 people who came to hear Lama Jampa Thaye give teachings on Buddhism in Bristol. In the morning, Lama Jampa taught one of the most famous cycles of teachings in the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism entitled ‘Parting from the four attachments’. This text, explained via a short commentary by the Tibetan master Nubkyi Rigzin Drak, sets out the whole of the Buddhist path with its challenges and accompanying remedies. Lama Jampa outlined how texts such as these help us understand how the myriad teachings given by the Buddha support the development of wisdom and compassion on the journey to freedom from attachment. After this introduction, Lama Jampa went through the text, with its description of four increasingly subtle attachments and instructions on how to overcome them – from clinging to the things of this life, such as wishing for gain and wanting to avoid loss, to holding on to misunderstandings about the nature of reality itself. The afternoon continued the theme of wisdom and compassion, with the initiation of Chenrezik Mahamudra. This initiation bestows the authority to meditate on Chenrezik, the embodiment of compassionate energy, and on Mahamudra – the Great Seal – which is the true nature of mind. Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol will welcome Lama Jampa back for more teachings in January 2019. For the full programme, take a look at the calendar here.
September 3, 2018 1:11 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
In the idyllic surroundings of the Périgord noir, with its lush landscape and rich history, Lama Jampa Thaye gave the entire cycle of initiations of the 21 Taras from the 11th century Indian master, Atisha. This is the first time this series of initiations has been given in the West. Around 100 students travelled from countries as diverse as Mexico, the USA, Norway and the UK to our European retreat centre, Sakya Changlochen Ling, to receive Tara’s blessings. Included in the attendees were many children – from babes in arms to young adults – a positive sign for the future flourishing of Buddhism in the West. The nature of Tara The Buddha Tara is known as the mother of all the buddhas as her nature is primordial wisdom. Without this wisdom that cuts through self-clinging, we remain imprisoned in the cycle of birth and death. There are many stories of how Tara manifested, including that of Princess Jnanachandra who made a special vow to always appear in the form of a woman until samsara is emptied in order to help beings. In our time, she is renowned as the Tara who pacifies all fears, swift in giving protection to those in peril. The Taras in this cycle assist practitioners to overcome obstacles on the spiritual path, along with attracting good conditions for swifter achievement of liberation. Vajrayana – the golden roof These teachings are from the highest vehicle of Buddhist practice, the vajrayana. During the teachings, Lama Jampa reminded students of how it is important to continue to rely on the fundamental teachings, such as those on ethical behaviour and having the right motivation for practice, free of self interest, for the blessings to be received. These support the practice of Tara, just like foundations and walls support the golden…
January 23, 2018 10:08 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
The first teachings of 2018 with Lama Jampa Thaye took place on 13 January hosted by Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol. They included a thought-provoking text by Karma Thinley Rinpoche on the meeting of Buddhist and Western cosmology called 'The Telescope of Faith'.
January 26, 2017 6:21 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
In our first major event of 2017, Lama Jampa continued his survey of the Buddhist philosophical schools in chapter 4 of his book, 'Rain of Clarity'. Over 130 people heard how the view of a permanent self is the root of suffering and delusion and actually there is nothing to fear in letting go of this idea as this solid, truly existent self was never there in the first place! We then continued our search for the self in all phenomena, using analytical techniques described by such great Indian masters as Chandrakirti.
April 30, 2016 7:58 pm
Published by Rachel Deeming
Come along to Sakya Buddhist Centre Bristol on Sunday 15 May for a free meditation day.
