News from Gomde

During the nation-wide lockdown, Gomde is taken care of well by the full-time volunteers living there. Also, Ani Tsering Chödrön and Ani Tenzin Sangmo are kindly staying in Gomde and are supporting the daily practices. At the moment, there are four daily practice sessions a day, starting in the morning with a Sangh offering and the concise daily practice, continuing with the practice of Parnashavari, the Tara who dispels the obstacle of contagious disease. In the evening, there is the practice of the short Vajrakilaya Sadhana with petitions to the Dharma protectors. After this, the practitioners at Gomde are also chanting the 21 Praises to Tara or the Sampa Lhündrub Prayer (the prayer that spontaneously fulfils all wishes). During this time of worry and fear, we are once more reminded of the preciousness of the Dharma and we are joyfully practicing for the benefit of all sentient beings, especially those suffering from the disease and its effects. 

During the past weekend, we dedicated ourselves to the practice of Vajrakilaya to clear away outer, inner and secret obstacles for the new year. We also received teachings from Lama Öser about trust, compassion and renounciation, the foundations of the Buddhist path. May this wonderful accumulation of insight and merit be of benefit to all living beings!

 

"We all want to practice the Dharma, but in order to attain realization, the most important is compassion. When we don't have compassion, it is like a dry field, where nothing will grow, even when we put seeds in. 
" Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, I want to be a Buddha. "We can wish to be Buddha for eons and eons. But the seed for Buddha is in ourselves. We have to look inside! The seed of Buddha is compassion."
~ Lama Öser

Today, 45 students from Schärding visited us to learn more about Buddhism as part of their religious education class.

Lama Öser initially explained our Thanka exhibition about the life of Buddha Shakyamuni. Afterwards, the students had the opportunity to ask questions to Lama Öser and shared with them the Buddhist mindset of respect and compassion. Using a simple meditation technique, the teens could try out exploring their minds.

 

With the beginning of December, winter finally arrived in Gomde. It's already snowing and the temperatures suggest that it will stay for a while. Not only the weather is preparing for winter, we are also busy making Gomde beautiful for our upcoming winter festival on December 8th. We are looking forward to your visit at our  Winterfest  and of course at our  seminars !

 

 

After the Kurukulle seminar last weekend we started the new week full of energy: Our volunteers cleaned three chandeliers, which now shine again in their old splendor. Our containers were cleaned up and the house was beautifully decked out. We look forward to our next seminar,  Medicine Buddha, with Lama Öser ! You can still sign up for it. Don't miss this opportunity to learn about wisdom, compassion and Tibetan medicine from one of our monastery's most experienced monks!

 

First academic summer course in Gomde

The beginning of something big!

The pioneering spirit has been in the air since we launched the first academic summer course in cooperation with the RYI and Kathmandu University on Wednesday, June 12th. With Khenpo Urgyen Thenpel, James Gentry, Ana Cristina Lopes and Dominic Sur, the teaching team could not be more top-class. The teachers, the knowledge-hungry students and the Gomde team are now looking forward to 2 exciting months with lively discussions, interesting topics and new insights.

 

Wooden deck for the bodhi pond

4 days, 12 hands in average, 30 degrees and a huge amount of good intention, accuracy and stamina: and it was done! 

 

Rinpoche explaining the healing power of Gomde

During last years summer seminar teachings Rinpoche pointed out the healing qualities of Gomde several times. Take a look at this video to see why and how Gomde´s beauty is so deeply transforming.

 

Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche on a walk around Gomde

On his last day in Gomde, after this year´s summer seminar, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche could not resist to talk a walk around Gomde to enjoy and point out the beauty of it.