Yogis Gathering for World Peace
- 2007 -
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!
Please make a tax-deductible donation to sponsor this monumental event!
CONTACT:
Jigme
Lingpa Center,
501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Lama Lhanang
Telephone: 310-943-9230
Kathleen Pratt
Telephone: 310-779-7899
E-mail: Wisdom Path
Learn More About the Yogis Gathering:
Gathering of the Yogis 2007 - World Peace Through Inner Peace
The earliest school of Tibetan Buddhism is known as the Nyingma School. All of the later schools of Tibetan Buddhism were born from and have their roots in the Nyingma tradition. Later schools of Tibetan Buddhism grew rapidly from the foundation of the celibate monastic community rooted in rigorous intellectual study and development of Buddhist doctrine. Only the Nyingma School also maintained and perpetuated the non-celibate community of “white robed” (or householder) practitioners, preserving the unique yogic disciplines and powers that characterized early disciples of Padmasambhava, the yogi and saint who brought Buddhism from India to Tibet in 747 AD.
Extensive teachings on Tibetan Buddhism have migrated to the West since the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, but we have had significantly less exposure to the Tibetan Nyingma legacy, despite the extraordinary effort and dedication of many accomplished Nyingma teachers and yogic practitioners. Many of the highly realized Nyingma Yogis in Tibet – some of whom are carriers of “mind treasures,” teachings that emanate from spontaneous realization of an individual yogi through intensive meditation and other esoteric practices – have never left their mountainside caves or villages, let alone their region of Tibet. These Yogis remain isolated from the “modern-day” world, and certainly from the West – in part due to geographic distance (many of them reside in the difficult to reach mountainous regions of northeastern Tibet) and in part by choice. Their yogic practices – and their extraordinary realizations and profound teachings – have remained largely inaccessible to Westerners, and even to other Easterners or Buddhists, all of whom would benefit from their teachings.
The Yogis of Tibet are rapidly vanishing, and their cultural, spiritual and esoteric knowledge is at risk of vanishing with them.
The Venerable Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, who is based in Los Angeles, comes from the Nyingma yogic lineage of Eastern Tibet – and has been recognized as an emanation of one of the first 25 disciples of Padmasambhava. Born in Golok, Tibet in 1967, Rinpoche studied with several of the great yogis in his region, apprenticing for several years with a powerful and amazing “Wandering Yogi” who is highly revered throughout Eastern Tibet, having maintained silence and practiced extreme renunciation for many years. It has long been prophesied among the Yogis of Eastern Tibet that Rinpoche would come to the West to benefit beings – and that he would return many times to his homeland to help preserve his cultural and spiritual heritage. It was also prophesied that Rinpoche would help gather the Yogis for an historic, first-ever conference among them, and that he would serve both to preserve the Yogis’ invaluable legacy and history, and to bridge access to their knowledge and wisdom for those outside of Tibet. After 12 years of living in Los Angeles, and establishing Nyingma Centers throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, Rinpoche feels in his heart that the time is now ripe to fulfill his commitments to his yogic heritage.
World Peace through Inner Peace: Gathering of the Yogis 2007 will do just this. Rinpoche has committed to sponsoring a week-long conference in Rekong, Northeastern Tibet, at which between 500 and 1000 Yogis of the region will be invited and will gather – to practice together, to exchange knowledge, wisdoms and transmissions, and to be filmed for archival purposes so that their precious lineage and cultural history is not forever lost.
With your financial help, Rinpoche will be able to sponsor the Yogis’ attendance at the Conference and will be able to document fully the Conference, including filming the Conference, the practices and rituals that occur at it, and interviewing the Yogis about their wisdoms on achieving world peace in this increasingly chaotic 21st Century.
All of Rinpoche’s centers in the U.S., Mexico and Canada are working to help raise funds to support the Conference. We seek to raise $50,000 to cover the costs of preparing for and hosting the seven-day Conference, and all costs related to filming. Jigme Lingpa Center, Rinpoche’s Center in Los Angeles and a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, is spearheading the fundraising effort and the documentary. Tax-deductible donations can be made payable to Jigme Lingpa Center with “Gathering of the Yogis 2007” in the memo line.
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Special Invitation!
MAKE A DONATION FOR WORLD PEACE!
You are Invited to Help Make the 2007 Yogi Gathering for World Peace Come True. Your Help is Needed.
With your financial help, Lama Lhanang will be able to sponsor the Yogis’ attendance at the Conference and will be able to document fully the Conference, including filming the Conference, the practices and rituals that occur at it, and interviewing the Yogis about their wisdoms on achieving world peace in this increasingly chaotic 21st Century.
Please make your tax-deductible donation for the Yogi Gathering to the Jigme Lingpa Center (a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization via:
Send your check to:
Jigme Lingpa Center, c/o Shelley Black
15501 Huston Street, Encino, California 91436
Thank you for your support.
For further information, please contact:
Lama Lhanang 310-943-9230, or Kathleen Pratt at 310-779-7899 Jigme Lingpa Center, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization
E-mail: Wisdom Path
Background on the Nyingma Yogic Lineage
The earliest school of Tibetan Buddhism is known as the Nyingma School. Nyingma lineage heads were responsible for bringing Buddhism from India to Tibet, the “Land of the Snows,” and for establishing Buddhism in Tibet. The Nyingma School traces its origin to the Indian Mahasiddha and saint, Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche), who came to Tibet in 817 C.E. at the invitation of the great Tibetan King Trison Deutsen. In the eighth century, while the great Buddhist traditions were flourishing in India, King Trisong Deutsen invited the great Abbot of Nalanda University in India, Shantarakshita, to establish Buddhism in Tibet. The King worked with Shantarakshita to establish Buddhism, but they soon faced serious obstacles and hindrances to their work. At Shantarakshita's suggestion, the King of Tibet invited Padmasambhava to Tibet, requesting him to pacify the negative and obstructing forces. Through his compassion and wisdom, Padmasambhava overcame these obstacles, and genuine Buddhism was successfully transplanted in Tibet.
T
ogether with the great Bodhisattva Shantarakshita, and with the assistance and blessings of his teacher, Buddhist scholar Vimalamitra, Padmasambhava built the renowned Samye monastery (in Southern Tibet), which became a principal center of learning, where most of the Sanskrit texts and literature from India were first translated into Tibetan. Under the guidance of Padmasambhava, Shantarakshita, and the Dharma King Trisong Deutsen, the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, and commentaries of the Indian masters of Nalanda University and other places were fully translated into Tibetan at Samye.
Padmasambhava was a Vajrayana master, and he taught widely from the highest classes of tantra, the textual vehicles of the Vajrayana. In particular, he transmitted these Vajrayana teachings to his twenty-five principal disciples. These first Tibetan masters became renowned for their spiritual accomplishments. The continuous, unbroken transmission from Padmasambhava through these 25 principal disciples to their own disciples and so forth is called Kama, or the oral transmission lineage.
Padmasambhava also hid hundreds of scriptures, images and ritual articles throughout Tibet. These items became known as "Treasures," and were concealed in many different ways. At the same time, Padmasambhava left precise instructions on how to discover and reveal these treasures for the benefit of future generations. Since that time, over a hundred masters have appeared who revealed these Treasures and taught them to their disciples, in this way continuing the lineage of Padmasambhava. The master who reveals such treasure is known as the terton, or "treasure revealer." This transmission from Guru Rinpoche through the tertons is called the Terma, the revealed treasure lineage. These lineages of revealed teachings include the Dzogchen, or Great Completion, teachings taught by Garab Dorje, Shri Simha, Padmasambhava, Jnanasutra, and Vimalamitra, and are known today in Tibet as the Nyingma lineage.
The Nyingma school has six extraordinary, unique qualities not found in the Buddhism of India or other countries:
(1) Extraordinary Masters, including Shantarakshita (Abbott of the Nalanda University in India), Vimalamitra (Padmasambhava’s teacher), and Padmasambhava, the precious Mahasiddha who brought Buddhism to Tibet and who is considered the second Buddha, born from a lotus flower and not of human birth; (2) an extraordinary Sponsor, King Trisong Deutsen, who was believed to be a reincarnation of Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom, Learning and the Arts; (3) extraordinary Teachings, the precious Dharma, including both the Kama and the Terma, precious treasure teachings of Padmasambhava; (4) extraordinary Temple, the first Tibetan Buddhist temple of Samye, which was built by humans during the day and by spirits during the night; (5) extraordinary Offerings of Inner Wealth – Heart, Trust, Faith and Devotion of the King to support Buddhism in Tibet, including dedication of abundant and precious material wealth necessary to do so; and (6) extraordinary Translators, including the first two translators, Khawa Watsu and ChoroLi Gyaltsen, and the 360 translators that followed, to establish the Buddha Dharma in Tibet.
The Nyingma School also has six unique means of transmitting or preserving its lineage teachings, the totality of which are not found in other schools of Tibetan Buddhism: (1) mind to mind transmission; (2) blessing to blessing transmission; (3) yellow scroll to yellow scroll transmission (which usually involves Dakinis, Female Sky Goers or enlightened beings who assist in protecting and preserving the Dharma, and whose special Dakini script conceals highly secret and sacred teachings until such time as is necessary and appropriate for such teachings to be revealed); (4) empowerment to empowerment transmission; (5) ear to ear transmission (through oral teachings); and (6) treasure to treasure transmission.
All of the later schools of Tibetan Buddhism were born from and have their roots in the Nyingma lineage. Originally, under the sponsorship of King Trisong Deutsen, two communities of Nyingma practitioners were established: (1) the non-celibate yogic (“white robed,” or Ngakpa) community of householder practitioners; and (2) the celibate monastic (“red robed”) community. Padmasambhava gave initiation, empowerment and extraordinary Vajrayana teachings to his first 25 disciples, who became the foundation of both the non-celibate yogic community and the celibate monastic community. Shantarakshita gave ordination and vows to the first seven great followers. Only the Nyingma lineage preserved and continued the non-celibate community of “white robed” householder practitioners, maintaining its roots in the yogic disciplines and powers that characterized the initial twenty-five disciples of Padmasambhava. Later schools of Tibetan Buddhism grew from the foundation of the celibate monastic community, rooted in study and development of Buddhist doctrine. While extensive teachings on Tibetan Buddhist scripture and sutra practice have migrated to the West since Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, the West has had less exposure to the Nyingma legacy, despite the extraordinary effort and dedication of many highly accomplished Nyingma teachers and practitioners.
