SanghaNews

Welcome to the first edition of SanghaNews! Keep scrolling down for news and information!

Click here to see the version with pictures!

Greetings from Lama Shenpen

Click here to hear her message which she recorded before leaving for Nepal; she is now in Kathmandu with a small team of Sangha members - they are gathering with other students of Khenpo Rinpoche to celebrate his 90th birthday.

The next Death Cafe is on Monday 1st April at 7pm; sign up by following this link

Sustain Dharma Support Trust helps committed Sangha members when finance obstructs practice. We've supported solitary retreat (Lama Dashon's), pilgrimage, expenses for attending group retreat, and more. How can you help your Sangha to thrive? Give when you can, ask when you need! Browse our website www.sustaindharma.org

Have you signed up for the upcoming events? DHB Retreat: Heart Wish, with Lama Tara, Katie and Namka, 9 - 16th March; Sunday Gathering: Confidence with Namka, 24th March; DHB Transmission with Lama Shenpen 6th April (if you have completed, or are about to complete, DHB); Sunday Gathering Heart Wish and Death & Dying with Lama Tara 28th April. Register now to avoid disappointment!

There are 3 DHB online courses coming up. Follow the links for more information and to register: Confidence on 6th March; Heart Wish on 25th March; and Sensitivity on 17th March.

Dharma Arts: Are you curious about the interplay between the creative activities we enjoy and Dharma practice? Would you like to explore that with others in an open, playful and accepting way? We have two groups meeting monthly, Dharma Art and Dharma Writing. We share what emerges and it is always connecting, heart-warming and often surprising. Contact Kunzang on  [email protected]ku.gro.sha@gnaznuk  or click here to find out more.

Let us know what you think of SanghaNews -  this is just the start! And have you got the know-how to help us make this newsletter look better???? Please email  [email protected]ku.gro.sha@gizmad !

And finally, last week was Parinirvana:

Parinirvana day rose and fell on 15th February, inviting us to honour Siddhartha Guatama’s death and enlightenment. 

According to the Parinirvana sutra, the Buddha was deep in meditation as his breath blew out for the very last time. As awareness passed beyond the relentless cycles of death and rebirth, his body became cold, still and lifeless. His legacy became an inspiration to discover the depths of our own openness, clarity and sensitivity, just as he had.

Traditionally then, Parinirvana day calls upon us to bring to mind and honour our deceased, and to consider our own deaths, which may come at any time, any place, anywhere.

Lama encourages us that “the truth of the heart is present in all of us, and this is what we can trust at death.” [There's More to Dying Than Death page 91] What does it mean for us to rest in impermanence, to contemplate death and what do we discover in our own experience when we do?

by Jinlab, February 2024

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17moimLAqFh4LuCcDPhGSrNp4X--pxr51/view?…