Author: gavinerickson

The Annual Drukpa Council was created by His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa in 2009 in order to exchange ideas, to strengthen ties within the lineage and for Drukpa masters to share the wealth of their spiritual heritage.

The venue this year is Hemis monastery, the principal seat of the Drukpa lineage and famous worldwide for its annual festival. It will host for the second consecutive year the greatest assembly of Drukpa masters, scholars and Tulkus.

His Holiness’s wish is for the different Sanghas around the world to attend and actively participate in these great events and so Drukpa Plouray is organising a package tour – see letter from Drubpon Ngawang below:

Dear Dharma Friends

As you may know already, the fifth Annual Drukpa Council will take place in Ladakh, from August 29th  to September 5th 2013.

During the first two days many masters of the lineage will meet in order to exchange on the activities of the Drukpa lineage. On the following days, His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa and many other masters will give teachings and initiations.

At the request of His Holiness  I will attend the fifth ADC and I invite those who want to, and who can do, to join me. I plan to stay two weeks in Ladakh and visit with you some sacred places. We will meet in Delhi on August 24th , and proceed to Ladakh the following day. We will depart from Ladakh on September 7th and spend the night of the 7th in Delhi, before returning to our various countries.

If you interested to attend please contact Annelie Huguet on ajhuguet@orange.fr if you require more information. Price details and booking form can be downloaded here (please note that price quoted includes ADC registration).

I am delighted to share with you this event in the presence of his Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa and other great masters and I express the hope that some people may want to join me. But I know that Ladakh is not an easy place for many people, even for me it is so. Everyone should feel free to come or not, especially as in March 2014, on the occasion of the birthday of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, a pilgrimage will be organised to Druk Amitabha in Kathmandu in Nepal.

My prayers are with you.

Drubpon Ngawang Tenzin Pagsam Yongdu

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATES

Yatra is a Sanskrit term, meaning “journey” or “procession” and Pad Yatra generally refers to a walking pilgrimage to sacred sites.

March 2013 will be the first time His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa undertakes an eco-pad yatra outside of his motherland, India.

You are invited to join the walking pilgrimage and visit the holy sites in Sri Lanka, blessed by the holy saints of the past, and celebrate Christmas with His Holiness and his spiritual entourage with historical meditation caves and archaic frescoes of meditational deities as backdrop. Just like the ancient times when the Buddha walked with his disciples and taught them through his physical actions and verbal expressions, His Holiness and his spiritual sons and daughters will help us relive the ancient traditions of spirituality as well as connect this ancient wisdom with our modern life.

Our YATRA will begin on 6th March 2013 and HOPEFULLY end on 6th April 2013. It will cover a total journey of approximately 400-500km, from South to North of Sri Lanka.

4 OPTIONS FOR PAD YATRA & 1 OPTION FOR YATRA ON WHEELS are available, offer one with shorter duration, so that as many people as possible could join us in this blessed journey. And a Jeep Yatra option is also available now. When you submit the registration form, please remember to attach 2 copies of “Assumption of Risks, Release & Guarantee”.

Option A: 6th March – 6th April 2013

Option B: 6th – 19th March 2013

Option C: 23rd March – 6th April 2013

Option D: 16th – 23rd March 2013

Yatra On Wheels: 29th March – 6th April 2013

Visit http://www.walking.drukpa.com/the-pad-yatra for more details, including how to register