10.10.10 or 10th October 2010, a day occuring once in every thousand years, was a day to remember by most Ladakhis and the international volunteers. A Guinness World Record (GWR) for "Most Trees Planted Simultaneously" was broken or rather, a new record was set! The feat was achieved in half the stipulated time by 9,313 people who came from villages across Ladakh, and different religious and cultural backgrounds. We broke the record set in Peru earlier this year, where 27,166 saplings had been planted by 8,000 participants in an hour.

All this week we willl be running special Shabten (Long Life prayer) sessions at the London centre to coincide with the Long Life ceremonies for His Holiness the Gyawang Drukpa, which are taking place in Darjeeling (see calendar on the right for details).

Here is an excerpt from His Eminence Khamtrul Rinpoche's instruction on the importance of Shabten practice (from www.drukpa-shabten.net) :

'As some of you may already know or have heard, from a traditional Tibetan viewpoint, the next 4 years are considered ‘obstacle’ years for His Holiness from the astrological point of view. Though Buddha himself like His Holiness are beyond the dualistic concepts of obstacles it is extremely important for us lay devotees, as well as nuns and monks living in the samsara with dualistic concepts to perform spiritual activities dedicated for the longevity of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa. These merits should also be dedicated for His Holiness Je Khenpo Jigme Choedra, His Eminence Bairo Rinpoche and Mayoumla and for all the great masters whose mere presence, if prolonged for even a second, can greatly benefit numerous seen and unseen beings'.

We hope that many of you will be able to attend but if this is not possible you can submit your accumulations to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - see www.drukpa-shabten.net for details on how to practice Shabten.

(organised by Drukpa Hong Kong)

Live to Love (L2L) kicked off its Tree Planting Drive on September 12, 2010 for a greener Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, when monks, nuns and members of the Young Drukpa Association of the Drukpa Lineage planted 1,016 trees near the Hemis monastery in Ladakh. The number 1,016 was chosen as it marks the birth year of Drukpa lineage's Indian guru, Naropa, as a support to Live to Love initiatives. Honorable Minister of Communiciation and Information Technology Shri Sachin Pilot and delegates from the Commonwealth Games were present to officiate the event.

This Tree Planting Drive will culminate during the Commonwealth Games 2010 when, on October 10, 2010, L2L will launch another bigger scale tree planting in Ladakh with an attempt to set a world record of planting the maximum number of trees in an hour.

Please visit http://www.drukpa-hk.org/news-event/hong-kong;news/id/388 to find out how you can participate.

Kanchenjunga, the 3rd highest mountain in the world

Join the walking pilgrimage to visit the holy sites in Sikkim, blessed by Guru Padmasambhava, and celebrate Christmas with His Holiness and his spiritual entourage with strikingly beautiful valleys, passes and villages as backdrops. 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. 

For full details and registration please visit http://www.walking.drukpa.com/index.php/the-pad-yatra