November 26, 2008

Dear Friends,

Upon my return to Bhutan, I met with His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa in Katmandu in Nepal. We spoke at great length on the subject of the First Council of the Drukpa Lineage, which will take place from the 6th to the 15th of April 2009 at Druk Amtibha Monastery in Katmandu. His Holiness’s project is especially important for Him and it is important for all individuals having a tie or link to His Holiness to make as much effort as possible to participate. The word “council” is but one meaning. On might also rightly speak of a “pilgrimage” because on the occasion of this gathering, teachings will be given and there will be tsok ritual offerings and mandalas as well as visits to holy places, as is the case with pilgrimages. His Holiness has invited all of the great masters of the lineage to come together for two days in order to confer among themselves. Many masters from Tibet, Bhutan, India and Ladakh will be present and this is truly exceptional. This is a remarkable opportunity for us to create a link or tie with these different masters and receive their blessings. The organizers wish that Drukpa Plouray be responsible for registration for all of Europe, the Americas and Australia. In Katmandu, the Damaru agency, directed by Mr. Indra will be in charge of organization. It is thus imperative that you contact the Plouray Center in order to register. It will not be possible to enter Druk Amitabha Monastery without being at first registered. Profits from this pilgrimage will be used to finance the necessary expenses linked with bringing together the masters of the lineage. This council project is the His Holiness’s idea and it is our duty to respond to it, if possible. It is a means to great benefits and to receive blessings. I thus invite you to do all that you can in order to participate.

Drubpön Ngawang Tenzin

Dear Drukpa friends Some of you may have heard already that we have to leave our premises in Audley Square at short notice. The reason is that the building owners have increased the rent so the current leaseholder has no option but to surrender the lease. We always knew that our stay at Audley Square would be temporary (we were told between 6 months and 2 years) but, as usual with these situations, we all assumed it would go on a bit longer. Following His Holiness's instructions we have already started the search for new premises to rent and we will keep everybody informed of the progress on this. If anyone hears of anything that may be suitable please let us know. In the meantime we would like to invite everybody to celebrate the last tsok in Audley Square (Chenrezig & Amitabha practice) this coming Wednesday June 18th, starting at 7 pm. This day is especially auspicious as it is also the anniversary of Buddha Shakyamuni's enlightenment and so we hope that many of you will be able to attend on this occasion and make wishes together for the swift manifestation of the next premises. The actual packing up and moving out will take place on the following weekend, on the 21st and 22nd June, and we would appreciate as much help as possible with this task. This will mainly involve lifting and carrying so please come prepared for this, but the less able bodied amongst us are also welcome to help with jobs like cleaning and tea making etc ! Email us here to join in.

 Dear Friends We are planning a new activity for this month's Live to Love group activity. There is a ward at St Mary's hospital in Paddington where many of the elderly patients receive few or no visits. We have been given permission by the hospital administrators to go along as a group this Sunday to keep these patients company during the afternoon visiting hours. We are meeting at Starbucks in Paddington Rail Station at 14:45 on Sunday. If you would like to come along, please email here if you need a contact mobile telephone number to ensure you meet up with the group.

 We are happy to announce that Drubpon (Lama) Nawang will be coming to London again to give teachings, from May 30th to June 1st. The main topic this time will be Green Tara, building on the teaching and initiation that we received from His Holiness in January of this year. The details are as follows: Venue: Drukpa Kunga Peljor, 5 Audley Square, London W1K 1DS Times: Friday May 30th, 7.30 - 9.30 pm. Since this is Dakini day we will be doing Sengye Tsewa tsok practice Saturday May 31st, 10.30 am - 6 pm - Green Tara teaching and practice Sunday June 1st, 10.30 am - 6 pm - Green Tara teaching and practice Cost (to cover travel and other expenses): £10 per day, £25 for the whole weekend (= £5 per individual session) Texts: Green Tara, Guru Yoga and Rosary of Jewels, plus Sengey Tsewa for Friday evening (copies of all texts will be available at the venue). Looking forward to seeing you there. with best wishes Drukpa UK

 To all Drukpa Centres; I pray that all is well and harmonious with your Dharma activities. As most of you are aware, the Annual Drukpa Council created by the enlightened mind of H.H. Gyalwang Drukpa is to be held this December in Nepal. As per the wishes of H.H., I am trying to raise the awareness of this sacred event to others and would like to encourage you all to raise awareness among other Drukpa followers as well as the general public of the upcoming ADC event. Being followers and with great faith in the Drukpa Lineage, I have great hopes that we will all strive to work harmoniously together in raising awareness of this event as well as spreading the sacredness of the Drukpa Lineage to others in every way possible in order to benefit as many sentient beings. We have recently sent out invitations to other Rinpoches of the Drukpa Lineage to attend and participate in the ADC. We are still progressing on the organization of the ADC event and have not currently set up the registration site; however we will update everyone as soon as it is ready but the website is still available to all. My prayers and good wishes to everyone in the Drukpa centres. Yours sincerely in the Dharma, H.E. Khamtrul Rinpoche Tango: Bhutan --- Note: The first Annual Drukpa Council is scheduled to take place 27th Dec 2008 to 5th Jan 2009 at Druk Amitabha Mountain in Kathmandu. More information will appear here as it becomes available, or you can visit the www.drukpa-council.org website.

Dear Friends At the request of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa I am offering to accompany you on a pilgrimage to Bhutan and Nepal, from September 2nd to the 27th 2008. His Holiness wishes that a pilgrimage of this type takes place every two or three years. We will have the opportunity in Bhutan to take part in a short retreat in the presence of Kyabje Thuksay Rinpoche and Kyabje Khamtrul Rinpoche. Nestled in the heart of the Eastern Himalayas the profoundly spiritual kingdom of Bhutan has been able to preserve its highly original identity for centuries. Participation in a pilgrimage such as this is very beneficial and the source of great blessings. It is said that three days of practice in a sacred place is equal to three months in a place that has not been blessed. It is my wish that as many of you as possible undertake this pilgrimage and share its benefits. Lama Nawang Tenzin The pilgrimage is being organised by the Plouray Centre and Drukpa UK will be accepting bookings on their behalf from now on. Full price details and booking form are attached. Please note that the deadline for bookings is July 15th, which means that we will need to have your confirmed flight details by then. Full details of the programme can be found on the Plouray website www.drukpa.eu. If you would like to receive a printed brochure please provide your postal address. with best wishes Drukpa UK Download pricing information & booking form in pdf format. NB Option 1 is only available for those wishing to fly on the group flight from Paris. If you are interested in this option please apply to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Options 2 and 3 only can be booked through Drukpa UK.

We also recently hosted a French nun,  Ani Lhamo, normally resident at the Drukpa European centre in Brittany,  for a weekend of teachings on 'The Four Thoughts Which Turn the Mind From Samsara'.  Ani Lhamo also led Shabten (long-life) accumulation practices for His Holiness's well-being, which are now a regular part of the centre calendar.   We thank Ani Lhamo for her first teaching visit to London and for her enthusiastic and inspirational instructions.  We hope she will return again later in the year.

Dear Friends We are happy to announce that Drubpon (Lama) Nawang will be coming to London again to give teachings, from March 7th to the 9th. The topic this time will be Preliminary Practice, which will be particularly useful for newcomers as well as providing a welcome opportunity for older students to reacquaint themselves with the Four Foundations, the basis of all the practices. If you would like to know more about Drubpon Nawang, read the Gyalwang Drukpa's account of him here. His recent New Year (Losar) message is also to be found on the Drukpa Plouray site here. Although Lama speaks a small amount of english, he prefers to use an interpreter for teaching. Over the course of the weekend, one can expect to recite several rounds of the practice text (sadhana) plus receive a commentary or explanation of some of the points relating to its practice and philosophical base. The details are as follows: Venue: Drukpa Kunga Peljor, 5 Audley Square, London W1K 1DS (** instructions on how to get there are here **) Times: Friday March 7th, 7.30 - 9.30 pm Saturday March 8th, 10.30 am - 6 pm Sunday March 9th, 10.30 am - 6 pm Cost (to cover travel and other expenses): £10 per day, £25 for the whole weekend (= £5 per individual session) Texts: Guru Yoga and Rosary of Jewels, if you have them. Its probably worth bringing Sengey Tsewa and Vajrayogini as well. During the weekend we will be doing some practice of prostrations, so please dress appropriately for this. Looking forward to seeing you there. with best wishes Drukpa UK