Sakya Heritage Monks go to Monlam 2012

      Here they are getting on the bus to head for Lumbini, Nepal the birth place of the Buddha where they will stay in tents for 10 days and almost continuously recite" The Aspirations of Samantabhadra Prayer" for the  benefit all beings.

 for many of the younger monks this was their first year to go. and they were very excited.  I was excited for them as well.
as a lay practitioner and one receiving the benefit of these prayers I think it is an incredible thing  that so many take the time to do this, and not for themselves but for all sentient beings. I am very grateful for this wonderful festival done each year.

 

Sakya Monlam 2012 In Lumbini The Great Prayer Festival for World Peace

      His Holiness Sakya Trizin
                                         with  His Eminence Abhaya Rinpoche

... the benefit of reciting Samantabhadra’s Aspiration to Noble Deeds is inconceivable and beyond description. Because of this great benefit, many masters in Tibet instituted large prayer gatherings where the Aspiration to Noble Deeds was recited by hundreds or thousands of monks, nuns, and lay people. These prayer, or monlam, festivals were performed by all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and were often held where holy masters of the past had dwelt, taught the Dharma, or passed away, or near temples or other places of great religious significance. 
For more information click this link http://www.hhthesakyatrizin.org/teach_monlam.html

     

                                       

 H. E. 
 Abhaya  Rinpoche   
                    

                                           "As a Buddhist practitioner, I believe the Monlam is a very important holy event and I was very fortunate to attend this year's Sakya Monlam as the representative of the Phuntsok Phodrang. By reciting the Samantabhadra numerous times, we accumulate immense amounts of merit and by dedicating it to all sentient beings, we are fulfilling our roles and our main purpose of being Mahayana Buddhists. Spreading Bodhicitta in this forum was both rewarding and exciting as I was in the presence of Spiritual Leaders such as H.H. Sakya Trizin, H.E. Ratna Rinpoche, H.E Gyana Rinpoche and other renowned Dharma Masters. After those ten heartfelt days at the Sakya Monlam, I felt inspired and hopeful that events such as this will continue to create harmony throughout the universe."

                                      - His Eminence

                                                                        Abhaya Rinpoche              

 

                                                                    

 H.H. Sakya Trizin, 
H.E. Ratna Rinpoche, 
H.E. Gyana Rinpoche and
 H.E. Abhaya Rinpoche

                                  
      

   

                          

Here are just some of the Monks attending Monlam

Just some of the monks attending Monlam

   Photos Provided  by Gen Kunsang Gyatso (H.E. Abhaya RInpoche's Teacher) 

The Monks at Play : )

The monks have holiday on Wednesday afternoons after  their morning classes, cleaning, and Laundry chores and then all day Thursdays.

 Because they study hard from 6:00am till 9:00pm the rest of the week,  they are very excited on These days.  There is so much activity the trees are filled with little monks,  and others are wrestling and tying each other to the trees : ) Cricket and football and volleyball are being played by the older monks- Most of them could be pro athletes!  There is a game called Carrem that is really fun and the monks could play that all day. It is just an all around fun day even if you are just watching you can't help but feel happy and have fun.

.

H.E Avikrita Rinpoche also enjoys the monks holiday

                                                                  All smiles

 

          





        Playing    Carrem                                          

 

                In Trees

And the Monks really enjoyed the donated Puzzles ( Thank you Kathleen Ramm!) bought from our very own Dharma Shop at Sakya Monastery in Seattle : ) This one is Chenrezig.

Monks at work : )

All the monks  lined up  to offer kata to
Dhungsey Zaya Rinpoche the morning after he arrived.

Bringing up Torma  made for a special Puja









Early on,  practicing all the Ritual instruments which they are now very close to mastering

Sakya Heritage Society -Dehli

                                                  Here is the Sakya Heritage Society in Dehli

                                                                                                   

Jamyang Gyaltsen            Executive Administrator

Thinlay Gyaltsen              Assistant Manager

Tashi Wangchuk                  Center Office Manager

Larry Lamb        Project Manager            and              Teresa Lamb     Administrator

Update

                                                                                   

Dr Koshy Kurien Best Doctor EVER!

  Everyone here told us  that the season changes  in India can be very hard on your body and I  believe it now, I have been plagued with a head cold that won't go away ( actually everyone here has the same cold)  Larry and I have both had a stomach virus. He unfortunately got his while we were in Dehradun with Jamyangla and Tashila. So we spent all our time in the room (2 days) with the exception of one meeting I got to go to.  Larry with the flu, me with a broken leg and poor Colin stuck with us! fortunately we will get another chance to go back to Dehradun soon I think so hopefully we will see more than  4 walls this next time : )  

My big news is that I now have a new blue sportier model cast that is light weight,  handles well, easy to maneuver over obstacles,  and I can now bend my knee!!!!!! Yay. I still can't put any weight on it, maybe in two weeks, and I will still have to wear this new cast  for 5 more weeks so that's a bummer but hey, I can bend! and most importantly my bones are healing very well. When the cast came off I thought there would be a huge  bump but it is almost completely smooth. And the Xray according to the doctor is very good!

Also Colin is doing really good,  he has avoided the stomach virus and he is still having a great time with the monks and chasing monkeys, Flying kites and he is climbing trees like crazy, I love it, he hasn't really spent a lot of time doing that and it is one of the monks favorite things to do ( poor trees) I am so happy he is having fun outside!  We also have school 5 days a week unless we need to go somewhere. And he is doing really good with his studies. He is finally settling in which will make the rest of our time here much easier!

Another Familiar Face!

We will all just have two Gulab Jamun please,
Colin will just have a donut he he he

Gillian Famous for her many many activites at the Sakya Monastery in Seattle, stayed in the guest house of the Phodrang on her brief stops between traveling with Rinpoche and Entourage and going back and forth to Nepal. Although there wasn't a lot of time to spend together it was lots of fun having her as our neighbor!  She makes a pretty good pizza too I must say.

Also everyone here would  like to thank Gillian so much for sponsoring 4 months worth of high protein mid day snacks for the monks! they get soooo hungry by 3:00 pm Thank you Gillian!

A Wonderful Day - Kunrig Initiation with H.H. Jigdal Dagchen Rinpoche

                                                                                 
                                                                                   H.H. Dagchen Rinpoche and Dhungseys
                                                                           H.E  Avikrita Rinpoche, H.E. Abhaya Rinpoche
                                                                                                and H.E. Asanga Rinpoche

     H.E Dagmo  Kushola making
                        offerings

                 Full View of Shrine Room
        





       


           Gen. Jamyangla, Gen. Kunsangla
                        and little monks

LARRY, THE CHAI GUY'S CHAI RECIPE

Larry the Chai guy’s Chai Recipe

(Yes, he is also "Larry the Pizza Guy",  and for at least one SHF meeting "Laurence of Asola")

---

8 oz water
2 – 3 Cinnamon Sticks
4 Cardamom Pods
2 -3  slices Ginger Root
1 ½ Tbs. Sugar
1 – 1 ½ Tbs loose leaf Tea
2 Cups Whole Milk

1. Combine water, Black Tea, Sugar, Cinnamon Sticks, and Cardamon Pods in pan, bring to rolling boil on stove. Boil for 7 -8 minutes until tea is strong and dark.
2. Add approx.. ¾ cup of milk bring back to boil, and add the Ginger Root, let soft  boil for 5 min.
3. Add remaining milk, bring almost back to a boil. Remove from heat, strain and serve.

                                                                                                   “Larry the Chai Guy”
                                                                                                    With help from friend  Ngawang Tashi
                                                                                             
Just a fun fact about names,
In a conversation with Zaya Rinpoche he was telling us how among Tibetans it is common to have nicknames along with your regular name so people know who you are. Like Thinlay Phodrang or  Phodrang Thinlay,  meaning Thinlay from the Phodrang, or    Dehra Dun  Lama- Lama from Dehra Dun - you get the idea,   So I was thinking about this and when we all went to the mall a while ago and tried to get a close parking spot, Thinlay pointed at me and said leg no good. So I am thinking hum, I am probably Teresa, Leg no good : ) Thinlay said it would be Khangpa chu? I think I just wrote leg water, I will have to get back to you on that. but it would mean leg broken. So there it is.

Earlier Today .........

Avikrita Rinpoche and our littlest Monk

Avikrita Rinpoche, Abhaya Rinpoche with the  Monks of SHS  after  they received the gift of warm and cozy new zens (sp)

Here they are again our SHS Monks what a great group they are!

I FIXED THE COMMENT SETTINGS!!

Hello everyone  I just fixed the comment settings so it should be easy to leave comments now. I thought I had them set before for anyone but I forgot to save the changes, Anyway for those interested please leave comments it helps us feel connected too : )  Thank you so much Chris for bringing this to my attention!  Talk to you soon! Teresa