Spring at Tashi Choling

Dear Friends,

We hope everyone is having a lovely spring as we are here at Tashi Choling.

We are posting the photo of the completed Dudjom Lingpa statue that Lama Sonam Tsering has made for the Tashi Choling shrine room. It is exquisite and will be a central figure on the main shrine. Since LoB translates the terma revelations of this great master we thought it would be interesting for all of you to see what he apparently looked like. He was a yogi of the order of the white clad tantrikas and it is assumed that most of his followers were as well. Nervetheless the monastics are also devout practitioners of the Dudjom Tersar as well as Dudjom Lingpas profound terma revelations.

Lama Chonam and I had a very meaningful trip to New York where we taught and gave the refuge and bodhisattva vows to a group of students that have been studying under John Baker, Derek Kolleeny and other meditation teachers in the group. Folks were very interested in our work and we feel that the importance of supporting and participating in the process of translation is becoming an interesting and pertinent issue to more and more dharma practitioners.

Now that we are back we must work hard to prepare the rough draft translation to have before us during the up and coming teachings with Khen Rinpoche Namdrol. This will be the fourth year of the teachings that Khen Rinpoche is giving on the Treasury of the Genuine Meaning and this year he will teach only the eighth chapter which is rather long and pithy. This teaching will last for two weeks as usual. Unfortunately it is not open to the public, but that does not mean you cannot supplicate Khen Rinpoche to teach this or other important transmissions again in the future.

During the teaching we will hook up in person with our other translators and begin plans for the next group translation. Stay tuned for a preview of what that might be. Also it is anticipated that our translations of the longest commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra composed by Omniscient Longchenpa entitled Dispelling Darkness Throughout the Ten Directions will be available for purchase through Snow Lion publications in just a matter of weeks. Please be sure to get this book as it is full of the most profound instructions found in Vajrayana.

We will post again after returning home from the teaching. We wanted to also let you know that we now have a presence on Facebook and are trying to learn how to be active on that platform. You can go in through the link for Nanci Gustafson-Sangye Khandro or just go straight to Light of Berotsana's own page and become our friend. We will be posting on the LOB site and not so much on mine as that is merely a means to be able to open the LOB site. It has been fun to see many of you on the page already.

All our best wishes,
Sangye Khandro and Lama Chonam

Winter Greetings

Winter Greetings from Alameda and Happy New Year to everyone.

Lama Chonam, Sangye Khandro and students are all attending the Rinchen Terdzod Empowerments being bestowed by the Venerable Yangthang Tulku Rinpoche at Gyatrul Rinpche's center Yeshe-Nyingpo-Orgyen Dorje Den in the Bay Area. The empowerments commenced on December 1st and we are now almost one month into this experience. The schedule is set to last until about February 19th of 2011. Each day the empowerments begin at 1pm and continue until about 6pm or longer. For more information about them you can go to the Orgyen Dorje Den website (http://www.orgyendorjeden.org/).

Kyabje Dudjom established this center in 1980 and then appointed the Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche as his spiritual representative. It was Kyabje Rinpoche's wish that the center host masters from all traditions and operate in an ecumenical way. Over the years Gyatrul Rinpoche and Sangye Khandro along with many students who came and went sustained the center as best as they could. Finally, in 2001 Rinpoche was able to acquire the present center which had been a prominent mortuary in the heart of downtown Alameda. Since that time the center has hosted countless important events, in particular the teachings that are given each year by Khen Rinpoche Namdrol and translated by Light of Berotsana.

The empowerments that are presently being bestowed are also being translated by Light of Berotsana and, as of about one week ago, Shashi Reitz has been able to take the hot seat and begin doing the oral translation on her own. Sangye Khandro is seated at her side and is coaching her along as she makes great strides each day. This is one of the important goals of Light of Berotsana that is actually maturing before our very eyes and ears! After two more months of this Shashi will have arrived at another level of oral translation skill.

Each day it is necessary to prepare by reviewing the empowerment texts and reading the history of each empowerment, then to look through the sections and mark where the repetitions will occur and the specific visualizations that each attendee is required to perform. From time to time the Rinpoche will also give pointing-out instructions. We are grateful for this opportunity to learn and serve the doctrine as well as the many beings who are attending these wangs and soaking up the blessings.


So for the next two months this is where you will find us and in our spare time we are working on the Troma liturgy and waiting for the the Dispelling Darkness and Gesar of Ling manuscripts to return to our court for the final once over.

Finally we want to say that all of us are deeply saddened by the tremendous loss of the most venerable Gene Smith who recently passed away. For more information on that you may go to the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center website (http://blog.tbrc.org/) in case you did not know who this great man was and what his legacy is. May this New Year see the fruition of all of our deepest wishes and goals.

Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro