May`08 newsletter! Siliguri Gompa


As usual on daily basis, much has happen here in the past 3 months. Two more lamas have joined Dorje Wangdi and Jigmed bringing the numbers at 14 lamas studying here while another 4 are in Shimla where they have accustomed very fast.
 
End of March a special place for the nagas has been built and inaugurated near the pond and lopon Choewang together with the young lamas will now perform the naga pujah regularly on the required dates.
 
Straight after the inauguration Tulku Ugen flew to Singapore and drove to Melaka in Malaysia to lead a retreat there for 7 days during which he was requested to bestow the initiations of Padmasambhava, Dorje Drolo and Urgyen Menla together with various lungs. It was held in a very family like atmosphere thanks to the generosity and care of Mr. Soo, Richard and Eric Yap, Chua and Mrs. Alicia Tan. New connections were made there during the public programs while the practices were introduced to a smaller and dedicated number of people along the week.
 
Meanwhile in Gompa, two new cows were purchased and two big vegetable gardens were planted with cucumbers, green beans, pumpkins, carrots and so on. We just start to eat from them but it is not easy as it requires a lot of care and attention. Otherwise 2 rooms of the guest house are being used at the moment by two Tibetan families who have a member suffering from cancer and undergoing 4 to 5 weeks treatment at the hospital next door. Despite the heat they are very happy to have found such a haven in these difficult times.
 
More work needs to be done to beautify the surrounding of the Guest House and to make it more comfortable to live for a long stay. Such as basin for the bathrooms, a common kitchen for those who need to cook, fencing and planting trees and bushes. A presentation of the facilities and regulations of the Guest House is now available on the website.
 
Before the end of this month we will also start to make a proper tin roof for the dining hall as the storms have once again totally destroyed our bamboo roof and we shall build a semi-permanent structure for the kitchen.
 
Soon comes Saga Dawa, which we will celebrate here as well as the anniversary of our Rinpoche's paranirvana. End of June Tulku Ugen will fly to Europe where he has been invited in France to bestow the Vajrakilaya initiation in Paris as well as the Dorje Drolo initiation in Lyon. He will then go to Darnkov to receive H.H Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche and attend the wangs there. He has also been invited in Lublin and Bremen during the month of August. For the details of his program, please check the website.
 
We wish all of you will have the opportunity to meet in Darnkov this summer at the feet of H.H Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche in this very precious time of such a great event for the center, our sangha and the propagation of the Byangter lineage teachings in Europe.
 
 
Personal note from Tulku Ugen:
<< It is important for all of us, as being the practitioners of Byangter order of Tibetan Buddhism to be able to attend this great event, in order to make the wish of our Rinpoche to see Drophanling Gompa known as an established Byangter Gompa in Europe, and help to spread the Byangter lineage teachings there. Some of our western dharma friends were fortunate enough to come to Khordong Gompa in Siliguri to receive during two months long the complete transmission of Byangter order of Rigdzin Godem in the year 2006 by H.H.Taklung Tsetrul Rinpochi. I wish and pray that more and more people would have the opportunity to get these blessings of him this summer in Darnkov.>>
 
Sarwa Mangalam

***05/08 ar