Ripa Ladrang Foundation
Fall Newsletter

2001 Teaching Tour - On the Road! West Coast Teaching Tour Events Midwest Teaching Tour Events Special New Treasures Monastery Fund Raising Events	Thangka Presentation, Los Angeles Zazen Concert, New York City Ripa Ladrang Monthly Sangha Meetings Thank You to Our Volunteers

2001 Teaching Tour - On the Road!

The 2001 Teaching Tour of His Eminence Namkha Drimed Rinpoche is well on it way! The first teaching was a Medicine Buddha public teaching and empowerment in New York City at Peterson Hall on Sept. 7-8th. The hall was decorated with Thangkas painted by the Ripa Master's favorite artist, Cho Tshering, and the stage was set with formal Tibetan brocades and ritual objects. His Eminence gave a very inspiring and detailed teaching on the origin of defilements and the balancing of the body, speech and mind through the Medicine Buddha. In retrospect, the teachings of the Medicine Buddha were so appropriate considering the events that lay ahead for the East Coast.

The tour was paused on September 11th for two days of special blessings, practices and prayers for those who perished in the tragic events in NY and DC. His Eminence and his son, Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche, did many special practices for everyone's welfare. We are very grateful that the Ripa Masters were in the U.S at the time of the tragedy. Further blessing were received for His Eminence's monastery in India.

To Ripa Ladrang Foundation,
We are very sad and regret to hear the sorrowful news about the terrorist strikes in the WTC in New York and Washington in last Tuesday 11.9.01. We, all monks and staff, of the Rigon Thupten Mindolling Monastery, deeply pay our condolence to the victims who lost their lives. A special pooja and prayers are done in our Monastery for those who lost their lives.
With regards and Tashi Deleg,
From all monks and staff of Rigon Thupten Mindolling Monastery

The tour continued with a shortened five day Yeshe Tsogyal Retreat in the Catskills, NY, Sept. 19-23nd. This was an extraordinary retreat, with two days of rainstorms; the showers of blessings fell heavily! The teachings were from His Eminence's own Terma and a deep understanding of the great wisdom and skillful means of Yeshe Tsogyal was awakened in all attendees. The retreat ended with a special Gesar Smoke Offering to raise the purifying and empowering pure smoke of offerings for all.

His Eminence has been at Naropa University in Boulder, CO this past weekend, where he gave a teaching and empowerment on Yeshe Tsogyal, Sept 28th - Oct 1st. This is the second year Naropa has hosted the Ripa Master.

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West Coast Teaching Tour Events

The next event brings His Eminence back to the Vajrayana Foundation in Watsonville, CA at the beautiful Pema Osel Ling Center. Here the teachings, which are in progress, are being given in "The Jewel Ship" by Lonchenpa from Oct 5th -10th.

From Santa Cruz, the tour moves to Berkeley, CA on October 11th, where the Ripa Ladrang Foundation is sponsoring its first public lectures to be given on the West Coast. These are very special events for the Foundation and are being organized by the local Bay Area Sangha.

We hope to see many of you at these teachings. For more information or to register, please contact ripa_ladrang@hotmail.com or 415-905-8811.

After Northern California, His Eminence and the Retinue will proceed to Los Angeles for the first Ripa Ladrang Foundation sponsored public teaching in that area. His Eminence will once again be giving a Guru Rinpoche Teaching and Empowerment on October 20-21st. The Los Angeles Sangha is organizing this event and welcomes you to attend these rich teachings from His Eminence's own Terma. For more information, please contact ripa_ladrang@hotmail.com or 310-285-3101.

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Midwest Teaching Tour Events

From LA, the tour moves on to Chicago where the Reme Foundation is hosting the Ripa Master for teachings on Mandarava and Dorje Drolo on October 24-26th.

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Special New Treasures Monastery Fund Raising Events

The Ripa Ladrang Foundation is sponsoring some very special events this year in support of the New Treasures Project in Pharping, Nepal. The New Treasures project over the last two years has seen active work towards the realization of the vision of the Terton, Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, for a residential retreat and study center in Pharping, Nepal.

The central edifice of the New Treasures Project is a monastery, constructed in accordance with Namkha Drimed Rinpoche's visions. Preserving and disseminating the teachings of Tantric Buddhism, the monastery will accommodate up to 150 monks and nuns and provide space for the study of Buddhist philosophy and traditional sciences such as astrology, thangka painting, and Tibetan medicine. At the heart of the New Treasures curriculum, however, are the intellectual foundations of Buddhist Tantra and the liberative techniques which lead to spiritual enlightenment. Meditation and ritual practices will be performed in a central shrine hall with images of Sakyamuni Buddha, Padmasambhava, and numerous Tantric deities. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche and Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche will conduct yearly retreats at the monastery, focusing on advanced meditations derived from Namkha Rinpoche's own cycle of visions and revelations.

Construction of the monastery began in June 2000 and is currently underway with 100 workers on site everyday. Depending on the availability of funds, work should be completed by December 2002 with an official opening in 2003.

In support of this auspicious project, the Foundation is conducting two special evening events.

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Thangka Presentation, Los Angeles
October 20th

A Tibetan thangka silent donation auction, sponsored by Ripa Ladrang Foundation, will be held the evening of October 20 at the Pacific Asian Museum in Pasadena, California.

Rinpoche's student in Nepal, Cho Tshering, is an award-winning thangka artist and he or his close art students paint these pieces. His thangkas are most exquisite, far above the quality found in any commercial thangka market. Further, his art is based on H. E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche's visions, termas and teachings so that they are very unique in their subject matter, presenting topics not uncommon to Buddhist practitioners but still magnificent and different in their presentation.

Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche as well as the artist Cho Tshering himself will be present at this event and will give talks and presentations as well during the evening about the sacred meanings depicted in these beautiful thangkas.

This event also is for the benefit of the New Treasures project in Pharping, Nepal. Event cost is $25 for Supporters, $50 for Dharma Angels and $100 for Warriors. For more information, or to make a reservation to attend, please contact Ripa Ladrang Foundation at ripa_ladrang@hotmail.com or 415-905-881

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Zazen Concert, New York City
November 3rd

The Ripa Ladrang Foundation is very happy to announce that it is sponsoring a special fundraising music performance by the musical group Zazen! This special event will be held the evening of Saturday, November 3, at Peterson Hall in New York City and all details will be communicated in the near future.

The purpose of the concert is to raise funds for the New Treasures project in Pharping, Nepal, the sacred monastery and retreat center under construction to fulfil the vision of H.E. Namkha Drimed Rinpoche, Terton. His Eminence will be present personally to tell everyone about his special vision for this beautiful new Buddhist center in Nepal which will include, amongst many other special features, a temple dedicated to Gesar, the great warrior king of Tibet in the 11th Century.

There are two levels of cost for the event: General admission is $50, which covers the entire concert and Rinpoche's talk. Gesar Warrior admission is $250 and this will include a special reception and private meeting with His Eminence early evening of November, prior to the concert, where he will express his gratitude to persons attending and offer his personal blessing.

Space is somewhat limited in that Peterson Hall only holds about 225 people and since we are already receiving reservations, it might be a good idea to reserve a seat as soon as possible with an indication which admission level you wish to use for the event.

For all of you, who are familiar with Zazen's music, you already know what an incredible experience this will be. And for those of you who will hear them for the first time, be prepared for a very uplifting evening!

Ripa Ladrang Monthly Sangha Meetings

The New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco areas conduct monthly Sangha meetings. These provide the opportunity for group practice which often deepens and enhances our daily practice. We also hold a traditional TSOK feast at each meeting to afford us all the opportunity to offer the richness of our lives and purify the five senses. The remaining schedule for 2001 ~~

Please contact the Foundation at ripasangha@hotmail.com if you would like to attend.

Thank You to Our Volunteers

The Ripa Ladrang Foundation would like to thank all of the volunteers in the New York, San Francisco, Boulder and Los Angeles area who are working long hours to make this year's Teaching Tour a success. Without all your hard work and wonderful enthusiasm, the tour would not be possible.

Our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you!

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