The Ripa Council
The Ripa Council exists to coordinate the activities and work in tandem with the various Ripa national organizations globally. What a wonderful opportunity to be able to say we have Sanghas in France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Russia and as far away as French Guyana! The Ripa Council exists to serve the Ripa lineage, to facilitate newcomers and existing Sangha members in contact with the Ripa lineage and the Dharma, integrating the various national Sanghas into one Ripa Sangha. The Ripa Council assists in coordinating teaching activities of the Ripa masters, communicating with the Sanghas, coordinating various humanitarian projects and providing a home for the western Sangha through the Ripa International Center (RIC), which is located in Bern, Switzerland. For more on Ripa International, please visit: http://ripa-international.org and click on news for updates.
In general, the Ripa Council is organized into various functions, with Karmachakra referring to organizing the teaching tours and various teaching activities, Dharmaseva referring to serving the teachings and the practices themselves and Lamaseva referring to serving the Ripa masters and the retinue. Please consider the Ripa Council as a resource. Should you wish to submit news to the Ripa International newsletter, or have questions, please feel free to contact: info@ripa-international.com. Current Ripa Council responsibilities are as follows:
Ripa Council Members:
President – Heinz (Switzerland)
Secretary – Renate (Belgium)
Dharmaseva – Philippe (France)
Lamaseva – Helenka (Spain)
Karmachakra – Irene (Germany)
Finance – Heinz (Switzerland)
Communications – Katharina (Germany)
Ripa International Center RIC – Georg (Switzerland)
Structure
The Ripa Sangha is organized on a national level, for the most part, as registered charities in their host countries. Physical centers may be organized in another manner, according to the laws of the host country. The umbrella organization for the lay Sanghas and Centers globally is the Ripa Council. Some countries may have charities set up at the city level, for example Padma Ling Paris and Padma Ling Marseille, both of which are in France. Informally, there may also be practice groups in countries that do not yet have sufficient size and maturity to register their legal status, and thus these practice groups meet informally, but do have an individual that may be contacted in order to support one’s practice and answer questions.
The leadership of each Sangha organization and contact information is available through the Ripa Council Secretary. For details on organizational structure at the Ripa Council level or local organization level, please feel free to contact: ripa-council@ripa-international.com.