Pathgate News

Palyul Clear Light: A Tribute To HH Penor Rinpoche (1932 - 2009)

To commemorate the First Anniversary of the Parinirvana of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, a special tribute edition of Palyul Clear Light magazine has been produced, gathering together a wealth of biography, teaching and photographs of the Late Holiness Penor Rinpoche.

The centrepiece of this issue is a collection of Heart Essence Teachings by the Late Holiness Penor Rinpoche, given during the 2000 Palyul Summer Retreat in upstate New York.

In the foreword to this special issue, Khenpo Tsewang Gyatso advises us: ‘Through the example of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche’s passing away, we should realise the nature of impermanence and try to use our time in the best and most virtuous way without wasting a minute.’

This special edition is both a moving tribute to His Holiness Penor Rinpoche and a celebration of our great fortune in making a connection to such a wonderful spiritual guide in this life.

If you would like a copy of the special issue, please contact Palyul Clear Light by visiting www.palyulclearlight.org.

Return to the Path of the Truth

The Audio Teaching ‘Return to the Path of the Truth’ by Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje describes the futility of relying on the impulses of wrong views caused by our fixation to personal logic and afflictive emotions, and the benefit of returning to the right view by taking refuge in the time-proven guidance of the Three Jewels - the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, which leads to the attainment of the ultimate bounty of contentment and liberation from suffering. Through taking refuge in Lord Buddha’s teaching, all of us are capable to attain, in the rightness of time, the direct recognition of the true nature of reality, which is not separate from that of emptiness; the essence of which is luminosity and the energy of which is compassion.

Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje explains the importance of cultivating the right view through thoroughly examining the actual state of reality and recognising its true nature as it is. This requires the true ability of having mindfulness to register the significance of what one sees, of what one hears, tastes, touches and smells. By taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, we could all benefit from the certainty of successfully removing the defilements of the mind, and return in time to a true state of authenticity, achieving in the process the true experiences of contentment and happiness for both others and ourselves.

To listen to this and other Audio Teachings, or to download them as MP3, please visit Audio Teachings by Lama Dondrup Dorje.

The Discourse of Dharmapada Sutra at Losar

The Dharmapada Sutra is a collection of 423 stanzas of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, arranged in 26 chapters in accordance to the theme of their subject. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje gave the commentary of this sutra during the two-day Losar weekend of the Tibetan New Year at the Pathgate Dharma Centre in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.

Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje first taught the Dharmapada Sutra in 2007 at The Pathgate Summer Retreat in Greece, the teaching at the Losar weekend was the second in what is to be a series of Dharma discourses offering explanation and advice on how to apply the teachings of the Dharmapada Sutra in our daily lives.

Since this teaching was given during the most auspicious time of Losar, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje explained that this special period is the perfect time to let go of unhelpful habits of the past. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje began the teaching by explaining how the existence of everything we come to encounter in the world is the result of the activities of the mind - “Mind is the forerunner of all Evil states” - and that we should not allow our mind to be distracted by personal desire and aversion, but instead to see things more expansively, both in relation to other people and also in terms of cause and effect – for if your happiness is based on causing suffering for others then that action will undoubtedly return to you a thousand-fold.

After summarizing the first six chapters for the benefit of students who did not attend the first teaching, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje went on to cover a further three chapters. Countless examples were given throughout to illustrate the suffering experienced in samsara by all beings – wandering constantly from hope to disappointment, through the process of birth; thriving and then degeneration back to nothingness. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje then used many candid examples to illustrate how the sage - one who’s mind is grounded in true wisdom, who is balanced and well-disciplined - “seeks great delight in detachment and does not wander in samsara”.

Further impressing upon the students how action without mindfulness and understanding is merely an act of pretence which offer no lasting benefit, and that “It is better to have a single day in one’s life which is wise and meditative”, than a hundred years without following a time-honoured method.

Ven. Lama Dondrup will continue with the next part of this teaching in a three-day event from 1st to 3rd May 2010 at the Pathgate Dharma Centre in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. If you would like to attend, please visit the Teaching Schedule.

Cultivating the Seed of Dharma amidst a Forest of Wrong View

The Audio Teaching 'Cultivating the Seed of Dharma amidst a Forest of Wrong View' by Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje is an extract from a series of Living Dharma teachings given during the Christmas Retreat at the end of 2009. Continuing from the Audio Teaching ‘Attaining Two-Fold Fulfilment Through Right Action’, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje describes the unsatisfactoriness and impermanence of all worldly phenomena which offer no lasting benefit to ourselves or others.

According to Buddhist texts, as many as 81,000 thoughts may arise and dissolve in the mind at any given moment, and whichever thought we hold on to for even a trice will be amplified and manifested into an increasingly tangible experience which we perceive as real. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje explains that we should develop the right kind of mindfulness to watch over our body, speech and mind, and ensure that we recognise the significance of our place in relation to others. To act with mindfulness is to act from the foundation of understanding - the actual implementation of discipline - that is the key to attaining freedom from the bondage of worldly concerns.

Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje goes on to explain that Dharma teachings provide the seed that can ripen into Buddhahood, but due to our habit of acting upon impulses prompted by the three poisons of desire attachment, aversion, and delusion, we have the tendency to end up contaminating our mind, and in the process we cultivate a forest of wrong views, which gives rise to even more causes of sufferings and sorrows for ourselves and others. It is only by taking refuge in the right view, the right understanding, and the right effort that we can eliminate this forest of wrong views and cultivate the Seed of Dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings.

To listen to this and other Audio teachings, or to download them as MP3, please visit Audio Teachings by Lama Dondrup Dorje.

New Pathgate Study Group in Milan, Italy

In response to requests from students in Italy, Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje has recently given his blessing for a new Pathgate Study Group to be established in Milan. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje has visited Italy regularly to give teaching since 2007. Subjects of Dharma teaching that have been given there included ‘Buddhist Medicine and Healing’, ‘How to Eliminate Anger From Your Life’, ‘The Truth About Happiness’, ‘Tranquil Meditation’, ‘Meditation On Mindfulness’, ‘The Sutra of the Cause and Effect of the Three Times’, ‘The Truth About Karma’, ‘The Four Noble Truths’, in addition to masterclass instructions on Classical Buddhist Qigong and Internal Arts. To view a photo gallery of Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje’s teachings in Milan, please visit L’Airone – La Via Del Dharma.

Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje is scheduled to give a series of discourse in Milan on the Atisha’s classic of Lojong - the Eight Verses of Transforming the Mind during the course of 2010. For details please visit Teaching Schedule.

Pathgate Institute Provides Translation Broadcast At The Ngagyur Kama Transmission

A record number of over 3000 Nyingma practitioners attended the Second Ngagyur Kama Transmission in Bodhgaya, India this year. Organised by The Association for the Preservation of Ngagyur Kama Tradition, this month-long event, which started on the 29th January 2010, was held at the Lhakhang (temple) of the Nyingma Dharmashala, which was built purposely by the Nyingma Monlam International Foundation to provide lodging facilities for the thousands of Nyingma pilgrims who visit the holiest of all holy places for Buddhists – the site by the Bodhi Tree where Lord Buddha Shakyamuni attained enlightenment 2550 years ago.

A full programme was planned for the Second Ngagyur Kama Transmission this year. In the morning, Togden Rinpoche, the reincarnation of the Indian Mahasiddha Hungchen Kara of the Drikung Kagyu Tradition was invited to give the oral transmission of Nyingma Gyudbum, comprising the entire collection of the Inner Tantras that have been passed down from the time of Kuntuzangpo, the Primordial Buddha, by means of the Kama lineage that involves oral transmission between realised master and disciples.

Yangthang Rinpoche, the incarnation of Terton Dorje Dechen Lingpa of Dhomang Monastery in Tibet and a principle lineage holder of the Nyingmapa Lineage, was invited to give the associated Kama Empowerment in the afternoon.

As for the evening, Khenchen Pema Sherab, the most senior Khenpo of the Ngagyur Nyingma University at Namdroling Monastery, was invited to give pith instruction on Dharma teaching. Khenchen Pema Sherab began with a most precious discourse on four pith verses by the great Nyingma Dzogchen Master Longchen Rabjam. To honour this auspicious occasion in accordance to the traditional decorum, Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje was invited by the organising committee of The Association for the Preservation of Ngagyur Kama Tradition to perform, on behalf of the entire assembly of tulkus, khenpos, lamas, lopons and devotees from all six lineages of the Nyingma tradition, the ritual of mandala offering to Khenchen Pema Sherab before the commencing of the teaching.

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the Tibetan language, a team of students and friends of the Pathgate Institute were at hand to provide radio broadcast of simultaneous translation of the proceedings in English and Chinese to the sizable number of foreign students who had access to FM radio.

Apart from the provision and the setting up of broadcasting facilities, Pathgate Institute is a principal sponsor of the Second Ngagyur Kama Transmission, which offers not merely rare teaching and empowerment which are not commonly available in the world today, but also free food and lodging to the 3000 plus participants throughout the month long event. The sole objective of The Association for the Preservation of Ngagyur Kama Tradition is to preserve rare and precious empowerments, oral transmissions and pith instructions of the Kama and Terma teachings of the Nyingma School of Buddhism existing in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and other parts of India. If you wish to support the preservation and propagation of Dharma, you are welcome to join us as a valued partner by making an offering of your choice. To make an offering, please click Make a Donation.

Attaining Two-Fold Fulfilment Through Right Action

Lord Buddha reminds us in his teaching that all things are subject to change. No border of any country can protect itself from the wind of changes; life is far from perfect, for it is full of uncertainty and even the body we possess cannot support us forever. No matter what we do, we simply cannot stop our bodies from aging nor put the advent of our eventual death at bay.

In the Audio Teaching 'Attaining Two-Fold Fulfilment Through Right Action', Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje reminds students of the impermanence of all things and the importance of establishing the right view that is not separate from the true state of reality instead of relying on wrong view which is influenced by worldly concerns that are subject to changes and offer no lasting benefit.

In this world around us, the masses who advocate worldly knowledge as the answer to everything are as numerous as the grains of sand that cover the bottom of great rivers, while authentic teachers of Dharma who can reflect the true nature of reality to the students are very few in number.

Our obsession with wrong views and our reliance on worldly knowledge are the real reasons why we repeatedly experience discontentment in all our worldly activities. For those who have the good fortune to receive Dharma teaching, they will in the rightness of time, come to experience for themselves the true benefit of following the right path that gives rise to the twofold fulfilment for all beings – that which brings lasting benefit to oneself and to others.

Distinguishing what is right from that which is wrong thus becomes a very important issue, for it requires the essential presence of mindfulness – the ability to register what you see as you see it and what you hear as you hear it – a state which requires your senses and faculties to remain alert while relaxed. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje explains how we can achieve this state of being alert while relaxed by abandoning activities that arise from impulses prompted by afflictive emotions. A true practitioner of Dharma should first aim to attain a state of mindfulness over the activities of that which is expressed through the three gates of our body, speech and mind. It is only through the attainment of this true state of mindfulness that we can discover who we really are and ultimately liberate ourselves from the recurring rounds of unsatisfactoriness that we keep experiencing in the world and in turn bring a true state of harmony to our lives.

To listen to Attaining Two-Fold Fulfilment Through Right Action and other Audio Teachings, or to download them as MP3, please click on Audio Teachings by Lama Dondrup Dorje.

Christmas Retreat with Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje

Bodhisattvacharyavatara - A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life is an important Mahayana Buddhist text based on teaching given by the great Buddhist Master Shantideva around 700 A.D. Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje compassionately gave transmission and commentary on this classic teaching during the Christmas Retreat, from 28th Dec 2009 to 1st Jan 2010 at the Pathgate Dharma Centre - Newcastle upon Tyne. The Retreat was only open to formal students of Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje who had permission to attend. Participants at the retreat include many overseas students from China, Singapore, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France, Israel, New Zealand, Netherlands and Ireland.

For the benefit of those students who were not eligible to attend the retreat, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje gave open teachings on Living Dharma every morning for seven consecutive days, using many real-time, easy-to-understand examples to guide the students in attaining better understanding on the importance of applying respect in what they do, the urgency in correcting wrong view, the need to develop true mindfulness, the value of having a precious human life and the true significance of what it means to take refuge.

The main teaching of the Christmas retreat, Bodhisattvacharyavatara - A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life is an important Mahayana text which focuses on the development of bodhicitta (the mind of awakening) through the practice of the six perfections (Skt. Paramitas), and offers one of the most succinct expositions of the Madhyamaka view. Over the 5-day retreat, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje gave extensive commentary on the first three chapters, explaining the Benefits of Bodhicitta, Confession of Transgressions, and Commitment in Adopting the Mind of Awakening.

Beginning the teaching with the inspiring life story of Shantideva and his devotion to his Root Guru the Great Bodhisattva Manjushri, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje reminded the students that the most crucial factor in attaining Buddhahood has everything to do with one’s true devotion in Guru Yoga Practice. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje went on to explain the difference between the spirit of aspiring for awakening and the spirit of venturing for awakening; the need to accumulate a good store of virtues; and the importance to decontaminate the mind, so that we may recognise our own true nature and in so doing recognise the nature of all things.

Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje will continue the teaching on Bodhisattvacharyavatara at a 4-day Easter Retreat from 2nd – 5th April 2010. For those who wish to attend open teaching by Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje, his next open teaching in the UK will be a 2-day Losar Dharma teaching on the Dharmapada Sutra. It will take place on 13th & 14th February. Everyone is welcome to join in with the Pathgate students in celebrating the arrival of the Tibetan Lunar New Year. To find out more about this and other upcoming teachings, please visit Teaching Schedule.

Pathgate Students Welcome New Year with Outdoor Qigong Practice in the Snow

On the weekend of 2nd and 3rd January 2010, following the five-day Christmas Retreat on ‘Bodhisattvacharyavatara - Bodhisattva Way of Life’, a selected group of Pathgate students who have demonstrated a sufficient level of mindfulness in their practice were permitted to attend a two-day form correction retreat on Classical Qigong and Internal Arts given by Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje at the Pathgate Dharma Centre, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

The two-day retreat was not merely a valuable opportunity for students to receive correction and guidance on their practice, they also repeatedly came to recognise that no real progress in any practices can be made until they become good Dharma practitioners. For it is through diligence of Dharma practice in transforming the mind that one develops the essential qualities to assist one in attaining true progress in the practice of Classical Qigong and Internal Arts - qualities such as faith, devotion, reverence, humility and gratitude - the same qualities that are essential in the study of Buddhadharma.

Students spent the best part of the first morning outdoors in the snow where they practised quiet meditative standing qigong. The fullness of Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje’s energy even in extreme wintry outdoor temperature was hard to miss. Despite not wearing gloves for an extended period of time, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje’s hand remained warm to the touch when he corrected students’ posture in what could best be described as sub-zero conditions.

Those fortunate to attend benefited from an unparalleled opportunity to witness authentic Classical Qigong in action and receive instruction and correction far beyond that which is commonly available.

Pathgate Partnership Programme – Summary for 2009

The continuous support from the students and friends of Pathgate Institute in 2009 has ensured that the Pathgate Partnership Programme was able to maintain the sponsorship of a range of Dharma projects worldwide. Here is a brief summary of some of the projects.

One year after the completion of the first 3-storey building for the Ngagyur Nyingma University at the Namdroling Monastery in mid 2008, the construction of the second 3-storey building was completed and was opened for use on the 26th April 2009 by HH Karma Kuchen Rinpoche. The second building houses not only the new administrative offices of Ngagyur Nyingma University and the new large conference room, it also provides the new home for the computer department, editorial committee office, reception office, donation office, photo-copying room, book shop, general store, STD telephone centre and a modern canteen. Every room in the building has been furnished to a standard in accordance to its need and function. In addition to a batch of computers previously sponsored by Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje, twenty-five brand-new flat screen computers have been procured for the computer department and the Rinchen Terzod Editorial Committee, through which Dharma texts are computerised into digital storage and publications of Dharma books and magazines are made.

During the hot spell of April 2009, the Namling Hospital at the Namdroling Monastery was inundated with patients suffering from symptoms of fevers, gastroenteritis, and diarrhoea, which raised serious concerns about the probable outbreak of typhoid. At the first instance of being aware of the situation, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje immediately offered to procure the necessary vaccines to implement a full scale vaccination program that covered every member of the Namdroling Monastery. Nearly 5000 vials of vaccine (Shantyph) were eventually used, which benefited not merely the entire ordained community of Namdroling Monastery but also members of the neighbouring Tibetan community. A new computer with a special program for the purpose of keeping an up-to-date register of patients was also procured for the staff of the hospital admission.

In view of the chronic shortage of water supplied to the Namling Hospital and the necessity to secure an uninterrupted water supply to maintain the functioning of the hospital, a new generator was offered by Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje to the Namling hospital so that an alternative water supply could be sourced from an underground waterhole behind the hospital building. A new battery was also procured for the hospital to provide emergency electricity supply to the hospital during power cuts, which are common in India.

During the course of 2009, over 8000 thangkas that featured the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche were distributed to both the ordained and the lay communities around the world.

For those who wish to have a better understanding of the meaning of Tibetan prayers, nearly 2000 copies of ‘Wish-Granting Attainments - Namdroling Monastery Daily Prayer Book’, ‘The Wish-Granting Tree of Enlightenment’ - the Prayer Book of the Annual Prayer Assembly of Ngagyur Tradition, and ‘The Stairway to the Pure Lands – prayers of the Palyul lineage’, were given to tulkus, khenpos, lamas and monks in India, Bhutan, Nepal and to foreign students who follow the Palyul Nyingma traditions. All three prayer books were edited by Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje and published by Pathgate Institute in conjunction with the Ngagyur Nyingma University of the Namdroling Monastery for free distribution.

In response to a request made by the Drasang at Namdroling Monastery which is responsible for the logistic support in maintaining the smooth running of the monastery, a new tractor was procured to replace an older machine which could no longer perform the duty it was assigned to perform.

In the Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan, a plan to establish a Retreat Centre there has been quietly proceeding for over two years. Pathgate Institute first got involved in the project through a request made by Khenpo Sangay Wangdi three years earlier. In November 2009, the first phase of construction finally commenced in Paro. When completed, the retreat centre will have five separate retreat houses, a prayer hall and other supporting amenities.

The ongoing Pathgate Partnership Programme, which began in the 1990s in sponsoring education for young people, support for the elderly and medical services for the needy, continued throughout 2009 in India, Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Africa. In addition, sponsorship and specific support for a whole range of projects have also been extended to a great number of individuals from around the world. These and much more are merely a brief description of some of the compassionate activities supported by the Pathgate Partnership Programme. None of these could have been possible without the generous support from the students and friends of Pathgate Institute. If you wish to support the Pathgate Partnership Programme and become a Friend of Pathgate International, you may do so by clicking Make a Donation.

Living without Turmoil

Commentary on Patrul Rinpoche's Thog Tha Bar Sum Du Ge Wai Tam - The Instruction that is Virtuous in the Beginning, Virtuous in the Middle and Virtuous in the End was given by Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje at the Pathgate Dharma Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England over the weekend of 31st October and 1st November 2009. The two-day event was well attended by many overseas students who travelled to the teaching from as far away as Singapore, Greece, Italy, France, Netherlands and Ireland.

Comprising eighty-two verses, Thog Tha Bar Sum Du Ge Wai Tam explains the entire Buddhist path, from the arising of motivation to the ultimate direct experience of absolute reality, that defines the remedy for the samsaric conditions of the Kaliyuga (Degenerative Age) in accordance to the Mahayana Treatise of the Buddhadharma. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje explained that Buddhist practice is about developing a good relationship with the nature of your mind whereby one sees things in their complete nakedness, without ignoring one thing or preferring one thing to another. This state of equanimity is the basis from which one may begin to approach life without turmoil.

Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje encouraged the students at the teaching to examine their mind so that they may recognise all their fixations on likes and dislikes are merely fabrication created by the conceptual obscuration of their gross mind and has nothing to do with the true state of reality. Only when they arrive at a state wherein they are able to relax within the true nature of the mind, will they come to realise there are no obstacles in the world other than that which they have created in their conceptual perception.

Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje also recounted numerous inspirational stories from the life of Patrul Rinpoche and went on to explain the motivation for seeking liberation for the benefits of all sentient beings.

Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje's next teaching in the UK will be the Christmas Retreat, from 28th December 2009 to 1st January 2010. The subject of the Christmas Retreat is Bodhisattvacharyavatara - A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. Following the Retreat, Ven Lama Dondrup Dorje will give 2 days of Masterclass Instruction on Classical Qigong and Internal Arts from 2nd to 3rd January. Both events are open only to the formal students of Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje who have received permission to attend. To read details of this teaching please see Teaching Schedule.

Reasons for Learning Dharma

The term Dharma refers to the teachings given by Shakyamuni Buddha. Dharma is not a branch of philosophy or belief-system, it simply reflects the true state of reality as it is, and thus Shakyamuni Buddha always began each of his teachings with the following remark, ‘Monks, Life is suffering’.

In the latest Audio Teaching available online, Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje explains that this suffering comes about due to the fundamental truth that all worldly conditions are transitory and thus unsatisfactory in nature, and that while we see life as being full of highs and lows, of very colourful experiences, none of this is in fact real nor lasting.

Our habitual tendency to follow our urges prompted by the impulses founded on our own opinion and self-conceptualised logic will only create more sufferings and causes of sufferings. To attain the direct experience of the Truth requires us to let go of our attachment to self-made logic and opinion, and follow the instruction of a qualified Spiritual Master, who is the living embodiment of the body, speech and mind of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

To listen to ‘Reasons for Learning Dharma’ or to download it as MP3, click on Audio Teachings by Lama Dondrup Dorje.

Publication of ‘The Stairway To The Pure Lands’

The Stairway to the Pure Lands is the first ever translation of the prayers of the Palyul lineage of the great Khedrub Karma Chagme from Tibetan into English. This is the third of three books pledged by Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje to his Guru the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche that he would have them translated from Tibetan into English for the benefit of the non-Tibetan speaking students of the Palyul tradition. The first two books, ‘Wish-Granting Attainments - Namdroling Monastery Daily Prayer Book’ and ‘The Wish-Granting Tree of Enlightenment’ - the Prayer Book of the Annual Prayer Assembly of Ngagyur Tradition have both been published and distributed widely around the world.

In the foreword of ‘The Stairway to the Pure Lands’, the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche gave the advice that 'when the prayers in this book are practiced every day, the practitioners will accumulate the two-fold store of merits, as vast as the ocean and fetch them happiness in this and future lives’.

Translated from Tibetan into English by Lopon Phuntsho Gyaltsen and edited by Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje, the entire cost of ‘The Stairway to the Pure Lands’ is sponsored by Pathgate Institute of Buddhist Studies and is published in conjunction with the Ngagyur Nyimgma University of the Namdroling Monastery for free distribution. It is the wish of Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje that the publication of this book will assist non-Tibetan speaking students to attain a better understanding of the meaning of Tibetan Prayers.

The Truth of Cause and Effect

The latest Audio Teaching by Venerable Lama Dondrup Dorje is The Truth of Cause and Effect. The teaching is an extract from a two-day teaching Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje gave on the Sutra of Cause and Effect of the Three Times.

The teaching describes how cause and effect is something that affects us every moment of the day, and that impermanence and change can be seen all around us, in the news and in our daily lives. Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje uses stories from Ancient China and from the time of Lord Buddha to illustrate the capacity for the Law of Cause and Effect to transcend time, and to show how the promptness of our action can have a powerful effect on the outcome of what we do.

In a story of a husband and wife who were so poor they had to share an overcoat and so could not attend teachings of the Noble Dharma together, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje explained that through the right motivation we can defeat our own self-serving attitudes and in so doing ripen past karma to bring great positive effect to the present time. Conquering ourselves in this way, we can remove ourselves from the three poisons, which are the root of all sickness and disease in this world.

To listen to The Truth of Cause and Effect, and other Audio Teachings, or to download them as MP3, please click on Audio Teachings by Lama Dondrup Dorje.

Epilogue – Wildfires in Greece

After the wildfires in Greece had died down this summer, Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje went to Athens at the conclusion of the Pathgate Summer Retreat in Epidavros and remained there for a few extra days. He explained that further rain was needed to help the regeneration of the scorched earth after the wildfires. Since the report on the wildfires appeared on the Pathgate News, it has been observed that daily showers fell upon the city of Athens throughout the month of September – a weather phenomenon that has never occurred before in Athens during the month of September, according to the long-time residents of the metropolis.

Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje has long been associated with unusual weather phenomenon over the course of many years. On his recent trip to the Far East, a typhoon, which was meant to arrive in Hong Kong shifted away just as his plane was about to land there. Then on the day after he left for Singapore, a second typhoon actually landed in Hong Kong. Many suggested that this type of recurring phenomena might have something to do with the first Dharma name give to Ven. Lama Dondrup Dorje by the late Holiness Penor Rinpoche. That name is Drakpa Gyaltsen - the name of a well-known 12th century Tibetan Ngakpa lama who was one of the Five Venerable Sakya Masters who established the Sakya tradition. Drakpa Gyaltsen (1145-1216), was known for his strict discipline in Dharma practice and had the following of many ordained students. He was also highly regarded for his ability in harmonising his presence with the elemental forces of nature.

To read the full story of the Wildfires in Greece, please click on Puja of Compassion vs Wildfires in Greece.

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