Himalayan Buddhism

Himalayan Buddhism refers to Buddhist practice spread through out Himalayan range starting from Ladakh to Bhutan. The history of Himalayan Buddhism dates back to the activities of Guru Padmasambhava popularly known as Guru Rinpoche. So, Guru Rinpoche is the root of Himalayan Buddhism per say. Four major schools–Nyingma, Kagyu, Shakya, and Gelug– have been shaping its history with different lineages. After Guru Rinpoche, two other father figures like Atisa Dipankar and Maha Yogi Milareapa are equally venerated in this region. Samye is the first monastery ever built in Tibet with the guidelines of Guru Rinpoche which is under construction with the guidelines of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Himalayan Buddhism aims to preserve cultural practices in Trans- Himalayan range without having any political prejudice.

 

  1. Chod Practice in Boudha

Lama Tsering Wangdu Rinpoche’s chod practice in Boudhha is going on. He is a lineage holder of the Longchen Nyingthig, Shije, and Chod traditions.  Born in 1935 in Tingri Langkor, Tibet, he received transmission and training from his root Lama, Naptra Rinpoche, and completed the traditional 108 charnel ground Chod pilgrimage before he was twenty. Naptra Rinpoche sent Lama Wangdu to Nepal on pilgrimage shortly before the Chinese closed the border in 1959. A well-trained and experienced yogi, he has lived in Nepal ever since, spending much of his life in retreat and serving the Tibetan refugee community.

Today, Lama Wangdu Rinpoche is the Abbot of Pal Gyi Langkor Jangsem Kunga Ling Monastery in Boudha, Nepal, which he founded in 2000, and a well-known teacher and healer. He spends part of each year in Portland, Oregon, USA teaching and leading retreats and the rest of the year training monastics at Pal Gyi Ling in Nepal.

  1. Sawa Dawa Celebration (Buddha’s image)

Himalayan Buddhists are observing Saka Dawa, the most sacred of Buddhist holiday when we celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death (parinirvana) of the Buddha Shakyamuni.

The merit of any good deeds that you perform during this month are considered to be multiplied many times over — by as much as one hundred million times — so it is an excellent time to dedicate ourselves to all kinds of spiritually positive actions.
The Saka Dawa observations take place in the fourth Tibetan month, which in 2017 begins on May 26 and ends on June 24. Most holy of all is the full moon day of Saka Dawa, the 15th day of the month, which is the date most commonly associated with not only Buddha’s birth but also his enlightenment and parinirvana3. In 2017, the 15th day of the month will fall on June 9th.

 

  1. Tergar Meditation Starts in Nepal ( for photo see Mingyur Rinpoche on google)

 

Tergar meditation sessions are available in Kathmadu valley. It’s a meditation practice based on the teachings of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Groups regularly meet to explore his teachings with the support of a community of meditators and the guidance of a comprehensive meditation group curriculum.

 

Meditation is the art of cultivating awareness and insight. It can be used as a practical tool to undo destructive emotional patterns, to develop positive qualities like wisdom and compassion, and to access the mind’s fundamental nature of pure awareness.

 

There are two meditation groups in the town one at Boudha and the next at Anamnagar.

 

 

  1. Sechen Hospice as Altruistic Centre ( see sechen clinic on google)

 

Shechen Clinic, built in 2000, offers affordable integrative medicine to the local community in Boudhanath, a particularly poor area of Kathmandu. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, Shechen Clinic provides comprehensive medical care to more than 40,000 patients a year. Ninety-five percent of all consultations are provided free of charge and 64% of our patients are women and children.

A variety of services are offered through the clinic: allopathic, homeopathic and Tibetan medical care, health education, a pathology laboratory, specialized care including oncology, and HIV testing and dental services.

Matthieu Ricard is a founder of this center who is a Buddhist monk who left a career in cellular genetics in France to study Buddhism in the Himalayas. He has been the French interpreter for the Dalai Lama since 1989, and is a renowned writer, photographer, speaker, and translator. He received the French National Order of Merit for his humanitarian work.

  1. Documentary Film about Late Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche ( see Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche at google)

 

Bodhi Television’s first attempt to make the documentary film of great master Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche is under production. A twentieth-century lama bridging the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1920–1996) was considered one of the greatest meditation masters of his time. He taught meditation to people of all backgrounds and beliefs. His hallmark as a teacher was to begin with the teachings on the view of ultimate reality and then guiding his students to train in wisdom and compassion as expressions of the mind’s true nature of luminous purity.

Born in Nangchen in the eastern Tibetan province of Kham in 1920, Tulku Urgyen was recognized by the 15th Karmapa, Khakyab Dorje, as both the reincarnation of the Chowang Tulku (one of the five Terton Kings, the major revealers of secret texts hidden by Guru Padmasambhava) and an emanation of Nubchen Sangye Yeshe (one of Padmasambhava’s twenty-five principal students).

The film is directed by Vikash Khanal which is based on his vision.