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August 2012 Newsletter

Ven. Thrangu Rinpoche

Thrangu Rinpoche is recovering well. His blood pressure has been normal for many weeks now. He swims every morning and takes a walk every evening. The doctors say it's likely Rinpoche will be mostly recovered by the end of February.  Please keep up your prayers for his complete recovery and long life.

Khenpo Jigme/Vajra Vidya Schedule

Khenpo-la will be going to Hong Kong in a few days, to spend some time with Rinpoche. He will return to the Center in early February.

PLEASE NOTE that the January 27-29 weekend teaching/retreat at Vajra Vidya is cancelled.

Khenpo’s teaching schedule for the Spring and early Summer at Vajra Vidya is March 23-25, when he will give the teachings on Manjushri and Dzambala originally scheduled for January; April 27-29, May 25-27, and June 15-17. Topics for April, May and June will be announced.


FEB. 17-19 will be our annual MAHAKALA PUJA, for clearing away the mental, emotional and psychic debris of the old year in preparation for the new. Three days of intense practice, wonderful!


FEB. 22 *!!LOSAR!!* Morning practice with Long Life prayers and the 16 Arhats Supplication; afternoon Grand Festivity! Join us!

Shakyamuni Buddha Statue John Reeves, a metal sculptor, has been working on the big Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the shrine room for the past several weeks, preparing it for gilding and painting. This is a complex and rather arduous process, of first removing the “topcoat” covering the statue as it was shipped from Thailand. This takes the finish down to a much softer and non-reflective almost silvery surface. One sangha member commented that she felt like it was the first time she’d really seen the true face of the statue. The next step has been filling all the myriad tiny (and not-so-tiny) imperfections in the metal, and then re-polishing. When John has finished the prepping of the statue, the next steps are to apply a sizing coat, then apply gold leaf, and finally to paint the features of the statue. If you would like to contribute to the completion of this project, please send cheques to VVRC, and note in the memo that it’s for the Shakyamuni Statue Project.

New Website Up and Running

Vajra Vidya has a new website, now with the URL www.vajravidya.com. Content is much the same, but now streamlined, updated, and more user-friendly. We invite you to come take a look! You can now make secure on-line donations directly to Vajra Vidya.

Thank You!

We have had a wonderful response to our request for funds for Life Release for Rinpoche, for which we are deeply grateful. Over $2000.00 has been collected for this.

ALSO! We are most appreciative for the beautiful new sheets, blankets and comforters that were received in response to the “Wish List” in the last newsletter. Retreatants are now sleeping not only in comfort, but in aesthetically pleasing comfort. Thank you all!

Khenpo Jigme and Ani Seltong, as always, send their best to you!