Spring at Tashi Choling

Dear Friends,

We hope everyone is having a lovely spring as we are here at Tashi Choling.

We are posting the photo of the completed Dudjom Lingpa statue that Lama Sonam Tsering has made for the Tashi Choling shrine room. It is exquisite and will be a central figure on the main shrine. Since LoB translates the terma revelations of this great master we thought it would be interesting for all of you to see what he apparently looked like. He was a yogi of the order of the white clad tantrikas and it is assumed that most of his followers were as well. Nervetheless the monastics are also devout practitioners of the Dudjom Tersar as well as Dudjom Lingpas profound terma revelations.

Lama Chonam and I had a very meaningful trip to New York where we taught and gave the refuge and bodhisattva vows to a group of students that have been studying under John Baker, Derek Kolleeny and other meditation teachers in the group. Folks were very interested in our work and we feel that the importance of supporting and participating in the process of translation is becoming an interesting and pertinent issue to more and more dharma practitioners.

Now that we are back we must work hard to prepare the rough draft translation to have before us during the up and coming teachings with Khen Rinpoche Namdrol. This will be the fourth year of the teachings that Khen Rinpoche is giving on the Treasury of the Genuine Meaning and this year he will teach only the eighth chapter which is rather long and pithy. This teaching will last for two weeks as usual. Unfortunately it is not open to the public, but that does not mean you cannot supplicate Khen Rinpoche to teach this or other important transmissions again in the future.

During the teaching we will hook up in person with our other translators and begin plans for the next group translation. Stay tuned for a preview of what that might be. Also it is anticipated that our translations of the longest commentary on the Guhyagarbha Tantra composed by Omniscient Longchenpa entitled Dispelling Darkness Throughout the Ten Directions will be available for purchase through Snow Lion publications in just a matter of weeks. Please be sure to get this book as it is full of the most profound instructions found in Vajrayana.

We will post again after returning home from the teaching. We wanted to also let you know that we now have a presence on Facebook and are trying to learn how to be active on that platform. You can go in through the link for Nanci Gustafson-Sangye Khandro or just go straight to Light of Berotsana's own page and become our friend. We will be posting on the LOB site and not so much on mine as that is merely a means to be able to open the LOB site. It has been fun to see many of you on the page already.

All our best wishes,
Sangye Khandro and Lama Chonam

Winter Greetings

Winter Greetings from Alameda and Happy New Year to everyone.

Lama Chonam, Sangye Khandro and students are all attending the Rinchen Terdzod Empowerments being bestowed by the Venerable Yangthang Tulku Rinpoche at Gyatrul Rinpche's center Yeshe-Nyingpo-Orgyen Dorje Den in the Bay Area. The empowerments commenced on December 1st and we are now almost one month into this experience. The schedule is set to last until about February 19th of 2011. Each day the empowerments begin at 1pm and continue until about 6pm or longer. For more information about them you can go to the Orgyen Dorje Den website (http://www.orgyendorjeden.org/).

Kyabje Dudjom established this center in 1980 and then appointed the Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche as his spiritual representative. It was Kyabje Rinpoche's wish that the center host masters from all traditions and operate in an ecumenical way. Over the years Gyatrul Rinpoche and Sangye Khandro along with many students who came and went sustained the center as best as they could. Finally, in 2001 Rinpoche was able to acquire the present center which had been a prominent mortuary in the heart of downtown Alameda. Since that time the center has hosted countless important events, in particular the teachings that are given each year by Khen Rinpoche Namdrol and translated by Light of Berotsana.

The empowerments that are presently being bestowed are also being translated by Light of Berotsana and, as of about one week ago, Shashi Reitz has been able to take the hot seat and begin doing the oral translation on her own. Sangye Khandro is seated at her side and is coaching her along as she makes great strides each day. This is one of the important goals of Light of Berotsana that is actually maturing before our very eyes and ears! After two more months of this Shashi will have arrived at another level of oral translation skill.

Each day it is necessary to prepare by reviewing the empowerment texts and reading the history of each empowerment, then to look through the sections and mark where the repetitions will occur and the specific visualizations that each attendee is required to perform. From time to time the Rinpoche will also give pointing-out instructions. We are grateful for this opportunity to learn and serve the doctrine as well as the many beings who are attending these wangs and soaking up the blessings.

So for the next two months this is where you will find us and in our spare time we are working on the Troma liturgy and waiting for the the Dispelling Darkness and Gesar of Ling manuscripts to return to our court for the final once over.

Finally we want to say that all of us are deeply saddened by the tremendous loss of the most venerable Gene Smith who recently passed away. For more information on that you may go to the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center website (http://blog.tbrc.org/) in case you did not know who this great man was and what his legacy is. May this New Year see the fruition of all of our deepest wishes and goals.

Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro

Fall greetings!

Warmest fall greetings to our friends and colleagues. Fall has brought changes and also completion for Lama Chonam and I as we have been able to practically complete two of the main translation projects that we have been consumed by for many years. One is the Epic of Gesar of Ling which we began working on with Robin Kornman in the fall of 1995. Hence this project has spanned nearly two decades to reach completion. The manuscript is now with Shambhala Publishing and we will look for this great Epic to appear in book form in August of next year.

The other project is the translation of Longchenpa's masterful commentary to the Guyagharbha Tantra entitled The Thorough Dispelling of Darkness Throughout the Ten Directions. This book includes a full translation of the root tantra followed by the word- by word commentary with the root words embedded and bolded within it. Extensive end notes are included. Lama Chonam and I have been working on this project for the last eight years. During the first four years we received the entire oral commentary from Khen Rinpoche Namdrol and offered the oral translation of this teaching simultaneously to a large gathering of vajrayana disciples. Following the completion of the teachings we were then able to work on the translation of Longchenpa's commentary and consult with Khen Rinpoche particularly one year by traveling to Parping Nepal for that purpose. For the last year we have devoted all of our time to this effort and now with the amazing assistance of our skillful editor and devoted vajra sister Kay Henry have finally sent the manuscript to Snow Lion publications. It is expected to be available in book form sometime this spring.

Words cannot describe to you how it feels to finally have reached this stage with these two lifetime endeavors. Many of you may know that the other two commentaries to the GG tantra, one written by Dodrubchen Tenpai Nyima called Key to the Precious Treasury and the other by Ju Mipham Rinpoche entitled Essence of Clear Light are already published and available through the restricted book section in the Snow Lion catalog. We hope you will take the time to order them and begin the important process of studying their crucial and pithy content.

These translations represent the authentic texts that are studied by our own masters and the information that allows a vajrayana aspirant the opportunity to understand how to appreciate and actually practice this profound path. They are not written to be an easy read or for entertainment nor will they be books that you can just sit down and pour through. With the root tantra coming out in English this will be invaluable for the study of all three commentaries each of which has it's own particular emphasis and benefits.

As for our translation plans to follow, many of you may know that we had published several translations of Heruka Dudjom Lingpa's Chod teachings corresponding to Dakini Troma Nagmo. These books are now out of print and so we will rework the translations and in the case of one of them, Sole Essence of Clear Light, we will include additional liturgies and commentary that are crucial to the six month Troma togal retreat practice. Hence the completed book will include everything that a practitioner should need to engage in that retreat. These books will be published by our own Kama-Terma publishing through the kindness and sponsorship of our dear vajra brother David Bolduc of the Boulder Book store. Stay tuned for more updates as to the timing of these translations.

In the immediate future we plan to attend the Rinchen Terdzod Empowerments in Alameda scheduled to begin on December 1st of this year. I will offer the oral translation to start out but it is our hope that the illustrious Shashikala Reitz will be able to take over and carry the load as they say for the duration of the empowerments. It is important training for Shashi and besides that she will do an awesome job.

That is the update for now. I would like to close by expressing our deepest gratitude to our generous sponsors and volunteers who allow us the dignity to continue serving the dharma and all of you by devoting all of our time to the translations. We can never thank you enough for your what you are doing. Please join us on this blog as we would welcome any feedback or communications that have to do with these projects or any other thoughts you all may have,

Warmly,
in the dharma,
Sangye Khandro