Benchen Phuntsok Ling Europe

These are the dates for the Summer Seminar 2020 in Benchen Phuntsok Ling in Allmuthen, Belgium.

Like every year the week before the actual teaching period a three-days Drölkar (White Tara) retreat will happen and after the teaching period a three-days Gönkar (White Mahakala) retreat will take place.

A detailed program along with the registration information will follow.

For many years it has been a common practice in Benchen Phuntsok Ling to practice Nyung Neh. The Nyung Neh practice is very effective in purifying negative karma, accumulating merit and opening the heart to compassion.
This practice was brought to Tibet by the Indian nun Gelongma Palmo. Gelongma Palmo herself was seriously ill and in this state she had a vision of Chenresig, who gave her the long mantra of the Thousand-armed Chenresig as a healing spring. Thus Gelongma Palmo became healthy again and a yogini who later attained enlightenment.
The Nyungne Retreat is a special two-day meditation of the Thousand-armed Chenresig that belongs to the Kriya Tantra. It is said that through the practice of Nyungnes the gate to rebirth in low realms of existence is closed forever. The completion of eight Nyungnes will, according to tradition, lead to a rebirth in Dewachen.

In this course Lama Ngawang Tsultrim will first give detailed teachings on practice including visualization. He will then take the eight vows that are to be held during Nyung Neh from the participants and guide them step by step through the meditation practice. The retreat includes days of silence as well as days of fasting during which people neither eat nor drink.
Before participating in the Nyung Neh Retreat, it should be medically checked on one's own responsibility, whether the health requirements for participation are fulfilled. In addition, the prerequisite for participation is the empowerment of the Thousand-armed Chenresig.

This time two Nyungne sessions in sequence will be practiced.

For many years it has been a tradition that between Christmas and New Year in Benchen Phuntsok Ling the medium-long ritual of Mahakala Dorje Bernagchen is performed to remove obstacles for the coming year.
This is generally done in all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Nyingma, Sakya, Gelug, Kagyu). For Vajrayana practitioners, as long as one has not attained enlightenment, it is essential to invoke the protection of lamas, yidams, and protectors to remove obstacles on the path to enlightenment.
Mahakala belongs to the protective deities (Skrt. Dharmapalas, Tibet. Chökyong) that protect the lineage as well as provide protection and help to practitioners. In Tibet, the "five great Mahakalas" are the best known. One of them is Dorje Bernagchen ("Protector with the black coat"). He is the protector of the Karmapas and the Karma Kagyu lineage.

Read more: Mahakala Recitation 26.-30.12.2019, Allmuthen

• Pictures of him as a young man meeting the 16th Karmapa in Rumtek, published in the "DHARMA KING" , a mighty volume dedicated to the memory of HH the 16th Karmapa, early witnesses of Edward's decisiveness to cross the cultural borders of his British education. By his decision to learn Tibetan and act as an interpreter he became one of these early  translators almost miraculously appearing when they are needed most.

Read more: Glimpses of meetings with Edward Henning (1949 - 2016)