EC Blog Archive for the ‘Internationality’ Category

EC villa’s yellow room now shines even more than before – thanks to two new paintings by renowned thangka painter Dawa, Urken Lama from Kathmandu, Nepal.

For the last weeks, our winter-garden, the beautiful ground floor room overviewing the lake, became Dawa’s atelier. According to the wishes of H.H. 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, Dawa painted two pictures with the auspicious motives of a dragon and a peacock for the oval frames above the doors connecting the yellow salon with the two neighboring rooms.

Dawa is a master of the Karma Gadri style of Tibetan art. He lives with his wife and daughters in Rumtek, Sikkim (India) and is a close student of 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje. The Karmapa asked him to teach this style to students of Diamond Way Buddhism after finishing the project of painting the walls of the large meditation hall in Karma Guen, Spain.

Dawa also “opened” the eyes of several Buddha statues, like the one of Buddha Maitreya visible on the pictures. During the following week, Dawa will host the first thangka painting course at the Europe Center and we are honored to have him here as our guest for even some more days.

By meike

Three days of initiations into long life Buddha aspects, given by Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, rounded up the 2011 Summer Course. On the first day we received the Buddha Amitayus (Tsepame) empowerment. Tsepame embodies the increasing activity of all Buddhas and increases vital energy and life-span.

The next day Rinpoche gave the empowerment into White Liberatrice (Skt. Tara), a female Buddha in joy-state for long life and will power. And on the very last day Rinpoche gave us the Namgyalma (the The Victorious One) initiation. This set of initiations will enable us to have a meaningful and long life with the wish to benefit all beings…

By klara

Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, a highly respected Lama of the Kagyu lineage, arrived at the EC on Wednesday afternoon. The next day Rinpoche guided the 12 hour meditation on Loving Eyes together with Lama Ole. The meditation on the Buddha of compassion started at 9 o´clock in the morning and was enriched by explanations of the meaning of the Mani mantra as the essence of all mantras.

The evening was rounded up by questions and answers with Lama Ole and presentations of the centers worldwide. Everybody was even more looking forward the next days – a series of empowerments  into long life Buddha aspects.

By klara

Hellooo world, hellooo Immenstadt, hellooo Europe Center…

Are you ready?  OK, one more time – ARE YOU READYYYY?!?!

10,9,8,7,6,5…go!

…and the full hall cheered in accord.

This is how the long-awaited moreEC fundraising was finally launched on Sunday, 7 August. The campaign aims to bring together all our friends and centers around the world and collect financial resources needed for completing the vision born 13 years ago with a wish for a central international place uniting the whole Diamond Way Buddhism worldwide. Today’s Europe Center fulfills this vision already on many levels by hosting high Lamas of the Kagyu lineage and bringing easily thousands of people from 40+ countries together on one course, like this summer but its function is still limited and often improvised.

This will all change when we inaugurate the new facilities. With a large 570m2 gompa and enough space for guests, residents & families, we can look forward to mediation courses with our teachers during the whole year. And as Lama Ole said on this evening – from that moment on, everything will flow back from here again, empowering all our 600+ centers around the globe.

The whole evening was very relaxed and joyful. Rather than presentations and bullet-points, we had a moderator, a piano player and many guests on the stage – friends who are in involved in the Europe Center project since the very beginning, friends who moved in once we bought it, and of course Lama Ole who gave the most inspiring speech which opened everyone’s hearts.

It is now very clear what task we have ahead of us. So what do you think, do we have the power to do it? The friends present this evening went in unison - YES!

moreEC team (more.ec/blog)

PS: Do you want to also join the adventure? Come on in…!

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By klara

The Summer course could not place without most of the participants stopping by the job center to pick up a voluntary mini job every once in a while.

Additionally to the summer course teams that have been preparing the running of the course for many months ahead, hundreds of helpers are needed day and night to run a huge event like this. And judging from the pictures, a lot of additional fun (and good karma of course!) also comes with every job – which is probably another reason why the “Job center” is called “moreJoy center” this year!?!

The variety of jobs to choose from is broad. Just to mention a few: veggie chopping and cooking in the kitchen, running the laundry center, cleaning bathrooms, floors, and pretty much anything else, selling coffee and cake or the Diamond Way “GUiDE” – updated and printed right in time for the course -, informing friends where to find what at the info point – or actually running around the course site in order to remind everyone to take over a little job in between the meditation sessions.

We would like to encourage every participant of the course to share some of their surplus as well, and thank every single one of those helpers for generously giving their time and bringing so much good energy and joy into even the last corner of the tents and to everyone. Without you – this really would not be possible!!!

By meike

Never before did so many people attend a course with Lama Ole Nydahl to learn the meditation practice of Conscious Dying as over the past week at the EC. On Sunday morning, Lama Ole and his team checked around 500 heads for the outer signs of a successful phowa meditation.

The Conscious Dying (Tibetan: “Phowa”) is a meditation practice taught by Lama Ole several times a year worldwide in special courses. Through this meditation one becomes able to prepare mind for the moment of death and thereby transfer it to a liberated state.

The Phowa has been passed on from a teacher or Buddhist master to his disciples for many centuries. Lama Ole Nydahl received the transmission of the teachings and meditation practice of Phowa from several Tibetan Lamas and is today the most important teacher of this practice in the Western world.

In his new book “Von Tod und Wiedergeburt” (soon available also in English), he describes the process of dying and explains what happens between death and rebirth. Furthermore, we learn how everyone can achieve a better transition through certain meditations and a higher level of consciousness in the state after death. This knowledge does not only help at the end of one’s lifetime, but reduces the fear of death immediately and enriches the perspective on life in the here and now.

By meike

One of many international meetings during the summer course and definitely a very significant one – on Saturday the new board of trustees of the Diamond Way Buddhism Foundation met in the EC Villa.

The goal of the Diamond Way Buddhism Foundation is to make the millennium-old Buddhist wisdom accessible to the people of the modern world. The tradition of the Diamond Way, which is threatened in the East, should be preserved for future generations in the West. In due time, its methods and values should be returned to its countries of origin.

The foundation…
• offers public access to Buddhist teachings and meditations.
• creates publicly-accessible places for meeting, exchange, studies and retreat.
• is asked to support Buddhist-oriented terminal care.
• finances the translation of traditional Buddhist texts into western languages
• supports Buddhist art, Tibetan medicine and culture.
• organizes, attends to and supports international Buddhist networks.
• supports charitable and social services within the context of a non-profit organization.

The foundation works worldwide with our 600 Buddhist centers. Over the next year, the main focus will be on the extension of the Europe Center and the construction of its new buildings. After this, the foundation’s focus of activity is going to shift to other projects all over the world again.
If you would like to know more about the Diamond Way Buddhism Foundation, please visit www.buddhismus-stiftung.de.

By meike

Just a quick snapshot from the team area behind the kitchen proving how easy it is to catch buddhists from lots of different countries having fun after lunch together.

Jean Christophe from France, Marek from Warsaw/Poland, Macarena from Buenos Aires/Argentina, Johanna from Graz/Austria, Eckart from Buenos Aires, Helena from Rejkjavik/Iceland – and Copenhagen/Denmark – Axel and Lisa from Argentina, Doris from Innsbruck/Austria and John from Madison, USA.

Spontaneously sharing a laugh, experiences and stories over a meal surely creates new and deepens old friendships across the globe that are going to last much longer than this course!

By meike

The 4th International Summer Course at the Europe Center is off to a magnificent start!

Following the first International Center Meeting, Lama Ole has been teaching the meditation practice of conscious dying during the last days in the biggest Phowa course ever – worldwide.

However… there is so much more to come. The new model of the planned Europe Center building now on display in the dining tent is just the beginning. On August 7th, watch the kick-off of the moreEC fundraising campaign – either together with Lama Ole and thousands of friends in the gompa tent or anywhere else in the world via live streaming.

MoreJOY, moreACTION, moreEC!
Watch the space…

By meike

From the very first days of the Europe Center, friends coming together from all over the world to exchange the latest news, share their country’s challenges and solutions, and establish deep and lasting friendships has been a part of every day life. But this year, for the first time ever, 72 people from 32 countries were invited to participate in two full days of working meetings – the first International Center Meeting.

After preparing an informative poster for each country, representatives joined the first small group discussions, where those who arrived with “unique” challenges quickly discovered friends who overcame them years ago, and inspirational stories and ideas flew around thick and fast. In the afternoon, Lama Ole and Caty joined the meeting to listen as each country presented the state of their local sangha – their challenges, opportunities and inspirations – greatly enriched by the Lama’s stories about the history of Diamond Way Buddhism in each country. After a long day of exciting discussion, Lama Ole spontaneously invited everyone at the Europe Center to join him as he read and explained the Ganges Mahamudra text, sung by the yogi Tilopa to his student Naropa in the 11th century, sending us all to bed with smiles and refreshed minds.

The second day was for diving deeper into hot topics identified on day one: retreat centers, translation, kids, sangha connections, publishing, and much more. Rapid exchange in rotating working groups led to a valuable collection of experience and ideas, all with the goal of developing lasting teams to continue the exchange into the future. Results and information will be presented at the “market place” in the barn on the afternoon of August 12th. We look forward to seeing you and sharing with you then!

Matt, Australia

By klara