EC Blog News & Reports

Just a few weeks after the end of the Summer Course, the next EC event started to appear. A small team returned (actually some never left) to build-up the first ever 8th Karmapa retreat at the EC. Though it was a small event compared with the Summer Course, with only just over 1200 on site, and with much simpler facilities, the 8th Karmapa practitioners in the gompa and the ngondro practicing team outside, seemed to have a great time. For the 8th Karmapa practitioners, there were meditations with Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche and Lama Ole, commentaries on the 8th Karmapa text from Rinpoche, and evening questions and answer sessions with Lama Ole, at the same time the team had their own evening program in the team gompa; and on Saturday Rinpoche gave a wonderful initiation in to Karma Pakshi for everyone. The finale was a big suprise from very special guest…………

By klara

Amazing days in the EC with Shamar Rinpoche are over, but you can still have a look at few pictures from this great event. Shamar Rinpoche gave Mahamudra course and initiation into 3rd Karmapa at the end of the Summer course 2009. Highly respected Lama taught us about mind and as a cherry on the cake he gave us for the first time in Europe the intiation into 3rd Karmapa. We all had such a great time and we are already looking forward to host you next year here, or even better – anytime you wish to come during the upcoming year!

By klara

The tenth day of the course brought very insipring program: Loving Eyes initiation given by Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche. Here are the photoimpressions from this event!

By klara

The phowa course with Lama Ole ended on Monday morning with very good signs and already in the afternoon we could welcome Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, a highly respected lama of the Kagyu lineage. Sherab Rinpoche started the 72 hours Chenrezig meditation and we are very happy to meditate in his powerfield of Maniwa: the one who encouraged others to recite the Mani mantra more than one billion (1,000,000,000) times.  Rinpoche and Lama Ole are regularly coming to meditate with people in the big gompa tent and more then 40 countries are simultaneously joining the meditation via streaming.

By klara

As well as the presence of the Lamas, hours of  phowa practice, meditation and initiations, many other things are also happening right now at the EC. The kitchen is serving 3000 meals a day, the welcome team is arranging shuttles for people going up and down the hill, the cafeteria team always has fresh cakes and foamy cappucinos, the cleaning team takes care of 70 showers and toilets, the dharma shop is selling books and I grow EC is providing the members with new and fancy T-shirts. And of course there are always meetings of the teams and helpers, meetings with the foundation and some presentations arranged for the Lamas. And we cannot forget our villa which was open during the phowa, for everybody to see the house and the statues inside…

By klara

The very first day started with a great program: initiation into the Buddha of Limitless Light given by 17th Gyalwa Karmapa. The highest Lama of our lineage was greeted by everyone on his walk up to the gompa.  He was welcomed  by traditional Bavarian music and a speech given by Caty. Friends came from 57 countries around the world to spend time together and also express  their many thanks to Gyalwa Karmapa for a great tour in Europe. EC was the last stop on the tour for this year and everybody felt a strong bond of friendship and blessing.  In his last message to us, Gyalwa Karmapa once again said that the most important thing is our friendship and our bond to our teacher.  He was also very touched by our devotion to the dharma.  What an amazing day at the Europe Center!

By klara

Friends, the course will start really soon and surprisingly there was not heavy rain so far, but you never know with this mountain weather. Anyway, the place is getting more and more ready for welcoming Lamas and all of you, who are taking part this year.

Yesterday the big course kitchen started to cook, cafeteria is already making great capuccinos, shuttle servis is working perfectly, stage is going to be arranged and the tent next to the villa is always full for regular morning and evening meditations.

By klara

Do you have déjá vu from time to time? Do you remember last year at the end of July? We were all here preparing the first International Summer course on our own land.  And the time to the second one is getting shorter and shorter. The teams are already here and all is going well to be finished on time. However, we would be very happy for your helping hands if you have time to come early. Looking forward to see you here again!

By klara

Behind every successful man there is one (or more) exhausted woman. Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce our construction women heroes: Aleksa, Daniela, Katrin, Beate and of course many others who are coming and joining the heavy construction work. All of them are very skillful and talented, so in case you need to build a house, don´t just look for a man to help   These ladies can do it all!

By klara

Only five weeks to go until the 2nd International Summer Course with  H.H. 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje, H.H. Shamar Rinpoche, Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche and Lama Ole Nydahl, things are getting up to full speed at the EC. The atmosphere is more relaxed than last year, but there is still plenty to do and both pro-craftsmen and helpers are needed. So, check out the ongoing activities and if you would like to come and join in, please contact us at: join@europe-center.org. Everybody is very welcome!

The construction team has been working rapidly for weeks building up the brand new “Baucafé” on the meadow next to the villa, over-viewing breathtakingly beautiful Alpsee lake. And although until now it “only” consists of wooden beams, windows and a roof, it’s already a wonderful place to spend an evening with friends from all over the world who have come to help — chilling out quite romantically in the straw after a day of meditating and working together.

But there’s a lot more fun and activities going on: the road is being fixed, wood is taken from the forest and being prepared and stored, the garden is getting more and more beautiful, the roofs and chimneys have to be repaired… and in the villa’s basement, the new “lounge” is being refurbished and should be ready for the Summer Course as well.

And if all this wasn’t already enough — the statue exhibition in the villa is a big success with the Immenstadt public. A lot of visitors from town and surroundings come every Sunday to take part in the guided tours  and thereby make their own connection with Buddhism and the Europe Center.

This is, of course, all just besides the extensive building-up of kitchen, dining tent,  gompa tent and the infrastructure for the Summer Course itself. So be spontaneous — just get a few of your Sangha friends into a car, onto a bus or train and come to support the build-up phase if you can. We’re looking forward to seeing you!

By admin