Upcoming Events
Lama Lhanang Rinpoche visits Big Indian Oct. 31-Nov. 2 !
A series of serendipities has led to this unexpected great fortune: the renowned ngakpa yogi from Golok Tibet, Lama Lhanang Rinpoche, will be in residence at Thinley Kachod Ling, the Big Indian Meditation and Healing Sanctuary, over Halloween weekend. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with a direct lineage disciple of a number of legendary Tibetan mahasiddhas. See his bio and links below.
On Friday 10/31 which falls on both Guru Rinpoche Day and Halloween, Rinpoche will lead us in a Shower of Blessings tantric feast (tsok) offering puja starting at 2pm. There will be a short teaching on methods to connect with Guru Padmasambhava’s blessings, including the Seven Line Prayer.
At 5pm there will be a special puja to benefit the deceased, particularly spirits in the bardo—a smoldering fire offering practice called SUR—in conjunction with Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.
On Saturday 11/01, from 1pm to 3pm Rinpoche will guide us in the purifying fire puja Mountain of Burnt Offerings: Riwo Sangchö. Towards the end of this he will share from his heart about the difficult times we are facing, and how to help achieve world peace.
Then, from 4-6pm, Rinpoche will perform a special Healing Chod ceremony. This is a powerful musical healing practice in which participants simply lie down and experience the sound and energy as the healing takes effect. All ages are welcome for all activities.
Friday’s Tsok puja and teaching and Saturday’s Healing Chö will be available over Zoom for those who can not attend in person.
Lama Lhanang Rinpoche is renowned for his healing abilities, and is a trained Tibetan Doctor and mantra healer. There are opportunities to schedule private healing sessions with him on Saturday and Sunday morning between 10am and noon. Alternatively, interested sangha can schedule private consultations about their dharma practice and life. You can email us at info@bodhivastu.org to schedule.
Lama Lhanang Rinpoche’s Bio
Lama Lhanang Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher of the Nyingma Longchen Nyingthig lineage. He studied under renowned mahasiddhas in Tibet including the great terton Orgyen Kusum Lingpa. He has also studied with many revered masters from different lineages, including the Dudjom Tersar, which he received primarily from Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche. Born and trained in Golok, in northeastern Tibet, he practices from an unbroken lineage with warmth, humor, and deep compassion. He is known for his joyful presence, heartfelt wisdom, and ability to make ancient, sometimes obscure teachings accessible for modern life. He is an accomplished instructor of meditation, Anu-yoga, Tibetan art, Feng-shui and Geomancy, cultural and historical studies as well as a skilled practitioner of Tibetan medicine. Rinpoche addresses the needs of individuals so as to reach them in a gentle and profound way, offering private consultation on business and personal relationships. At various retreats Rinpoche leads teachings in meditation, Dzogchen ( the Great Perfection), mantra, Tibetan yoga, healing rituals, and sacred art. His sessions are welcoming to all levels and focus on cultivating awareness, inner peace, and compassionate living. Lama Lhanang Rinpoche has appeared in a PBS program on Sacred Art, and he is the author of books on Karma, a general survey of Buddhism, and an introduction to the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Rinpoche currently directs the Jigme Lingpa Center in San Diego, where he resides with his wife Tsering and their two children, Rigzin and Pema. He teaches throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. Look for the Guru Viking podcast interview with Rinpoche in which he shares about some of the miraculous displays of his mahasiddha masters. For further information visit https://www.buddhistsandiego.com
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We are pleased to announce that the popular Calm Abiding Meditation series with John Halpern will resume at the Big Indian Sanctuary, Thinley Khachod Ling, and interactive online via Zoom
This series was initiated in 2023 and it’s about time it continues!
Calm Abiding is a method based on Tibetan Buddhist Tradition.
Beginner & all meditation levels are invited.
Also known as Shiné in Tibetan and Shamatha in Sanskrit, this is the foundation of all meditation. It develops the capacity to rest the mind on a singular point of focus and sustain a state of tremendous relaxation and evenness.
The ongoing workshops Include:
Three Aspects of Calm Abiding or Shiné Practice
1. Gazing at a stable object (External)
2. Focusing upon a luminous sphere within (Inner)
3. Formless Immersion (Secret )
These three aspects will be broken up into several discrete sessions, and elaborated upon as the series continues over time. The 3rd aspect also opens the doorway to vivid flashes of insight(latong or vipassana): liberating glimpses of emptiness and openness.
Explanation and practice of breathwork, mindful relaxation, and tonglen healing will also be explored.
Click HERE to register for either or both days. November’s schedule is 11/09 and 11/16
John Halpern embarked on the profound path of Tibetan Buddhist training and study in 1982 with His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, the first Supreme Head of the Nyingma lineage, who was a living terton or treasure revealer. He continued his studies with H.H. Shenphen Dawa Rinpoche until Rinpoche’s parinirvana in 2017.
At H.H. Shenphen Dawa Rinpoche’s request, in 2009, John began leading meditation instruction at Yeshe Nyingpo, the Dudjom Tersar lineage Temple in New York. Since then, John has led retreats and Naked Mind - a weekly meditation class, in Union Square, New York.
John is an international, award winning artist and independent filmmaker of over 50 years, known for large-scale, interactive, public art, cultural activism – socially engaged practice, and theatrically released art films. John established the Institute for Cultural Activism International, a 501(c)3 art organization based in Delhi, NY, with his wife Emily Harris in 2022.
Lama Lhanang Rinpoche Shower of Blessings Tsok, Teaching on relating with Padmasambhava, and Sur for the Dead
On Friday 10/31 which falls on both Guru Rinpoche Day and Halloween, Rinpoche will lead us in a Shower of Blessingstantric feast (tsok) offering puja starting at 2pm. There will be a short teaching on methods to connect with Guru Padmasambhava’s blessings, including the Seven Line Prayer.
At 5pm there will be a special puja to benefit the deceased, particularly spirits in the bardo—a smoldering fire offering practice called SUR—in conjunction with Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.
Lama Lhanang Rinpoche Fire Puja Riwo Sangcho, talk on these challenging times and aspirations for peace, and Healing Chö ceremony
On Saturday 11/01, from 1pm to 3pm Rinpoche will guide us in the purifying fire puja Mountain of Burnt Offerings: Riwo Sangchö. Towards the end of this he will share from his heart about the difficult times we are facing, and how to help achieve world peace.
Then, from 4-6pm, Rinpoche will perform a special Healing Chod ceremony. This is a powerful musical healing practice in which participants simply lie down and experience the sound and energy as the healing takes effect. All ages are welcome for all activities.
Friday’s Tsok puja and teaching and Saturday’s Healing Chö will be available over Zoom for those who can not attend in person.
Calm Abiding Meditation with John Halpern
The ongoing workshops Include:
Three Aspects of Calm Abiding or Shiné Practice
1. Gazing at a stable object (External)
2. Focusing upon a luminous sphere within (Inner)
3. Formless Immersion (Secret )
These three aspects will be broken up into several discrete sessions, and elaborated upon as the series continues over time. The 3rd aspect also opens the doorway to vivid flashes of insight(latong or vipassana): liberating glimpses of emptiness and openness.
Calm Abiding Meditation with John Halpern
We are pleased to announce that the popular Calm Abiding Meditation series with John Halpern will resume at the Big Indian Sanctuary, Thinley Khachod Ling and online via Zoom.
Calm Abiding also known as Shiné in Tibetan and Shamatha in Sanskrit, is the foundation of all meditation. It develops the capacity to rest the mind on a singular point of focus and sustain a state of tremendous relaxation and evenness.
Beginner & all meditation levels are invited
Troma’s Roaring Laughter that Overpowers by Splendor with Loppon Yudron Wangmo
10am - 12pm, 2pm - 5pm
This workshop will explore a short practice of five wrathful dakinis that was revealed by Dudjom Lingpa in the 19th century based on pure vision. This is a song that is sung at the start of most of the Troma chod practices. It was sung by his thirteen extraordinary disciples who attained rainbow body and continues to be incanted daily by hundreds of thousands of Troma practitioners all over today's world.
In this practice, the wild and fierce dakinis themselves symbolize the power of the liberation of the five painful emotions into five wisdoms. We will feel our way into this experience by singing it, in English and Tibetan, with and without traditional musical instruments until it is part of us.
Both workshops will be at Bodhivastu’s Trinlay Kachod Ling Sanctuary, 156 Lost Clove Road, Big Indian NY 12410 and also accessible via online streaming. Register for either or both workshops here
The Mystery of the Dakini with Loppon Yudron Wangmo
10am -12pm, 2pm - 5pm
In Vajrayana Buddhism, the word “dakini”—literally, “she who moves through space”—carries layers of meaning. Over the centuries since Buddhism arrived in Tibet it came to signify the feminine principle of awakened wisdom, a class of female meditational deities, as well as accomplished women practitioners. Together we will explore these many dimensions through teaching, reflection, and meditation.
The morning session will open these meanings in a practical way, supported by short guided meditations to help participants connect with the living presence of the dakini in their own experience. The transmission will be offered for a very concise smoke purification practice from a dakini treasure cycle of Troma Nagmo from Dudjom Lingpa.
In the afternoon, we will turn to the Five Wisdom Dakinis, each embodying one of the five elements. Together we will read and reflect on a luminous poem by Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, followed by meditation. If weather permits, we will move outside for a while to invoke a direct experience of nature. To close, each participant will be invited to create a spontaneous poem or drawing—an opportunity to express insight and imagination related to the dakini experience. No prior art or writing experience is needed.
This day of exploration will weave together study, meditation, poetry, and creative expression, opening a doorway into the mystery of the dakini.
Register for either or both workshops here . Both workshops will be at Bodhivastu’s Trinlay Kachod Ling Sanctuary, 156 Lost Clove Road, Big Indian NY 12410 and also accessible via online streaming.
Loppon Yudron Wangmo’s Residency
Dharma Consultations
If you would like to schedule a private interview with Loppon la while she is in residence, she is keeping some time slots available for one-to-one consultations about your spiritual practice and path. Her advice is based on the instructions of the great lineage lamas of the past, her own life experience as a yogini who completed a traditional three year retreat, and as a devoted long-term practitioner from this culture and time. You can schedule for this here
*Postponed until further notice* First East Coast Vajrakilaya Drupchen
Save the dates! Join us for the complete Vajrakilaya Drupchen this summer with Tulku Thadral Rinpoche, Lama Rangbar Nyima Özer, and Chogtrul Rahula Rinpoche.
Orgyen Khandro Norlha Tsok
By practicing the Wisdom wheel of offerings of Orgyen Khandro Norlha, which is the outer form of Guru Rinpoche, one's outer circumstances can be greatly improved by the strength of one's accumulation of merit and wisdom.
Mani Peace Wall Stone Carving
Please join us for a weekend of Mani stone carving as we build up the power of peace within our new Mani Peace Wall.
Buddha Jayanti & Tibetan Folk Music Concert
Join us for Buddha’s birthday according to the general Nepali calendar on Saturday, May 25rd at Trinlay Khachöd Ling.
Annual Mariamma Puja (On Mother’s Day)
Bodhivastu will be hosting a Mariamma (Tara Ritrod Lomma Gyonma the Twentieth Tara), offering ceremony on Mother’s day this year. Offerings will include tsok food items of all kinds as well as some specific ritual items.
Nyungne Practice Retreat with Lama Tashi Thobgyal Rinpoche
Nyungne is one of the most powerful purification practices within the Vajrayana which focuses on the development of Bodhichitta as the core element.
The practice of Nyungne is based on the Sadhana of the one thousand armed Chenrezig, recitation of his long mantra all combined with fasting over the period of several days.
Nad Jom Water Wheel Installation, Consecration & Pond Beautification
This Earth Day week we will celebrate by installing a Nad Jom (disease subduing) water powered prayer wheel at Trinlay Khachöd Ling in Big Indian, NY.
We will also work on the beautification of both ponds for the rest of the week.
Earth Day Freeing of Lives
On April 21, 2024 from 10am-4pm the Bodhivastu Sangha is organizing a freeing of lives for the benefit of all sentient beings and Lama Rangbar’s longevity at TKL.
Teaching: Dudjom Tersar Ngöndro Session V
Online teaching only open to those who have participated in the earlier sessions.
NYC Green Tara with Lama Rangbar
This is a teaching and transmission of the complete condensed essence practice by Lama Rangbar Nyimai Özer
Calm Abiding Meditation with John Halpern
Join us at Trinlay Khachöd Ling in Big Indian, NY for calm abiding practices of the Dudjom Tersar Tradition led by John Halpern. The practices are based on the wisdom and compassion teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen Lineage.
Teaching: Dudjom Tersar Ngöndro Session IV
Online teaching only open to those who have participated in the earlier sessions.
Chotrul Düchen at TKL
Join us on Saturday for our annual Buddha Shakyamuni offering and mantra practice followed by a short consecration ceremony of the new large Buddha Shakyamuni and 16 Arhat Thangka recently installed at TKL in Big Indian.
Raising Windhorse - 3rd Day of Losar
Feeling like you need a boost? Get back on your horse with Bodhivastu’s Losar 3rd day annual raising of Windhorse Prayer flags. Uplift your spirits and visit us in person on that morning for Riwo Sang Chöd fire offering, Guru Drip sang and Gesar Windhorse prayers.
Teaching: Dudjom Tersar Ngöndro Session III
Online teaching only open to those who have participated in the earlier sessions.