IN BRIEF A summary of the conference Faith in the Buddhas Path Enrol in the Shedra or the summer retreat Prepare

are yourself by learning Tibetan for the trip to Tibet in 2008 Presentation of the new Retreat Centre in Belgium

Zangdok Palri Institute

International Newsletter
N U M B E R 1 M A Y 2 0 0 7

Message from Patrul Rinpoche

Hello! The Zangdok Palri Institute (ZPI) organisers have asked me to write a short introduction to the first issue of their newsletter. This means, of course, that I have to write a short introduction to Dharma activity, but the organisers are very kind. I do not have to say much because their understanding of the Dharma is much better than mine. I am very interested in their ideas and activity. It is completely meaningful, helpful and useful. It is also very inspiring because their attitude is altruistic. They want to make everyone happy. In order to do that, they must understand the situation of sentient beings. So, they must communicate, and the contact they make must be by way of the authentic Dharma. The crucial point of the Dharma is Buddha's compassion, which is uncontrived and impartial. There is no difference between high and low, and so on. If someone wants to help, or if someone wants to ask for help, the best bridge between them is impartial compassion. Therefore, whoever is interested in contacting this organisation will never be put down or cheated. The organisers have no interest whatever in the eight worldly concerns. Power, control, and the like, is not their concern. They always try to do their best. Their activity is extraordinary, something to marvel at. In closing, I would like to thank them very much for giving me the opportunity of joining them in their excellent activity.

CONTENTS
Limitless Mind WT News Shedra Summer Retreat Tibet 2008 Learn Tibetan 2-3, 6 4 4 5 5 7

New Retreat 8 Centre

THIS LETTER
Is a publication of Dzogchen Gelek Palbar Ling asbl

Rue St-Norbert, 39 B-1090 Brussels Belgium

Wisdom Treasury

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Why do we need faith in the unmistaken path of the Buddha?

When we first enter the Buddhas teachings, analysis is a very important element, because without analysing the worldly or spiritual activities we undertake, we end up making mistakes. Tonight, we will analyse why we need faith in the unmistaken path of the Buddha. Generally speaking, we can say that the Buddhas path is a truthful, direct path. Therefore we can have faith or trust in it. Why do we need a spiritual path, which, in our case, is the Buddhas teaching? As you know, the mind of all sentient beings, that is, beings who have a mind, and their way of thinking are identical: they all need happiness and none of them want to suffer. There are two kinds of activity: worldly and spiritual. Both are very important. Everybody agrees that worldly activities benefit our life. It provides us with food and clothes and everything else we need. When we engage in this type of activity, it is very important to analyse before doing anything. Will this or that action be beneficial for me, my family or for other sentient beings? Some worldly activity is beneficial for us all, and there is no doubt that it is necessary. Concerning the spiritual path however, some will say, We dont need any kind of spiritual path while some others will say, Yes, we do need it. From my own point of view, we certainly need it; it is not enough to engage in worldly activity alone. If I am just looking after my worldly activity, even though I am clearly a human being, I am a little bit like an animal. Animals are not really intelligent, even though they have their own intelligence to try and get their own kind of happiness and looking after themselves. Most animals sort of marry,
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Limitless Mind

The first Patrul Rinpoche

Mind has true nature

The Buddhas path is unmistaken because it focuses on how to achieve the true nature of mind

We follow the Buddhas path because we have already realised that we have buddha nature

create families and look after each other. They protect their children like human beings. However, in reality they are animals. If I am healthy and wealthy, I can probably say that I dont need any kind of spiritual path; my life is fine and I have whatever I need. But when something bad happens in life, my mind is, at that time, somehow empty; mind is like hanging in the sky, without any support. In this case, I need a spiritual path. How did the Buddha become Buddha, how did he find his teaching, why did he tell us something about the spiritual path? In the beginning, before taking his own path, he had a few different experiences. He saw the four sufferings of the human beings birth, old age, sickness and death, and thought, This kind of suffering might in the future befall me, so what can I do to avoid them? He wondered if he could avoid them but his friends, his attendants, his father all said, You cannot avoid them; you will get old, become sick and for sure die. He was very sad. He thought, Life is very short, what is the use of this life in this palace? He decided to find the solution to be free from all these sufferings. He analysed many different spiritual paths and the way of being and nature of all phenomena. He also analysed mind and its nature. He then realised the nature of all phenomena and the nature of mind. The crucial finding of his path is that from all phenomena

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mind has true nature. We call it Buddha nature or the in one minute, one hour or one day later. All of it natural condition. If we realize the nature of the mind, will be completely lost in this very dense darkness. our mind becomes completely free from any suffering. In this case, I think I really would like to clean up Therefore we can say that his path is unmistaken, my mind. I think it is possible to clean it, because its beneficial, and useful for all betrue nature is the Buddha I think it is possible to clean the mind ings because it essentially fonature. Therefore, my mind cuses on how to achieve the true can become pure. It will nature of the mind. We call because its true nature is the Buddha nature then be very easy for me to Buddha the one who has remember what happened in achieved the nature of the mind. Buddha is comthe past, not only in this life but in many past lives. pletely free from any suffering. This is why we say And maybe we will understand what will happen in that we need faith in the unmistaken path: we need to the future. rely on it, we need faith and trust in this path; otherFrom a Buddhist point of view, when we wise if we dont have any faith or trust in the path follow the Buddhist path, we should not depend on that we have already entered, I think that path will the Buddha. We must use his special methods to get not be useful for us. We will all the time to our own Buddha nature; this is be doubting it. Maybe it is good, very important. The Buddha himself maybe it is not. If we have doubts, it said, I cannot take your suffering will be difficult to understand any spiriaway with my hand, I cannot wash tual path. the filth out of your mind, I cannot When we want to invest faith in wash it with water. You must clean the Buddhas path, the first important it up and take the darkness out of element is the Buddha nature. Why do your mind so that you can become we practice the Buddhas path, why do Buddha; in reality we are not differwe follow it? Because we have already ent. All the sentient beings are the realized that we have a Buddha nature. same, because the Buddha nature is From a relative point of view, Buddha the same. It is therefore very imporand sentient beings are different: we call tant to have Buddha nature. Budsomeone a Buddha when they have redhists normally do not believe anyalized his or her own nature; a sentient thing easily, but they do believe in being has not yet realized his or her own Buddha nature. Buddha nature and until they have reEmptiness is a very imporalized it, their mind is somewhat confused and suffer- Padmasambhava tant element to realize Buddha naing due to the darkness in their mind. Buddha nature ture. Buddha nature is completely free from any means pure mind, free from negative emotions bad kind of elaboration, i.e. we do not say it is like this ideas and disturbing emotions. An impure mind is full or like that. It is pure, difficult to explain, difficult of negative emotions; mind is disturbed and filled with to express. The nature of phenomena or the nature suffering. It is as if our mind is in darkness. This is of the mind is natural; it is not fabricated, it is unwhat we call an ignorant mind. In this case, we need contrived, uncontaminated. Therefore we call it to make our mind pure. For exemptiness. Note that emptiPure motivation is also called compassion ness is not like nothingness. ample, water in this glass is a phenomenon; hence this water In order to realize our true has a nature. If we say that this water doesnt have a nature we also need natural, uncontrived motivanature, it would mean that it could never have been tion, we need natural activities and we must also cleaned. It was perhaps dirty at first, but because it practice natural meditation. Through all these natuhas a nature, someone was able to clean it; it can now ral activities we then can realize the nature of all be called mineral water; we can drink it, it is very these natural things. good for our health, it is very beneficial. In exactly the When we think about the benefit of sentient same way, at present, our mind is perhaps shrouded in beings, our mind automatically becomes almost darkness: we almost forgot what happened in the past pure. When we have concern for ourselves, our mind (Continued on page 6) few years, and we wont remember what will happen

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Wisdom Treasury
The calendar for the Tibetan Fire-Pig Year 2134 (February 2007 to February 2008) is now available for 5. It includes:

Western and Tibetan Dates Daka Feast Days Dakini Feast Days Sojong Days The Four Great Buddhist Festivals Main Anniversaries Astrological Influences

lish and French. The book will contain a very rich set of appendices and a detailed glossary. It is also planned to publish an accompanying Questions and Answers book. More publications and information on www.wisdomtreasury.com

The third edition of Searching for SelfLiberation will be available soon in Eng-

All the sentient beings are the same, because the Buddha nature is the same

The Shedra
rolment form is available on The Six-Year Dzogchen Practitioners' Course, entitled The Perfect Path of www.zpi.info. Please note that you Self-Liberation, has been designed as a should enrol before the 30th of May to suitable framework for those students allow us to prepare the retreat effiwho wish to deepen and broaden the ciently and that the Shedra may be scope of their study and practice of cancelled if there are not enough parTibetan Buddhism, and ticipants. As you may who wish to commit already know, the first themselves to a 6-year year subject is: programme of intensive The Path on which one study and practice. Those Reflects on Searching for who enrol in the course Self-Liberation will be required to attend The Zangdok Palri Institute in Tibet the Annual ZPI Shedra course, study the course material, Third Year complete the set practices, and pass The Path on which one Obtains the annual exams. Great Transmission of Self-

If your mind has compassion , it is totally dedicated to all sentient beings

First Year
A new cycle has started! It is time for those who havent been able to enrol before to enrol now. The course will run 12-26 August. The en-

Liberation will be taught from 22 July till 6 August. Do not forget to enrol before the 30th of May.

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Summer Retreat
The General Buddhist Studies Course is part of the Zangdok Palri Institute. It has been designed for those who wish to be guided through their study of Buddhism and focuses on essential aspects of Buddhist philosophy. It is open to everyone. This year, Rinpoche will continue teaching The Words of My Perfect Teacher, in particular the second chapter of the outer preliminaries (Impermanence). The course will run 8-14 July 2007 in Belgium.
DATES

Summer Retreat 8-14 July Shedra Year III: 22 July 6/08 August Year I: 12 - 26 August TibetAthlon 23 September Winter Retreat 26 - 31 December

Tibet 2008
the trip from and to Chengdu in China. You will have to book your plane ticket to Chengdu. The cost is estimated at about 1000-1500 euros per person (the trip from and to Chengdu in China is included, but not the plane ticket to Chengdu ). Together with your plane ticket and extra personal expenses, the cost is estimated at about 25003000 euros. The Second and the Fourth Year of the SixYear Dzogchen Practitioners' Course will take place in Belgium in 2009.

The valley of Dzogchen The Zangdok Palri Institute 2008 will take place in Dzogchen, Tibet. Dzogchen is one of the six great Nyingma universities in Tibet. Over the centuries, those who visited the Dzogchen University reported that their knowledge increased just by stepping foot in the University. Listen to Patrul Rinpoche announcing the course in Dzogchen in Tibet, and explaining the benefit of going there during the Zangdok Palri Institute 2006. The course is non-mandatory for students of the Six-Year Dzogchen Practitioner's Course, and it will be open to everyone. Besides the courses, students will receive many important initiations and transmissions, will have the opportunity to meet the great masters of Dzogchen, and to visit important places such as Dzogchen monastery, the university and the cave where Patrul Rinpoche wrote The Words of My Perfect Teacher. The Zangdok Palri Institute will organise

Why do I believe in the Buddhas path? It is because of its compassion, there is no doubt.

Patrul Rinpoche in Tibet2002

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(Continued from page 3)

becomes crooked or cheating, and it becomes difficult to apply to the natural condition or the nature of the mind if it has such an impure motivation. Pure motivation is also called compassion. If our mind has compassion, it is totally dedicated to all sentient beings. Together with this motivation, we need pure activities, like the six Paramitas; they are pure because they benefit all sentient beings. Pure motivation and pure activities will clean our mind and enable the manifestation of the pure nature of the mind. That is why we say that this path is unmistaken: there is pure motivation and a connection with compassion. The crucial point of all the Buddhas teachings is compassion, pure motivation. When our mind becomes pure, that is identical to Buddha nature, we become completely free from suffering. When we have these pure motivation and activities, we can put faith in this kind of path. Compassionate ideas open our mind; compassion makes our mind kind and
All the sentient beings are the same, because the Buddha nature is the same

If your mind has compassion , it is totally dedicated to all sentient beings

large. Narrow mind, the opposite of open mind, means to have a nervous, uncomfortable, depressed mind, all the time thinking a little too much about oneself, worrying about losing something. When we really practice uncontrived bodhicitta or sampa zongpo, three qualities will appear in our mind: (a) our mind becomes larger and more open; (b) our mind is more respectful to others; and (c) our mind becomes accepting and tolerant. Our mind will become large like the sky, any kind of emotion or thought worldly or spiritual that arises in our mind wont give us any problem; they are all included in our mind like particles that swiftly and lightly move through space. Why do I believe in the Buddhas path? It is because of its compassion, there is no doubt. If you practice pure compassion and if your mind thinks about others, I can trust you, you are a trustworthy person. Really, in this world, you are noble; you are a supreme being, because all the time you think about others. Your mind is truthful; even though you have not reached Buddhahood, you are a kind of Buddha.

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Learn Tibetan
To travel to Asia is an adventure. The language, the culture, the people, the comfort, the environment Everything is different. If you wish to get closer to people, to enjoy their friendliness, it is worth knowing some words of their language. It can transform the whole atmosphere when you try communicating with the locals. In order to prepare yourself for the 2008 journey to Tibet, Khenpo Thubten Lodru Nyima is offering you some useful sentences. If you wish to learn Tibetan, you can as well contact us: Khenpo is regularly helping some students in their struggle to embrace that beautiful and amazingly useful language. Samye Monastery in Tibet, near Lhasa, where Padmasambhava taught to his 25 disciples

2N->A?-2.J-=J$?,
Tashi Delek Good morning/Evening,

HJ.-<%-2>.-9-/%-.-=R-$-5S.-28$?-?R%-,
Che rang Shedra nang du lo ka tsed shug song How long have you been in the Shedra?

HJ.-<%-.%-3)=-:U.-L%-/?-@-&%-.$:-2R-L%-,
Che rang dang jal tret shung nee ha chang ga bo shung I am very happy to meet you.

%-2>.-9-/%-.-=R-$?3-.%-.$R/-0-/%-.-=R-$*A?-=2#.-0-;A/,
Nga Shedra nang du lo sum dang gon pa nang du lo nyi la ded pa yin I have been in the Shedra for three years and in the monastery for two years.

HJ.-GA-35/-=-$-<J-8-$A-;R.,
Ched chi tsen la ga re shu gi yod What is your name?

%:A-3A%-=-(2N->A?-)9J<,
Ngee ming la Trashi ser My name is Tashi

HJ.-<%-$A-1-;=-$-2-<J.,
Cherang gi phayul ga wa re Where is your homeland?

HJ.-<%-$-2<-28$?-;R.,
Cherang ga war shug yod Where do you stay?

%:A-1-;=-(SJ=-:)3--)<J.,
Ngai phayul Belgium re My homeland is Belgium

%-2>.-9:A-/%-.-2#.-;R.,
Nga Shedrai nang du ded yod I stay in the Shedra

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Patrul Rinpoches Retreat Centre

We are delighted to announce that a re- basis of architectural plans drawn up actreat centre has been acquired due to fa- cording to Rinpoches design. vourable conditions. It is an ancient vast This year, we will change the court-yarded farmhouse loroof of the front wing of the cated in Florennes, to the building, run the concrete pavsouth-west of Namur. ing stone of the Temple, build a new kitchen, put in a dining We will gradually renovate room, temporary sanitary facilities, winand restructure the farm buildings on the dows and doors, and cordon off a temporary car park.

Memo
Tsok Dates: 28/01 (RD), 12/02 (Y), 26/02 (RD), 14/03 (Y), 28/03 (RD), 12/04 (Y), 26/04(RD), 12/05 (Y), 26/05 (RD), 10/06 (Y), 25/06 (RD), 10/07 (Y), 24/07 (RD), 08/08 (Y), 23/08 (RD), 06/09 (Y), 21/09 (RD), 05/10 (Y), 21/10 (RD), 04/11 (Y), 20/11 (RD), 04/12 (Y), 19/12 (RD), Sojong Dates: 03/02, 17/02, 04/03, 19/03, 03/04, 17/04, 02/05, 16/05, 31/05, 15/06, 30/06, 14/07, 19/07, 12/08, 27/08, 11/09, 26/09, 11/10, 26/10, 09/11, 24/11, 09/12, 24/12 (RD: Rigdzin Dupa; Y: Yumka)

It will be a very special opportunity for us all to be able to use the facilities of the new centre to receive more teachings, to make long-term retreats in the future and to assist in the on-going development of Patrul Rinpoches activity. May it be useful for all beings!

Dzogchen Gelek Palbar Ling asbl

Become a member or renew your membership! It is a precious support for Rinpoches activities.
Monthly I. II.

If you practice pure compassion and if your mind thinks about others, I can trust you.

II

III

5 10 15

Free special events for members Receive the newsletter on paper III. 25% reduction on retreats and teachings (except
courses organised by ZPI)

If you would like to become a member, please send, together with the first payment, your full contact details with your preferred language. Bank account: Dzogchen Gelek Palbar Ling asbl IBAN: BE50 0682 2863 7818 (068-2286378-18 within BE) SWIFT: GKCCBEBB

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