November 2001

Dear Sangha friends,

In autumn the Colestin Valley is a brilliantly colored mandala for the offering, with tashi Choling Temple resting like a jewel at the top. the air cools as Chris, Mat and the workers strive to complete the outside of the ast wing before winter. Electricity will soon light our new addition! It's great to see our progress after countless hours of work and much perserverance. Dry wall work will begin soon, so please contact Chris McKinnies if you can help with this, and more...

"In the sacred mandala of the precious Lama, the Sangha and the Lama are not actually separate. Any sense of separation is merely delusion. Furthermore, the temple is the Lama's body manifest. The activity of volunteering in the Vajra Mandala is a way of supporting and developing our own Dharma practice, while sustaining the presence of the mandala in our community. This activity purifies and transforms ourselves and our world." Our dharma friend Sara Rose wrote this statement, to help bring the Sangha together in support of the work and vision of our precious teacher, Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche. This is our center, and we need you. Join us...

Preparations for the Vajrakilaya retreat are underway! Lama Tsewang and Pema Tsering will instruct students in making daily Vajrakilaya tormas on Thursd, Nov. 1 from 3-6 pm and Friday, Nove. 2 from 9-12 and 3-6 pm. These two Bhutanese lamas will join us for the retreat and are knowledgable in the Dudjom lineage. Vajrakilaya teachings by Lama Yeshe Nyima will be offered on Sat. & Sun. mornings, followed by Vajrakilaya mandala torma making with the Bhutanese lamas on both afternoons. These sessions are free. Rinpoche encourages all to attend.

Please note changes in our regular puja schedule due to the Vajrakilaya Retreat: troma Nagmo on Dakini Day, the 10th, is cancelled - in Dec. we will practice the long sadhana so stay tuned for chod all day; for info about rescheduling Green Tara on the 4th and 11th, contact Ani Baba; our new moon practice of Yeshe Tsogyal is cancelled on the 15th.

The Four Year Training Program, led by Lama Bruce Newman, is just what we have needed! After the second weekend session, the response from students is very positive. Meditation practices, study, meaningful discussion and thought-provoking assignments were all appreciated by 23 students during the Oct. session. Future dates are December 1 & 2 and January 19 & 20. For information on this and other classes call Bruce at (541) 488-0881.

One of the four Festival Days, Lha Bab Duchen, falls on Nov. 7 and will be celebrated with a large evening tsog during our upcoming retreat. This day commemorates when Buddha Shakyamuni spent 3 months teaching his mother in Indra's heaven, in order to repay her kindness and liberate her, and to benefit the gods. On this day, effects of actions are multiplied 10,000 times.

Beginning in November, Gyatrul Rinpoche will be continuing teachings from Words of my Perfect Teacher, Patrul Rinpoche's famous text. These will be heard via phone line at Tashi Choling temple through December and possibly longer. The first six sessions will focus on Guru Yoga and will be translated by Sangye Khandro. Dates are: Nove. 24 & 25 (Sat. & Sun.) from 7-10 am and 27 & 29th from 5-7 pm. Dec. dates are the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 18th & 20th. Weekend times are 7-10 am, weekdays are 5-7 pm. Times are subject to variation - a phone tree message will circulate in the event of any changes. A very small fee will be charged.

Support our new outreach program with your tsog offerings! Help those in need by bringing extra food offerings to Tashi Choling. We are joining the ICCA - Interfaith Care Community of Ashland - in collecting these food items for the wider community:

Most Needed
soy & rice milk
canned soup
boxed rice mixes
pasta sauce

Not Needed
canned tuna
macaroni & cheese
canned vegies

All other non-perishable food items will be gratefully accepted at all Tashi Choling monthly tsogs and will be given to the Ashland Emergency Food Bank. Thank you!

Gardening news...November is bulb planting time! If you would like to donate bulbs, money or time call Renato at 552-0990. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped in the garden this year especially Jeanne Reitz and the mowing crew...plant on!

Our beautiful temple is now freshly painted! An abundance of thanks to our own Ani Baba and all the painters who worked many hours (even Lester) to finish before the retreat!

Please note our new scheduling calendars and bulletin board, located on the outside wall of the temple at the side door. Our monthly calendar and newsletter, messages from other centers to Tashi Choling, special announcements and other info will now be available there on a regular basis. To post something, check with a staff person or the Communications Coordinator.

Mirror of Wisdom Reminder

Mirror of Wisdom Archives offers various books including those of Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche, the Oral Transmission Series, practice texts, photographs, tapes and videos to help support our studies and practice. In turn, our purchases support the Archives purpose - to preserve and offer the teachings of the Buddha and our teachers.

To make orders in Oregon and the State of Jefferson contact: Lisbeth La Coste @ 541 488-7911. For mail orders and orders in California contact Lindy Steely @ 415 - 925-1730. Thank you.

Does anyone want to receive this monthly via email? Contact Ian Villarreal at tashicholing@vol.com. Just write your email address in the body of the letter.

Thinking ahead to the holidays...Tashi Choling's annual Holiday Potluck & Celebration will be held at the LaCoste residence on Sat., Dec. 15 beginning at 4 pm. Surprises are in store...

Our next Sangha meeting will be Sun., Dec 16 from 1-3 pm Please come for a needed discussion about the center's future projects and our upcoming fund raising efforts. We need you!

In Our Prayers...the victims of war.

The Buddha's Jewels..."It's good to acquire learning, to study and understand many things, but most importantly, we must apply the essence of whatever we have understood to ourselves, to take it to heart." from Naked Awareness

Enjoy the fall! see you at the retreat...

Julie Rogers, Communications Coordinator