Namgyal Dawa Rinpoche visits Dorje Ling. With: Carolyn, Matthew, Drolma, and Cliff

August 2026 Newsletter

In this issue:

• Portland Buddhist Festival
• Tröma Nagmo Chöd Teachings and Practice with Sangye Khandro
• Reflections: Namgyal Dawa Rinpoche and Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche Visits
• Book Study Group: New Selection in September
• October Silent Meditation

For all lunar pujas, please visit the Event Page for prayer packets, texts, and Zoom links.

Ongoing at Dorje Ling

Sunday mornings, 11:00-12:15pm: Ngöndro Practice (DL center and online)

Tuesday evenings, 7:00-8:30pm: Book Study (online only)

New Group Starts September 8th

Wednesday evenings, 7:00-8:30pm: Meditation Class (DL center only)

Join us at the Portland Buddhist Festival!

Saturday, August 8, 11–5pm

Dharma Rain Zen Center

8500 NE Siskiyou St, Portland, OR 97220

Dorje Ling will have a booth and Phyllis will teach Tara Dance

Here's the link with the full day's schedule and workshops

Last year we had a lovely time attending workshops and visiting the booths of Zen, Theravada, Vajrayana, and other Portland area Buddhist sanghas.

Bring your camp chair and join us!

A Brief History

The Portland Buddhist Festival began in 2003 and, with the exception of the COVID pandemic years, has continued annually for over twenty years. Today, the Portland Buddhist Festival is organized and hosted by Dharma Rain Zen Center on its beautiful 14-acre campus in Northeast Portland. It remains a vibrant gathering and a highlight of the Pacific Northwest dharma community, bringing together sanghas from many Buddhist traditions.

The day traditionally begins with a Gathering Circle, during which each participating group offers a prayer or short reading from its own tradition and invites everyone to join in chanting. Throughout the day, visitors can explore sangha booths, attend guided meditations and workshops, enjoy sacred dance, and participate in activities for children and families.

Hosted by ODD and streaming live at Dorje Ling!

Namgyal Dawa Rinpoche



In mid-July, Dorje Ling was blessed with a surprise visit from Namgay Dawa Rinpoche, the grandson of Dudjom Rinpoche and a lineage holder of the Dudjom Tersar tradition. He was hosted by sangha members Cliff and Kelsang Dolma as he passed through Portland. Too late to announce except by word of mouth, and too short a visit to plan, he came up to Dorje Ling on a Sunday morning, spoke for a while in his candid teaching style, joined us in our Ngondro practice, and then after lunch was on his way. He speaks English well, and in his talks and writings he always seeks to cut through to the core truths of love and compassion. Among the younger Tibetan teachers in the west, he is especially known now for his warm, open-hearted kindness, his humor, and his very expressive sincerity. To learn more about him, this link is an interview teaching with him (which we happen to be discussing this week in our summer book group!)  Let's Get Real Episode 1

Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche



We also just completed an incredible weekend of teachings with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche, from July 30 to August 2 . We will write more in the September newsletter but wanted to share a couple photos, share our gratitude to Rinpoche, and to give recognition to all sangha members who were able to help and participate. We optimistically look forward to more visits from Rinpoche!

Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche. Photo by Scott Globus.

Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche teaches students at Dorje Ling. Photo by Dennis Skipper.

A note on this book from Carolyn Myers

When I first encountered Luminous Emptiness by Francesca Fremantle many years ago, it transformed my understanding of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Like many people, I had a copy of this extraordinary Buddhist classic, which is an exploration of beliefs about death, almost a manual for meeting the process of dying itself. But I had not discovered how its teachings speak not only to the time of death, but also to the joys, fears, relationships, and moments of awakening that make up daily life.  

Drawing on her years of collaboration with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and her deep scholarship, Fremantle patiently bridges the gap between the intriguing but unfamiliar tantric symbolism of the bardos, the five Buddha families, the five elements, and the five wisdom energies. Her writing is warm, clear, and deeply human, making even the most profound ideas feel approachable. In Luminous Emptiness, she gently opens the door to this remarkable text, revealing it as a guide for living as well as for dying.  



Whether this is your first encounter with the Tibetan Book of the Dead or a text you have studied for years, Luminous Emptiness offers fresh insight and practical wisdom. Fremantle helps us recognize that the qualities described in this ancient teaching—our emotions, our senses, the natural elements, and the possibility of wisdom within every experience—are already present in our own lives. It seems a perfect fit for our Book Group, a text to read slowly, discuss together, and return to again and again.

Read more about the author, the book, and the history of the Dharma Book Gr0up

Save the Date!

Saturday, October 10th & 11th, 2026

8:30am - 5:30pm

Whether you are new to meditation or have an established practice, you are welcome to join our Fall Meditation Retreat.

Throughout the day, Matthew Small, Dorje Ling’s Program Director, will guide participants in exploring both shamatha (calm abiding) and vipassana (insight) meditation. The morning will focus on settling the mind through shamatha practice, while the afternoon will open into vipassana. Sessions will gradually lengthen, with supportive instruction drawn from Natural Liberation by Gyatrul Rinpoche, The Attention Revolution by B. Alan Wallace, PhD, and other sources.

Meditation Classes

Wednesdays 7:00-8:30pm

(in person only)

We explore a variety of meditation techniques.

Open to everyone

and drop-ins are encouraged.

Ngöndro Practices

Sundays 11:00-12:30pm

(in person and online)

A foundational practice for students of Vajrayana Buddhism. Open to everyone.

Lunar Day Practices or Pujas

4:00-6:30 pm

See Upcoming Events for dates

(in person, some offered online)

These practices are intended for our sangha members to come together and make offerings.

Open to everyone.

"You must first practice hearing the Dharma, then contemplating it, then meditating upon it. If you don’t learn the Dharma first, then on what will you meditate? It will help you accomplish your own benefit and the benefits of others—in this life and future lives."

-Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche