To Our Sangha Near and Far,

We have an updated plan for activities on Monday, April 8th in honor of the First Anniversary of Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche's Parinirvana and we hope you will all be able to join us.

The Updated Plan for This Auspicious Day:

10am-12:00pm Pacific: Ganachakra and Teaching:

In order to coincide with the totality of the solar eclipse, we will practice the concise Kunzang Nyima Vajrasattva with tsog. Please bring your bell, vajra, and damaru, if you have them, as this practice involves the use of those instruments.

(Note about the text: Please scroll down for info about how to obtain a copy of this NEW text.) 

Also: We are happy to announce that it is likely that Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche will be able to join us on Zoom and give a short teaching!

Click HERE to join on Zoom on April 8th

12:00-3:00pm: Potluck and Stories/Videos in the East Wing:



For those attending in-person, we will gather in the East Wing after puja to enjoy a potluck lunch with videos, stories, and teachings of Rinpoche, followed by cleanup to leave the temple and East Wing sparkling.



(Note to local sangha: Please watch for another email with details as well as ways to help Tashi Choling prepare the temple and East Wing for this event.)

Ven. Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche with Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche at Tashi Choling in 2015

Special Life Release Event on Rinpoche's Parinirvana

Our sangha friends from Iron Knot Ranch, Michael Bradfute and Kim McLaughlin, are planning a live release of brine shrimp into the Great Salt Lake during the full expanse of the solar eclipse on April 8th to coincide with Ven. Gyatrul Rinpoche's Parinirvana. The life release will be done at the 4-hour period of the eclipse.  One pound of brine shrimp cysts costs $50 and contains over 100 million beings! So even small offerings save many, many lives. 

If you are interested in helping with this auspiciously-timed life release, please follow these steps:

Click here: https://www.ironknot.org/donate

Click the red "Donate" button to go to a PayPal page.

Click in the drop down menu to select "Saving Lives."

Enter any amount and click Next.

Add a dedication note, if you wish, then choose credit card or PayPal. 

(Note: You do not need a PayPal account to donate.)

Please note: It would be most helpful to receive donations before April 1st so the order for the brine shrimp in Salt Lake City can be made on April 1st. Thank you!

Some comments from Lama Drimed Rinpoche concerning the eclipse on April 8th and the benefits of practice during an eclipse:

We think an eclipse is happening outerly, involving the positioning of the moon, sun, and stars. But, those outer celestial bodies are just expressions of the channels, winds, and essential fluids of our subtle bodies. Most of the time, there is ordinary breath and karmic wind moving through our bodies. But at the time of the eclipse, wisdom wind moves and becomes evident. So, it is extremely beneficial to practice at the time of an eclipse. Additionally, it is said that the karmic results of actions performed at this time will be multiplied by 100,000. This is explained in the Kalachakra tantra. As Buddhists, it is important for us to follow the instructions found in the tantras.

It says in the tantras that one's own body is already the mandala of the conquerors. Similarly, it is said that when we die, all the peaceful and wrathful deities appear to us. However, as sentient beings, we are not able to recognize these sacred truths. Therefore, we need to awaken the enlightened nature that we already possess. Since we have many different concepts and obscurations, it is a gradual process to slowly reveal the true presence of the mandala. We begin with imagined deities and contrived practice, which slowly lead us to perceive what is truly present.