Reports From The Mandala
Head Lama of TNMC
Monks enter the Mahabodhi grounds for the opening of the Eighth Tipitaka Chant, 2012.
Over the past decade, the Nyingma Mandala of Organizations has expanded dramatically and in unexpected ways. Existing organizations have continued their activities on behalf of the Dharma and all sentient beings, typically intensifying their efforts. At the same time, at least nine new organizations have been formed, adding new dimensions to the founding Head Lama’s vision.
In the reports that follow, we lay out recent developments throughout the mandala and introduce the work of our new organizations. We start with the work of TNMC, where the Head Lama is most directly involved: Yeshe De, Odiyan, the Light Foundations, and the Sarnath Institute. From there we move on to describe the structure and mission of the Nyingma Association of Mandala Organizations (NAMO), founded in 2011.
We go on to lay out the recent work of the organizations that belong to NAMO. As a structure for presenting this wealth of developments, we start with the organizations located in Sonoma County, then turn to developments in Berkeley, and finally report on the expanding efforts of our international centers, under the direction of Nyingma Centers.
Light Foundations
We live in a time when the lineage of authentic Dharma transmission faces grave challenges, and true Dharma practitioners are becoming more and more rare. Unable to rely on traditional sources of support to cope with the basic need to survive, Dharma students face continuing pressure that disrupts their ability to study and practice in the traditional manner, through sadhanas or ceremonies, the accumulation of merit, essential experiential practices, and rigorous scholarship.
The Mangalam Light Foundation was established in 2005 to address this challenging situation. Through its operating foundations, the Foundation connects with monasteries, nunneries, and retreat centers to develop and maintain crucial elements of the lineage. Where practitioners find themselves without basic resources, where religious monuments or forms or sites of historical importance need to be repaired or revived, or where individuals lack the resources to promote their practice the Foundation offers help in every way it can.
To accomplish its objectives, Mangalam Light Foundation works through four subsidiary foundations: Prajna Light Foundation; Vajra Light Foundation; Ananda Light Foundation; and Light of Buddhadharma Foundation International. Only the work of the Light of Buddhadharma Foundation International has been included in this report.
Light of Bhuddadharma
LBDFI was founded in 2002 and integrated into the structure of the Light Foundations in 2005. Unlike the other Light Foundations, which primarily serve the Tibetan communities of Buddhist practitioners, LBDFI is dedicated to restoring the teachings of the Buddha as a living force in its homeland of India, where it has been largely absent for more than 700 years. We focus on bringing together the Buddhist Sanghas of all lands to support the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha in India and to promote cooperation among the Sanghas of Asia.
LBDFI’s work to restore the Three Jewels in India has four elements: sponsoring prayer ceremonies, revitalizing the ancient sites of pilgrimage, training monks, and supporting Buddhist teachings and publications.
Our first major initiative was the active support of the International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony, held at Bodhgaya, India. Now in its tenth year, the Ceremony has grown steadily in size. Held for ten days in early December, in 2013 it attracted over 3,000 monks and their lay followers from ten countries to chant the Tipitaka under the Bodhi Tree.
At the completion of the ceremony each year, the participants go on pilgrimage to a nearby holy site. In 2014, we will inaugurate a Dharma Yatra walk, retracing the steps of the Blessed One when he walked from Jethian to Rajgir (a distance of thirteen kilometers) in the presence of King Bimbisara and the people of Rajgir in the months following the enlightenment.
LBDFI offers travel expenses for monks and substantial support for the general costs associated with such a large gathering. The event is organized by a different national Sangha every two years under the auspices of the International Tipitaka Chanting Council, whose members come from each participating country, gathered together under a constitution adopted in 2007 (www.tipitakachanting council.org).
To support familiarity with the teachings, LBDFI also offers the attending Sangha bound copies of the annual selection being chanted from the Tipitaka. These copies are printed in the various scripts of participants: Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese, Sinhalese, Bengali, Myanmar, Devanagari, and Roman.
To our great delight, the chanting ceremony in Bodhgaya has led to many others. A ceremony in Nagpur, located in the center of India, is in its third year, and two more ceremonies in India will start this year: recitation of the Dhammapada in Delhi and recitation of the Abhidhamma in Sankasya. A chanting ceremony in the Tooth Relic Temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka is now in its third year, and LBDFI is working to establish a new ceremony at Borobudur in Indonesia. Finally, we are inaugurating a Chanting Ceremony in America at the temple located at Mangalam Centers in Berkeley, where LBDFI has its offices. The ceremony, the first of its kind to be held in the Western hemisphere, will be held from October9-11, 2014.
The second element of LBDFI’s mission is revitalizing the great sites of pilgrimage in northern and central India, where the Lord Buddha walked and taught. Here we have erected great fiveton bronze Dharma bells (cast in Germany under the guidance of our German center, and supported by TNMC) at all eight of the major sites of pilgrimage. We plan to create and plant gardens to surround these bells. We have also begun fundraising to apply gold leaf to the arches of these giant bells, a project we expect will take several years. For 2014-15, we plan to expand this effort to bells at Sri Pada and Sankasya.
LBDFI was founded in 2002 and integrated into the structure of the Light Foundations in 2005. Unlike the other Light Foundations, which primarily serve the Tibetan communities of Buddhist practitioners, LBDFI is dedicated to restoring the teachings of the Buddha as a living force in its homeland of India, where it has been largely absent for more than 700 years. We focus on bringing together the Buddhist Sanghas of all lands to support the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha in India and to promote cooperation among the Sanghas of Asia.
LBDFI’s work to restore the Three Jewels in India has four elements: sponsoring prayer ceremonies, revitalizing the ancient sites of pilgrimage, training monks, and supporting Buddhist teachings and publications.
Our first major initiative was the active support of the International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony, held at Bodhgaya, India. Now in its tenth year, the Ceremony has grown steadily in size. Held for ten days in early December, in 2013 it attracted over 3,000 monks and their lay followers from ten countries to chant the Tipitaka under the Bodhi Tree.
At the completion of the ceremony each year, the participants go on pilgrimage to a nearby holy site. In 2014, we will inaugurate a Dharma Yatra walk, retracing the steps of the Blessed One when he walked from Jethian to Rajgir (a distance of thirteen kilometers) in the presence of King Bimbisara and the people of Rajgir in the months following the enlightenment.
LBDFI offers travel expenses for monks and substantial support for the general costs associated with such a large gathering. The event is organized by a different national Sangha every two years under the auspices of the International Tipitaka Chanting Council, whose members come from each participating country, gathered together under a constitution adopted in 2007 (www.tipitakachanting council.org).
To support familiarity with the teachings, LBDFI also offers the attending Sangha bound copies of the annual selection being chanted from the Tipitaka. These copies are printed in the various scripts of participants: Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese, Sinhalese, Bengali, Myanmar, Devanagari, and Roman.
To our great delight, the chanting ceremony in Bodhgaya has led to many others. A ceremony in Nagpur, located in the center of India, is in its third year, and two more ceremonies in India will start this year: recitation of the Dhammapada in Delhi and recitation of the Abhidhamma in Sankasya. A chanting ceremony in the Tooth Relic Temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka is now in its third year, and LBDFI is working to establish a new ceremony at Borobudur in Indonesia. Finally, we are inaugurating a Chanting Ceremony in America at the temple located at Mangalam Centers in Berkeley, where LBDFI has its offices. The ceremony, the first of its kind to be held in the Western hemisphere, will be held from October9-11, 2014.
The second element of LBDFI’s mission is revitalizing the great sites of pilgrimage in northern and central India, where the Lord Buddha walked and taught. Here we have erected great fiveton bronze Dharma bells (cast in Germany under the guidance of our German center, and supported by TNMC) at all eight of the major sites of pilgrimage. We plan to create and plant gardens to surround these bells. We have also begun fundraising to apply gold leaf to the arches of these giant bells, a project we expect will take several years. For 2014-15, we plan to expand this effort to bells at Sri Pada and Sankasya.