Retreats and practice at Merigar East
As a place of practice and teachings, Merigar East is keeping the flame alive. This season, when we have fewer visitors, online courses have allowed us to connect to the world, and to feel that the Gar is loved and supported.
We took the opportunity to replay Rinpoche’s teachings, made available by the Archive of the International Dzogchen Community. We had our second replay, Longsal Ati Nadzer, at the beginning of February, from the 5th to 11th. An especially numerous Chinese community attended, thanks to the translation karma yoga of Jenny from Taiwan. We were happy to have Oliver Leick, SMS instructor, with us, accompanying practitioners to a better understanding and guiding the practices.
Red Gakyil member with permanent residents of the Gar
The Gakyil of ME is searching for solutions to respond to the sometimes-challenging circumstances of being a Gar whose most active members do not live close by. We have the wish for the center to be useful to the world for years to come. Come to ME! Develop your practice here, in an ideal place for personal retreats, for group practice, and for karma yoga in nature.
Ex-gekos Greg and Alex are still here to help
It is of immense joy to us to make our space useful by hosting Ukrainian practitioners and their families, who found a refuge from the war here. Here they can have some moments of rest from the sorrow and anxiety, in the silence of this huge southern sky.
Yantra yoga instructors, join us in the warm season for a deepening course with Laura Evangelisti and Fabio Andrico, focused especially on the pranayama (24th June – 3rd July)! Following it, anyone can practice Yantra Yoga, Vajra Dance and community practices in a retreat with Zoli Cser (6-10 July). The renovation of the Gonpa, guided by Migmar Tsering, will take place up to the end of July. In August, Oliver Leick will guide interested people who are not yet Dzogchen practitioners through an understanding of the various Pathways to Spiritual Realisation (6-7 August), followed by a practice retreat on Shine and Guru Yoga (8-15 August). Let’s focus our intention on a stable future free of fear!
In order to help the influx of good motivation and to produce merit for positive effects to manifest, we are inviting you to practice the accumulation of Jigme Lingpa Ganapuja. You can practice anytime and send us the number of recitations. You can find more details and register on our website.
Our Projects
The Gönpa, lhakhang or other types of buildings hosting rituals and practices are typically a central element of any Buddhist center. Well-built and beautifully decorated, they are not only spaces for collective practices, but also objects of reverence, devotion and generosity.
Our big plans for this year also include the renovation of our Gönpa, to take place at the beginning of the summer. The wall reconstruction works will be carried out in the beginning of June, while the painting and decoration, during the month of July.
Our Gönpa Renovation fundraising campaign has reached 58% of its objective!!! 57 donors showed their generosity and appreciation of our efforts (here is our donors list).
Moreover, from January to Losar, like every year, we were preparing by hand Lungtas. This year the difference was that the process was even more collaborative and international than before. Practitioners from the Czech Republic joined the Hungarian DC in Budapest, where they printed hundreds of sets of Lungtas to hang at Merigar East.
Some other hundreds of sets were printed at Merigar East, but people in different parts of Romania helped, in person or at a distance, with the cutting and the sewing. For the first time, we could also send hand-made Lungtas all over Europe, so Sangha members could hang them in their own gardens.
This year, the Lungta campaign gathered donations of approx. 5000 €, coming from 70 people. They will also be directed to the Gönpa Renovation project.
Our Oasis is slowly and steadily waking up from its winter sleep. Just this weekend we had the pleasure of hosting 9 volunteers for a second part of our tree-pruning endeavors. The preparations in the early spring are crucial for the well-being of the trees, which are forced to grow in the harsh conditions of the Dobrogea region desert, so they need expert care and a lot of nutrition!
Thank you, community, for supporting Merigar East! We are welcoming karma yogis and yoginis, for whom we offer free accommodation in our dormitory (15 places). We also have work exchange opportunities (we offer free accommodation and 300 eur a month) for you to contribute to the development of our gar.
