At Dzamling Gar with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu
February 2016

On the first day of Losar, Tibetan New Year, at a little before 5am, a few hardy souls jumped in the swimming pool at Dzamling Gar on the chilly February morning, inaugurating the pool’s first Losar dip and traditionally purifying themselves for the entry into the year of the Fire Monkey 2143. Others made the shivery star water bath at home.

Promptly at 5am all returned to the Gönpa for the long life practice of Mandarava with Chögyal Namkhai Norbu as the first collective practice of the New Year. After the practice, at around 8:30am, the traditional delicious breakfast of sweet rice, steaming Tibetan tea and kapse, made by the loving and skilled hands of Tsering and Rabgyi, the gekö, was served up for all to enjoy. A new highlight of holidays with Rinpoche and Rosa is that they beautifully wrap hundreds of objects of all types and people select the one meant for them; many people end up reflecting on the meaning of their particular item for the year to come. We then enjoyed a dramatic performance by well trained Khaita dancers. For the rest of the day, people relaxed and played games, had some lunch together and then later in the day, all the Community practiced Khaita. Thus began the 15-day Mandarava Drubchen Retreat, webcast to thousands of practitioners around the world.

 

For 15 days approximately 700 fortunate participants practiced in the white tent twice a day with Rinpoche, and 2058 webcast participants in their respective Gars, Lings and homes around the world, while a 24 hour Drubchen mantra recitation took place in Jyagcip, the space below the cafeteria.

Each morning there were sessions of Yantra Yoga led by various instructors. Of course, each day, we would meet Rinpoche after the last session of Mandarava for a few hours of Khaita and following Khaita, the truly dedicated would remain for a Vajra Dance practice.

On Rinpoche’s walk to the Gönpa, he would stop at what is now fondly called Station 2, where various story telling, singing, and other performance activities transpired, much to the glee and pleasure of everyone.

The last day of the retreat started at 3am with the World Wide Transmission of Guru Garab Dorje. After the World Wide Transmission, the retreat concluded with a Mandarava Ganapuja and a very successful auction run by the adept auctioneer and local practitioner, Ilaria Faccioli.

There was a presentation by Giovanni Boni, Benedetta Tagliabue and Salvador Gilaberti Gracias, of the exciting finalized plans for the new Gönpa of Dzamling Gar. Each day Rinpoche would read off the names of the generous practitioners who gave according to their capacity towards the realization of this very modern and beautifully designed structure.

One more now annual Mandarava Losar Retreat came to a close after 15 days and participants from all over the world headed home, able to share the joy and beauty of Dzamling Gar with their respective local Communites and encourage them to, as the song says, “as soon as possible, and relaxed, come to” the new seat of the international Dzogchen Community, Dzamling Gar.