Dear friends,
We’ll try to answer some of the questions that people have asked us.
At the moment the Stupa of Illumination at Merigar, which, since last October, contains the remains of Master Namkhai Norbu, cannot be visited inside. This opportunity will only be possible on “special” occasions, of which we will give plenty of advance notice.
In the last weeks hundreds of people from all over the world have come to Merigar and thousands have joined the practice sessions through the webcast. Dozens of volunteers have taken turns to make Merigar always welcoming and clean, distribute hot drinks and simple meals, facilitate moments of practice, manage the webcast and everything necessary to receive so many people. A fund was set up to cover all the expenses of this intense period. We collected €52,138.36, and would like to thank all the donors, many of whom remained anonymous.
As the Gakyil of Merigar and on behalf of the whole Dzogchen Community we want to thank all the volunteers. They were so many that it is impossible to name them one by one. Everyone worked so hard, with a deep sense of family, a spontaneous harmony that held us and continues to hold us in a simple yet strong embrace.
During this period in the collective sessions we practiced mainly Guruyoga, purification practices such as the practice of Vajrasattva, the 25 spaces of Samantabhadra, the Ganapuja to purify our samaya and the Invocation of the Lamp to recognize the importance of our relationships with vajra brothers and sisters connected to the same Teaching transmitted by the Master.
We intend to continue to practice all together, on weekends and on special days, in the coming months, both at Merigar and at other gars, also in webcast. We will try to communicate the dates as soon as possible through the usual channels of the Dzogchen Community.
In addition to the collective practices at Merigar we invite everyone to do activities together like sewing prayer flags and making tsa tsa, gardening, singing together, walking, drawing. We will shortly send out more information about the December program, the Christmas period and next year.
An excerpt of the speech given by Costantino Albini as representative of all of us:
At the conclusion of the first retreat of Dzogchen teachings, at Subiaco in the summer of 1976, he explained his vision for our future:
“We will not only make a Buddhist center,” he said, “but rather, we will form a community of practitioners. Every Dzogchen practitioner is a living center of knowledge of the Teaching, a free, relaxed person, independent of titles and schools. A community of practitioners can extend anywhere, even across the earth. Every practitioner wherever he goes will find his family, his brothers and sisters who, sharing his same knowledge, will welcome him and support him in his practice.”
Now, Master, we, your students, are thousands and are all over the earth. Today there are many of us and we are here to pay homage to you but this is not a farewell, it is not a goodbye.
You, Master, live in the heart of each one of us. Thanks to your compassion we are now your Body that continues to live.
Let us continue the journey together, to bring your vision to fulfillment.
We will carry your projects, your ideas, your endeavors forward and we will evolve in every corner of the planet.We will be with you again and again, for many lives to come, until Supreme realization.
This is your promise.
This is and will be our life.
The Merigar Gakyil
For information write [email protected]
Or call the office (++39) 0564 966837
