I am writing this article on the anniversary of Rinpoche’s birthday whilst remembering the richness of his legacy and teachings, which is of great value both to his students and to society in general. In London at Lekdanling, we are finding that more and more people have a desire to learn about meditation and are searching for some kind of spiritual guidance due to the impact of the covid pandemic on their mental health. This is especially apparent in urban situations all around the world.
We are very fortunate to have a spiritual teaching which helps us deal with the problems which we face in our daily lives and also to be in a position to offer help to others at this time. One of the initiatives of SSIUK this past year – in collaboration with Dzamling Gar and the ATIF – has been to launch the ‘Presence and Awareness in Daily Life’ series aimed at newcomers to the community and to the public in general. This programme which continued from January through to November 2021, comprised of six weekend modules with weekly follow up practice sessions in between. This was well received by the many people who attended the programme and who developed a real warmth both within the group and with the several SMS teachers who led the sessions. Many thanks to everyone who helped to make this programme a success.
Other highlights from the past year include workshops on Ayurvedic Nutrition, Astrology, Yoga and Breathing plus a zoom conference on the theme of Guru Rinpoche with some imminent speakers, entitled:
ABOUT PADMASAMBHAVA: A day of Talks with Prof. Charles Ramble, Jeff Watts (Dir. Himalayan Art Resources), Acharya Malcolm Smith and Prof. Fabian Sanders.
Our popular SSIUK lecture series is ongoing and most of our lectures and workshops are recorded and can be downloaded via our website or can be viewed on Youtube. Please join our SSIUK Youtube channel and help us to reach 1000 followers – we just need 100 more subscribers to reach our goal!
We would also like to encourage you to join our mailing list and connect to our Instagram & Facebook pages … this is one of the best ways of keeping up to date with all our activities which we are expanding all the time.
Instagram: @shangshunginstituteuk
Facebook: @shangshunguk
YouTube: Shang Shung Institute UK
Future Events for 2022 include:
Thursday January 20th, at 6pm (UK time)
SSIUK Lecture Series: “Unifier of the Nation, Regional Statesman, Artist-Monk” – An overview of the life of Gyalse Rinpoche Tenzin Rabgye (1638-1696), the 4th Desi (civil ruler) of Bhutan with John A. Ardussi, PhD.
Saturday & Sunday 22-23rd January.
Yantra Yoga Beginners Weekend: John Renshaw our local yoga instructor, will be doing a weekend of yoga focusing on breathing, which is open to all at Lekdanling (also via zoom).
Launching Now-Photographic Competition on the theme of ‘The Himalayan World’. The first prize is 500 dollars!!!
The People’s First Prize will be awarded at Losar 2022 (for the best photo) which will be judged by the world famous photographer Clive Arrowsmith. Runners up will receive prizes of precious incense plus other gifts.
Year of the Water Tiger Promotion – the year of the water tiger is coming up and if you join our SSIUK newsletter between 1st January and Losar, you are eligible to have a one month free pass to all our SSIUK events up until, and including our Losar activities!
Prayer Flags – we will be hanging your authenticated prayer flags in Nepal as usual at Losar 2022
3rd March – More Losar Events – please watch this space for our Momo-making workshop, Tibetan musical events and other activities to celebrate Losar at Lekdanling!
Further details of all our events can be viewed on our website: Shangshunguk.org
Warm wishes for the New Year,
Julia Lawless & all the SSIUK Team
