Diary of the Retreat with His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa - Dec 2009

Last Updated on Sunday, 19 September 2010 10:35 Thursday, 31 December 2009 20:00

Videos on the retreat:
Introduction of the retreat: video1 - video2 - video3 - video4 - video5
New year evening with His Holiness the XIIth Gyalwang Drukpa at Drukpa Plouray center
Relationship to the Spiritual Master: video1 - video2 - video3 - video4 - video5

Due to a technical issue, we were not able to upload good quality videos. Please excuse us for the inconveniance.

His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa arrived at Drukpa Plouray Center yesterday evening, on 28th of December, taking a flight form Delhi via London. 300 to 400 of His students welcomed Him.

Tuesday 29th of December 2009 :

After offering katags to His Holiness in the Temple, a practice of Smoke offering in the Mountain, Riwo Sang Tcheu, was performed. In the afternoon, His Holiness taught on Bardo. It is a great blessing to have the opportunity to be in the presence of Holiness and to receive of His teachings.





Wednesday, the 30th of December 2009

Today, His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa was teaching on the « Bardo », from the text ‘Prayer of the Bardo’ written by Gyalwai Wangpo Kunga Peldjor ( p 190 of the « Rosary of Jewels »).
The Bardo, translated as ‘In-between’, can be understood as the interval between two states : the life between birth and death, the passage between death and rebirth, but also the interval between two instants, between two seconds.
In reality, there are many bardos. The studied text, is about the Bardo between death and rebirth. His Holiness gave comments and explanations on the successive states of dissolution happening when death occurs and on the faculties of consciousness in the Bardo.

Tonight was performed a practice of Vajrayogini with tsok offering.



Thursday 31st of December 2009

His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa continued today the teachings on Bardo, the « In-Between » that stretches from death to rebirth.
After having highlighted the favourable moments for the liberation and the realisation of Enlightenment, His Holiness gave comments on the various experiences through which the being has to go during the 20 first days of his journey in this passage.
Then come the visions related to the future place of birth that will influence the conditions of the life to come.
His Holiness emphasized on the importance of the Practice in this life in order to be able to control our emotions and our choices once we go through the Bardo between death and rebirth.

People are busy preparing the New Year’s eve in the presence of His Holiness.



Evening of the 31st of December

video: New year evening with His Holiness the XIIth Gyalwang Drukpa at Drukpa Plouray center

A practice of Tcheu Sengey Tsewa with a great Tsok offering ended the year 2009.
At midnight, the lights of the temple were switched off and the students of His Holiness made a light offering with the flames of their lighters. Five maiden, each holding a torch, then performed a fire dance.
More than 500 persons offered His Holiness a Katag along with their New Year’s Wishes.

Friday 1st of January 2010

His Holiness taught on Guru Dewa, one of the aspects of Guru Padmasambhava.
His Holiness gave a general presentation of the Practice and specified that His Eminence Gyaltsen Tulku Rinpoche would give detailed explanations of this practice during his visit at Drukpa Plouray next February.
The empowerment of Guru Dewa was bestowed this afternoon by His Holiness to the 500 hundred attending students. Some of them took formal refuge in the same time.



Saturday 2nd of January

His Holiness started the morning session by answering three questions : the first was the help one could bring as a buddhist to a dying or a dead non-buddhist person.
The second question was about abortion.
The last question was on releasing animals about to be slaughtered. His Holiness emphasized on the need to be smart when it comes to releasing animals and on the importance of greater scale collective actions through the international organisation « Live to Love ».
In the afternoon session, His Holiness gave explanations on the practice of Chakrasamvara in union and bestowed the empowerment at the end of the day.
Carrie Yuen from Hong-Kong, then made a presentation of « Live to Love International » and answered questions.
A practice of Tcheu Sengey Tsewa with Tsok offering was performed in the evening.




Sunday 3nd Januar of 2010




Center Photos