July Newsletter – Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre

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The ​Aro Ling Buddhist Centre in Cardiff is a lovely place to be on a sunny day. The high vaulted ceiling with sky lights makes it bright and airy. The room is decorated in the traditional Nyingma style, with a deep blue ceiling, and stripes of orange and green on yellow and deep red. It is not
easy to express the atmosphere this manner of decoration evokes​. I​t is peaceful and calming, whilst ​also ​enlivening awareness.  

As we approach July and August, the season of holidays and retreats, there will be some periods when Aro Ling is closed. Aro Ling​ will be closed from 1st July​ to ​13th July​ ​completely, as we will all be away for the summer encampment retreat​. This retreat, ​for the students of Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin​, takes place in Shropshire​. Aro Ling will then reopen ​as usual ​until ​mid ​August. From 17th August till 21st September all daytime and weekend
courses will be suspended, with only the Tuesday evening meditation group running.

To summarise:
July ​01 - ​13​:​ closed completely​  
July 14​ - Aug ​16:​ open as usual
Aug ​17​ - Sept ​21: ​only the Tuesday evening meditation group running  
Sept ​22​​:​ ​opening hours back to normal and the start of the ​autumn programme  

All these dates and changes to the schedule can be found at aro-ling.org/cardiff or on Meetup.com/aro-ling-cardiff.   

Regular events:
Saturday: Discovering the Spaciousness of Mind: first Saturday of each month, 10 – 12, £5      (NB August only - not July and September)  
Tuesday: sKu-mNyé (Tibetan Yoga) for the over 50s, 10:30 – 11:30 requested donation £3  Tuesday: Song &  Meditation, 12:00 – 13:00 requested donation £3  
Tuesday: Meditation Group, 19:00 – 20:30 requested donation £5  
Wednesday: sKu-mNyé (Tibetan Yoga), 14:00  –  15:00 requested donation £3 
Wednesday: Yogic Song & Mantra, 15:15 – 16:00 requested donation £3  
Wednesday: sKu-mNyé (Tibetan Yoga), 17:30 – 18:30 requested donation £3    

June Newsletter – Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre

June Newsletter – Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre

Aro Ling had a stall at the Whitchurch May Day Carnival organised by Welsh Hearts. The weather was kind and Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin enjoyed chatting to people and selling bric-a-brac in aid of the Drala Jong appeal, whose aim is to establish a residential retreat centre in Wales. A week later Ngakma Nor’dzin, one of the main teacher’s at Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre, celebrated her 60th birthday. She teaches Tibetan Yoga, leads Meditation and Yogic Song, and with her husband, Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin Tridral, leads the weekend events and retreats. Do come and long and find out about the practices of the Aro gTér Lineage which is part of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.

The regular scheduled events will continue through June and there will be a retreat on the weekend of June 12th to 14th. Full details for all events can be found at the Aro Ling website. All are welcome.

The Elements of our Emotions  
a weekend retreat June 12 –14
£6 each session or £25 for the whole weekend
(plus a small extra charge for materials, approx £3)

5 sessions: join us for 1 session, several or the whole weekend
(1) Friday 19:00 – 20:30
Saturday (2)10:00 – 12:00, (3) 14:00 – 16:00, (4) 17:00 – 19:00
(5) Sunday 10:00 – 12:00

Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin will teach on the elements earth, water, fire, air & space. Our emotions and emotional responses are patterned by distortion of the elements. This distortion can be unravelled. Discover the enlightened qualities of the elements & how to liberate these qualities. The weekend will include the practice of working with emotional patterning—for ourselves or others—through weaving the elements to create namkha: woven thread crosses.

Regular events at Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre:
Discovering the Spaciousness of Mind – first Saturday of each month, 10 – 12, £5
Tibetan Yoga for the over 50s – Tuesday 10:30 – 11:30 requested donation £3
Song & Meditation – Tuesday 12:00 – 13:00 requested donation £3  
Meditation Group – Tuesday 19:00 – 20:30 requested donation £5
Tibetan Yoga – Wednesday 14:00 – 15:00 requested donation £3
Yogic Song & Mantra – Wednesday 15:15 – 16:00 requested donation £3
Tibetan Yoga – Wednesday 17:30 – 18:30 requested donation £3

Ma-gÇig Labdrön

Ma-gÇig Labdrön

Born on 1st May, Ma-gÇig Labdrön (Ma gCig Lap sGron – 1055-1145) ‘Unique Mother Torch of Practice’ was the incarnation of Yeshé Tsogyel. Ma-gÇig Labdrön took incarnation as Jomo Menmo and then as Khyungchen Aro Lingma. Ma-gÇig Labdrön was the great Tibetan yogini who was the originator of the practice of gÇod – the Visionary practice of cutting attachment to corporeal form (in terms of the dualistic proclivity to relate to ones corporeal form as a reference-point that proves ones existence).

[See Aro Encyclopaedia]

May Newsletter – Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre

Pear blossom

The fruit tree blossom seems to be especially beautiful this year. I hope you are enjoying it. It is still quite cold however, but nice and snug at Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre. Nestled in the heart of Whitchurch Village, we offer Tibetan Yoga (sKu-mNyé), Meditation and Yogic Song. Please see the schedule below for our regular weekday events.

The introductory session—Discovering the Spaciousness of Mind—will take place this Saturday, 2nd May, 10 – 12. Do come and long and find out about the practices we use at Aro Ling Cardiff, and about the Aro gTér Lineage which is part of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism.

On bank holiday Monday, 4th May, Aro Ling has a stall at the Mayday Carnival organised by Welsh Hearts. This takes place on Whitchurch Common from 11am till 5pm. Free entry. Do visit us and say hello if you are sampling the delights of the Carnival. We look forward to chatting with you.

There will not be a weekend retreat in May because Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin are teaching a weekend in Cornwall. So the next weekend event at Aro Ling Cardiff will be in June – details below.

The Elements of our Emotions  
a weekend retreat June 12 –14
£6 each session or £25 for the whole weekend
(plus a small extra charge for materials, approx £3)

5 sessions: join us for 1 session, several or the whole weekend
(1) Friday 19:00 – 20:30
Saturday (2)10:00 – 12:00, (3) 14:00 – 16:00, (4) 17:00 – 19:00
(5) Sunday 10:00 – 12:00

Ngakma Nor’dzin & Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin will teach on the elements earth, water, fire, air & space. Our emotions and emotional responses are patterned by distortion of the elements. This distortion can be unravelled. Discover the enlightened qualities of the elements & how to liberate these qualities. The weekend will include the practice of working with emotional patterning—for ourselves or others—through weaving the elements to create namkha: woven thread crosses.

Regular events at Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre:
Discovering the Spaciousness of Mind – first Saturday of each month, 10 – 12, £5 (not April 4th)
Tibetan Yoga for the over 50s – Tuesday 10:30 – 11:30 requested donation £3
Song & Meditation – Tuesday 12:00 – 13:00 requested donation £3  
Meditation Group – Tuesday 19:00 – 20:30 requested donation £5
Tibetan Yoga – Wednesday 14:00 – 15:00 requested donation £3
Yogic Song & Mantra – Wednesday 15:15 – 16:00 requested donation £3
Tibetan Yoga – Wednesday 17:30 – 18:30 requested donation £3

Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre also hosts
Siop Siarad – conversation group for Welsh learners: Tuesday 13:15, Wednesday 16:15

’a-Shul Pema Legden

’a-Shul Pema Legden

Born on 1st April, ’a-Shul Pema Legden was the gTér scribe and visionary artist of Khalden Lingpa. He was recognised by A-Kyong Düd’dül Dorje Rinpoche as the rebirth of a daughter of the Sixth Dala’i Lama. He was not known as a great Lama, or as an intellectually gifted practitioner – he simply worked hard, and was devoted to Khalden Lingpa. He was a meticulous artist and scribe, and a kind, gentle person. He was a monk, but had been instructed by Khalden Lingpa not to cut his hair.

Aro Lingma took ’a-Shul as her consort and disciple, and travelled with him to the border lands near Nepal, where they established the Aro Gar.

[See Aro Encyclopaedia]

A-yé Khandro

A-yé Khandro

Born on 31st March, A-yé Khandro Tsé-drüp Déchen Lhamo (A ye ’mKha’ ’gro Tshe grub bDe chen lha mo) was the younger of the two sisters who were the sangyums of Aro Yeshé. The older sister was called A-shé Khandro. The two girls were childhood friends of Aro Yeshé and they were given all the transmission which Khyungchen Aro Lingma gave to Aro Yeshé.

Although it was Aro Yeshé who was the son of Aro Lingma – it was A-yé Khandro and A-shé Khandro who actually passed the teachings on to the other disciples of Aro Lingma. Aro Yeshé himself taught very rarely because the transmissions were seen as more powerful if they were received from women – and particularly from A-yé Khandro – who was regarded as epitomising the Mind transmission of Aro Lingma. A-shé Khandro was regarded as epitomising the Speech transmission of Aro Lingma. Aro Yeshé epitomised the body transmission of Aro Lingma. When transmissions were given, A-yé Khandro would hold up the mirror, A-shé Khandro would give the cryptic introduction to the nature of Mind, and Aro Yeshé would simply sit. Aro Yéshe sat in the centre, with A-shé Khandro on the right and A-yé Khandro on the left.

[See Aro Encyclopaedia]

April Newsletter – retreat: Heroes and Heroines of Enlightenment

Spring seems to be having trouble deciding whether or not it has arrived. I hope you are enjoying the sunny days and managing to keep warm in the evenings.

Aro Ling Buddhist Centre will be closed for the first week in April because we are away on retreat. So please note that our 1st Saturday of the month event, Discovering the Spaciousness of Mind, will not take place on Saturday 4th, and classes and groups for the following week are cancelled.

We will be open again on Tuesday 14th with a slightly adjusted schedule for the summer term. Please do check out the revised schedule at the bottom of this post.

Our April retreat is entitled Heroes and Heroines of Enlightenment.

April 24 –26
Heroes & Heroines of Enlightenment
A weekend retreat of 5 sessions – attend 1 or as many sessions as you wish
£6 a session, £25 for all 5 sessions paid as one sum

Session 1:  Friday April 24th  19:00 – 20:30
Buddhas– stories of Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha; and Padmasambhava and Yeshé Tsogyel, the Tantric Buddhas.
 

Session 2:  Saturday April 25th  10:00 – 12:00
Tibetan Yogis– Many realised masters wandered Tibet as incognito yogis and yoginis, often unrecognised – such as Dza Paltrül Rinpoche and Do Khyentsé Yeshé Dorje.


Session 3:  Saturday April 25th  14:00 – 16:00
Wisdom Eccentrics – Kyabjé Chhi’mèd Rig’dzin Rinpoche and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche were modern-day mahasiddhas – realised masters who manifested crazy wisdom.
 

Session 4:  Saturday April 25th  17:00 – 19:00
Tantric Empowerment

Session 5:  Sunday April 26th  10:00 – 12:00
The Aro gTér Lineage – the Aro gTér Lineage traces its origins back to Yeshé Tsogyel through a lineage of realised women – the Mother Essence Lineage.


Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin will lead this weekend of stories of realised Buddhist practitioners. These tales function as inspiration for our own Buddhist practice, but are also often most entertaining. They may challenge our view of morality and societal norms, and enable us to step out of our habitual patterns of perception and conduct. Questions about the stories are warmly welcomed throughout the weekend, so that they can provide a basis for further insight into Buddhist view and practice.

On Saturday evening, Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin will offer tantric empowerment.

Regular events:
Discovering the Spaciousness of Mind – first Saturday of each month, 10 – 12, £5 (not April 4th)
Tibetan Yoga for the over 50s – Tuesday 10:30 – 11:30 requested donation £3
Song & Meditation – Tuesday 12:00 – 13:00 requested donation £3  
Siop Siarad – Tuesday 13:15  
Meditation Group – Tuesday 19:00 – 20:30 requested donation £5
Tibetan Yoga – Wednesday 14:00 – 15:00 requested donation £3
Yogic Song & Mantra – Wednesday 15:15 – 16:00 requested donation £3
Siop Siarad – Wednesday 16:15
Tibetan Yoga – Wednesday 17:30 – 18:30 requested donation £3