29 January 2016

Citizenship Award, a full house, and generous donations - Aro Ling Buddhist Centre February Newsletter

Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre

35 Merthyr Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff, CF14 1DB  07875 716644

  February Newsletter 2016

Please note: on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd February daytime classes are cancelled. Only the Tuesday 7pm meditation group will be running. This is because Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin are on retreat with their students.

The 7pm meditation group on Tuesday 2nd February, will be attended by eleven of Ngakma Nor’dzin and Ngakpa ’ö-Dzin’s students. Their students include Aro gTér Lineage practitioners from Finland, Germany, Austria, and France, as well as from the UK. This evening meditation session is a great opportunity to practise with a group of experienced practitioners.

Aro Ling Buddhist Centre has been selected as a finalist for a Citizenship Award.
Thank you for voting for us.

On 23rd January we were delighted to welcome the Aro gTér Lineage Holders to Aro Ling Cardiff for the first time. The room was packed as the event was fully booked, and everyone found the day most inspiring. We hope that Ngak’chang Rinpoche and Khandro Déchen will be regularly visiting Aro Ling to teach from now on.

A number of members of the Aro Ling Cardiff community donated items for the Women‘s Refuge for World Interfaith Harmony Day. Several bags, of a range of the requested items, have been delivered to the organiser. It was a generous collection for such a small Buddhist Community. Thank you.

New for 2016
Dances of the Jane Austen Era - Wednesdays 16:30
Have you enjoyed the dancing in classic drama productions such as ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Emma’? Come to Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre and learn how to practise them.
To dance these Georgian dances well requires passion and precision; respect and consideration; good humour and sensitivity – all valuable qualities Buddhists wish to develop. While dancing we must be aware of our partner and our neighbour, and the overall pattern of the dance – and still have fun.
The class is suitable for adults, and children aged 10 and above with a supervising adult.
Adults £3, accompanied children £1.
Meditation Group - Wednesdays 18:00
A new, one hour, early-evening meditation session - the perfect way to end your work day and feel refreshed to enjoy the rest of your evening.
Short periods of silent meditation are interspersed with chant and song. Beginners and experienced meditators welcome. Requested donation £4. 

Saturday retreats for the new year (details below)
February 13: Wearing the body of Visions
March 12: The Mahasiddhas
April 09: The 5 Principles of Awareness


Weekly schedule from January 2016
Tuesdays:

sKu-mNyé 10:30; Meditation & Song 12:00; Meditation Group 19:00 – 20:30

Wednesdays:
sKu-mNyé 14:00; Meditation & Song 15:15; Dancing of Jane Austen Era 16:30; Meditation Group 18:00
sKu-mNyé is a physical yoga practice. It offers a range of movements, from simple and gentle to demanding and vigorous – so there is something for everyone. All are welcome whatever age or level of fitness. A wonderful form of exercise that is refreshing and invigorating. Each class is 1 hour and a donation of £4 is requested.
Meditation groups and daytime meditation – beginners and experienced meditators welcome. Short periods of meditation are interspersed with yogic song and chant. Discover emptiness and self-awareness.  Daytime £4, evening £5 donation requested. Introductory session every first Saturday of the month – £8 donation requested.

Monthly schedule:
First Saturday of month: Discovering Spaciousness of Mind  10:00 – 12:00; an introduction to the Aro gTér Lineage and its practices, and to the Nyingma school of Buddhism; £8 donation requested.
*Next one Saturday 6th February*

Retreat days – one Saturday a month as advertised, 10:00 to 19:00; £30 in advance, or £35 on the day. Concessions available on application and if paid in advance.
February 13: Wearing the body of Visions
March 12: The Mahasiddhas
April 09: The 5 Principles of Awareness



February 13: Wearing the Body of Visions
Explore the rich and dramatic symbolism of inner Tantra, through practices of vision, yogic song, chant, mudra, and Tantric music. We are symbols of our true enlightened selves, and through ‘wearing’ the visionary body of the awareness-beings we can reveal our true nature. The peaceful, joyous, and wrathful awareness-beings are the key to both personal dignity and to perceiving the dignity of others. The day will conclude with an empowerment into the
practice of Yeshé Tsogyel, the female tantric Buddha of Tibet.
10:00 – 19:00, £30 if paid in advance, £35 on the day
*Bookings now being taken for this event. Book on Meetup.com and pay in advance on Paypal to receive the discount, send a cheque made out to ‘Aro Ling Cardiff’, or pay cash when you visit.*

March 12: The Mahasiddhas
The 84 Mahasiddhas were early Tantric practitioners who discovered complete liberation through outrageously conventional or unconventional means. The lives of the Mahasiddhas emphasise that spiritual realisation is found within ordinary life, not in a special realm outside it. Stories of some of the 84 Mahasiddhas will presented from the unique perspective of Dzogchen. This method of integrating practice into the experience of everyday life is a profound practice of finding the presence of awareness in all of one’s experience.
10:00 – 19:00, £30 if paid in advance, £35 on the day


April 09: The 5 Principles of Awareness
The method of the Owl Precepts undermines the confusion that creates unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Living within the Owl Precepts is an invaluable method of realising the spiritual path through everyday life. This Dzogchen view of the Five Buddhist Precepts originates in the Heart Essence Sutra of the Owl-headed Dakini, from the gTérmas of Khyungchen Aro Lingma (1886-1923).
10:00 – 19:00, £30 if paid in advance, £35 on the day

For fuller details of events at Aro Ling Cardiff Buddhist Centre, please visit

aro-ling.org/cardiff or meetup.com/arolingcardiff