• DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
• REGULAR EVENTS AT THE SAMYE DHARMA PRACTICE GROUP, GRAHAMSTOWN
• EVENTS IN 2012
• SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPING OUR PRACTICE
• MINDFULNESS AFRICA: ONE YEAR COURSE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (INCLUDING THE EASTERN CAPE)
• MESSAGE AND CHALLENGE FROM ROB NAIRN
• RECORDINGS FOR SALE

DATES FOR YOUR DIAIRY

19th February:  MEDITATION DAY at the Grahamstown centre.  This month Anton is running a mindfulness day with a difference.  See Anton’s description below.  Contact Antonmnrkrueger@gmail.com for more information.

6th March – 3rd April:  LAMA YESHE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA.  Go to www.kagyu.org.za for his itinerary.

For the dates of up and coming Mindfulness courses in Southern Africa seewww.mindfulnessafrica.org

REGULAR EVENTS

Weekly Mindfulness Practice (Grahamstown)
“Mindfulness is knowing what is happening, while it is happening without preference”
Each week we meet on Tuesday at 6pm @ 19 West Street, Grahamstown to practice together.  All Welcome.  Free.

Chenrezig Puja (Grahamstown)
Chenrezig is a Tibetan Buddhist practice to develop compassion.
Every Tuesday at 7pm, 9 Mount Road, Grahamstown.

MINDFUL LIVING – A DAY LONG RETREAT (Grahamstown)  19th February, 10am -3pm
Losar is the Tibetan New Year (“Lo” – new; “sar” – year), and traditionally:

“Losar is marked with activities that symbolise purification, and welcoming in the new. Losar rituals include cleaning and painting houses, wearing new clothes, and resolving quarrels and debts.”
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/holydays/losar.shtml#h1>

Your clothes and quarrels are up to you, but we’d like to inaugurate our new shrine room with a good coat of paint. And a happy feast of eating. The mindfulness day before Losar, on Sunday 19 February, will thus be used for a session of Mindful Painting and Mindful eating, as we gear up our new premises at 19 West Street.

CENTRE MEMBERSHIP
Everywhere else prices are rising but we have decided to drop our membership fee this year.  Anton and Louise have kindly offered us a wonderful studio space for our shrine room and are doing so for free! The cost of becoming a member is:

R120 – Full Membership
R60 – Full membership for students & pensioners
R30 – Sponsorship

What does this give you?  Full membership means you can have 20% off the cost of any events run by the centre and 15% off Eastern Cape Mindfulness courses.  Sponsorship gives you 10% off centre events and Eastern Cape mindfulness courses. You also have access to our library of books, DVD’s and recordings. As a member you are also entitled to apply for sponsorship to attend retreats.

What do we spend the money on?  Most of the money we raise is spent on bringing teachers to the Eastern Cape.  We are starting a fund to support members who want to go on retreat or attend courses and cannot afford it.  We also give a donation to support the Riebeeck East Creche and are hoping to expand this support.  This year we are also hoping to support an environmental initiative in the area.

EVENTS FOR 2012 

Beloved Lama Yeshe visits South Africa in 2012.  He won’t be coming to the Eastern Cape but will be visiting the major centers around South Africa.
Tara Rokpa Centre – 7th -11th of March
Randburg Centre – 11th – 16th March
Kensington Centre – 16th -20th March
Cape Town – 20th -25th March
Zimbabwe – 26th March – 3rd April

Sharing transport to go see Lama Yeshe
There are a few people from the Eastern Cape that would like to share transport to the Tara Rokpa Centre to see Lama Yeshe.The Karmapa requests that we cut down on our carbon emissions.  Sharing transport is one way of doing this.  If you are interested in joining this group please contact Alhyrian Laue at alhyrian@gmail.com.

We will also have another visit from Lucid Dreamer, Charlie Morley.  He will be coming to Grahamstown to run a weekend workshop on the mindfulness of dream and sleep.  The dates of his visit are still to be confirmed but he will probably arrive in South Africa as Grahamstown starts enjoying those wonderful mild autumn days.  For more information about Charlie’s visit contact Anton atmnrkrueger@gmail.com.

DEVELOPING OUR PRACTICEl

A lot of new mindfulness practitioners have joined our regular sitting group. Some of us, who are new to the practice, have asked for more regular and ongoing support beyond the weekly mindfulness sitting practice.  At the Mindfulness Africa 10 day retreat, Jane spoke to the Mindfulness Africa mentors about how to support new practitioners.  The advice given was that the best way to stabilise our practice is to put all our efforts into getting a regular daily practice started.  To help us do this we can do the following:

• Attend a mindfulness course  In the Eastern Cape the Mindfulness Based Living course will be run in Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown (see www.mindfulnessafrica.org for more details).
• Attend the Grahamstown Samye Dharma Practice Groups regular monthly meditation days which are free and open to all.
• Go to a regular weekly meditation group.  There are a lot of centres that offer meditation groups both in the Buddhist tradition and other traditions.  If there is no group in your area, start one with a friend.
• Go on a 5 to 10 day retreat. A lot of practitioners feel that going on a longer retreat helps them see the benefits of prolonged practice and thus being motivated to practice more regularly at home.  The next long retreat will be in Cape Town guided by Donal Creedon from England.  He is a very experienced meditation teacher who has benefited many people. For more information contact capetown@kagyu.org.za.
• Find a buddy who we can phone or speak to once a week.  This relationship can become a great support both in terms of talking through difficulties as well as motivating us to practice.

In Grahamstown, we could help each other develop this daily practice by using our regular mindfulness groups as support.  We can commit to practicing for a few minutes to 45 minutes a day.  We can keep a journal of our practice and at our regular meetings pose questions to our peer group and discuss our difficulties.  What we should find is through regular practice we will begin to notice where we need guidance and learn to identify the questions we need to ask.

The basic message is: – If we are not practicing regularly our understanding remains at a superficial intellectual level and this is what leads to practitioners becoming frustrated.  The benefit of the courses we go on and the advice of more experienced practitioners will only fully ripen through regular practice. Mindfulness is not a magic tool, it is a mind training and like any other training, practice is essential.
When it comes to developing Mindfulness the more effort we put in, the more our minds will change and the more we (and others) will benefit.

MINDFULNESS AFRICA: ONE YEAR COURSE 

All over the world people are starting to realise the benefits of  secular Mindfulness and it seems South Africa is slowly following suit. It is currently the most researched topic in Psychology.  This year the one year course will be run in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth and Plettenberg Bay/Knysna.   There are also numerous 8 week courses that will be run around South Africa.  In Cape Town we will be piloting our first family retreat and in Grahamstown our first collaboration with creative writers.   The teacher training programme has also started this year with over 20 people starting with year one.   This programme is for practitioners who wish to become mindfulness trainers.  The course consists of 4 stages run over 4 years.  Depending on your qualifications and experience as a practitioner, you can enter the programme at stage 1 or stage 3.  Stage one :  Establishing a regular daily practice, is also open to those who don’t wish to be a trainer but would like more supported in developing their practice.

For more information on mindfulness retreats and courses around South Africa visit the mindfulness website at www.mindfulnessafrica.org.  Below are the dates for the Grahamstown one year course which will be held at the Samye Dharma venue.  The dates and information for courses in Port Elizabeth, Plettenberg Bay, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban are on the Mindfulness Africa website or contact Jane at jane@mindfulnessafrica.org.

24th & 25th March: MODULE 1 : Becoming Present
28th & 29th July:  MODULE 2 : Working with Distraction
22nd & 23rd September:  MODULE 3 : Self Acceptance
2nd – 11th November: MODULE 4: ‘Maturing the Mind’ led by Rob Nairn and Choden (10 day retreat held at the Tara Rokpa Centre)

A MESSAGE AND CHALLENGE FROM ROB NAIRN

Next year we make history at the Tara Rokpa Retreat centre in Groot Marico, with the start of the first ever Ngondro retreat in Africa.  The retreat will begin in March and will run for six months.  Lama Yeshe Rinpoche will do the ceremony and the first retreat will be for women.  Some of the retreaters need sponsorship, and this creates a wonderful opportunity for all of us.  Sponsoring a retreater is said to be a very auspicious and beneficial act.  Some authorities go so far as saying that the sponsor gets the same benefit as the retreater.  I leave you to reflect on the implications of this view.  But even if it seems a little far-fetched to you, I would encourage you to think of the general benefits we as a Sangha will get as a result of more experienced practitioners in Africa.  Maybe we could have a competition!  I pledge R1000 for each retreat and invite you all to beat me!  I look forward to be ing resoundingly defeated.

With best wishes in Dharma

Rob
If you wish to sponsor retreaters, contact the Tara Rokpa Centre at trc@vodamail.co.za

RECORDINGS AVAILABLE FOR SALE

We have a few recordings of teachings given in Grahamstown over the past two years.  If you would like to purchase a copy please contact Jane at jane.realife@gmail.com.  The cost of a recording is R20.  Below is a list of what is currently available.

• Ken & Katia Holmes 2010 – Teachings on Compassion and Tibetan Medicine
• Charlie Morley 2011 – The Mindfulness of Dream and Sleep
• Ken Holmes 2011 – Tonglen and the nature of Mind in Tibetan Buddhism

15 March 2011, 18h00-19:30

On Tuesday 15 March, we will be having a special Mindfulness session with Jamie Lachman. Jamie McLaren Lachman is the founder and director of Clowns Without Borders South Africa (www.cwbsa.org), a humanitarian organization that provides psychosocial support through laughter and play to communities affected by crisis in Southern Africa. A clown, musician, poet, and facilitator, he has practiced insight meditation and mindfulness based stress reduction for the past 9 years. Always looking for laughter in the life’s simplicity, Jamie lives each day fully with compassion and amazement in the wonders of the world.

Cost: R40 Venue: Longleat, 9 Mount Road Places are limited. To book your place contact Anton at mnrkrueger@gmail.com or Jane at jane.realife@gmail.com, 0846226045.

THE MINDFULNESS OF DREAM AND SLEEP

23rd March 2011

12:30 -13:30 Lecture: Lucid Dreaming & Nightmares hosted by the Psychology Department, Rhodes University, Rm 11.

14:15 -15:00 Lecture: Dream and Creativity hosted by the Drama Department, Rhodes University.  DLT (Drama Dept)

18:00 – 21:00 Workshop, Learning to Lucid Dream, Longleat, 9 Mount Road Cost: R50 Bring supper to share. Places are limited.

Please book your place with Anton at mnrkrueger@gmail.com or Jane at jane.realife@gmail.com, 0846226045.

Charlie Morley is an experienced lucid dreamer, who integrates lucid dreaming into his Tibetan Buddhist spiritual practice and teaching. He has conducted workshops on lucid dreaming all over the world, including in Asia and Africa, and has presented formal seminars at the UCT Medical School and Goldsmiths University in London on nightmares and lucid dreaming, and also on creativity and lucid dreaming. He is currently writing a book with Rob Nairn that pioneers their new holistic approach to lucid dream practice called Mindfulness of Dream and Sleep, due to be published in 2012. He comes highly recommended for his intellectual grasp of the field, his experience, and his dynamic and engaging presentation style (he has an art and drama background). For further information, here’s the link to Charlie’s website: http://www.charliemorley.com.

REGULAR EVENTS IN MARCH Mindfulness Meditation Every Tuesday evening from 6-6:45pm @9 Mount road Chenrezig Practice Every Tuesday evening from 7pm @ 9 Mount Road.

Urban Retreat with Alan Muller

In the urban retreat we don’t go somewhere special and sit quietly for long periods of time, but rather integrate various practices into our normal lives in a structured, specific way. The aim is to live more constructively – to be more relaxed, mindful and kind.

Practices such as mini-relaxations, mindful walking, daily reflections and meditations are sequentially introduced over the retreat.

Tuesday, 18 January, 2011 19:00-20:30 Urban Retreat, Part One

Wednesday, 20 January, 2011 19:00-20:30 Urban Retreat Part Two

Thursday, 21 January, 2011 19:00-20:30 Reflections

(For the third session, Alan will recount some of his personal reflections on going on long retreat, meetings with lamas and anecdotes from the lives of the lineage holders.)

Alan Muller has done a one-year closed retreat under the guidance of Lama Yeshe Rinpoche at Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. During this period he took novice monks vows. Alan remained a novice monk for six years and now presents courses and retreats as a layperson. He has received teachings and instructions from high Lamas both in Scotland and India.

Cost: R40 per session, R100 for all three.

Nobody will be turned away for not paying, but we suggest R40 per session (or R100 for all three), in order to help cover the costs of Alan’s transport. It is possible to only do any one of the sessions and not the others. In the Buddhist tradition, Alan is not charging for his teachings, but should you wish to support his practice further you may donate dana (a box will be provided for anonymous donations.)

All sessions will be held at 9 Mount Road, Longleat (see below for directions.)

For more info call Anton: 0823243048, mnrkrueger@gmail.com

The Grahamstown Samye Dharma group meets at Longleat every Tuesday at 18:00 for a thirty minute meditation practise. Occasionally, weekend meditation retreats are offered with visiting teachers. If you wish to be on our mailing list please send your address to:

Jane Burt – jane.realife@gmail.com

(Alan will also be offering Nöngdro training in PE and Grahamstown on Sunday 15 January and on Saturday and Sunday, 22 and 23 January. Contact Anton or Jane for more details.)

Directions to Longleat:

1. Driving from the N2 into Grahamstown, continue alongBeaufort Street until you reach a set of traffic lights on Hill street.

2. Turn right into Hill Street.

3. Take the third left into Lawrence street

4. Turn immediately right into Cathcart street.

5. Go right to the top of Cathcart street and turn right (there’s a sign saying it’s a one way street, but don’t be confused).

6. The road runs through a farm gate into the property: 9 Mount Road or Longleat.

NOVEMBER 2010
This month we host international meditation teachers, Ken and Katia Holmes from Samye Ling Monostry in Scotland.  We have a few places left for their retreat and talks.  Please book in advance if you would like to attend (See below for more details).
Regular Events for November:
Mindfulness Meditation
Tuesday 6pm – 6:45pm
Chenrezig
Tuesday 7pm – 7:45pm
KEN AND KATIA HOLMES GRAHAMSTOWN AND PORT ELIZABETH VISIT
19th -22nd November 2010
Summary of Events
GRAHAMSTOWN
Public lectures
 
On Friday night, 19 November, from 17:00-18:00, Ken will present a public lecture on Tibetan Buddhism in the West. This will be a general talk, about his experiences of forty years at Samye Ling in Scotland, the first Tibetan monastery in the West. It will be held at the Faculty of Humanities seminar room, which is on the corner of Prince Alfred and Somerset Streets (opposite the Drama dept). (Free, no booking required).
 
On Saturday evening, 20 November, from 19:00-20:30, Katia Holmes will be drawing on her extensive experience of Tibetan Medicine to provide an overview of the astonishing differences between Tibetan and western medical systems. Tibetan medicine is unique in that it also requires the emotional and mental cultivation of its practitioners, not only an increase of their scientific knowledge. (Cost: R40.00, please book in advance).  
 
Meditation Retreat (Please book in advance)
 
During the retreat (see full programme on following page) Ken will be guiding meditation practise and speaking on the central importance of compassion to all of our endeavours. The retreat runs during the daytime on Saturday, and on Sunday morning up to lunchtime. If you do not feel up to the first meditation session each morning, you are welcome to join us at 9:00 for the first session after breakfast.
PRICE
R350.00 for the full retreat (includes Saturday night lecture.)
R100 deposit secures your place on the retreat.
 
10% discount for students and pensioners
10% discount for sponsors
30% discount for full members
 
 For bookings or more information contact:

Jane Burt:         0846226045               jane.realife@gmail.com
Anton Krueger:  0823243048               mnrkrueger@gmail.com
PORT ELIZABETH
Monday 22nd November
Venue: ACT Centre, Target Kloof
Time: 19:30
Room 1 Ken Holmes – Developing compassion for oneself and others (my suggestion)
Room 2 Katia Holmes – Tibetan approach to healing  
Suggested donation: R30 minimum
For bookings and more information contact:
Hugh Laue 0828575755         hughlaue@gmail.com  

Ken and Katia Holmes
 
Kenneth Holmes is a well-known Buddhist scholar, author and translator of ancient texts. He lectures and teaches internationally and has taught Buddhist studies and Tibetan language at Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland since 1982, where he holds the title ofdharmacarya, Master of Buddhist Studies. He has been the monastery’s Director of Studies since 1988. He was a founder member of the Scottish Inter-Faith Association and he was representative to the EU for all Buddhist organisations in Europe during its 2004 constitutional changes involving civil society.
 
Katia Holmes is one of the foremost translators of Tibetan texts. Her intimate knowledge and experience of Tibetan medicine over forty years is unrivalled.
 
DANA
It is a standard practise among teachers of Tibetan Buddhism not to charge for their teachings. The price of the retreat will be used to pay for Ken and Katia’s travel expenses and to raise funds in order to allow the Grahamstown Dharma Centre to invite more teachers next year. However, if you wish to offer Ken and Katia Dana (a gift of appreciation to support their further teachings), there will be a facility provided for this at the end of the retreat.

For bookings or more info contact:

Anton: mnrkrueger@gmail.com   0823243048

Please see below our July programme for Dharma practice and secular mindfulness practice (Please see below).

GROUP MEDITATION PRACTICE

Just before the festival we had a gentle day of meditation practice at 9 Mount road.  It was such a nice day that the people that came requested we make this a monthly event.  The day consisted of practicing together, discussing any difficulties we were having with meditation practice, sharing a fantastic lunch and watching a DVD on Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s life.  Cost of attendance is by donation which will go towards covering tea and coffee and supporting the new Samye Dharma Practice Group to bring teachers to the Eastern Cape.

SECULAR MINDFULNESS DAY

The monthly mindfulness day will take place on the 24th of July.  The cost will be the usual, R260.  It is practice not to exclude anyone who would like to attend but cannot afford to.  Please contact us to discuss alternatives.  There is a discount for those who are members of the Samye Dharma Practice Group (See below).

MEMBERSHIP TO GRAHAMSTOWN SAMYE DHARMA PRACTICE GROUP

We are now official having opened our bank account a few weeks ago.  This means that you can now become a member of the group.  The main aims of SDPGG is to foster the teachings of the Kagyu lineage of Vajrayana Buddhism as well as promote secular mindfulness practice.  Money collected from monthly membership fees will be used to bring teachers to Grahamstown in order to teach meditation and Vajrayana Buddhism as well as pay for the basic office expenses to run the group.

As a member you will

• get a discount off all events, retreats and teachings.  This will include the monthly mindfulness day.
• as a member you are entitled to vote for office bearers at the group’s annual meeting
• you are also welcome to come and meditate in the shrine room and/or enjoy the garden at 9 Mount road (during the day) so long as you contact Jane beforehand.

We currently have three membership options:

Full Membership: R150 per month.

This gives you a 30% discount off all events, retreats and teachings organised by the SDPGG and secular mindfulness events run by Jane under Mindfulness Africa

Sponsorship Member: R50 per month.

This gives you a 10 % discount of all events, retreats and teachings organised by the SDPGG and secular mindfulness events run by Jane under Mindfulness Africa

Student/Pensioner membership:  R80 per month.

This gives you a 30% discount off all events, retreats and teachings organised by the SDPGG and secular mindfulness events run by Jane under Mindfulness Africa.

If anyone would like to become a member please contact our treasurer, Alexandra Johnson on 0832618952 orale_chandra@yahoo.com

The founding members and current office bearers of the SDPGG are:

Alexandra Johnson, Anton Krueger, Beverly Taylor and Jane Burt.

Please note, you do not have to be a member of the group to attend any of the groups activities.  You do not have to be a Buddhist to be a member.  Membership is for those who wish to support the group and its aim to bring teachers to the Eastern Cape, as well as support meditation practice as a path towards inner peace and thus world peace.

With Best Wishes

Jane

–
To see the world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
William Blake – Auguries of Innocence

0846226045
jane.realife@gmail.com
http://.janerealife.wordpress.com
Skype address: jane-realife

PROGRAMME
22 May 2010 10:00am – 3:30pm
Mindfulness meditation (Jane)
Chenrezig explanation (David)
Mindfulness relaxation (Jane)
LUNCH
Clarification of Practice (David)
Chenrezig Practice (David)
COST: R150 (This will go towards bringing more teachers to the Eastern Cape.  David is not charging for his time)
The cost does not include lunch.  We suggest bringing a lunch dish to share.
Booking is essential.  Please contact Jane @ 0846226045 or jane.realife@gmail.com
With Best Wishes

Jane Burt

0846226045
jane.realife@gmail.com
http://.janerealife.wordpress.com
Skype address: jane-realife

Jane 0846226045 Wed 5^th 7-8pm Chenrezig Puja Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045

Anton 0823243048 Thurs 6^th 6-7pm Taming the Tiger for Nyondro students Grahamstown

Beverly 0725179752 Sat 8^th 10am-5pm Mindfulness Day, Grahamstown Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045 Wed 12^th 6-6:45pm Secular Mindfulness Practice Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045 Wed 12^th 7-8pm Chenrezig Puja Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045

Anton 0823243048 Thurs 13^th 6-7pm Taming the Tiger for Nyondro students Grahamstown

Beverly 0725179752 Sat 15^th –Sun 16^th 2 days Mindfulness Africa Planning Meeting, Randburg, Johannesburg Wed 19^th 6-6:45pm Secular Mindfulness Practice ­Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045 Wed 19^th 7-8pm Chenrezig Puja Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045

Anton 0823243048 Thurs 18th 6-7pm Taming the Tiger for Nyondro students Grahamstown

Beverly 0725179752 Sat 22^nd 10am – 4pm Day of Compassion: Instructions for the meditation & mantra recitation of Chenrezig (David Tyfield David Tyfield from Cape Town

To book: Jane 0846226045 Sun 23^rd 6-7pm Medicine Buddha Puja Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045

Anton 0823243048 Wed 26^th 6-6:45pm Secular Mindfulness Practice Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045 Wed 26^th 7-8pm Chenrezig Puja Grahamstown

Jane 0846226045

Anton 0823243048 Thurs 27^th 6-7pm Taming the Tiger for students of Nyondro Grahamstown

Beverly 0725179752 Fri 28^th 6-7pm Green Tara Puja (Full Moon) Grahamstown

Alexandra 0832618952 ]]> http://www.kagyu.org.za/eastern-cape/grahamstown/grahamstown-programme-may-2010/feed/ 0