Announcements Issue
Volume 12, Number 6 / December 2012
Warm Wishes for the New Year
A Message From Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Dear Sangha Members,
As we are finishing the old year and looking ahead to the New Year, I wish to send my prayers and warmest greetings to everyone.
This life is very rare and precious, and it does not last very long. Every moment that passes never returns. We don’t want to waste these precious moments by worrying, being sad or arguing. Instead, we can use each of them as an opportunity to be aware, to grow and to share our gifts with others.
At the close of every year, we all have something we want to say goodbye to. We all want to find clarity, and we all look forward to new possibilities. May all your obstacles of the past year be cleared. May all your creative potential be realized, toward enriching your life and livelihood. May all your spiritual pursuits develop and extend toward enlightenment.
With all my blessings,
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
A Letter From Ligmincha’s Executive Director
The Year in Review – 2012
What a year! This year marks the 20th anniversary since Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche founded Ligmincha Institute. It has been a year of reflection, both looking at the past and looking toward the future. So much has been accomplished through Tenzin Rinpoche's tireless efforts worldwide in bringing the precious Bon teachings to so many of us, bringing awareness of the vast teachings of this tradition into our hearts and minds.
Over the last 20 years, Rinpoche has started centers and groups throughout the world. The main retreat centers are Serenity Ridge, Virginia, the international headquarters of Ligmincha worldwide; Chamma Ling Colorado, for personal retreats; Chamma Ling Mexico, in Valle de Bravo and Torreon—home of two incredible stupas; and Chamma Ling Poland, with its stupa. Efforts are now under way for a new European retreat center based in Germany to serve the whole of the European sangha.
News from Serenity Ridge
At Serenity Ridge, we have had a full year of retreats, including Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's teachings on Creativity, The Six Lamps (part 2), Awakening the Luminous Mind and, coming up at the end of December, the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung Part 5, which completes a five-year cycle of dzogchen teachings. Rinpoche will begin the Zhang Zhung cycle again at our Winter Retreat in December 2013. Other Serenity Ridge retreats this year included Marcy Vaughn's practice retreat on Sherap Chamma, Alejandro Chaoul-Reich's second of a four-part Trul Khor retreat and John Jackson's Introduction to Meditation weekend course. Scientists gathered at Serenity Ridge in February for a two-day dialogue on Buddhism and science. Geshe Nyima Kunchap performed a soul retrieval ritual and healing practice of Sipe Gyalmo ritual. In addition, the first year of the two-year Soul and Life-Force Retrieval Program took place, with Geshe Kunchap teaching the first session and Geshe YongDong teaching the second, both assisted by Khandro Tsering Wangmo and Raven Cypress Wood. We have hosted Tibetan doctor Amchi Thupten Tsering monthly at Serenity Ridge since September for both lectures and consultations. We also hosted a number of groups who rented our center, including The Three Doors.
This has been a time of reflection, too. Our strategic planning committee, Dowdell and Kat Brown, Rob and Eileen Patzig, John Massie, Gabriel Rocco, Marcy Vaughn, Norman Dill and I have continued meetings. In discussion with Tenzin Rinpoche, the main focus has been to reflect on ways to support and expand Ligmincha Institute and Serenity Ridge over the next 20 years. At our summer retreat, Board members and organizers from the international sangha joined us to reflect on how we can together better support the mission and each other. Recognizing the need for a resident lama, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche invited Geshe Tenzin Yangton to be the resident lama at Serenity Ridge. We are currently in process of filing the necessary immigration forms, with the assistance of a lawyer who has offered his services pro bono, and hope Geshe Yangton will join us full-time by next summer.
To continue with the physical support for programs and events at Serenity Ridge, we are researching and exploring the possibility of building a new kitchen and dining hall. We will keep everyone informed as this moves along.
Last year a generous donation was made of a piece of property in Rangeley, Me. We had hoped to turn it into a retreat center. After exploring the costs to renovate the building there and looking at the overall planning for Ligmincha and Serenity Ridge, the Ligmincha Board decided to sell the property.
One addition here at Serenity Ridge that I know many of you appreciate is that this year we transmitting Tenzin Rinpoche's teachings by live webcast directly from our gompa. The next live webcast is scheduled for Dec. 30 from 3–4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (New York time).
Headed by Marcy Vaughn, Ligmincha's Director of Study and Practice, and supported by Lourdes Hinojosa and Wojtech Plucinski, a team is working on ways to support practitioners. We will hear more from them in the coming months.
Administrative Changes
Changes this year in the Ligmincha Council have seen Polly Turner and Norman Dill stepping down from their positions as Ligmincha's Communications Director and Ligmincha's Director of Budget and Finance, respectively. We greatly appreciate their years of support. We warmly welcomed Mary Jo Herriman to join Joyce Asmussen as the Co-Director of Retreat Coordination. And most recently, we welcomed Rob Patzig as the new Director of Budget and Finance, and Dowdell and Kat Brown as Strategic Planning Consultants. Thanks to all of our Council members for their hard work and dedication. In addition, Karen Patrick has stepped down as the Volunteer Coordinator, an ongoing formal role although not a Council position. We thank her for being the first to help us in this way.
On our Board of Directors, Anne Klein has stepped down from her position. Anne was instrumental in bringing Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche to the West. We thank her for her many years of support from the very start of Ligmincha Institute. We also thank Gabriel Rocco, chairman of the Board, for his support, and Yongdzin Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche for his continued support and guidance.
We've also had a number of changes in office staff. Earlier this year, we had a changeover in the Manager of our Bookstore & Tibet Shop. We thank Melissa O'Neill for her work and welcomed Bo Holland into this position in March. In May, Susan Wenzel was hired as my assistant. In July, Paige Hartsell, our Retreat Registration Coordinator, moved to New Jersey. We wish her well in her new life there. In August, Carrie Chandler began as an intern in the position of Retreat Registration Coordinator and Program Support. She is now living onsite, supporting retreat participants before and during retreats. Our longtime caretakers, Lee Hartline and Raven Cypress Wood, departed Serenity Ridge in September to live nearby. We are currently finalizing plans to fill the newly opened Maintenance Technician position at Serenity Ridge.
We've had a number of notable volunteer efforts this year, including Lutz Dausend's work on the international website; Zeyno Dodd's new retreat registration database for our office; Dave Liden's continued assistance with our current website and work to install a registration module for Serenity Ridge retreats into our new website; and the continued work of Aline and Jeff Fisher for Voice of Clear Light, now aided by Vickie Walter for editing and Mark Hammons for online publication. Also a big thank-you for the many other volunteers who have assisted during the year in a variety of ways, including at retreats.
And finally, we wish to thank those who have made financial donations this year. These generous contributions of time and finances greatly support the efforts of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Ligmincha Institute and our Serenity Ridge Retreat Center. As an end-of-the year reminder, Ligmincha Institute is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization. If you wish to make a financial donation, all donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Donate now by credit card or check
New Website for the New Year
Many of you have perhaps heard whispers that we will soon have a new website for Ligmincha International and Ligmincha's Bookstore & Tibet Shop. We are grateful for sangha members Lutz and Bogusia Dausend, Dave Liden, Polly Turner, Bo Holland, Zeyno Dodd and Oliver Wirtz, who are working to create this new website. The main idea is that with a sangha now spread throughout the world, it is important to unify all of the websites so that we have one place where sangha can find up-to-date information about Ligmincha, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Rinpoche's international teaching schedule, along with easy access to his free international webcasts and online videos. Learn more about the new website in the article below.
We have exciting plans for the year ahead for more retreats and other events. If you have any questions, or wish to know more details, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
I wish you all the very best as this year comes to a close,
Sue Davis-Dill
Executive Director, Ligmincha Institute
Update on the New Ligmincha Website
Your Doorway to All of Ligmincha’s Worldwide Activities
Come the start of the New Year, the face of Ligmincha's website will change. At that time, Ligmincha.org will be the homepage of Ligmincha International—your entryway not just to Serenity Ridge, but to all of Ligmincha's worldwide centers and sanghas.
A separate website for Serenity Ridge, featuring much of the same information currently on the Ligmincha website, will be available in January and can be accessed through the new Ligmincha International homepage.
This new international website is being designed at a minimal cost, mostly through volunteer efforts. Spearheading the project are Lutz and Bogusia Dausend, with the assistance of Dave Liden, Polly Turner, Sue Davis-Dill, Zeyno Dodd, Bo Holland and Oliver Wirtz.
Created in Stages
As this is a big project, the website is being created in stages.
• Stage 1: You'll have access to most of the same information found on our current website, including details about Ligmincha Institute, Bon Buddhism and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, plus prominent links to the websites of Serenity Ridge and the Chamma Ling retreat centers in Mexico, Poland and the United States. International news will be featured on the homepage. You'll also see a new and improved Ligmincha Institute Bookstore & Tibet Shop at LigminchaStore.org.
• Stage 2: A special "Find a Center or Sangha" page will offer links to information about all Ligmincha centers, sanghas and practice groups worldwide. New websites will be created for Ligmincha Germany and Ligmincha U.S. as pilots for the design of other Ligmincha websites.
• Stage 3: Primary information on the Ligmincha International website will be translated into a variety of languages, to further increase access to teachings worldwide. We also plan to include information about all worldwide retreats and sangha activities. Over time, Ligmincha International hopes to assist every center, sangha and practice group worldwide in developing an integrated Web presence accessible through the new Ligmincha.org homepage.
Don't Lose Your Personal Data
The current Ligmincha website will no longer be accessible after Dec. 31. Therefore, if you are a registered user of Ligmincha.org, consider logging in to your account now to retrieve from your profile any information you might need for future use of our site.
Specifically, your profile may include information about transmissions you have received during past retreats. That information will be necessary for ordering restricted items from the Tibet Shop, or for registering for a retreat that requires a prerequisite.
We're excited about the new website. Not only will it increase access to the Bon Buddhist teachings, it is also being designed to make future upgrades much easier and less time-consuming.
More information will be coming soon!
Upcoming December Webcast
Live Guided Dzogchen Meditation
The next scheduled live webcast of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche will be Sunday, Dec. 30, from 3–4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time U.S. (New York time). It will be broadcast live during an afternoon teaching by Rinpoche during the annual winter retreat and is not a public talk. (Please note that an incorrect date for the webcast was listed in the October issue of VOCL.)
Learn more and enter the broadcast page
New Online Workshop ‘Awakening the Sacred Arts’
Discover Your Creative Potential at Workshop Starting Jan. 12
Coming this January is a brand-new online workshop with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, "Awakening the Sacred Arts: Discovering Your Creative Potential." Join other participants from around the world in bringing your creative endeavors to an entirely new level.
News From Chamma Ling Retreat Center in Colorado
Community House Nearing Completion
Do you know about Chamma Ling, Ligmincha Institute's Retreat Center that is being developed in the mountains of Crestone, Colo.? It is open to all as a support for serious practitioners.
In the current second stage of development of Chamma Ling, a Community House is being built. Its purpose is twofold: to provide a space for small group practice retreats and to serve the support needs of retreatants in future cabins higher up into the mountains.
When Chamma Ling provides small practice retreats for groups of 25 or fewer, a place is needed for all to gather for meals, as well as bath house facilities and a library/office. The new Community House will provide an organizational center for people to check in and simple quarters for a retreat coordinator.
Learn more about the Community House
Learn more about Chamma Ling Retreat Center
With Gratitude
Lee Hartline and Raven Wood
Lee Hartline and Raven Wood, along with dogs Tashi and Julien, moved to a wonderful, spacious nearby home in the country after many years of service as caretakers at Serenity Ridge. Lee's magnificent koi moved from the pond in the meditation garden to Sangha member Ananda Cronin's fish pond earlier in the summer. Lee has generously left the equipment for the five new little goldfish that now inhabit the pond.
The sangha would like to thank Lee and Raven for being so giving and so kind-spirited, and so fun in helping Rinpoche over all of these years realize his ever-evolving vision for Ligmincha! And a special thank-you for compassionate service in helping assure that Serenity Ridge has remained a magical and transformative place for all of us to keep coming home to.
Thanks, too, for all of the dedicated care you have given behind the scenes to ensure that the grounds and the gardens looked as beautiful as ever all year round, and that the dorms, the lamas' quarters and all the facilities—even the tent sites—were all in tip-top shape for each retreat and workshop.
Thanks, too, for all of the dedicated care you have given behind the scenes to ensure that the grounds and the gardens looked as beautiful as ever all year round, and that the dorms, the lamas' quarters and all the facilities—even the tent sites—were all in tip-top shape for each retreat and workshop.
And heartfelt thanks for repeatedly going the extra mile to make sure that students on retreat at Serenity Ridge have always felt welcome and at ease. You set up the perfect foundation for our being able to come back into balance for receiving the full wisdom and compassion of the teachings and practices that Rinpoche has offered over almost 15 years of retreats at Serenity Ridge.
Finally, sincere thanks to Lee for the decade of service to Rinpoche in maintaining the office and administration of Ligmincha from 2000–2010, and for being the kind, reliable and helpful voice on the telephone for the day-to-day running of the organization.
We hope you both are enjoying your new home, the view from its amazing wrap-around porch and the wonderful shrine room you have there. We also know that the loving care and affection we have shared over the years will abide as we all continue our magical Bon journey with Rinpoche.
Three Doors Opportunity
Still Time to Join U.S. Academy
Did you miss the beginning of The Three Doors Academy this past October and feel a longing to join? There is a special opportunity this February to do just that.
The Three Doors is happy to announce an Entry-Level Retreat, scheduled for Feb. 20-24, 2013, at Serenity Ridge for anyone interested in joining the U.S. Academy that began in October 2012. Marcy Vaughn will be presenting this opportunity. She and Gabriel Rocco are the teachers for the U.S. Academy. This is the last scheduled Academy in the U.S. at this time. For this reason we are offering people the opportunity to attend the Entry-Level Retreat, joining the Academy for duration of its 2½-year program. Those who are interested in attending will need to complete the full application process. Space is limited to ensure the quality of the Academy experience.
A TASTE of The Three Doors is coming to Mexico City Feb. 23–24, 2013. This two-day seminar, presented by Laura Shekerjian and Kallon Basquin, will offer a taste of the simple, direct, meditative practices of body, speech and mind. Within a supportive environment, you are invited to reflect upon everyday experiences and learn to see personal challenges as opportunities for transformation. In this way, the jewel that is hidden in your ordinary experience becomes revealed and the profound gifts of this inner refuge—spaciousness, awareness and warmth—bring healing and benefit to you, your relationships with others and the greater world. This is an introductory experience for beginners and advanced practitioners alike. Everyone is welcome.
Rinpoche’s Teaching Schedule for 2013
View Updated Schedule by Date Online
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's 2013 schedule of international teachings is available by date on the Ligmincha website. Watch for an updated 2013 schedule by location coming soon.
View Rinpoche's 2013 schedule by date
Link to ‘Yungdrung Bon in Pictures’ on Facebook
Link to and Contribute Images of Bon Teachers and Community
Upcoming Retreats
Ligmincha’s Serenity Ridge Retreat Center
The retreats described below will take place at Serenity Ridge, Ligmincha Institute’s retreat center in Nelson County, Va. To register or for more information, click on the links below, or contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 434-263-6304.
Dec. 27, 2012–Jan. 1, 2013
Winter Retreat 2012: Experiential Transmission, Part 5
Dzogchen Teachings With Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
Prerequisite: Participants must have received the teachings for Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Experiential Transmission of Zhang Zhung in order to attend these Part 5 teachings.
Learn more or register
April 10–14, 2013
Spring Retreat 2013: Embracing Impermanence—Inner Refuge in the Face of Change
Registration opens Jan. 5, 2013.
To register for any of the above retreats, or for more information about teachings in the Bon Buddhist tradition of Tibet, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 434-263-6304, or visit the Ligmincha Institute website.
