Greetings from Gampo Abbey

Cheerful summer from Gampo Abbey! When we were last in touch, we had just completed the first part of our Spring Shedra, a four-week class on Madhyamaka. In May, our Spring Shedra concluded with a class on the History of Buddhism, taught by resident Gelong Lodrö Sangpo from his translation of Erich Frauwallner’s Die Philosophie des Buddhismus ("The Philosophy of Buddhism").

Every year we hold a monastic celebration. This May we honoured the 25 years of full ordination of Lodrö Sangpo and the 20 years of full ordination of Ani Trime Lhamo, an early resident and long-time friend of the Abbey. May ended with a one-week silent Resident's Retreat, when residents had the opportunity to focus on their individual practices, always a time greatly cherished by the community.

June at the Abbey saw several celebrations: Vaishakha Day for the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing; Summer Solstice with a cleansing lhasang; and a rousing celebration of the 88th birthday of our resident elder, Ani Migme! And due to the generosity of many donors, we were able to buy the season's last catch from a local lobsterman and release all the lobsters back into the sea. See below for more.

July began with our annual Canada Day picnic with the Pleasant Bay community and a softball game with the local volunteer firefighters. See below for more.

Tours of the Abbey began and will run through the end of August. It is always a joy to introduce visitors to the Abbey. We completed our in-house retreats for the year. This summer forty-nine retreatants joined us from North America, Europe, and Australia. The retreatants all expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to spend a week or two at the Abbey, and the Abbey was certainly enriched by their presence! Click here for a beautiful photo album created by one of our in-house retreatants.

Throughout the summer, we have been watching our garden come to life under the care of our annual summer gardener, Eileen Jones, and her able co-gardeners. We are now enjoying the garden's bounty every day at lunch.

We have been blessed this summer by the presence of many volunteers who have cheerfully helped with all the things that needed to be be done in this busy time. Thank you so much -- we couldn't have done it without you!

We said goodbye to several residents and said hello to several more, who have joined us for a year or more. Plus, we had an ordination, so we have a new temporary monastic in our community!

And last, but certainly not least, we held a very successful Vajrayogini Druppa (practice intensive) at Söpa Chöling. See below for more.

Looking ahead, we are happy for three of our life monastics, who will shortly begin the first year of the traditional three-year retreat at Söpa Chöling, along with other devoted practitioners from around the world.

As we continue to enjoy the beauty of summer in Cape Breton, we hope that you are enjoying the season wherever you are. We are very grateful for your ongoing interest and support of the Abbey.

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Yarne 2012–13 Applications Now Being Accepted

Yarne is the traditional monastic "rains season" retreat held annually at Gampo Abbey. The practice stems from the Indian custom established by the Buddha. It is a time for intensive practice.

Yarne 2012–13 will be held December 23, 2012 to February 12, 2013 and is open to non-residents. The retreat will be led by Gampo Acharya Ani Pema Chödrön, who will teach on the four marks of existence. Yarne always fills up, so it is important to get your application in as soon as possible. Application deadline is October 12.

Click here for more information and to apply.

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Lobster Release

Each year at the end of the lobster season (May 1 to June 30), the monastic and lay community of Gampo Abbey, with the financial support of many donors around the world, purchase the last catch of lobsters from one of the Pleasant Bay lobster fisherman and release the caught lobsters back into the water.

"Life Release" — in which captive animals destined to be eaten are, instead, released back into their native habitats — is a traditional practice for Tibetan Buddhists, especially monastics. The most obvious benefits of the practice are for the sentient beings whose lives are being saved, but it also serves to strengthen the individual practitioner and the sangha as a whole, and to establish an important link with the local environment and culture.

So on June 30, 2012, after the lobster traps had been removed for the season, Abbey residents and friends from the local sangha in Cape Breton traveled by boat out into the Gulf of St Lawrence to below the cliffs at Gampo Abbey to release the lobsters.

Read more and see some pictures...

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Canada Day at the Abbey

July 1, 2012 marked the ninth year that the lay and monastic residents of Gampo Abbey joined with the community of Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia to celebrate Canada Day by playing softball against the local volunteer firefighters. The weather was perfect for the parade down to the community park.

After a picnic with our Pleasant Bay neighbours, we had a spirited softball game. The teams were pretty evenly matched. The Abbey team came out strong and led most of the game, but — true to form — the firefighters pulled ahead in the last inning and won a squeaker, 22 to 12. A fun day was had by all!

Read more and see some pictures...

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Vajrayogini Druppa

As part of our tradition, Gampo Abbey and Söpa Chöling perform a Vajrayogini Druppa.

This druppa (practice intensive) format was introduced in 1987 by Thrangu Rinpoche's three-year retreat master Lama Sherab Tendar. It involves the construction of a sand mandala, four sessions of daily practice, and the dismantling of the sand mandala (carrying the sand to the ocean).

We held a Vajrayogini Druppa at Söpa Chöling last month. It was led by Dorje Loppön Lodrö Dorje and Gelong Lodrö Sangpo. Twenty-four yogis and yoginis, including 12 guests, gathered for this most wonderful and inspiring practice.

Read more and see some pictures...

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Openings for Residents in 2013

Have you ever thought of exploring monastic community life as part of your spiritual path? Come live at Gampo Abbey. The next entry date is April 11, 2013.

We are continuing to explore how the Shambhala teachings provide the backbone of monastic training at Gampo Abbey. As a member of the community you must be willing to fully commit to participate in this ongoing experiment in creating enlightened society. On a day-to-day level this means fully surrendering to the daily schedule of participating in morning and evening chants, 3 to 4 ½ hours of meditation practice, and 4 hours of service to the community.

We require a minimum one-year commitment, and that you have taken refuge, have an interest in taking temporary monastic ordination during your stay, and have completed a Shambhala Training program.

For more information on living at Gampo Abbey and to download an application form, please visit our website.

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