A rare opportunity for online teachings from my guru

My kind and precious guru, Zasep Tulku Rinpoche, is offering teachings at Gaden Choling center when he visits Toronto, Canada in November. These will be available online.

If you haven’t heard of Rinpoche before, you can read a few paragraphs of biography about him here.

Readers of my books, familiar perhaps with Lama Tashi from Instant Karma: The day it happened, or Yogi Tarchin, from my Dalai Lama’s Cat series, will have a strong sense of Rinpoche, because he is their inspiration! In The Good Karma Refuge for Elephants, the novel I am currently working on, we are introduced to him like this:

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“Suddenly Rinpoche and Diva were out of the blazing sunshine and inside with us. In the flurry, dust motes shimmered in a mid-morning glow of light. One by one, we indoor greeters were offering the lama our white scarves.

Besides bringing a scarf, this wasn’t an encounter I had prepared for, nor was I expecting anything special. But now that it was happening, I felt the strangest sensation. Not on account of Yogi Tarchin’s appearance. His warm brown eyes, ageless face, grey moustache and goatee gave him the appearance of an archetypal eastern sage. Rather, it was a radiant sense of lightness, of joy, that seemed to emanate from him. The ineffable sensation that even though you could see and touch him, his presence was somehow more energetic than physical. Like he was hardly there at all.

As I bent in offering, our eyes met. In that instant, it was as if Rinpoche gazed through the person I usually took myself to be and saw instead a more panoramic reality. Not a 56-year-old businessman who had returned to the country of his birth to take care of an ailing aunt and now found himself in unexpected limbo. Instead, a boundless reality beyond that, one from which I had been for so long disconnected that, incredibly, I had forgotten it was even there. So benevolent was Rinpoche’s expression, however, so wholehearted his acceptance, that I felt an up-welling of the most powerful emotion. In his gaze was all the reassurance I could hope for that, however things appeared to be, beneath the surface, all was well.”

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I hardly need point out to readers how extraordinarily rare it is to meet someone who was born and brought up in Tibet before it was overrun by the Chinese. Rinpoche is not only authentically rooted in that culture, he also speaks English very clearly - he loves wordplay! - he has lived among Westerners for decades and knows us all too well. He is extremely well travelled, engaged in our world, and he has a mischievous sense of humour.

Recognised as a reincarnated lama by the Dalai Lama - a tulku - Rinpoche is steeped in the Dharma. Simply being in his presence is very special. No one is pretending that an online class is the same as sitting with a lama in person. But it is a huge advance on having no contact at all - and I know, from the emails I receive, that many readers despair of ever coming into contact with a guru such as him.

So, check out the timetable of teachings in Toronto, and see if any of them work for you. You will find that here.

Times will suit people living in North and South America and Australia/South East Asia/New Zealand. Sorry UK and Europe, it will be the middle of the night for you.

If you are relatively new to the Dharma, or are a practitioner from any lineage, I’d highly recommend the lo jong (mind training) and tong len (taking suffering and offering happiness) class on November 11.

The commentary of Gaden Lhagyama on November 30 is ideal for practitioners in the Gelugpa lineage, especially those who may already be aware of this uniquely powerful guru yoga meditation.

The teachings on Chod Practice from November 27 to 29 will be completely new to me, although their target is our old favourite: the false belief in a truly existent ‘I.’

Gaden Choling are charging for the classes to help with the upkeep of their centre. If you are experiencing financial hardship and would like to attend, please make a request to:  gadencholing@protonmail.com

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Greece is the word!

On the subject of things you may like to do, I’m delighted to let you know that we have some really wonderful people booked in already for our spring renewal retreat in Greece from April 13 to 19 next year.

I am so looking forward to spending time with like-minded people during our time together. Whether your interest is in meditation, some mindful yoga and relaxing in Mani, Greece, or if you’re wanting to unleash the creative within, or explore writing with my agent, this will be the perfect opportunity.

You’ll find a lot more about it here.

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Keep an eye on your In box this coming weekend for another mouse-size musing from your favourite feline! What’s not to like, dear reader?!