Monthly Archives: May 2012

Paragliding Temporarily Banned in Bir-Billing: Pilots Protest

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BIR, HP — The government of Himachal Pradesh has imposed a temporary ban on paragliding at the popular Bir-Billing site, 80km southeast of Dharamshala, claiming a need to keep the region secure during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches in Dharamshala.

Paragliding enthusiasts and professional pilots alike have criticized the ban, saying it is unnecessary and harmful both to local business and to India’s chances in the upcoming  Asian Championship in China on 20 May.

According to the Times of India:

Flyers Gurpreet Dhindsa and Jyoti Thakur, who are to participate in the tournament, said: “This ban doesn’t make sense. A sport must not suffer due to another. We are here wasting crucial time, otherwise would have practiced our skills better.” However, the administration citied a different season saying the ban was due to arrival of VIPs. Kangra deputy commissioner R S Gupta said, “Paragliding has been restricted due to the IPL matches. Security measures are necessary as so many VIPs and VVIPs are scheduled to arrive.” The ban has also upset local flyers and tourists. “The tourist season has begun and the weather is suitable. We charge Rs 1,200 to Rs 2,000 from each customer, and we cannot go on with our business,” said an operator.

Bir-Billing is acknowledged as the best site in India for professional-level paragliding, and is regarded internationally as the second-best site in the world, second only to Lake Como in Italy. Paragliding enthusiasts travel to Bir from across the globe to enjoy the strong thermals and beautiful scenery.

Three Treasures: Body, Speech & Mind in the Art (19-20 May)

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What: Art workshop
When: 19-20 May, 2012
Where: Deer Park Institute
Who: Andrew Schelling and Rebecca Eland

Three Treasures : Body, Speech and Mind in the Art

A workshop celebrating what’s known in Zen as beginner’s mind, allowing art to be shaped and informed by the immediate environment and the quality of open awareness. Participants will work with movement, dance, and poetry, cultivating avant-garde practices that have roots in traditions of yoga and Buddhist discipline. What sort of movement &what sort of  poetry discipline will reveal the profound interconnection of landscape, event, and one’s own mind? There will be two sessions a day, with sample time for reflection and writing.

The workshop will end with a group performance.

Facilitators:

Rebecca Eland is a dancer and poet from Boulder, Colorado.

Andrew Schelling is a poet and translator of Sanskrit and bhakti poetry, also from Boulder, Colorado. Both artists are from Naropa University.

For more information: http://www.deerpark.in/programs/schedule/three-treasures-body-speech-and-mind-in-the-2/

Introduction to the Middle Way: Teachings on Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara @ Deer Park (12-16 May & 15-17 June)

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What: Series of Buddhist Teachings on Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara
When: 12-16 May (part 1) & 15-17 June (part 2)
Where: Deer Park Institute
Who: Khenpo Choying Dorjee

Introduction to the Middle Way

The Madhyamakavatara, considered to be a masterpiece on the Madhyamika “Middle Way” philosophy, is a treatise on the two types of selflessness composed by one of the most well-known Indian Buddhist panditas, Chandrakirti.

Chandrakirti’s work is a commentary on the Mula-Madhyamaka treatise of Nagarjuna. The Mula-Madhyamaka treatise is itself a systemization of the Prajnaparamita or “Perfection of Wisdom” literature – the sutras on the crucial but elusive concept of emptiness. The Madhyamakavatara of Chandkirti expresses both the profound aspect of Nagarjuna’s Mula-Madhyamaka, namely emptiness, as well as the vast aspect – the paths and bhumis of the bodhisattva. The Madhyamakavatara has eleven chapters, each addressing one of the ten ‘perfections’ (Sanskrit: paramita) fulfilled by the Bodhisattvas as they traverse the ten ‘stages’ (Sanskrit: bhumi) to Buddhahood, the subject of the 11th chapter.
Khenpo Choying Dorje’s classes on the Madhamakavatara will be divided into 5 series. For the 1st series, Khenpo will cover the first five chapters.

Khenpo Choying Dorjee

Khenpo Choying Dorjee is one of the senior Khenpos and assistant principal at the renowned Buddhist college Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro Institute. He received his Khenpo degree from Dzongsar Institute in 2002 after completing twelve years of study. He also received a special Khenpo degree from His Holiness Dalai Lama in 2004.

Khenpo Choying Dorjer has been teaching at Dzongsar Institute since 1998 and he was the Sakya scholar representative at a number of international conferences and workshops. From 2007, he started giving teachings in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and USA. In response to an adornment project of Khyentse Foundation, Khenpo recently went to University of California in Berkeley for a 5-month stay as visiting scholar in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies. Khenpo’s teaching at Deer Park will be in English.

For more information: http://www.deerpark.in/programs/schedule/introduction-to-the-middle-way-2/

Words of My Perfect Teacher: A Dharma Talk with Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche (5-6 May)

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What: Dharma talk on the classic text Words of My Perfect Teacher
When: May 5-6, 2012
Where: Deer Park Institute, Bir Tibetan Colony
Who: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Words of My Perfect Teacher

Deer Park is very honored to host three talks by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on, “Words of My Perfect Teacher”, one of the favourite works of practioners of Tibetan Buddhisim and recommended by many senior Buddhist masters. This practical guide to inner transformation introduces the fundamental spiritual practices common to all Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Patrul Rinpoche, the author of this book, makes the technicalities of his subject accessible through a wealth of stories and references to everyday life. It is a wonderful opportunity to go through this text with Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche.

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche was recognized as an incarnation of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye and trained extensively in all aspects of Buddhist doctrine, with an emphasis on the Rime tradition of Khyentse, Kongtrul and Chokgyur Lingpa. After moving to the United States in 1989, Rinpoche founded Mangala Shri Bhuti, an organization established to further the study and practice of the Buddhadharma in the West. Rinpoche is the author of two books, It’s Up to You: The Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path, and Light Comes Through: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening to our Natural Intelligence. He is also an avid painter in the abstract expressionist tradition well as an aspiring photographer. Rinpoche travels widely throughout the world teaching and furthering his own education.

For more information: http://www.deerpark.in/programs/schedule/words-of-my-perfect-teacher-2/