His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Visit: His Holiness has been invited by the University of Wisconsin to make a public address on a topic of His choosing. While in Madison, His Holiness will dedicate the Deer Park stupa and offer an Avalokiteshvara initiation, which will be an exceptional opportunity since His Holiness is regarded as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara Himself.

Kalachakra Drub Cho: Geshe Sopa has requested that the Namgyal monks offer the Kalachakra Drub Cho at Deer Park this summer. The Namgyal monks have accepted and will come to Deer Park for several days probably in July, around the time of the Kalachakra initiation in Los Angeles.

The Namgyal monks are members of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's own monastic college and consequently are well versed in the Kalachakra rituals and practice. They will be in the USA to assist His Holiness in the Kalachakra initiation in Los Angeles as they did in Deer Park in 1981.

Drub Cho is an offering and worship ceremony in which the entire mandala of the deity is generated and established through the visualization. Each day, extensive offerings are made and the entire sanhana of the deity is recited. Traditionally, when an initiation has been offered into one of the major tantric deities, the great monasteries of Tibet continue to sponsor regular drub cho ceremonies for that deity. Tantric colleges give many different drub cho on different deities every year.

The ability to perform properly the Kalachakra drub cho takes years of study and practice. Because of this, the majority of Buddhists, both western and Tibetan, are not sufficiently prepared to participate fully in the rites. Within the Tibetan tradition, however, helping to promote a drub cho was regarded as a highly meritorious action.

In keeping with this tradition, Deer Park will welcome the support of anyone who wishes to share in the sponsorship of this special Kalachakra drub cho. This will help cover contributions towards the offerings, provisions for the Namgyal monks, etc. In addition, those who have already received the Kalachakra initiation may wish to attend all or any part of the drub cho ceremony.

Other events for 1989. Kensur Rinpoche (Lobsang Tenzin), the recent abbot of the Lower City Tantric College in Mysore, India, will be coming to reside at Deer Park in the immediate future. He is a distinguished scholar and is renowned as a patient, compassionate teacher quite skillful in his instruction of both Tibetan and western students. Kensur Rinpoche will be giving weekly teachings at Deer Park and will be offering other special programs and teachings. For further information about Deer Park and Deer Park Programs, please write to Skip Kindy at Deer Park, 4548 Schneider Drive, Oregon, WI 53575 or call Elvin Jones at (608)835-5572.