Padma bSam-yas Ling

Since 1984, at the behest of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche, Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and his brother Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche have been working and teaching in the United States. In 1988, they founded the Pad-masambhava Buddhist Center in New York and currently pursue an active teaching schedule instructing students at over a dozen centers on four continents.

Through the blessings of Guru Padmasambhava, the mandala of the Khen Rinpoches has been opened and made available. A long, patient search by students and friends has led to the purchase of over 250 acres of woods and fields in the Catskill Mountains near Delhi, New York. The center has been consecrated Padma bSamyas Ling in honor of bSamyas (pronounced samyay), the first Buddhist monastery in the land of snows. The establishment of a rural center is the fruit of the Khenpos' ongoing efforts to make authentic lineage teachings available to western students and simultaneously preserve a wisdom tradition that goes back over a thousand years.

This past summer a group of seventy students representing most of the practice centers gathered at Padma bSamyas Ling with the Khenpo Rinpoches on Pad-masambhava's birthday. Prayer flags were raised and Khenchen Palden gave terma lineage teachings originally revealed by Tsa-sum Lingpa.

The Khenpos' plans for the land include designs for a temple, a stupa and the bSam-yas mandala and meditation gardens. Also being considered is an extensive library where the Khenpos can work with students, collaborating scholars, and translators in making more teachings available to the western world. Preliminary building has already begun. All forms of help are appreciated to bring the designs into reality. Volunteers will have an opportunity to learn Tibetan architecture. Any contributions in the form of technical skills or financial assistance are more than welcome.

Contributions toward the Padma bSam-yas Ling project may be addressed to Padmasambhava Buddhist Center, PO Box 1533, Old Chelsea Station, New York, NY 10011.

Ceaseless Echoes of the Great Silence, a new book by Khechen Palden Sherab Rinpoche translated by Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche is currently available through Snow Lion ($15.00). Featuring five color plates and heavy cover stock, this beautiful book presents a clear and concise exegesis on the Prajnaparamita Sutra. Also included, perhaps for the first time in the West, is the Tibetan text of the Heart Sutra with English transliteration suitable for chanting. Ceaseless Echoes is published by Sky Dancer Press. Further titles by the Khenpo Rinpoches are to be released by Sky Dancer in the near future.