GawaLing Buddhist Centre

May we all focus, not on the upcoming year, but on the immediate and living moment, mindful to be offering the best of our good hearts and kind intentions in every moment, releasing guilts, hopes, ambitions, self-cherishing, negative thoughts, and unskillful reactivity. In this way, we will create for ourselves and for all beings, a healthy, kind, joyous year one day at a time, one kind thought, one generous action, one loving word at a time. One day of mindful compassion and skillful presence seems very do-able, whereas thinking of trying to manage a whole year can be so overwhelming as to be paralyzing. May we continue to move gently forward on the path together, entering each new moment with fresh attention and joyful enthusiasm. blessings. . .

In the coming year, let's forget grievances, complaints, prejudices and biases, wounds, sorrows, and all the other dark feelings that we tend to hang on to and drag into each new moment, souring our hearts and pulling our minds off the pure moment. And let us remember to notice the blessings, joys, love, abundance, opportunities, beauty,, humour, tenderness, and potential that are waiting for us in every present minute. Our minds are the creators of all our days. May we all ...train our minds to be peaceful, generous, kind, patient, compassionate, grateful, quiet, and clear. This way, we can create all that we hope for. We can create a new year, one day at a time, that releases old poisons, opens new doors, and awakens joy and compassion to help end suffering for all beings. May we all use this precious human life to offer the best of ourselves each day. That is all we need to do, and doing it with a loving intention to help others is always good enough. Thank you for your kind hearts and good intentions. blessings and best wishes to you all and to all beings See more

Dear Friends Venerable Khandro-La goes into retreat from today through January 30, 2021. She sends this message to you all: May this brand new scope of human possibility and outlook, this time of change, upheaval, and extraordinary opportunities, awake in all of us the intention to examine our minds, our actions, our hearts, and to recalibrating our whole system so that it aligns with our hearts' deepest yearnings for peace, joy, kindness, and wisdom. May we be aware, ...in each moment, that what we do, say, and think will create the 'new world' the we are now responsible for; ensuring that the future is the most compassionate, most respectful, and most willingly mindful of the needs of all beings and our abilities to offer help, solace, support, and joy to all. Thank you all for the gift of your time and your wise and loving hearts through the past year. blessings Ven. Gawa Khandro See more

Dear Friends Whatever challenges we face in our lives, the most important coping skills we can bring to all of it are compassionate attention and a willingness to be joyful. It is not complicated; it is not out of reach for anyone. We carry all the abilities we need within our hearts every day of our lives. The difficulty arises when we forget that and lose touch with that heart-centre. Meditation can help us find our way back to the essential goodness and joy that are t...he foundation of our very existences. Let's all practice to let go of everything that gets between us and that essence ... blessing Ven. Khandro-la (Venerable will be in winter retreat from December 13th through January 30th, 2020.)

Dear Friends Remember ... with compassion Aspire ... to be peace, model peace, share lovingkindness Set a motivation ... that contributes to the well-being and safety of all beings Smile with kindness, open your heart with generosity, and invite your mind to relax in equanimity.... These are gifts we can ALL offer to the world every day, with the recollection of those who have died to help ensure that we have the peace and abundance to make this offering. Thank you all, past, present, and to come, who follow the path of compassion and peace.

Thanksgiving: I invite you to offer gratitude to ... you. We are traditionally encouraged to offer thanks for the abundance and joy in our lives with the focus outward to those beings and situations that have brought us what we enjoy. We are rarely aware of the bounty and generosity of our own nature, our body, speech, and mind, and our skillful intentions and actions. We feel abashed and hesitant to accept praise or to acknowledge when we have shone in our lives. Today, on ...this lovely fall Thanksgiving, I invite and encourage you to remember not the ways that you have not 'measured up' to your standards or expectations, those times when you have stumbled or been unskillful or unkind, but to all those myriad, subtle, quiet moments when you have been delightful, calm, joyful, skillful, wise, gentle, generous ... you get the idea. Reflect on all that you have offered the world that was kind and beautiful. Be thankful for the positive karmic causes and conditions laid down in the past that enable you to be who you are and to have the opportunities you have to continue along the path to awakening and developing compassion for all beings. May we all experience joy and quiet contentment, warmth and humble gratitude for the precious human life we possess, and may we dedicate our life to helping all beings be free of suffering, to find happiness and abundance, and to awaken from samsara. Thank you . . . . for your continued goodness, courage, and willingness to explore your potential for awakening. Ven. Gawa Khandro See more

Dear Friends Venerable Gawa Khandro and some of the other members of Interfaith Kamloops send thoughts and wishes for Peace, in recognitions of the UN International Day of Peace. May we all make our heartfelt contributions to creating peace for all beings, today and every day. blessings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udcr5r7H-RY&t=1s

Dear Friends At a recent Zen Peacemakers Women's Council meeting, several of the attendees mentioned how much emotional fatigue they are feeling and one woman -- a woman of tremendous spirit and generosity of spirit -- said she feels like the ways she is offering service and trying to help alleviate some of the suffering she sees are just too small. She worries that she is not able to give in equal and effective measure to the need she sees. I think many of us are facing the... same sense of fatigue, overwhelm, or just a kind of helpless inadequacy, in the face of so many deep social wounds, expanding global environmental crises, and financial, health, and spiritual challenges. We tend to measure what help we are offering, whether prayers, active engaged service, or tonglen meditation, against the enormity of the problems the world is grappling with. Although the challenges seem monumental and beyond our capacity to help, every kind thought, every generous gesture, every compassionate prayer, makes a difference. In the same way that every drop is needed to fill the oceans, one kindness at a time, we can help balance the energy and health of the planet and its inhabitants. If we start to judge whether or not we are 'enough', we may surrender and turn away. The courage we need to stand our compassionate ground is in each of us. It is our responsibility, now more than ever, to remain peaceful, open-hearted, and willing to help in whatever capacity and form we are able. And to be of steady heart, remembering that every kindness helps and each smile can lift a sorrowing heart. blessings See more

Dear Friends We send our love and best wishes to you all. May you all be well and happy, peaceful and at ease. May all be well and happy, peaceful and at ease. May all be filled with lovingkindness, and meet with only lovingkindness. Here is an update on Venerable Gawa's upcoming schedule. We hope you will join us for the teachings and meditations.... *Venerable will be in retreat participating in the Karma Kagyu Monlam from Sept. 3rd through Sept. 7th. During this time, she will not be available to offer teachings. *Beginning Sept. 16th, Venerable will be offering service at The Loop Outreach Centre (405a Tranquille at McKenzie) from 1-3pm Wednesdays. *September 21st, Venerable Gawa and the other TRU Chaplains invite you to join them for the Peace Day event. It will be held on-line and all are welcome to join and participate in the discussions and joyful sharing. The ifnormation about links and times will be made available soon on the TRU website and here. *Starting on Sept. 25th, Venerable will be offering Dharma sharing at the North Shore Community Centre in North Kamloops, from 10am - noon on Fridays for six weeks. She will also continue the Dharma teachings currently being given on Fridays (from 1:30 - 3:30) on line. We will gladly send you the links if you would like to join the group. Everyone is welcome and the topics are of value and enjoyable for everyone, whether or not you are Buddhist. *October 19th to 23rd, Venerable will be attending the Wester Buddhist Monastic Gathering. During this time she will not be available to offer teachings. The Meditation Circle continues to meet on line on Tuesdays from 1 - 2:30pm. Please let us know if you would like us to send the link to you. "Renunciation is not giving up the things of the world, but accepting that they go away" -Shunryu Suzuki