“All of your search for a special practice is in vain. You are making dead fantasy when the absolutely miraculous life is all around you. You are immersed in the undying body of manifestation, the Nirmāņakāya. See the glory that is the reality. See the infinity of the complexity of manifestation.”
Join us in celebrating the launch of Namgyal Rinpoche’s seminal work, Body, Speech & Mind in eBook format!
Meditation master and Namgyal Lineage Teacher, Catherine Pawasarat Sensei, will share about what makes this book a pivotal resource for all contemporary Buddhist practitioners, guide a brief meditation from the book, lead a Q&A session, and share her thoughts on Namgyal’s legacy and the future of Dharma.
This online event takes place on Bodhi Day — the day that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, experienced enlightenment. Join us in celebrating this pivotal work that is not only an essential foundation for 21st century awakening, but also takes us forward towards the next turning of the wheel.
Sunday, December 8th at 9am MT
Online
Body, Speech & Mind is a collection of profound discourses by Namgyal Rinpoche on several important themes for the development of enlightened body, speech and mind.
Namgyal Rinpoche compassionately and skilfully illuminates the precious path of awakening for all who seek liberation from suffering and the attainment of the sacred happiness and peace of transcendence.
These include in-depth teaching on the Foundations of Mindfulness (from the Satipatthana Sutta); the practice of purification (Vajrasattva); the transmutation of negative states (Chenresi); Mindfulness of Breathing (Anapanasati); as well as a wide variety of classic and contemporary meditations, exercises and teachings on, for example, the elements, colour, bioenergetics, communication, relationships, nutriment, obstacles on the path, dream yoga, awareness in daily life, mantra, and much more.
Join Catherine Sensei as we celebrate the next chapter of these universal and eclectic teachings of awakening.
Namgyal Rinpoche was born Leslie George Dawson in 1931, October 11, and raised in Toronto, Canada by parents of Irish and Scottish descent.
Leslie George Dawson awakened through the Western Mysteries while living in London, where he met the visiting teacher Sayadaw in 1958. Dawson moved to Burma and studied under U Thila Wunta and Mahasi Sayadaw in Bodh Gaya, Rangoon (where he was ordained as Ananda Bodhi), Bangkok and Sri Lanka.
Ananda Bodhi left the East in 1962, teaching at the London Buddhist Vihara and founding Johnstone House in Scotland, which he gave to Chögyam Trungpa who renamed it Samye Ling.
Anandabodhi returned to Canada and founded the Dharma Centre of Canada outside Toronto. His teaching methods included international travel with students; in 1968 and 1971 he traveled with about a hundred students to India and Sikkim, where they met the Tibetans. He was recognized by the 16th Karmapa, Kalu Rinpoche, Sakya Trizin Rinpoche and others as an embodiment of Namgyal Rinpoche, and received transmissions of the Karma Kargyu lineage.
Over the years he included the Western Mysteries, science, psychology, art, music, exercise, travel and other methods in his teaching repertoire, becoming one of the main voices of Tibetan Buddhism in North America along with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Some of Namgyal’s students started centers in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Central America as well as Canada and the US. His modern and eclectic approach is carried on throughout the world, with Clear Sky embodying this multiversal vision as well.
He continued to teach until his death in Switzerland on October 22, 2003, having empowered a number of senior students to continue his work.
Listen: The Life of Namgyal Rinpoche
In this interview with Wisdom Podcast, Qapel and Catherine Sensei discuss the life, pioneering teachings and legacy of Namgyal Rinpoche:
Meet the Teachers
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei has trained daily with Acariya Doug Duncan since 1998 in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that is rare in the modern West. She received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 2003. In addition to Buddhist philosophy and its applications to daily life, Catherine also draws on generative living and the arts. With Doug she is co-founder of Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies.
Located in the BC rocky mountains, we offer over 300-acres to deepen your practice and reconnect with nature.
Founded by Qapel Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei, we are home to students from around the globe who are dedicated to co-creating a supportive and innovative space for awakening in our modern world.
