The Polish weekend

It all started out innocently. The EC sangha invited Artur Przybysławski and Rafał Olech for a weekend to give teachings and share their experience.

The Polish EC sangha members soon decided to turn this visit into “The Polish Weekend” with everything that went with it. We made plans for decoration, food and the party of course.

On Friday 31st January – the first day of the course – we decorated the pub and for the rest of the weekend the colours red and white were dominating the pub, turning it into an even more cosy place.

For the following two days only Polish food was being served – red beet soup, sour rye soup and pierogi…lots of pierogi, over 1500 pierogi – those Polish dumplings.

For Saturday evening we had live guitar music, performed by a Polish friend, who came from London especially for this weekend. So all the outer circumstances were truly wonderful. But the teachings given by the two gentlemen were even more special. Rafał and Artur had never taught together before, but it turned out that they made a perfect match. All the lectures were hands on and quickly turned into sessions of questions and answers, as everybody wanted to use such an opportunity to get their questions answered and their doubts dissolved.

Both Artur and Rafał have been students of Lama Ole for more than two decades, so they had quite some insights to share, stories to tell and deep teachings to pass on. We had a “full gompa carpet” for each of the four lectures as over 200 friends had registered for the weekend, turning it into one of our big events.

The magic was still in the air on Sunday afternoon when the friends were slowly starting to leave…see you all again very soon!

(Marta)

Another winter wonderland

Well, lets say this year the winter is a little bit lazy.

Good for the drivers. Bad for the photographers and for the friends who like to see some photos… But we managed to catch some pictures on the only real winter day so far. And lets see what the next weeks will bring.

(Volker)

Mandala Tour 2020 – visiting the homes of the sangha

To start off 2020 in the Europe Center, the Sangha decided to see where the friends outside of the EC live in the small town of Immenstadt.

So came the idea of doing the Mandala Tour; a pub crawl of friends living spaces filled with snacks, stories, cozy furniture if you were the first to arrive, and non alcoholic drinks!

Entering the homes of the friends, to meet their families and their tastes of living was a great experience and gave the opportunity to get to know someone in a deeper way. To see their altars, their dreams for the future, and just how they include the dharma into their everyday life was a beautiful way to get to know the people in this town.

In total, seven homes were open to the whole EC Sangha. Each home seemed to have a different theme, from simple and ready for retirement to having a personal gaming room. But it was also great to see how the dharma resided in their homes. One home even had a full gompa! To compliment the openness, the hosts had coffee and cake and gave the friends the chance to feel at home.

The final destination on the tour was the “Villa”, which had prepared pizza for all those who came. Afterword’s, the friends made their way back up to the EC just in time for the evening meditation. So ended a journey through Immenstadt, only to appear again in 2021.

(Mónica)

EC team workshop day

A wish appeared and it is slowly coming true.

After a time with a lot of work but not so much clarity, the wish of the Sangha appeared to get to know more about their friends, who is involved where and what are they doing?!

First the group of people that help us in difficult times, so called trustees, introduced us to their idea of how to start a process of how to have more transparency and communication between the teams. In this very meeting they were sowing the seed for great development in our center.

Referring to this first meeting, two people got the mandate from the group to prepare the next “Team-process-meeting” – and that’s how it went.

It started with group work in the teams that are usually working together. Each team had to clarify their responsibilities; who is doing what, and especially with whom they have to communicate decisions or who else to ask and inform. Every group was creating a flipchart which was later shown in the Marketplace.

Speaking of, during the Marketplace (after the group-work) everyone had the chance to freely inform themselves about the other teams and clarify whatever was on their mind. Going on with the program, we were gathering in front of each flip chart while having such team talk about the news in their structure or changes between peoples position. This time was especially great for an exchange of the whole group. Even though everything took longer than expected, everyone wanted to stay and work together.

Interesting was also the so called “you-forgot-me corner” which was the space for everything that is somehow still missing or hasn’t been mentioned. However, the day was very productive and intense and will be continued in the next “Team-process-meeting”. See you there!

(Jana)

New Year and Dive in 2020

As every year, we came together to celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Europe Center.

It was a great pleasure not only for the adults but also for the kids. The children brought light into the darkness through a joyful torch walk around the EC up to the hill. Meanwhile, many friends enjoyed the last sessions of meditation of 2019. While waiting for the streaming with Lama Ole from the New Year’s Course in Hamburg, we shared time together over our favorite desserts, filling the pub with laughter and excitement. In the background, the fireworks lit up the courtyard with colors.

The most inspiring moment of the evening was listening to the Lama Ole’s talk from Hamburg. He highlighted the the most important Diamond Way events of the year. We then entered into the new year by taking the traditional Boddhisattva Promise—a commitment to accomplish enlightenment for the benefit of all beings and to work with diligence and strength until all beings have reached enlightenment.

We closed this inspiring event with great music and cheerful dancing.

To start the new year in a meaningful way, many friends joined our Dive In event at the beginning of January. During this five-day course, we had numerous meditation sessions and the chance to get explanations for personal practice. Every evening, we had a lecture with our local traveling teachers. These few days helped us to create the right mindset for the new year.

(Tiina and Szilvia)

How the EC Sangha made a fantastic Xmas 2019

There is a lot to organise for an event like Christmas at the EC.

Usually we don’t talk so so much about our hidden heroes. But for Christmas and the time between the years we had special conditions because most of the residents had gone away on holiday. A great team formed during the weeks before and shared everything that had to be organised for these special days.

For the Xmas evening ten friends took the responsibility to fill all the hungry stomachs with a wonderful, traditional Bavarian Xmas dinner. Other friends decorated the Pub. With good Rock n Roll music playing, several friends were encouraged to clean and organize the space. Furniture was moved from side to side, tables, chairs… even the Xmas tree previously decorated by the children of the Sangha. Lights, elegant tablecloths and flower arrangements for the tables made the decoration complete.

Finally, 42 friends of all ages and nationalities sat down to share the Xmas dish together – everybody saying some meaningful toasts with glasses of orange or grape juice in their hands. What a memorable evening!

As always, the most significant moment of the night was in the Big Gompa, where we were dedicating all joy and fun to the golden Buddha and all beings. A XVI Karmapa meditation in a full EC gompa followed.

After meditation, a talented lady, who had been cooking all afternoon, played piano for the singing friends around. Everyone was encouraged to sing the jingles twice. Friends filled the table for presents with beautiful, funny, delicious, precious and completely useless things. The funniest part was, that everyone had to praise their present to the skies.
It was almost midnight when the party began. With the hidden talents of the most serious DJ in the house, adults and children danced under the Xmas lights to the sound of Rock.

After a good time on the dance floor, happy and exhausted friends started to disperse in different directions. Some went to the Gompa, some to the Stupa, others directly to bed… and that was how Christmas day and night were shared in EC.

May we experience many nights like this with more friends, with more children and with Lama Ole in our hearts.

(Mónica)

Nyndro Weekend

What a cosy weekend at the EC! Sometimes it seems like it might be peaceful and quiet at the Europe Center, but when you look closely you will always find that there is something happening!

On the weekend from 13 –15.12.2019 we had a Nyndro – weekend, which means that we had quite a few friends coming and meditating together in numerous sessions, making a step towards finishing the foundational practises and bonding on the deepest possible level.

On top we had a lovely arts and crafts workshop taking place. Our Europe Center kids could create all kinds of Christmas decorations from natural materials which we had previously collected during a walk on the grounds of our Europe Center.

To round things up, our local traveling teachers gave an inspiring lecture about meditation on Saturday evening.

The Sunday was special, too! We had our annual event of signing New Year’s cards which are then being sent to all the Diamond Way centers around the world, to our monasteries and even to Karmapa. This is another way for the EC sangha to bond, as these card signing events are always a very joyful way of spending time together and it is a way of keeping the bond and connection with all our centers around the world.

Thank you friends for this cosy, joyful and meaningful time together!

(Marta)

Weekend Course with Steve James

The beginning of December was rich with events at our beautiful Europe Center.

We hosted a traveling teacher from London, Steve James, who has been giving lectures—upon request of Lama Ole—for more than 20 years. Steve came with his whole family, and his sons were especially glad to check out the Allgäu countryside. Steve shared his stories and experience with great precision and the special touch of British humor and style. A highlight was the saga of finding and buying the Beaufoy Institute – our Diamond Way Buddhist Center in London.

On Saturday evening, a friend from Minsk showed a presentation about Buddhism in Belarus and about daily life in the Minsk center.

On Sunday evening, Saint Nicolas suddenly appeared at the Europe Center and gave each and every kid a present. The evening was filled with the smell of cinnamon and the magic of winter holidays.

It’s cozy and warm at the EC any time of year!

(Nastya)

Villa 108 years celebration!

We all came together to celebrate our beautiful art nouveau style villa in the Europe Center.

It was built in 1911 according to the wishes of the Martini family, who owned a textile company in Augsburg. The house – as well as its interior and furnishings – is under monumental protection and has been kept in good shape until today.

Because 108 is an auspicious number for Diamond Way Buddhists, the villa turning 108 years old gave us a good reason to celebrate together. The place was filled with the fine and delicious aroma of Christmas cookies that the kids had been baking the day before. We also enjoyed hot drinks and homemade cakes that friends brought to share.

Thank you everybody for contributing to this wonderful event!

(Tiina)

Jan Noutsos at the Europe Center

What can you expect when Jan Noutsos, a long student of Lama Ole and traveling teacher, comes to EC to help once again to understand that compassion and wisdom are two sides of one medal.

A lot of jokes, a lot of self-irony, a lot of stories and most of all a vivid experience, which simply samples this theoretical construct. Jan, who is co-running the retreat center KBL in Greece, experienced in what it means to put the others in front of yourself. As he would say, we need „strong legs“ representing compassion and good guiding eyes for wisdom. These help to fulfil our wishes and promises to benefit all beings.
Thank you, Jan for being here at the EC. Thank you for reminding us of all the richness around us and for being an example of this pragmatic simplicity of the hand in hand growth of compassion and wisdom. As you
said, Lama Ole gave us everything we just have to start using it… End of story.

(Nora)