The Edmonton Diamond Way Buddhist Centre Blog

Alberta is alive, fresh and vibrant. In stark contrast to the dry earth tones from last summer, the landscape is lush and green, pregnant with moisture and growth. The trees reach for the big sky, the canola glows bright yellow, and the grass is a rich dark emerald, soft and plush. Nowhere is this clearer than on the drive south to Calgary. An old friend is here.

At the invitation of the gracious Calgarians, a few of our Sangha head south. Travelling teacher Roland Beck has been invited for a public lecture on the Friday past, and will remain for a weekend retreat at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. He will speak to us on the nature of mind, misconceptions about Buddhism, and the role of the Sangha. Travelling from his current abode in Barcelona, Spain, Roland is at home in Calgary. His first talk to us occurs in Stanley Park, minutes from his childhood haunts. Born in Calgary, we can see in Roland’s face this is a special trip and a special time with special friends.

Roland’s insight and wisdom is on full display. Like the landscape, it is a surplus of activity that is as much felt as heard. Skillfully, he shows us that our mind is not a thing and illuminates the space like nature, free play, and awareness that makes up our experience. We continue into the weekend, feeling as if each one of us is a node in a larger web, interdependent and responsible for the dynamic spread of happiness.

In the foothills, we camp out, and hear about the role of the Sangha, our community. We are inspired to be a support for each other’s practice, to create an environment that fosters development, and we are treated to the importance of the refuge. Roland reminds us to take this beyond the involucres of our inner group, and ensure that the larger community sees our joy, zest and reason. The environment continues to play a supporting part in our weekend, as we experience the wonder of the fresh wild flowers, and are chased indoors by the sporadic rainfall.

This is a beautiful experience. We continue to weave together our group from North and South into an ever growing mosaic. As our weekend retreat dims in our rear view mirrors, we are left with a sense of growth and strength. We look forward to the next opportunity.

Thirty people sleeping in the gompa for a weekend?!? We weren’t sure it would work, but it did!

25 people came for a Medicine Buddha retreat with Anna Bach in late January. We had friends come from Calgary of course, and also Kelowna, Vancouver and Portland. Nice representation from the Northwest Region! And thanks to BJ, Piotr and Andrea opening their suites, kitchens and showers to us, we all got through the weekend with (almost) enough sleep.

Anna taught about the Buddhist system of medicine and we followed a fairly rigorous schedule of meditation, exercise and food through-out the weekend. We all discovered again that quinoa porridge is tasty, and the sugar/caffeine cravings were subsiding by the end of the retreat. We got lots of meditation time too, with group practice sessions of prostrations, Diamond Mind and of course many sessions of the Medicine Buddha meditation given by Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche many years ago. Thirty people doing prostrations in the gompa was even cosier than sleeping, but that all worked out too.

Saturday evening we watched some short video of Diamond Way in Nepal and the trip that Randall and Carleen took with Anna last year. And then we all received a Jewell Pill and tucked ourselves right into bed. No party…how odd!

But of course, all this physical preparation is just for the body. And as Anna reminded us many times, the body is just a product of mind’s free play, and we should not take it so seriously!

It’s been a busy year for the Edmonton Diamond Way Buddhist Centre. We kicked off the year with plenty of dusty, sweaty renovations. With the guidance and ultra-dedicated hard work of our general manager Rick, and an uber-skilled and equally hardworking German carpenter, Thies, we managed to pull off a massive renovation of a one bedroom suite, turning it into a beautiful, open and spacious meditation room in only a couple of months. A garage was also converted in to a café so that people have a place to hang out and talk following meditation.

This was done just in time for our wonderful teacher, Lama Ole Nydahl’s, visit to Edmonton in April. We were all touched by the inauguration and blessing of the meditation hall and the centre. Later that evening, Lama Ole gave a public lecture at the Citadel to a few hundred locals.

Since then, we had a visit from an excellent German travelling teacher, Bernhard Lindner, who inspired us all. Another member of the centre moved into the building in October.  In November, we enjoyed a special weekend with Gretchen Newmark, a travelling teacher from Portland. And we’ll be kicking off the new year with a visit from another travelling teacher, Jim Macur.

The Edmonton Diamond Way Buddhist Centre looks very much forward to have Lama Ole back in town from April 30 to May 3, 2010! Please keep tuned for more information on these special weekend event.

Unlike many Buddhist teachers who only speak Tibetan and wear monk robes, people can relate to Lama Ole’s direct and open teaching style, Western appearance, healthy sense of humor, and charm. His message is simple: Lama Ole teaches students how to be fearless, joyful and actively compassionate here and now.

The Edmonton Diamond Way Buddhist Centre (13015 117 Avenue NW) is now available to see on Google Street View. Feel free to take a virtual of our Centre on the internet. Isn’t this amazing?! (Doesn’t work on cell phone.)

The Edmonton Diamond Way Buddhist Centre - by google street view

Near Edmonton on July 12, 2009
Check the small Videoclip on CTV News Edmonton: Taking meditation to new height!

It was a great joy to have Lama Ole Nydahl back in Edmonton on May 12, 2009. His visit helps to strengthen our sangha and to remind us that the sangha’s connection to the teacher is so important and precious.