The Edmonton Diamond Way Buddhist Centre Blog

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.