Lama Gangchen celebrates his birthday on the 7th of July

Peace Times 12

A special cerimony organised in Milan to express devotion to the Guru - Tibetan songs, dances and culinary delights. On the 8th, Vajrayogini Tsog

The 7th of July is a very special day: it is Lama Gangchen’s birthday.

At the LGWPF Conference Hall, (the “Web Site”, via Pindaro 28, Milan/MM Villa San Giovanni), the celebrations will begin at 3pm with a long life puja: a traditional ritual which formally expresses the devotion of the disciples for their guru, helping those who participate in it to receive a deeper and more profound understanding. It is also possible to request the long life of the guru in many other ways and on many different levels, with the body, speech and mind: making prostrations, reciting prayers, by expressing from the depth of our heart the wish for our guru always to remain with us. As in previous years there will be a celebration party (8pm) with singing, dancing and delicacies both from the Tibetan kitchen and traditional Italian cuisine.

The next day (at 8pm) the festivities will carry on with the tsog puja of Vajrayogini, the deity representing the supreme female aspect of the enlightened mind, according to Tibetan Tantra. During the ceremony food, drink, incense, lights and flowers are offered to Vajrayogini: more than at any other moment, making offerings on this particular holy day, which falls on the 15th of every month in the Tibetan calendar, helps us to accummulate positive energy, merit and wisdom.

Lama Gangchen has now worked in the West, for well over fifteen years, spreading his teachings to develop a culture of non-violence through non-formal peace education and environmental education. He developed the NgalSo tantric self-healing method practised worldwide in over one hundred study centres. A tireless globe-trotter, Lama Gangchen has been dedicating his life to offering “small” solutions to

the problems facing our world today: by going to the Amazon already twice and bring renewed hope and energy to the indigenous people in the forests, helping them to save their precious environment; working as a special plenipotenciary envoy and advisor with the International Association of Educators for World Peace, in consultative status with Unesco; actively promoting inter-religious dialogue worldwide and sharing his ancient “crazy” wisdom with hundreds of thousands of people around the globe.

We wish him a long and healthy life, that all may continue to benefit from his inspiring work of love for peace in this world, and offer the following prayer for his long life and for all the great spiritual masters:

«May all holy teachers have a long life. May their enlightened activities be fully displayed in the ten directions. May the brightness of the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa continuously dissipate the veil of darkness covering the beings of the three realms of existence».

p.t.