|
||||
|
Courses and retreats at the new
meditation and healing centre. |
||||
|
|
by Gabriella Lo Re In the northern parts of Italy, a mere hour and a half from Milan, close to Switzerland, Lama Gangchen recently inaugurated the "Albagnano Healing Meditation Centre", a place for meditation, peace education and therapies for body and mind. The hamlet of Albagnano lays high above Lake Maggiore, half way between the town of Intra and the touristic site of Premeno. At some 600 metres above sea level, it nestles between the nature reserve of the Sacred Mount of the Holy Trinity and the Great Valley hills, overlooking the panoramic views of the lake. Surrounded by pine and chestnut woodlands, Albagnano is an ideal place to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and enter a more friendly and uncontaminated environment. The new centre houses the Peace Action Association, which is working closely in collaboration with the Kunpen Lama Gangchen Institute, a member of the Italian Buddhist Union, and whose scope is to contribute to the development of Western Buddhism and such practices like NgalSo Tantric Self-Healing and other meditational approaches. The Association will be organising study courses on Non-Formal Education towards the development of a culture of peace, as well as meetings focusing upon the creation of a permanent spiritual forum at the United Nations, as proposed and supported by the Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation, a United Nations affiliated NGO. The centre and its related activities shall further be dedicated to the development and regeneration of village life as well as rural and mountain culture. All courses and seminars, therapies and activities held this year, will take place at the Albagnano Community Residence, owned by the Parish of Locate Triulzi, Milan, which has been rented for this very purpose, as the centre's own facilities have not as yet been fully restructured. The Residence offers lodgings both during the courses and for longer periods to those who may simply wish to take a break; presently there is also a resident Tibetan Lama Healer, Amchi Wangchuk, an expert in Himalayan herbalism and natural Tibetan healing, who receives by prior appointment. A large circular structure is under construction, which is to house a permanent exhibition of Buddhist art, and which has just recently acquired nine large sculptures (representing the Five Dhyani Buddhas; Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion; one mandala and one stupa); all are carved in volcanic rock from Java in Indonesia, where the famous stupa of Borobudur - the largest buddhist stupa mandala in the world - is situated. The arrival of the statues was a moment of charged emotion for all those present, due to the impressive size of the statues and the great challenge of moving them into place (each weighing some 700kg). An intense programme is on offer in June: starting the first week with the much awaited visit of His Holiness Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche together with the young reincarnation of Geshe Rabten Rinpoche and their tutor Lama Gonsar Tulku Rinpoche. From the 23rd of June through to the 9th of July, there will be a Vajrayogini retreat, with meditation classes and teachings on the Tantra of Naro Kachodma. You are cordially invited to visit the Albagnano Healing MeditationCentre, both to broaden your own spiritual outlook and heal your body and mind, but also simply to take a breath of fresh air, a walk in the woods, enjoy the panorama and redicover yourself in a more human dimension. |
|||
|
|
||||
|
||||
)
)
