2007 Tibetan Festival is Celebrated at Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center in Craryville, New York, in July
Chökhör Festival Features Talks About Tibet, Its Religion and Culture; Tibetan Music, Crafts, Food, and More
Craryville, NY, May 25, 2007 --(PR.com)-- The Vikramasila Foundation presents the 2007 Chökhör Festival, to be held this year on Sunday, July 29, at the Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center, 1184 Route 11, in Craryville, New York (just 20 minutes from Hudson, NY). A suggested $7 donation per person for the support of Pumpkin Hollow is suggested. All other proceeds go towards programs of the Vikramasila Foundation and Palden Sakya Centers, supporting Tibetan refugee children in Nepal and India.
From 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the beautiful grounds of Pumpkin Hollow will be transformed into a view of Tibet, through the sounds of Tibetan prayers and music; the sight of prayer flags (lungta) being raised, traditional dances, Tibetan paintings (thangkas); and the fragrance of Tibetan food and incense wafting into to the sky. In addition, Tibetan handicrafts are available for sale through a mini-bazaar of vendors drawn from the Tri-State region and consultations with a Tibetan doctor may be received.
Chökhör ('wheel of Dharma' in Tibetan) is one of the four most important days of the Buddhist calendar as it commemorates the day the Buddha gave his first teaching – or “turning of the wheel of Dharma.” This celebration provides an opportunity for the community to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism, through talks by the Ven. Lama Pema Wangdak, director of the Vikramasila Foundation and Palden Sakya Centers, as well as about the culture and traditions of Tibet.
So come and enjoy the sights, sounds, and tastes of Tibet – learn to print the colorful prayer flags, view the prayer flags being raised during a ceremony for peace, see demonstrations of Tibetan calligraphy. In addition to these and other events, there will also be meditation instruction and group meditation.
For further information and directions to Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center, call 518-325-3583, e-mail pumpkin@taconic.net, or visit www.pumpkinhollow.org.
###
About the Palden Sakya Centers
During the last Saturday of most months, the Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak, offers teachings in the Hudson Valley at the Palden Sakya Centers of Woodstock and Philmont, New York. During the week he offers teachings at Centers in New York City and in Cresskill, New Jersey. In addition, there are also Centers in Jamaica, Vermont, and Dayton, Ohio. For further information, visit the website www.paldensakya.org, e-mail sangye@aol.com, or call 201-541-0007.
About the Programs of the Vikramasila Foundation: The Pema Ts'al (Lotus Grove) Schools in Nepal and India:
In 1995, the Pema Ts'al hostel for Tibetan children was founded in Mundgod, South India. This location is a center that nurtures and supports the students of this Tibetan refugee community – graduates now attend medical school, among other places of higher learning. In 1999, a monastery school was founded in Kathmandu, Nepal, primarily to educate students from the Kingdom of Mustang. Since then, the monastery has relocated to Pokhara, Nepal, and the students continue to receive a traditional Tibetan monastic education, as well as learning subjects such as English, science, and math. Students are supported at both these locations, through fund raisers such as this evening's, as well as individuals who sponsor a child for $35 per month. Those interested in supporting the the work of the Foundation, may visit the website www.paldensakya.org or send a donation to Vikramasila Foundation, 289 Brookside Avenue, Cresskill, New Jersey 07626.
About the Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak, director of the Centers:
Born in Purang in Western Tibet in 1954, Lama Pema Wandak's family escaped from Tibet in 1959 and eventually resettled in a refugee camp in Mundgod, South India. He is the only child of five in his family to have survived the escape. Lama Pema has been a monk since the age of 7 and is a student of His Holiness the Sakya Trizin and other great masters from the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism. A graduate of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Benares, India, he received his Acharya (masters) degree from Sanskrit University in 1980. His Holiness the Sakya Trizin sent him to teach in the United States in 1982 as the first of the younger generation of Tibetan teachers in America from the Sakya School. Lama Pema is the creator of "Bur Yig"—Tibetan Braille. He has been guiding western students for over 20 years and continues to travel and teach extensively at Dharma centers around the world. His marvelous command of the English language and excelled wisdom and compassion make him an outstanding model in today's world.
About Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center
Pumpkin Hollow Farm is a Theosophical retreat center that seeks to live out, and support in its community, the objectives of the worldwide Theosophical Society. In recognition of the reality of the various fields of consciousness, it provides a rural sanctuary to promote the experience of the unity of all life and to help evoke personal transformation. Reflecting a commitment to fellowship, service and the study of natural laws that govern life, the programs and facilities offer opportunities for self-discovery, meditation, healing and connecting with nature. Nestled amidst the Berkshire and Taconic Mountains, Pumpkin Hollow covers 130 acres of open fields, lush forests, flower beds, and an abundant vegetable garden nourished by the crystal clear Taconic Stream, which flows through the property, rushing over a rocky waterfall and out through the base of a deep hemlock-lined gorge. Pumpkin Hollow offers a unique rustic setting for workshops, retreats, yoga, meditation, evening talks and campfires, singing, dancing, and storytelling. The central farmhouse, meditation center, and quaint cabins all connect with a network of nature trails. The Healer's Sanctuary, nestled in a pine grove on the other side of the stream, provides a special place for solitude and meditation.
From 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the beautiful grounds of Pumpkin Hollow will be transformed into a view of Tibet, through the sounds of Tibetan prayers and music; the sight of prayer flags (lungta) being raised, traditional dances, Tibetan paintings (thangkas); and the fragrance of Tibetan food and incense wafting into to the sky. In addition, Tibetan handicrafts are available for sale through a mini-bazaar of vendors drawn from the Tri-State region and consultations with a Tibetan doctor may be received.
Chökhör ('wheel of Dharma' in Tibetan) is one of the four most important days of the Buddhist calendar as it commemorates the day the Buddha gave his first teaching – or “turning of the wheel of Dharma.” This celebration provides an opportunity for the community to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism, through talks by the Ven. Lama Pema Wangdak, director of the Vikramasila Foundation and Palden Sakya Centers, as well as about the culture and traditions of Tibet.
So come and enjoy the sights, sounds, and tastes of Tibet – learn to print the colorful prayer flags, view the prayer flags being raised during a ceremony for peace, see demonstrations of Tibetan calligraphy. In addition to these and other events, there will also be meditation instruction and group meditation.
For further information and directions to Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center, call 518-325-3583, e-mail pumpkin@taconic.net, or visit www.pumpkinhollow.org.
###
About the Palden Sakya Centers
During the last Saturday of most months, the Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak, offers teachings in the Hudson Valley at the Palden Sakya Centers of Woodstock and Philmont, New York. During the week he offers teachings at Centers in New York City and in Cresskill, New Jersey. In addition, there are also Centers in Jamaica, Vermont, and Dayton, Ohio. For further information, visit the website www.paldensakya.org, e-mail sangye@aol.com, or call 201-541-0007.
About the Programs of the Vikramasila Foundation: The Pema Ts'al (Lotus Grove) Schools in Nepal and India:
In 1995, the Pema Ts'al hostel for Tibetan children was founded in Mundgod, South India. This location is a center that nurtures and supports the students of this Tibetan refugee community – graduates now attend medical school, among other places of higher learning. In 1999, a monastery school was founded in Kathmandu, Nepal, primarily to educate students from the Kingdom of Mustang. Since then, the monastery has relocated to Pokhara, Nepal, and the students continue to receive a traditional Tibetan monastic education, as well as learning subjects such as English, science, and math. Students are supported at both these locations, through fund raisers such as this evening's, as well as individuals who sponsor a child for $35 per month. Those interested in supporting the the work of the Foundation, may visit the website www.paldensakya.org or send a donation to Vikramasila Foundation, 289 Brookside Avenue, Cresskill, New Jersey 07626.
About the Venerable Lama Pema Wangdak, director of the Centers:
Born in Purang in Western Tibet in 1954, Lama Pema Wandak's family escaped from Tibet in 1959 and eventually resettled in a refugee camp in Mundgod, South India. He is the only child of five in his family to have survived the escape. Lama Pema has been a monk since the age of 7 and is a student of His Holiness the Sakya Trizin and other great masters from the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism. A graduate of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Benares, India, he received his Acharya (masters) degree from Sanskrit University in 1980. His Holiness the Sakya Trizin sent him to teach in the United States in 1982 as the first of the younger generation of Tibetan teachers in America from the Sakya School. Lama Pema is the creator of "Bur Yig"—Tibetan Braille. He has been guiding western students for over 20 years and continues to travel and teach extensively at Dharma centers around the world. His marvelous command of the English language and excelled wisdom and compassion make him an outstanding model in today's world.
About Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center
Pumpkin Hollow Farm is a Theosophical retreat center that seeks to live out, and support in its community, the objectives of the worldwide Theosophical Society. In recognition of the reality of the various fields of consciousness, it provides a rural sanctuary to promote the experience of the unity of all life and to help evoke personal transformation. Reflecting a commitment to fellowship, service and the study of natural laws that govern life, the programs and facilities offer opportunities for self-discovery, meditation, healing and connecting with nature. Nestled amidst the Berkshire and Taconic Mountains, Pumpkin Hollow covers 130 acres of open fields, lush forests, flower beds, and an abundant vegetable garden nourished by the crystal clear Taconic Stream, which flows through the property, rushing over a rocky waterfall and out through the base of a deep hemlock-lined gorge. Pumpkin Hollow offers a unique rustic setting for workshops, retreats, yoga, meditation, evening talks and campfires, singing, dancing, and storytelling. The central farmhouse, meditation center, and quaint cabins all connect with a network of nature trails. The Healer's Sanctuary, nestled in a pine grove on the other side of the stream, provides a special place for solitude and meditation.
Contact
Palden Sakya
201-541-0007
www.paldensakya.org
info@paldensakya.org
201-541-0007
www.paldensakya.org
info@paldensakya.org
Contact
Categories