We begin on Losar, the Lunar New Year. This day marks the entry into the Year of Wood Goat, and the beginning of Dhagpo’s 40^th anniversary. This year is bigger than itself. It is the moment when the past and future meet, when we consider how we will move forward and honor the history that brought us to where we are now. It is a process we undertake together and one we are figuring out along the way. Back in autumn, Jigme Rinpoche signaled the importance of this year, and a group of volunteers sat down to think about what we could do to mark this moment and use it as an opportunity to come together as a community. We came up with loads of ideas: themes, slogans, values, event propositions. Out of this, a core team has been working with Rinpoche on the activities that will take place and the ways we can all take part. Everything you see here is part of that process: the new site, this very blog, a program of events focused on history and practice, community and aspiration, mutual appreciation and gratitude. February 19 marked the start: a Losar full of practice, of gathering, and of offering. The offering of praises to Tara for protection and fearlessness; the offering of smoke and fire in the Sang Puja for clarity and purity of mind; the offering of the mandala and wishing prayers to the Buddha and the lineage masters so that we may continue on the path, and the offering of many manis, accumulated together, so that we go in the right direction, carried by compassion towards true understanding and freedom. Saturday evening, we held the first formal event, a symposium on Dhagpo’s history, from the donation of the land in 1975 to all that we are undertaking this year. We sat comfortably in the Institute’s luminous great hall while Lama Namdak recounted the days when teachings took place picnic style around the tumbledown buildings of the abandoned farm that Dhagpo used to be. He reminded us of the 16^th Karmapa’s five wishes (you can read more about the five wishes here), which were completed just recently with the creation of the Institute itself, and whose realization moves us from a time of foundation to a time of development. He reminded us that, “These were not personal wishes, but wishes that corresponded with the needs, skills, and character of the people,” wishes to make the Buddha’s teaching available to those who seek it, whether we know what we seek or not when we set out on the path.We are the recipients of the generosity of our teachers and we are the links that connect all that is given to us with those who come searching now and in the future. It’s a good time to come together.

On Sunday, we lit another offering fire and changed the prayer flags on the hill, sending up all the lungta, “wind horses,” wishes inscribed on them to take flight and carry our aspirations forward into the new year.

Come join us and be a part of this momentous time! Check out the program to know about events happening at Dhagpo and connect with us online through Facebook, the blog, and our personal stories page (coming soon).

Our connections shape the future. Let’s make it a great one.