Dear friends,
We had just finished the preparations and greetings for the approaching Losar and now we find ourselves in the new Year of the Water Tiger living a situation that we could not imagine.
The best thing we can do is to recall the words that Rosa Namkhai addressed to those present in the Gönpa and to all practitioners of the International Community on the very first day of the new year. Her words are positive, concrete, they inspire us and give us courage.
You can read Rosa's message at this link:
http://melong.com/rosa-namkhai-losar-greetings/
Here you will find some stories about activities during Losar, the Ukrainian emergency, retreats, exhibitions, and karmayoga taking place at Merigar.
We wish you all a Happy Easter and invite you to follow the Retreat on the 25 Spaces of Samantabhadra from 14 to 18 April 2022 with explanations and practice led by Adriano Clemente. Here you can find all the information and how to register. The course will be onsite at Merigar and online!
Come to Merigar if you can!
Otherwise follow us on zoom!
The video shot by Yangcen shows the cheerful and joyful atmosphere that characterized the evening. Migmar, with the help of Chinese and Tibetan friends, the staff of Dynamic Space, the Gekos, and many other practitioners prepared the soup and all the traditional colorful ritual to chase away the bad spirits of the closing year and invite luck, prosperity and health for the new year. Particularly entertaining and fun was the choice of pasta balls containing the wishes for the new year, full of surprises for everyone.
All of this took place at Merigar and also in zoom connecting many practitioners scattered throughout Italy, who had received the recipe and prepared the soup to eat it virtually together with those present at the Yellow House.
Here is the video:
Practice, celebration, and lunch together. This was the day of Losar.
Relive some moments with this video:
The Prayer flags were hung during the days of the waxing moon.
On a beautiful sunny day, with a little wind, as befits, flags were hung throughout the land of Merigar
Ukrainian Emergency
With the assistance of Dasha Namkhai, Merigar delivered 42 yoga mats to the RFK International House Association, at their Florence office. These were brought directly to the Ukrainian border, along with other basic necessities, by land convoy. We have also made ourselves available, together with the Municipality of Arcidosso, to safely house works of art that are being evacuated from Ukraine to safeguard them from possible destruction.
In the meantime, Svitlana and Tatiana have come to Merigar. Svitlana is a practitioner of ours from Kiev, in the third month of pregnancy, and Tatiana is a friend who accompanied her on the journey to Italy. They are currently our guests and we are helping them with all the bureaucratic and health procedures they have to undertake. They are fine, compatibly with the situation.
Svitlana and Tatiana together with Natasha on a trip to Monte Labro near Merigar
Fundraising continues for
"Join the Wheel of Solidarity"
A fundraiser for all those who are suffering from the conflict in Ukraine.
Donations can be made through:
Exhibition - Portraits of India and Tibet by Enrico Dell'Angelo
Merigar is hosting in the Mandala Room the photographic exhibition of Enrico Dell’Angelo, which was previously held in Rome, at the Bonomo Gallery.
On 13 March it was inaugurated in the presence of Andrea Dell’Angelo, brother of Enrico and President of ASIAOnlus, and some of the Mayors of Amiata. The atmosphere was moving and we were able to admire the work of our dear Vajra brother who died so prematurely.
The beautiful black and white photos will be on display until May 1st, upon booking with the Merigar office.
Mandarava Retreat
Merigar contributed and collaborated with Dzamling Gar for the traditional Mandarava Long Life retreat which took place for two full weeks starting from Losar.
In particular, we supported Nina who led the afternoon practices and explanations, sometimes from her home and other times from the Merigar Gönpa.
A big thank you to Nina, to the organizers at Dzamling Gar, to those who helped Nina, to those who translated many of the sessions of this intense retreat into Italian, and to our technicians.
Karma Yoga and Work on the Land at Merigar
The red Gakyil, together with our maintenance technician Cvetko, is preparing a continuous and complete control plan of all the structures and systems at the Gar, inside the buildings and on the ground. However, Karma Yoga is always needed and welcomed as some practitioners recently did by cleaning up the green areas around the Gönpa and the Yellow House.