Stories FROM LAWUDO:
rETREAT CENTER IN THE HIMALAYAS
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Join us for a special presentation on the sacred hermitage of Lawudo, located in the high Himalayas of Nepal. Presented by Ven. Angie Muir and Ven. Katy Cole, two ordained nuns who have undertaken practice at Lawudo, this special event, including a slideshow, will present the deep significance of Lawudo for the people in the region and those around the world who have connected with the blessings of this place of practice.
For disciples and students of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, few places on this earth hold as much significance and meaning as Lawudo. Situated in the area known as Solu Khumbu in Nepal, Lawudo is one of the many sacred places of this region. Known as the Cave of Blissful Attainments, it is one of the many sacred places of this region and is considered to be a “hidden valley”(Tib. སྦས་ཡུལ་, béyül, Wyl. sbas yul), a special country blessed by Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). Discovered by the previous Lawudo Lama Kunsang Yeshe and empowered by the blessings of a lifetime of pure Dharma practice, it is the original home of the incomparably kind Guru Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
A few years after Lama Kunzang Yeshe passed away, a four-year-old boy from the nearby village who had continually tried to climb the path to Lawudo and insisted he was the Lawudo Lama was officially recognized as the reincarnation of Lama Kunzang Yeshe. That boy came to be known as Kyabje Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, a great Dharma teacher and guide to thousands of disciples worldwide.
About Ven. Angie Muir
Born in Scotland, in 1970, she obtained a Bachelor's Degree in 1992. Feeling disillusioned with her prospective career path and life ahead of her, she left Scotland and combined traveling with work in Asia for 3 years until in 1995 she felt a calling to go to India to explore meditation and find her life path. Within a few months, she “... had the incredible fortune due to some previous karma” to discover Tibetan Buddhism, meet her main spiritual teacher Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche (of almost 30 years), and become ordained. Venerable Angie has been a Buddhist nun for over 25 years. During this time, she served at Lama Zopa Rinpoche's residences in the US for 13 years. As well as doing various personal retreats, she has also offered service as well as teaching and leading meditation at other FPMT centers.
About Ven. Katy Cole
Since 2003, Katy has served in a variety of positions within Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s FPMT: as Liberation Prison Project’s spiritual program coordinator, chaplain coordinator, and on the project’s US Board of Directors; and at one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s residences in Aptos, CA, Kachoe Dechen Ling, helping with the numerous extensive offerings completed there every day. Since 2013, and until the pandemic, Katy visited Lawudo Gompa annually for retreat, study, and to help Rinpoche’s sister with offerings in Rinpoche’s cave and main gompa, helping the tourists who come to stay, and baby cow care. Prior to meeting her teachers, Katy studied Vipassana meditation with practitioners from Myanmar. Katy has a BA Hons in Theatre Arts from Dartington College of Arts, U.K., a BA Hons in Psychology from Murdoch University, W.A, and a MA in clinical psychology from the University of Western Australia. She worked as a psychologist before moving to California to work for Liberation Prison Project.
For disciples and students of Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, few places on this earth hold as much significance and meaning as Lawudo. Situated in the area known as Solu Khumbu in Nepal, Lawudo is one of the many sacred places of this region. Known as the Cave of Blissful Attainments, it is one of the many sacred places of this region and is considered to be a “hidden valley”(Tib. སྦས་ཡུལ་, béyül, Wyl. sbas yul), a special country blessed by Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). Discovered by the previous Lawudo Lama Kunsang Yeshe and empowered by the blessings of a lifetime of pure Dharma practice, it is the original home of the incomparably kind Guru Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
A few years after Lama Kunzang Yeshe passed away, a four-year-old boy from the nearby village who had continually tried to climb the path to Lawudo and insisted he was the Lawudo Lama was officially recognized as the reincarnation of Lama Kunzang Yeshe. That boy came to be known as Kyabje Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, a great Dharma teacher and guide to thousands of disciples worldwide.
About Ven. Angie Muir
Born in Scotland, in 1970, she obtained a Bachelor's Degree in 1992. Feeling disillusioned with her prospective career path and life ahead of her, she left Scotland and combined traveling with work in Asia for 3 years until in 1995 she felt a calling to go to India to explore meditation and find her life path. Within a few months, she “... had the incredible fortune due to some previous karma” to discover Tibetan Buddhism, meet her main spiritual teacher Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche (of almost 30 years), and become ordained. Venerable Angie has been a Buddhist nun for over 25 years. During this time, she served at Lama Zopa Rinpoche's residences in the US for 13 years. As well as doing various personal retreats, she has also offered service as well as teaching and leading meditation at other FPMT centers.
About Ven. Katy Cole
Since 2003, Katy has served in a variety of positions within Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s FPMT: as Liberation Prison Project’s spiritual program coordinator, chaplain coordinator, and on the project’s US Board of Directors; and at one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s residences in Aptos, CA, Kachoe Dechen Ling, helping with the numerous extensive offerings completed there every day. Since 2013, and until the pandemic, Katy visited Lawudo Gompa annually for retreat, study, and to help Rinpoche’s sister with offerings in Rinpoche’s cave and main gompa, helping the tourists who come to stay, and baby cow care. Prior to meeting her teachers, Katy studied Vipassana meditation with practitioners from Myanmar. Katy has a BA Hons in Theatre Arts from Dartington College of Arts, U.K., a BA Hons in Psychology from Murdoch University, W.A, and a MA in clinical psychology from the University of Western Australia. She worked as a psychologist before moving to California to work for Liberation Prison Project.

WOMEN OF WISDOM
Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women
Over the course of a year, Women of Wisdom: Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women will highlight and celebrate women teachers and practitioners in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The programs in this series spotlight the history and impact of women in Buddhism and share the wisdom stewarded by a range of female lineage holders, teachers, scholars, monastics, and lay practitioners.
The series coincides with the 35th anniversary of the founding, by two women, of Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in San Francisco. Women of Wisdom: Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women hopes to contribute to ongoing efforts to support global programming featuring female Buddhist teachers and scholars and presenting topics of importance to women on the Buddhist path.
Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women
Over the course of a year, Women of Wisdom: Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women will highlight and celebrate women teachers and practitioners in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The programs in this series spotlight the history and impact of women in Buddhism and share the wisdom stewarded by a range of female lineage holders, teachers, scholars, monastics, and lay practitioners.
The series coincides with the 35th anniversary of the founding, by two women, of Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in San Francisco. Women of Wisdom: Celebrating the Living Legacy of Buddhist Women hopes to contribute to ongoing efforts to support global programming featuring female Buddhist teachers and scholars and presenting topics of importance to women on the Buddhist path.
Registration:
Advanced registration is required.
We offer all Dharma teachings and center events on a “dana” basis. This means we’re grateful for your generosity but there is no required cost to attend and no one is turned away for lack of funds. Suggested donation amounts are provided, and we welcome you to offer what you can to help us sustain our programming and make the dharma and events like this possible. And of course, ordained sangha (ordained nuns and monks) are always welcome free of charge.
If you're not donating at this time but would like to attend, please email [email protected].