SUNRAY PEACE VILLAGE

2012 Sunray Calendar

2012-02-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

We begin a new cycle -- message from Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo

2012-02-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

We begin a new cycle with the conclusion of the Mayan calendar. Illusions fabricated by 'separatist' belief systems are now swept away by the eye of penetrating insight, which perceives the unity of forms arising from the sacred cave of the heart.

In this way, unknown possibilities are opened to the medicine. One may design devices with which, through suitably modulated radio or light radiation, cell metabolism may be affected. Even the repair of genetic defects is possible. Without all the risks and side effects of the classical-biochemical proceeding. See this link.

The Muscovite group of researchers could already prove this astonishing conclusion experimentally. DNA substance in vivo (i.e. in the living fabric, not in the test tube) reacts to language-modulated laser light, and even to radio waves, if one keeps the correct resonant frequencies.

With our words and thoughts we may sweep away constrictive paradigms and bring forth a world of beauty. All appearances of "the future are written in the now," even awakening our DNA as we energize our potential as wise beings.

Research reveals that light and sound awaken potentials within our DNA. We are changing according to our beliefs, which pulse through the field of our being.

Now is the time to manifest our potential.

Your words and thoughts give rise to awakened activity for the benefit of all. Best wishes as a new era unfolds, may you and your relatives have joy and accomplishment of your visions and plans.

Sincerely,

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo

P.S. Venerable is offering teachings on 2012: Your Gateway to Greater Understanding. You can sign up here.

An amazing voice

2012-02-03T17:31:00.001-05:00

Regular Peace Village practices -- please come join us.

2012-02-02T15:24:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends,

Ride the wave of the Teachings over the weekend and the vibrancy of the Gadugis! Come to our Thursday evening practice at 7:30 PM with tea afterwards!

For the last 2 decades, we have been practicing weekly the Basic Meditation and Dance! In these changing times, there is the opportunity to come together as a community...to sit together! May we bring our community into practice together by declaring the first Thursday of the month as a
community practice! With tea following and maybe even cookies!

Yes, we will continue to practice every Thursday and everyone is welcome! But let's try to come together at least once a month! As Grandmother Patricia has said that it is so important for the community to practice together!

Dance practice continues on Tuesday mornings!
Basic Meditation practice on Thursday evenings!
New Moon and Planting Celebrations with a Fire!
Full Moon Drumming!
Crystal Practice for those who have had the crystal teachings!
PK study day coming up!
And Healing Ceremony practice for Gadugi members once a month!
Ceremonial calendar is almost done! Stay tuned!

I invite us to practice together and hope to see you this Thursday evening!

Tori

Dance of Life -- February 7th

2012-02-01T22:05:00.000-05:00

DANCE OF LIFE

Ywahoo Wisdom Lineage
Sunray Peace Village, Lincoln, Vermont
_______________________________________

Light, Sound and Dance as Medicine

Instruction, Practice, and Offerings
to fully enliven the luminous potential encoded within all

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

(Weekly) OPEN PRACTICE OFFERING / Tuesdays, 9 AM
(Monthly) TEACHINGS /1st Tuesday 6-8 PM
___________________________________________________________________

INFORMATION
whitecloudarts@gmavt.net / 802.453.3690

We will be hosting an Elders Gathering this year, at the end of July!

2012-01-29T23:43:00.000-05:00

In 2011, there was some uncertainty in our community whether we would be able to host an Elders Gathering in 2012, as we had for the previous 27 years. It was the end of a 27-year cycle, and the future was unclear.

I'm glad to report that the uncertainty is gone. We will be hosting an Elders Gathering at the end of July again!

There may be some new forms that arise, but for now, please set aside July 27-August 1, and plan to join us. There is much cause for celebration!!

The Sunray Community

Expanding Earth

2012-01-29T13:00:00.002-05:00

New Moon Celebration at the Peace Village, Jan 22

2012-01-21T16:04:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We will be gathering this coming Sunday, Jan 22 at 11:00 AM in the Sacred Arbor at the Peace Village to celebrate the January New Moon--the Cold Moon.

This is under the guidance of Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo and she states "We begin a new cycle with the conclusion of the Mayan calendar. Illusions fabricated by separatist belief systems are now swept away by the eye of penetrating insight, which perceives the unity of forms arising from the sacred cave of the heart."

These Cherokee Moon Ceremonies are an ancient seasonal round of ceremonies throughout the cycle of seasons, corresponding to the lunar cycles of the year and the January New Moon is called the Cold Moon or Nv-da-ka-na-wo-ga, a time for fasting and personal purification.

Family and Friends are invited to participate in this Ceremonial Cycle. We carry these celebrations and traditions of the Ywahoo Lineage, of the Wild Potato Clan, of the Etowah Band of the Eastern Tsalagi Nation. All are welcome and we will offer the stick dance at 11:00 followed by
offerings of the dance and practices.

We are grateful to come together!

Boston New Moon gathering, January 22nd, 7 am

2012-01-16T12:44:00.000-05:00

Greetings Boston Community!

We will be gathering at the Brookline Reservoir to celebrate the January New Moon Sunday January 22, 2012, 7:06 a.m. The Reservoir is located at the junction of Route 9 and Lee Street, Brookline, Mass.

Stick Dance, Greeting the Sun, Dance of the Directions, Basic Meditation, and Prayer/Cornmeal Offerings around our little candle fire.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

It is always beautiful. It is always beneficial.

Thanks,
Tita

A poem inspired by a visit with His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche

2012-01-12T21:47:00.000-05:00

I just returned from a week in AZ with His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche. In contemplating the teachings of the great masters of our "time", a poem came about. Maybe this could generate smiles and serenity as a blog posting.

In Light,
Nitya Sri

~*~

I Am a Hollow Tube
A Beauty Road
A Rainbow Bridge.
I Am Luminous Mind
Generating Winds of Creation,
Dancing Spirals of Intelligence,
Winds of Dissolution,
Vast Open Sky Awareness.

I Transcend Death and Samsaric Rebirth.
I Generate Harmony for Our Future Generations
Unwinding Knots of Karmic Impressions
Lingering Ceaselessly.
From the Future Time of Our Ancestors
I Tread Mind's Potential
Vibrating Yogic Powers,
Siddhis of Indestructible Light
Lips that Suckle and Kiss Nectar of Immortal Bliss!

I Am Happiness without Cause
Abiding Natural and Free
Primordial Awareness
Generating Crystal Cities
through Thought and Sound
where a Perfect Union of Bliss and Emptiness
Saturate
All Souls Yearning for Liberation,
Yearning to Realize the Quintessence of Mind.

I Walk,
and Dewachen Magnetizes around this Radiant Smile
that All May Quench their Thirst for Perfect Knowledge.
Dakas, Dakinis, Buddhas, Adaweis, Angels and Demons, Wrathful Protectors, Devis and Gods, Asuras and Tathagatas All Rejoice
at the Utterance of Secret Mantra
Generating and Dissolving Buddhafields Filled with Planets, Stars, Suns and Moons, Spiraling Galaxies, Black Holes and Sentience,
in One Blink of Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo's Eye.

I Speak,
that All Sentience
Rekindle the Sacred Fire for All Lovers to Love.
This is All of Us!

Ngondro talk on Bodhicitta on Sunday, Jan. 8

2012-01-05T12:20:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

Begin the new year deepening your understanding of kindness and compassion. This Sunday Jan. 8 at 11 am, Khenmo Drolma will give the final talk on the Ngondro series Bodhicitta. The goal of all meditation practice is to develop a great wide open heart extending to all sentient beings. Bodhicitta - loving kindness and compassion begins and ends the Ngondro practice. In the Drikung Ngondro, one takes the bodhisattva vow 100,000 times in the context of a special visualization. The bodhicitta practice also begins the mahamudra investigations. Ultimate compassion/kindness is mahamudra. In the Nyingma tradition, the bodhicitta practice is combined with Refuge. Join us for public meditation at 9:30 am and continue with Bodhicitta at 11 am followed by a pot luck lunch.

"Bodhicitta excellent and precious mind, where it is unborn may it arise, where born may it not decline but ever increase higher and higher."

Khenmo Drolma
Abbess
Vajra Dakini Nunnery

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T15:11:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

Best wishes for a Happy New Year to you as a new era unfolds, may you and your relatives have joy and accomplishment of your visions and plans.

We begin a new cycle with the conclusion of the Mayan calendar. Illusions fabricated by 'separatist' belief systems are now swept away by the eye of penetrating insight, which perceives the unity of forms arising from the sacred cave of the heart.

Your words and thoughts give rise to awakened activity for the benefit of all.

Sincerely,

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo

New Year's Eve meditation starting at 10 pm at the Adawee Temple

2011-12-29T14:28:00.001-05:00

There will be a New Years Eve Meditation beginning at 10 pm at the Temple of Adawees at the Peace Village.
Rev. Richard

His Holiness the Dalai Lama sends a message to Vajra Dakini Nunnery

2011-12-27T18:34:00.000-05:00

Vajra Dakini received a letter of support from the Office of H.H. The Dalai Lama!

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama is glad to know that under the patronage of H. H. Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche, the Vajra Dakini Nunnery, in Bristol, VT, USA, was established for the benefit of members of the monastic community in the United States of America.

His Holiness hopes that it will not only serve as a learning institution but also as a contemplative center. He sends his prayers and good wishes for the success of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery."

Solstice fire this Wednesday, December 21, at 8 am

2011-12-19T10:22:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

There will be a celebration of the Winter Solstice this coming Wednesday with the lighting of the Sacred Fire at 8 AM in the Arbor, Peace Village! This is an opportunity to offer dances, prayers and corn meal in gratitudefor the breath of life, the returning of the Light and each other! It is a time to show appreciation for the planet, elements and all the beings that we share the planet with--those that walk with 2 legs, 4 legs, those that swim, crawl and fly upon the Earth!

And as we approach 2012, may our intentions bring about a shift to live lovingly, intuitively, authentically, creatively and with collaboration!

Happy Solstice,
Peace
Tori

Support El Salvador

2011-12-12T21:41:00.000-05:00

Vajra Dakini Nunnery New Year's retreat -- Dec. 27 to Jan. 3

2011-12-10T20:33:00.000-05:00

Change is just the way things are
Dec. 27 evening to Jan. 3 pm

As 2011 becomes 2012, we invite you to an intimate in-house retreat at Vajra Dakini to explore the pleasures and the pains of change. Given the opportunity to explore and embrace change, we may find our resistance, and our suffering diminishing. Given time for contemplation and rest, 2012 may become a truly new year.

Over the course of this Dec 27 - Jan 3 retreat, we will have ample time for practice and contemplation of impermanence in the ways it manifests, especially with regards to sickness, old age and death. The teachings that Khenmo will offer, the practices we will share, and retreat schedule will be suitable for both beginning and advanced practitioners. We look forward to sharing this peaceful, contemplative New Years retreat with you.

For information and registration, write to
<thubtensaldon@gmail.com> or call us # 802-453-6867

Pilgrimage stories from Khenmo Drolma this Sunday

2011-12-08T16:48:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

This Sunday, Dec. 11, Khenmo will describe the fab adventures of the pilgrimage in India after tea. Come for basic meditation at 9:30 am and remain for tea and stories.

VDN

Water at the Peace Village

2011-12-03T23:02:00.000-05:00

Here is the water practice.

A beautiful day at the Peace Village

2011-12-03T14:36:00.000-05:00

Here are some images from today at the Peace Village.

Gratitude

2011-11-29T12:34:00.000-05:00

Reminder to sign up if you haven't for Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo's December 3-4 Peacekeeper teachings

2011-11-18T13:28:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder that Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo will be offering Peacekeeper teachings on December 3-4 in the Adawi Temple at the Sunray Peace Village in Lincoln, Vermont. This is the end of the seven-year Peacekeeper cycle, and so this will likely be the last time she will be offering these teachings personally.

Space is limited in the Temple, so if you are coming to Vermont, please register by November 28th.

If you cannot attend in person, you may sign up to watch a webcast of the teachings, which you will be able to do live, or as a recording. As the event approaches, we will send you a link to a private webcast and a password. There is no limit to online participants.

The teachings will be from 10 am - 1 pm, and 3 pm - 5 pm on both days, December 3-4. You may register yourself, and up to 5 other people, by clicking here.

The Peacekeeper Mission fulfills its purpose through individual and group study, training and practice to develop four fundamental qualities of mind:

Mindfulness: The ability to see things as they are, to be fully present in the moment, and to manifest right thought, right action.

Peacekeeper Consciousness: Recognition of one’s responsibility and power to manifest peace through right relationship with all the family of life.

Caretaker Mind: Awareness of one’s privilege and duty to serve as a caretaker of this planet, honoring the Earth as a living being and sowing seeds of abundance and harmony unto seven generations.

Continuity of Mind: Understanding of cause and effect in determining the quality of one’s life, death and future lives, and in shaping the karma of groups, nations and the planet.

PLEASE REGISTER NOW!

Khenmo Drolma in India

2011-11-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

We celebrated Lha Bab Duchen all day here and I thought of you. We began with a ceremony at 6 am and then I made a mandala offering on behalf of Vajradakini Ven Dhyani and HE Changlochen Rinpoche as well as the Porter family - distributing $1000 to sponsor teachings that day, for the great Rinpoche's activities and to HH Chetsang Rinpoche. Although he is in enforced rest he granted a group interview for a short time. Then we leave for the pilgrimage on the 20th. It has been very rich with excellent teachings from HE Garchen Rinpoche, meetings with Mrs Tsarong ( HH's sister and supervisor of the nunnery, and the nuns director and disciplinarian.) We are exploring the potential of an visit from nuns and exchange of knowledge and customs. This evening I give a talk to the nuns. I am thinking of you all and missing you dear friends!

Much Love ,
Khenmo

Peacekeeper training in Munich, Germany starting this weekend, Nov. 19-20

2011-11-16T15:55:00.003-05:00

Peacekeeper Training

Weekends
19th - 20.Nov. 2011,

4 - 5 February 2012, Sat 10:00 to Sun 16:00
Garden of life - growth area 80336 Munich, Mathildenstr.12

The enlightened action is guided by three principles: to perceive the mystery of the will as it is, the intention of its own goals to realize the benefit of all want, and the courage to do what we need to do.

The Peacekeeper Training based on the teachings of Ywahoo line of the Cherokee and the Drikung Kagyu and Nyingma schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo, Whose vision goes back to the Peacekeeper Training, is in 27th Generation keeper of the priestly knowledge of their people. In Bristol, Vermont, she maintains a peace village, where in summer the teachings of the Cherokee and the Tibetans taught and practiced. There is also the first Drikung Kagyu nunnery in the United States. With further interest: www.sunray.org

The Peacekeeper Training is headed by Angelika Salberg. She is a teacher in the tradition Ywahoo. She is assisted by Dr. Hanna Mührlshe is the healer SUNRAY school for Healing Arts. Both will be prepared for 20 years by the Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo and trained for this task.

The time is calling us to bring peace in our own lives and in the family, community, contribute to enhanced awareness in the world dimen-sions, in the awareness of satisfaction of all connected-we go on training peacekeepers in learning practice, practice, and everyday use to cleanse our mind and body, to clarify, strengthen and align. Thus, the development of our potential and encouraged evoked the memory of the original, radiant wisdom.

We are born of Mother Earth, Father Sky inspired by it. Spirals align us, we rise to the stars, sun and moon balance, are supported by the qualities of the directions, be one with the cosmos ... return ... back into our everyday lives, ensure the peace-keepers in attitude action and attitude into practice.

Peacekeeper training means a process of physical and mental training in a group based on the centuries-old teachings of the Cherokee and Tibetan.

Meditations, visualizations, exercises, singing, dancing, rhythm, ritual and crafts ... ... to clarify the mind and body are used for conscious live and work in clear and creation of human community. connectedness is experienced, explored and actively shared. We activate our inner wisdom safety potential. A network is created, grounded in our relationship between heaven and earth. On the basis of will, compassion and active work force, we ensure peace and harmony within ourselves, in the hearts of the people and the earth.

Price: 200, - €, plus room hire and material costs.

Application: Sunray Dr. Hanna Mührl Klenzestr peace project. 59 a

80469 Munich 089/2606099

Email: @ gmx.de hanna.muehrl

Khenmo Drolma in India

2011-11-15T17:39:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful visit with Jetsuma Tenzin Palmo. She has created a nunnery for 70 nuns and aspires to 500. The buildings are beautiful - giving everyone confidence. A first group had just finished 3 year retreat and the others were in a six year study program. She kindly spent the day with me and we had good talks. Now I am in Dhera dunn. After receiving the empowerment we are focusing on long life prayers for HH Chetsang Rinpoche. I have met with the nuns here and we are exploring what a visit from some Tibetan nuns might look like. HE Garchen Rinpoche is giving beautiful teachings daily.

Love,
Khenmo

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo to teach this Friday, 11-11-11 at the Adawee Temple

2011-11-08T15:10:00.000-05:00

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo will be at the Sunray Peace Village Temple of Adawees on 11-11-11 at 10:45 AM for meditation and practice. Please join Venerable on this auspicious occasion if you are able to make it.

Wadogh.

California Peacekeeper -- a good time was had by all

2011-11-08T15:03:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,

I had the good fortune to be able to travel to California this last weekend for the fall Peacekeeper teachings at the Headlands Institute right on the Pacific Ocean. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the teachings of Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo.

In the light,
Brian Siebel

Lhabab Duchen celebration at Vajra Dakini Nunnery, Nov. 17th

2011-11-08T14:46:00.000-05:00

Smoke Offering for Lhabab Duchen

On November 17th we invite you to join us for a Smoke Offering as part of one of our 10.000.000 merit day practices. We will start at 10.00 AM.

Lhabab Düchen is one of the four Buddhist festivals commemorating four events in the life of the Buddha, according to Tibetan traditions. Lhabab Düchen occurs on the 22nd day of the ninth month on a Tibetan calendar.

This is a Buddhist festival celebrated to observe the descent of Buddha from heaven back to earth. Buddha had left for heaven at the age of 41, having ascended to The Heaven of Thirty-Three (Trayastrimsa) in order to give teachings to benefit the gods in the desire realms and to repay the kindness of his mother by liberating her from Samsara. He was exhorted by his follower and representative Maugalyayana to return, and after a long debate managed to return. This is considered to be one of the eight great deeds of the Buddha. He returned to earth by a special triple ladder prepared by Viswakarma, the god of machines. On Lhabab Duchen, the effects of positive or negative actions are multiplied ten million times. It is part of Tibetan Buddhist tradition to engage in virtuous activities and prayer on this day.

On Fire and Smoke Puja
from a commentary of Tai Situ Rinpoche

There are three major kinds of fire pujas and the major principle of fire pujas is offering. You put the food and whatever ingredients in the fire, fire burns it, so fire eats it, consumes it and when it is totally consumed it is considered offered.

In the SANG, you are offering the smoke, in the SUR, you are offering the smell. And in the JIN-SEIG, you are just offering fire itself, flame itself, and burning itself.

The four categories of objects:
All of them involve four objects, to whom you are making the offering. You are making the offering to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and deities, which is the first offering. Then you are making the offering to the protectors and very high spiritual gods, which is the second. And you are offering to all sentient beings which is the third. The fourth are hungry ghosts and the beings with whom you have negative karma like karmic debts to repay. So, to these four categories of objects you are making the offering.

SANG: Smoke offering
SANG is mainly concentrating on the Gods of the mountain, the Gods of the sky, the Gods of the river, and the Gods of all aspects. You invite the Gods of the whole universe, and then especially you are offering the Gods of your local place. We do that normally on the top of the house, or on the top of the mountain, we make very big smoke. It is very important for SANG offering to be clean. It has to be 100% vegetarian and cannot have any meat in the SANG. It has to be purely clean.

SUR: Smell offering
SUR, it is for all four categories, but more concentrated on ghosts, spirits, and the beings that you have negative karmic debt with. You are giving it to them. In this one you are burning different kinds of foods. And there will be some SURs that also need to be non-vegetarian.

JIN-SEIGN: Fire offering
Then, the JIN-SEIGN is strictly - it is related with all - but strictly concentrating on the deities. So , at a JIN-SEIGN you can't burn anything. There has to be special ingredients according to each different kind of JIN-SEIGN. It has to be done by the initiated, not by the public. Public cannot touch the JIN-SEIGN ingredient. And it has to be a particular ingredient, not just anything. Normally, there are four kind of JIN-SEIGN, peaceful, wrathful, powerful, and magnetic, four aspects of JIN-SEIGN, and sometimes combination of all four. So, each one have their own ingredients you have to follow. JIN-SEIGN was normally done after a very big deity puja.
(Excerpt from a commentary of Tai Situ Rinpoche)

Khenmo Drolma's pilgrimage

2011-11-08T14:35:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

We have arrived safely and are in the mountains of Dharamsala. We visited the main temple where I spent many happy months studying. Most unique is a big Chenresig statue that is self evolved which means it miraculously appeared. Although the original was destroyed in Tibet, two heads were preserved from the original carring all the blessings. Tomorrow we meet with Tenzin Palmo at her nunnery - seeing her work top create a place for female yoginis in the Drukpa Kagyu and share our work in Vermont. I do not know how often I will have internet access but will write when I can. Please feel free to send this out to interested friends.

Love,
Khenmo

Dances as poetry in the Adawee Temple

2011-11-02T19:06:00.000-04:00

11/1/01
Patricia, Madeline and Nitya meet for the Dance of Life open practice. Nitya's knee is hurting her, so she remains seated. After calling the Adawees, Madeline and Patricia begin the spiral dance that sweeps away illusion. Nitya Sri dances with a pen. Here is the poem:

This is the Dance that Sweeps Away Illusions

They are warriors
True to the
Sacred Word
with the strength of
one thousand wild horses
tamed through
decades of dance
they sweep away
all illusion.
The sun that sets
Awakens the primal mystery
within this temple
without walls.
Adawees call
thunder and lightning
break through
here they are,
warriors of
light and dark.

*
Next, Patricia and Madeline choose to mirror each other in the dance of the directions. Madeline begins with the lunar spiral, Patricia with the solar, harmonizing polarities. Here is a dance of poetry:

The Dance of the Directions

Sacred Father
Hear our Heart Song.
We prepare our
minds
bodies and
speech,
attune to Your
primal rhythm,
our shared heart,
our Love manifest
as twinkling planets
and stars,
as secret winds
our vessels
receive and give
this immortal elixir
this innermost grace.
Mother reminds us
not to chase after
siddhis
for they are her children
at play.
We are creator
our heart the
center
without beginning
or end.
The dance of direction.
Expanding in harmony,
contracting with
Good cause.
How the sun and
moon
dance an ancient
rhythm of
space
without sound
without movement!
Artful lovers,
Masters of destiny,
Mother and Father
Laughing in the void
Master of illusion
Laughing all the while!
Dance, warrioress,
Dance!
Waterfalls of Grace.

*
Wadogh,
Nitya Sri

Harvest celebration in Boston

2011-10-22T21:06:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends,

The old Cherokees say the world was complete at this New Moon in October with all good things to eat for the people. We will celebrate at the Brookline Reservoir in Brookline on

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 at 7:06 AM

At Harvest, we put something aside so those who have need, we share. We examine the seeds of plants and save those of the strongest plants and food for the future. The Harvest Time is the time to reconnect with inner light! Please invite your friends and community members as all are welcome!

This Celebration is part of the Planting Cycle for the year and is done to help heal and benefit the whole planet. The Celebration is shared with us due to the generosity and compassion of Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo. Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo is the 27th generation to carry the ancestral wisdom of the Ywahoo Lineage of the Tsalagi(Cherokee) nation. The Harvest Celebration is a celebration of the world's creation. It is a year's abundance realized for the benefit of all. We give thanks for the harvest. We offer food and prayers so those who are hungry, alone, or homeless, that they may receive abundance.

Celebrations take place at the West End of the Brookline Reservoir, Parking on Dudley Way, and walking clockwise to the West End.

Please bring drums, rattles, something to sit on, friends, and family.

Harvest Celebration on Sunday, Oct. 23

2011-10-22T10:21:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

On Sunday, October 23 at 5:00 pm, we will continue our celebration of the Planting Ceremonies with a Sacred Fire in the Peace Village Arbor. Everyone is welcome!

At this time of Harvest, we offer prayers of appreciation and gratitude for the abundance of our gardens and for each other. This is the time when we look to the results of the seeds that we planted in the Springtime both in the earth and in ourselves! What has manifested, what are the opportunities that arose? Venerable Dhyani speaks so clearly about growing the corn so that people may be fed.

Let us offer prayers, corn meal, dances and practices so the ancestors may feel our gratitude! For those living far away, offering corn meal and prayers of appreciation with the lighting of a candle is good. Basic Meditation Practices including the Medicine Wheel Mandala is excellent for these times!

See you at the Fire! See you in the Light!

Tori

Dance of Life teachings with Madeleine Piat-Landolt

2011-10-20T14:52:00.000-04:00

DANCE OF LIFE

Ywahoo Wisdom Lineage

Sunray Peace Village
Lincoln, Vermont

with Madeleine Piat-Landolt

Teachings, Practice, Events / 2011-2012

Cultivate Light, Sound and Dance as Medicine benefitting all beings.

OPEN PRACTICE

Tuesdays, 5-6 pm

Donations welcome

Experience directly the outer, inner, and secret aspects of these forms through Practice:

> Calling the Adawees

> Stick Dance

> Dance of Directions

> Eagle Dance

> Dance of Sun & Moon

> Dedication & Longlife Prayer

TEACHINGS

1st Tuesday/month, 6-8 pm

Nov 1 / Dec 6 / Jan 3

$20 / Suggested Donation

Additionally, clarify & deepen understanding with guided instruction on:

> Establishing Dance Ground

> Rhythmic Patterns

> Chants

> Sacred Geometry

> Movement & Breath Exercises

> Mindfulness Meditation

> Directions in Consciousness

> Bioresonance / Subtle Energetics

> Right Relationship / Life Applications

SATURDAY SEMINARS & ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS SCHEDULE (tba)

REGISTRATION / INFORMATION

whitecloudarts@gmavt.net / 802.453.3690

* All Donations sustain the Lineage, the Land, the Teachings, and Teacher.

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo is offering Peacekeeper Teachings for the FINAL time on December 3-4 at the Sunray Peace Village

2011-10-15T17:21:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends,

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo will be offering Peacekeeper teachings on December 3-4 in the Adawi Temple at the Sunray Peace Village in Lincoln, Vermont. This is the end of a cycle, and so this will be the LAST time she will be offering these teachings personally. If you cannot attend in person, you may sign up to watch a webcast of the teachings, which you will be able to do live, or as a recording. As the event approaches, we will send you a link to a private webcast and a password.

The teachings will be from 10 am - 1 pm, and 3 pm - 5 pm on both days, December 3-4. You may register yourself, and up to 5 guests, by clicking here.

The Peacekeeper Mission fulfills its purpose through individual and group study, training and practice to develop four fundamental qualities of mind:

Mindfulness: The ability to see things as they are, to be fully present in the moment, and to manifest right thought, right action.

Peacekeeper Consciousness: Recognition of one’s responsibility and power to manifest peace through right relationship with all the family of life.

Caretaker Mind: Awareness of one’s privilege and duty to serve as a caretaker of this planet, honoring the Earth as a living being and sowing seeds of abundance and harmony unto seven generations.

Continuity of Mind: Understanding of cause and effect in determining the quality of one’s life, death and future lives, and in shaping the karma of groups, nations and the planet.

PLEASE REGISTER NOW!

Long life prayers for Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo

2011-10-05T23:25:00.000-04:00

Are now posted on the Sunray website here.

Fall at Vajra Dakini Nunnery

2011-09-17T20:19:00.001-04:00

October Events

Public Meditation
Sundays 9:30 - 10:30

Oct 13     12:00 - 1:20
"Compassion" A talk for Hospice Volunteers
Addison County Home Health and Hospice Vollunteers
Hospice Volunteer Services'
Middlebury VT

Oct 23 11 - 12 am
Dharma Talk "Guru Yoga" for Ngondro Practitioners 11 am following public meditation
Vajra Dakini Nunnery

**************

Dear Friends, This newsletter comes in the voice of Gelongma Thubten Saldon !

Fall is traditionally the time to collect the harvest, a time to receive the rich results of our   cultivating the ground, sifting seeds, planting them and very carefully and mindfully nourishing those plants until its full richness is fully manifested. There is no better image for me for the path to enlightenment than this cyclic process.

There have been two ways in which that fall's richness have been manifesting for us at Vajradakini. One is the bountiful amounts of freshly harvested greens we have been receiving from our kind and generous benefactors. The other way was in the shape of Khenchen Kunchog Gyaltshen's visit and Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo's retreat ( to start this Saturday), how fortunate we are!
I know that we have been sowing seeds for eons for those last two events to happen and since we understand - at least a little bit - about interdependence, we wholeheartedly want to thank all our supporters, those who have offered financial assistance, food, flowers, advice, skills, rides and the endless amount of things needed for events like this to come together. To all of you, our most deeply felt gratitude, we greatly rejoice in your/our shared merits.

A Time of Fruition

Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen at Vajra Dakini

We were most fortunate in hosting Khenchen Khonchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche for a whole week and receiving his precious teachings on the weekend. Actually I'm wrong, we have been receiving his teachings all along the week, in every meal that we shared, in every moment that he was so kind to spend with us and offer us advice on matters related to practice, the Nunnery and monastic life in general.

His weekend teachings felt very short for such a profound and vast text. He taught from one of his poems called Samsara and Nirvana, Two Sides of the Same Hand - that delineates the entire path to enlightenment. Rinpoche wrote this poem in the early spring of 2009, In Madison, while taking some rest in order to recover from extreme fatigue. Rinpoche mentioned that his inspiration for writing his poetry was Lord Jigten Sumgon's teachings.

An extra bonus for us was the blessings with a Milarepa statue that Khenchen carries with him from his time on retreat at Labchi cave in Nepal. It was in Labchi that Milarepa attained enlightenment. A very old Milarepa statue was given to him at the end of his retreat there and he is so kind to share the blessings of it with us.

Despite the threat of rain for the weekend after the floods in Vermont, we had most wonderful sunny days, something that Rinpoche and Lama Sonam enjoyed much going for long walks.
We pray Rinpoche will return soon.

Animal Liberation

On a sunny day of August, in honor of the birthday of H.H. Chetsang Rinpoche, we had an animal liberation practice in our garden. It is a practice I especially have loved since I first performed it many years ago. It has compassion and wisdom in the dharma sense but it also has some straightforwardness and a very simple application in which you see results straight away, something that we westerners love.

Animal liberation, in the Buddhist
tradition, is a practice to save an animal from imminent death, such as an animal soon to be slaughtered for human consumption, and doing prayers and practices to help that being. It is also a practice that benefits those who do the liberating. It brings them much merit (good karma) and it can be helpful in removing life obstacles such as serious illness. It is also a way to generate compassion. Therefore, it is done for the animals benefit as well as for sentient beings in situation of illness.

What animals need is a get-out-of-jail card not just for this life, but also for the lower realms and ultimately from cyclic existence altogether. The Buddha explained how difficult it is to get out of the lower realms, where beings continually create negative karma and the causes for more and more animal and lower realm rebirths. Therefore, we need to help them create the causes for higher rebirth and liberation.

You can see that animal liberation is not just a practice of buying animals and releasing them. It Is not just about lengthening their life span, but also about bring about the "enlightenment link" for them.
It is also very important to ensure that the animals have the best possible care after they have been 'saved' from death. Good animal liberation practice combines compassion (the wish to free beings from suffering) with wisdom (the recognition of cause and effect and the interconnectedness of things). Releasing animals where they will immediately be in danger again is not ideal, nor is releasing animals where they will cause harm to others, such as animals from a different ecological niche that become an environmental problem. It is therefore an important part of the animal liberation practice to look carefully at the suitability of liberating animals in your area.

I had the experience of buying fish in Bodhgaya to liberate them in the Nairañjanā river only to see local children catching them up down the river in order to sell them again! O my! Thinking we were helping them, we were actually creating more suffering. So, wisdom is highly advised in the planning of the liberation.

At Vajra Dakini we don't have many choices, being far from the sea; fish, crabs and the like was not a choice. We don't have the facilities to liberate a cow or a horse, so we chose the very handy worms. They come cramped in small boxes and refrigerated in stores for god knows how long, to be sold for fishing purposes. We then bought a few boxes of them and had an extensive practice which includes contemplations, visualizations, mantra recitation and direct blessing of the animals with dutsi (amrita, the nectar of immortality) and other substances. We finally then free them in our garden, where we expect them to have a happy life and to do a proper job aerating the soil.

We will be happy to perform this practice for people that request it.

On-line teachings

Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen teachings "Samsara and Nirvana: Two Sides of the Same Hand" are available as online course.

Teaching from his heart; he offers his own enlightening poetry that illuminates the full path to Buddhahood. Khenchen Rinpoche commented on his poem line by line, allowing us to contemplate the wisdom of his insights over time.

$50 for 6 hours of teachings + you will receive a e-copy of his poem
"Samsara and Nirvana: Two Sides of the Same Hand" upon registration.
To register

Merit opportunity during harvest time

2011-09-16T22:20:00.003-04:00

Dear Ones,

As harvest produces abundance you can join in supporting the upcoming retreat. Bring fruit veggies and greens you wish to offer to the Peace Village kitchen from Saturday Sept 17 to Sept 28. Prayers will go out continuously and you will have sustained all the retreatants! Vajra Dakini will still have Sunday meditation but will be closed other than that during this time.

Khenmo Drolma
Abbess
Vajra Dakini Nunnery

Grandfather Warren Redwing Ramey's letter of appreciation

2011-09-14T00:18:00.000-04:00

From: Turquoise Marble Teaching Facility, Batesville, IN 47006

To: Venerable DhyaniYwahoo and Sunray Peace Village, Lincoln, VT 05443

Dear Venerable DhyaniYwahoo and Sunray Peace Village,

I want to express myadmiration and appreciation for your Facility, Ceremonies, and hospitality. It is an honor and a pleasure to visit with youand to be associated with such a wonderful space and endeavor.

Sunray Peace Villageand all those associated with the process of Ceremony there are proficient in Spiritand practice making each moment a Ceremony of Thankfulness and Sincere Appreciationthat is experienced by all in attendance. As an Elder and longstanding visitor ofyour facility, I consider it a privilege to attend and be included in theElders Gathering and workshops that follow. My annual visit with you is a reveredhighlight that edifies me personally and assists with the focus and Vision ofmy efforts to provide Teachings and possible Spiritual Evolution for any who cometo our home facility, Turquoise Marble Teaching Facility (TMTC), seeking directionand personal fulfillment.

Thank you for yourcontinued efforts to provide sanctuary and assistance to develop personal directionand compile Spiritual education for all who seek it. Your Facility makes it possibleto share and protect Spiritual expression from all Nations in a sacred way, andto give respect to all who both share and seek such information. Many blessingsto you in your walk of education and assistance to those who come in search of aSacred Way to live in a Right Relation with all kind; many blessings upon all thosewho assist you in this eflort. Each person who comes in search of knowledge andthose who pass through your Space giving such information, who shares their knowledgeand experience, with all who come to learn will indeed experience many blessings. Aho.

Thank you again forthe wonderful experience this year, as with many years previous! The familial camaraderiefound and experienced through you. gifts of Facility, Persons, and Ceremony are invaluable.I am enriched and so very blessed each time I visit. Each time I depart take abit of your strength, Essence, and Spirit home with me and leave a bit ofmyself with you, my family there. I am honored to be a part of your direction andlives.

Sincerely,

Grandfather Warren Redwing Ramey

(Reprinted with permission.)

Mike Bastine will be on Coast-to-Coast radio this Thursday, September 15th

2011-09-13T23:59:00.000-04:00

Iroquois Supernatural

Date:	09-15-11
Host:	George Noory
Guests:	Michael Bastine

Algonquin healer, elder, and student of medicine men, Michael Bastine (book link), will discuss his research of the rich legacy of the Iroquois Confederacy including shape-shifting witches, talking animals, little people, miraculous accounts of healing by medicine people, and prophecies of a coming new age.

Book(s):

Iroquois Supernatural: Talking Animals and Medicine People

Here's a link to the stations where it will broadcast. You can also listen to the show through the website afterward, and download it as an MP3 file.

Mike has spent years listening to, admiring and being inspired by the many amazing people from all walks of life, who are interviewed on this radio program. Now it is Mike Bastine's turn to inspire the world, to reach many millions of people with his wonderful insight, humor, and great skill for transforming what appear to be the dire challenges we all face, into profound opportunities for positive change. Mike would love to feel everyone's moral support during this exciting time. He welcomes prayers and good energy for a successful experience to benefit all beings.

There are a limited number of "Iroquois Supernatural", preview copies of the book co-authored by Mike Bastine, currently available at Amazon.com for only $13.00, with FREE shipping. This is a special discounted rate, before the actual launch of the book in mid-October. The number of folks who order the book now, helps to determine how many books are printed in the first printing, and
definitely contributes greatly to building the "buzz" around the launch of the book.

May this be an inter-dimentional feast that nourishes all beings throughout all realms and times!

Sunray Peacekeeper teachings in California

2011-09-07T22:27:00.002-04:00

Sacred teachings emerge for every era to remind us how to manifest harmony and right relationship. The PeaceKeeper Mission is a training in personal and planetary transformation, to bring forth peace in the hearts of the people and the Earth. PeaceKeeper teachings are rooted in timeless Native American spiritual wisdom of Caretaker Mind and right relationship in the circle of life.

The PeaceKeeper Mission teachings have been passed through twenty-seven generations of the Ywahoo Lineage of the Cherokee. They include sitting and moving meditations, chanting, dance, work with sacred sound and shape, and joyful community practices.

Public sharing of these specific perspectives and practices has been requested by Native American elders to ease the suffering of Earth and her peoples through these times of purification, and to empower transformation and renewal for all.

PeaceKeeper Training

November 4, 5 & 6 ~ 2011

Friday Evening 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. & 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Sunday 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Program presented at Headlands Institute Conference & Retreat Center, Sausalito CA

For more information, e-mail: PeaceKeeperTraining@hotmail.com

Sacred Medicine, Ceremonies and seasonal observances are gifts offered to all, and are neither bought nor sold. The PeaceKeeper Mission itself is an educational program and a fee is asked to cover local costs for rental, meals, supplies, advertising etc.

Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way, arrested at the White House to resist oil pipeline from Canada into US

2011-09-06T23:24:00.002-04:00

OWE AKU BRING BACK THE WAY

PARTICIPATES IN RESISTANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

By Owe Aku, Bring Back the Way

Photo by Josh Lopez

WASHINGTON (September 3, 2011) -- Debra White Plume from Owe Aku (Bring Back the Way), a Lakota organization from Pine Ridge Indian land designed for cultural preservation and protection of Lakota treaty rights and human rights, and Kent Lebsock from Owe Aku’s International Justice Project which utilizes international strategies to preserve Lakota treaties, sovereignty and self-determination, were both arrested at the White House on Friday, September 2, 2011.

They were participating in the two-week long civil resistance that occurred there in opposition to the XL Pipeline and tar sands oil mining. Organized by the Indigenous Environmental Network and their allies, September 2 was designated as Indigenous Peoples’ Resistance Day. The tar sands come from Native lands and the pipeline would cross hundreds of miles of Native territory, including Lakota territory, and violate treaty rights under the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 as well as human rights under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Before the arrests, Debra White Plume addressed the large crowd that gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House perimeter, saying:

“Our Lakota people oppose this pipeline because of the potential contamination of the surface water and of the Ogallala aquifer. We have thousands of ancient and historical cultural resources that would be destroyed across our treaty lands. As a mother and a grandmother, I am related to Mother Earth and the life-giving water and it is my spiritual responsibility to be here today protecting Mother Earth from Father Greed.”

For more, visit this link.

*********

From Sandra Sheridan, Sunray UN Representative

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo's web log

2011-09-05T23:13:00.003-04:00

Monday, September 5, 2011

Food for thought!

The planet sings of growth and change as the opportunity to recognize that appearances are projections arising from the group mind running like wild horses guided to designated stalls by contrivance. Decide to be the skillful rider and choose your destination. May labels of‘them and us’ fall away as we observe our consciousness entwinned in this dream we call earth life.

Many possible futures appear according to clarity of the observers' view. Through the lens of conditioned understanding, the gateway towards the future may be manufactured.   Discriminating awareness clarifies the view, making apparent projections of ignorance and fear. Many sense that we are in the process of great change, and there are many different views as to what that change will bring.

It is clear that change is a constant of dynamic life and demonstrated through systems failing and concepts falling away. We are reminded of the treasures of good relationships and freedom from debt. The best investments are those that sustain community, wisdom and life force.

Debt increases when appreciation for received gifts is forgotten and generosity is withheld. Remember and give thanks to those who have pointed the way to clear thought and action and offer to those in need of understanding that which reveals potential of accomplishment.

Why speak of these things now? Vermont has been affected with flooding while communities express unity in support for each other and rebuilding. Fire burns fields consumed by drought as weather moves in new and unusual patterns responding to amplified energy from our sun and the earth shakes in places she has not quaked in before.

The prophecies’ of the ancient cultures are expressed in the now. Results of cosmic change and growth are ameliorated by our responses. A spiritual path is the way revealing interconnection of all beings and matter. Remember that our thoughts and activity with the field of energetic appearances contributes to results arising.

Does our thought create a difference in the movement of the wind –does a rain dance offered with appreciation bring the rain? In many instances, the answer is yea. In the moment yea, points to fearlessness in resisting the designated stall of contrivance and choosing the simple path of clear honest speech, neighborliness, and kindness.

Peace,
Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo

Peace Culture: From Conflict to Harmony

2011-09-05T14:22:00.000-04:00

01-07-2011

IMAGINING NEW HORIZONS

It seems that in our world conflict is omnipresent and omnipotent: between countries, groups, people; in the international community, at home, at work, on the street, in business, in organisations. Even between religions and at the heart of different spiritual groups.

I use the word “seem” because conflicts are not only coveted by the media, which bombards us with all kinds of problems, disputes, conflicts and misfortunes every day, but also form part of our daily lives.

It is true that conflicts have existed throughout all ages and geographical regions on the planet, regardless of age, race, ethnicity and gender. But it seems that we are irremediably condemned to suffer conflict for the rest of our existence.

Most of us haven’t been educated about how to transform conflicts and improve relationships, communication and situations, let alone how to do this non-violently. Because violence isn’t just present in physical attacks, but also in quick tempered reactions, verbal attacks, silence, damaging emptiness and uncontrollable reactions.

How can the duality of conflict be transcended, where there must apparently be a winner and a loser? Can we project ourselves as beings that are capable of transforming and fulfilling even in the midst of a conflict? Are we willing to imagine new horizons where we remain balanced, serene and awake when difference of interest or vision arise, when problematic or stressful situations occur, or in conflicts where negative emotions come up?

BEING ENLIGHTENED

Conflicts are neither positive nor negative. They are learning experiences: they generate destructive or constructive dynamics, depending on how they are perceived or managed. In most cases they show us that something within ourselves or the situation needs to change or transform. As the wise psychiatrist, Karl Jung would say, “they reveal our shadows”.
............. To finish reading, click here.

Jordi Palou - Loverdós (Conflict mediator)
Spain - Barcelona

The first Native American member of the New York Stock Exchange

2011-09-04T17:02:00.000-04:00

NativeOne Rings NYSE Closing Bell to Celebrate itsMembership

By ICTMN Staff August 27, 2011

NativeOne rang the NYSE closing bellon Thursday, August 25. (Photo by Brian Anderson)

“Wall Street was invented to keepcertain people out. That wall is gone, and we are back,” announced DennisSmith, co-founder of NativeOne Institutional Trading,on his way to ring the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)floor. The Thursday, August 25 event marked a momentous occasion: the firmofficially became the first American Indian-owned member of the NYSE. The roomfilled with applause when NativeOne’s co-founders and tribal representativesrang the closing bell.

Tribal representatives from acrossNorth America attended NativeOne’s closing bell ceremony. (Photo by BrianAnderson)

Nearly 30 tribal representativesfrom Indian Nations across North America traveled to New York City to attendthe ceremony. Outside the Exchange, artists from the Redhawk Native American Arts Council performed traditional Indian dances and music for thepublic. “We performed our traditional pow wow dancing—men’s and women’straditional, fancy dance, grass dance and jingle dance,” said Larry Ahenakew, amember of the Chippewa Cree Tribe in Montana.

Moments before ringing the bell,Smith thanked the attendees and singled out one tribe. “We want to thank theShinnecock Nation for allowing us to have such a great time in your aboriginalhomelands.” New York City is the ancestral backyard of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, which gained federal acknowledgement last October after 32years of bureaucratic and legal snafus, becoming the 565th federallyrecognized tribe in the country. “Our hunting and trading grounds ran fromMontauk [Long Island] to Manhattan,” Frederick C. Bess, a Shinnecock Trustee, told Indian Country Today MediaNetwork outside the Exchange.

NativeOne Institutional Trading wasco-founded in 2009 by Don Lyons, member of the MorongoBand of Mission Indians, andSmith, a Wall Street veteran since 1976. “Financial literacy is the mostimportant area Indian Country needs to grow in,” Lyons told ICTMN. “It is themost substantial step for Indian Country to be able to trade on par with therest of the world. It brings it to a new level of prominence.”

************

Sandy SheridanSunray UN Representative

Indigenous Rights, a Celebration and a Caution

2011-09-02T18:08:00.002-04:00

Indigenous rights: a celebration and a caution

Indigenous peoples make up more than five per cent of the world’s population. Although their societies have contributed much to scientific and cultural knowledge, their ways of life continue to be threatened by the pace and scale of global development.
The UN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August was commemorated with a panel discussion on the theme Indigenous designs: Celebrating stories and cultures, crafting our own future, highlighting the need to protect the rights and support the aims of indigenous groups. It was also stressed that the world cannot afford to lose the cultural wealth of indigenous societies, a point beautifully illustrated by the film Kalimantan’s Craft; Harmony of Culture and Nature.
UN DESA’s website story, featuring the film Kalimantan’s Craft; Harmony of Culture and Nature:

http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/social/celebrating-indigenous-peoples.html

Indigenous Day resources:http://www.un.org/en/events/indigenousday/resources.shtml

UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues:http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/index.html

UN News story:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39258&Cr=indigenous&Cr1

Forwarded by Sandy Sheridan, Sunray NGO UN Representative

Earth is not orbiting the Sun (in the way we think) -- it's more like a DNA spiral

2011-09-01T17:51:00.000-04:00

Khenchen Khonchog Gyaltsen's teachings will be taught live this Saturday and Sunday, September 3rd and 4th at the Peace Village. You can also register for online viewing.

2011-09-01T17:35:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

The floods washed out many roads but people and houses here in Lincoln are fine. Khenchen will be offering the Bodhisattva Vow during the teachings. Registration is still open for the web cast - closes Friday at 4pm. Please let your members know about the live webcast Sept 3,4 of Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen teaching "Samsara and Nirvana: Two Sides of the Same Hand."

Teaching from his heart; he offers his own enlightening poetry that illuminates the full path to Buddhahood. Khenchen Rinpoche will comment on his poem line by line, allowing us to contemplate the wisdom of his insights over time. "His melodic voice goes deep into our bones, allowing us to contemplate the wisdom of his insights over time. I recommend it for new and old students alike!."

Khenmo Drolma

Webcast Times: Sat-Sun 9:45-12, 2:45-5:00

$25 per day allows us to offer this technology

Registration on our secure site opens Aug 23- closes September 1

Or go to www.vajradakininunnery.org to register

You will receive a e-copy of his poem
"Samsara and Nirvana: Two Sides of the Same Hand" upon registration. Password and link will arrive by Sept 1st.

And join us in person if your are in Vermont!

Current driving directions to the Peace Village -- for Khenchen Konchog's teachings

2011-09-01T17:27:00.000-04:00

Driving to Lincoln after the floods: Rt 17 is not passable at this time although it may be in service by Sept 3. To get to the Peace Village and Vajra Dakini you need to use an unmarked detour albeit a very beautiful one. Take 116 to Lincoln Rd just outside Bristol heading to Lincoln. You will see the main road is blocked but you can go up a hill to your immediate left. Colby Hill Rd continues. You will come to a fork - continue to your left up a hill. You encounter another fork and will see a sign for Issham Hollow Rd to your right. Taking Isham Hollow you continue until you reach Quaker St where you must turn right or left. Go right. About a mile downhill you will see Downingsville Rd to your left. Turn left and continue...VDN is on you left just after the road turns into a dirt road. The PeaceVillage where the teachings will be held is a little further on your right. You will see the stupa. Park and the Temple is within sight.

Khenmo Drolma
Abbess

Green Corn ceremony still scheduled at the moment, despite the predictions of storms

2011-08-26T15:06:00.000-04:00

Dear Friends,

Our plan to celebrate the Green Corn Ceremony on Sunday at 4 PM is still on!! It may look different given the weather predictions of high winds and rain on Sunday so please, take care of yourself and your family! If the conditions are such that travel is unsafe or that you do not feel comfortable, then join in the celebration from your home with lighting of a candle, offering cornmeal that hunger may be assuaged, offering prayers, dances and meditation! It is wise at this time to offer the Medicine Wheel Mandala practice.

Venerable Dhyani has offered this:

"With the earth in a great window of opportunity, it is very important for many to practice, placing particular emphasis on the Medicine Wheel Mandala practice to stir the seeds of peace. Develop deep concentration and quiet. The deeper the meditation the better the prognosis for peace and peace making skills to awaken in the hearts of the people."

For those of us who can travel easily, it may be that the Fire will be in the Sacred Arbor or the Temple of the Adawees at 4:00 PM with practices and prayers.

And remember to feast together, whereever we are!

See you in the light,
Tori

Report on International Day of the World's Indigenous People

2011-08-25T10:33:00.000-04:00

THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES – AUGUST 9, 2011

“INDIGENOUS DESIGNS; CELEBRATING STORIES AND CULTURES, CRAFTING OUR OWN FUTURE”

The International Day celebration at the United Nations started with the screening of “Craft Kalimantan - Harmony of culture and nature” by Craft Kalimantan (Papua New Guinea). There were Messages by the Chief of the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Chandra Roy-Henriksen, Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, President of the 65^th Session of the General Assembly, H.E. Joseph Deiss, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Coordinator of the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Sha Zukang and the Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issue, Mirna Cunningham (Miskita, Nicaragua). Next was an Interactive Dialogue with panelists: Roberto Mukaro Borrero (Taino, Puerto Rico) Chairperson, NGO Committee on the UN International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Rama Rao, Senior Counsellor, World Intellectual Property Organization, Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne/Hodulgee Muscogee, US) expert in American Indian federal laws.

Discussants were from Wayuu Taya Foundation (Venezuela & Columbia), American Indian Law Alliance, Global Goods Partners, an Indigenous film-maker and the International Fair Trade Movement.

The event was well attended and well received. Our Committee helped to organize this interesting and informative event. It was on UN TV and can be viewed here.

Mirna Cunningham (Miskita, Nicaragua) Chairperson of UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Roberto Mukaro Borrero (Taino, Puerto Rico) Chairperson, NGO Committee on the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples

Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne/Hodulgee Muscogee, US) Expert in American Indian federal laws

Sandy Sheridan, Sunray Meditation Society UN Representative

Green Corn and New Moon, Sunday August 28th at the Peace Village

2011-08-24T10:31:00.001-04:00

Sacred Fire and Potluck Feast!

The New Moon in August is Sunday, August 28th, and is known as the Green Corn Ceremony. We will celebrate at 4:00 pm with the lighting of the sacred fire in the Arbor at the Peace Village.

Please join us for this fire offering, prayers of appreciation and community meditation. A pot luck feast will follow at about 7 pm. Please bring your own utensils and bowls to the feast in the Community Hall at the Peace Village.

And dress in layers.

Wadogh!

Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen will be offering teaching at the Sunray Peace Village Temple on September 3-4, live or via webcast.

2011-08-22T21:52:00.000-04:00

Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen

September 3-4

In Person or via Live Webcast

Teaching from his personal enlightening poetry that illuminates the full path to enlightenment:
Samsara and Nirvana; Two Sides of the Same Hand

Known for his humor and kindness, Khenchen Rinpoche is one of the Drikung's greatest living scholars and teachers. He translated nearly all the prayers and practices we have in English. He continues to teach internationally and translate essential texts tirelessly. He returns to Vermont, having taught here annually for a decade in the 90's. His melodic voice goes deep into our bones, allowing us to contemplate the wisdom of his insights over time.

Some of the treasures he has translated are: Jewel Ornament of Liberation, Garland of Mahamudra Practices and Jewel Treasury of Advice. His priceless work formed the essential base from which the holy Dharma could be taught and practiced.

All programs operate by donation designed to cover the cost of hosting and transportation, as well as a teaching gift for the Lama. No one is turned away due to lack of funds and many helping hands are needed.

In Person each day
9:30 - 12:00 2:30 - 5:00
Donation
$80 per day
$120 for the event
(work study available - no one turned away)

Live Webcast each day:
10:00-12:00 2:45-5:00

Registration for webcast Aug 23 - Sept 1 only
$25 per day
Donate online, indicate Khenchen

You will receive a copy of the text with a password for viewing as we complete the technology.

Volunteers are welcome to assist with Khenchen's visit - cooking, space preparation etc.
Please call (802) 453- 6867 if you can help.

Late Summer greetings

2011-08-15T12:41:00.000-04:00

There is a gentle quiet at the Peace Village now .....sounds of laughter, words of wisdom, words of love, words of peace drift on through the village, they dance on the running stream and sparkle on the morning dew at dawn ...Grandmother Moon reflects her JOY as nightime arrives, and Father sun arrives each dawn illuminating this holy village "Odali Utugi" ...."Hope Mountain".....Mother Earths heart beats with gratitude for our coming again as her summertime flowers give way to the softening rays of warmth! The feathered ones sing their songs as the branches of her sacred tree children dance on the arrival of the early fall evening winds .....

I give thanks for this beauty and gratitude to Ven Dhyani Ywahoo and all the elders whose voices dance inside my heart ....May they birth luminosity with each new dawn ....for the generations to follow ......

Wadogh,

Joanne Swierz

Los Derechos de la Pachamama (The Rights of Mother Earth)

2011-08-15T12:22:00.001-04:00

Would you like to help circulate Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo's teachings?

2011-08-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

Greetings everyone,

In the last couple of years, I have opened the Sunray Peace Village blog, completely revamped and updated the Sunray website, started broadcasting Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo on Ustream.tv and YouTube, set up a facebook page and twitter account, opened a Constant Contact account and expanded our email list, and done other things to spread Venerable's teachings. I have done all these things even though I had no technical background or experience in these areas, only the motivation to help my teacher.

I am interested in finding someone who would like to help in this enterprise. There are more ways to reach out to people and draw them into the teachings. For example, webcasts on YouTube could be turned into video podcasts on iTunes. Highlights of Venerable's hour-long webcasts could be made, which might increase viewership. And I'm sure things many could be done of which I am unaware.

If you are willing to learn and devote at least 10 hours/month to helping expand our digital horizons, please send me an email stating your interest, skills, and ideas to bjsiebel@msn.com. If you have ideas to share, but not the time to turn them into reality, please send those as well. If you know someone you think might help, please invite them to consider this work.

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo is an incredible teacher and visionary whose teachings deserve to reach a much wider audience. Please help make that happen.

Thank you,
Brian J. Siebel
Sunray President

Film: "Creating Buddhas: The Making and Meaning of Fabric Thangkas"

2011-08-13T14:56:00.000-04:00

Next Friday, August 19th at 7pm at the Lincoln Library in Lincoln, VT, Khenmo Drolma, Abbess of Vajra Dakini nunnery will show the movie "Creating Buddhas: The Making and Meaning of Fabric Thangkas." It is the story of a western woman who became a fabric thangka maker. Now, with great love and devotion, she is bringing the gift of fabric thangka to our culture.

For more information about the film, you can go to the following website:
http://www.creatingbuddhas.com/

A few words on Chief Commanda's passing

2011-08-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

The passing of Chief William Commanda reminds us of his incredible vision and foresight regarding the preservation of the culture and languages of the first nations. He was a visionary recognizing the significance of ancient traditions as a pathway to energizing spiritual and environmental awareness.

I had the good fortune of being invited by him to participate in ceremony which reawakened consciousness of human interconnection with the earth and each other. Down to earth and energetic he humbly taught the medicine of the 'Wampom' belts conveying a direct connection to creation and the part our consciousness as humans plays in the unfolding of he future. I shall remember his humor which cut through confusion like a laser to reveal 'possibility' hidden in myriad ways, allowing us to recall our connection with each other and the universe. His memory shall continue to be an inspiration to myself and all those who visited with him.

Sincerely,

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo

Thank you, one and all, for another inspiring Elders Gathering

2011-08-10T00:12:00.000-04:00

We would like to thank everyone who attended the 27th Annual Elders Gathering this year. It was a magical event, as always. We appreciate the work, and the caretaking, and the financial support so many people offered. We hope you enjoyed the experience. May you live a Peace Village life.

Please support the Peace Village. Join the Sunray Peace Village Land Trust.

2011-08-08T22:45:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

Below the Sunray Peace Village Land Trust logo is a very nice invitation to join and support the Land Trust. As one of the founders of the Land Trust, I would like to add my personal invitation to you to make as generous an offering as you are able to to preserve this amazing place.

For me, every time I walk upon the land, I feel that I am healed. I tried to capture that feeling in one of the earliest blog posts here -- Live a Peace Village Life. At the end of that blog, I wrote:

"The Peace Village is there for you to find your place of peace within, to live a Peace Village life for the benefit of all your relations and the health of the Earth. Please come. Please return often. You will be very glad that you made the investment."

Making the investment means taking the time to come and walk and pray upon the land, to benefit yourself, your family, and all your relations. It also can mean becoming a steward of the land by offering some of the green energy needed to pay the bills for mowing the grass, plowing the snow, adding gravel to the road, fixing and testing the natural spring water well, repairing the bathrooms, paying the taxes, and covering all the other costs for the land. The annual budget of the Land Trust is modest -- $27,000 a year. That expense is not close to being covered by camping fees. Generous offerings from those who care about the land are always needed.

Personally, I always give at least $500 annually to the Land Trust, more in years like this one when an expensive project like fixing and testing the water well is required. I mention that not for any credit, but to let you know that larger contributions are always needed in addition to those who can give $50 for a single membership or $85 for a family membership. And, of course, offerings of any amount are always welcome and appreciated.

So, please make an offering or sign up for a membership. Donations are accepted by clicking here. Please note that the donation is for the Land Trust.

Wadogh,
Brian Siebel
President, Sunray Meditation Society

The Peace Village supports many joyful activities: our year-round sacred fires, our ceremonies and celebrations, our gatherings in the arbor to pray with our relatives and ancestors, the annual Elders’ Gathering, and the teachings of countless special beings. It is a sacred danceground, and a vibrant manifestation of the vision of Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo.

In return for the generosity of our land, we commit to taking care of it; the Sunray Peace Village Land Trust is a membership organization whose sole charge is to maintain the land, the buildings, and right relationship with the many beings who dwell in and around the Peace Village - our four-legged, two-legged, flying, swimming, and multi-dimensional neighbors.

We invite you to join the Sunray Peace Village Land Trust and help to support this vital land we all hold dear. Family memberships are $85 per year; individual memberships are $50 per year. Larger donations are appreciated. Your contribution will enable the Land Trust to:

pay for building, equipment and grounds maintenance, gas, electricity, telephones, snowplowing, lawn mowing, insurance, and a summer caretaker, as well as contribute to the completion of special projects.

This year, those special projects include plans to:

fix and test the natural water well that supplies the Peace Village,
continue to repair the road to the Arbor, and
continue repairing and renovating the bathhouses.

Membership is one way to signify your participation in the circle of reciprocity that enfolds us all. Your Land Trust membership also gives you reduced camping fees. All donations are also tax-deductible.

So please join us. If you have been a member in the past, please renew your membership.
If you have ever invited friends to an Elders’ Gathering or ceremony, or simply know people who might be interested in supporting this unique Peace Village, please consider inviting them to become members as well.

Thank you.

William Commanda, spiritual leader of the Algonquin First Nation, died August 3rd. He was 97

2011-08-07T19:03:00.001-04:00

Members of the Algonquin First Nation are mourning the loss of their spiritual leader, 97-year-old William Commanda, who worked until his final days to preserve sacred spaces.

Commanda died early Wednesday at his home in the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg reserve near Maniwaki, Que.

He was named Ojigkwanong, meaning Morning Star, by his mother when he was born in the morning hours of Nov. 11, 1913. He died at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Commanda was a master at building birchbark canoes, and was the guardian of the sacred wampum belts in recent years, including the wampum of the Seven Prophecies, which is considered as a founding document of the Algonquin Nation.

During the past several years Commanda was the spiritual leader of an international peace movement, the Circle of Nations, and invited people to his home for a summit every August to promote good relations between nations and the protection of Earth.

Peacekeeper Training in Germany in November

2011-08-05T22:31:00.003-04:00

Peacekeeper Training

Wochenenden
19. - 20.Nov. 2011,

4.- 5. Februar 2012,

Sa 10:00 bis So 16:00
Lebensgarten - Wachstumsraum 80336 München, Mathildenstr.12
Die erleuchtete Handlung wird von drei Prinzipien geleitet:

Dem Willen das Geheimnis wahrzunehmen wie es ist, der Absicht, die eigenen Ziele zum Wohle Aller verwirklichen zu wollen und dem Mut das zu tun, was es zu tun gilt.
Das
Peacekeeper Training basiert auf den Lehren der Ywahoo-Linie der Cherokee und den Drikung Kagyu- und Nyingma-Schulen des tibetischen Buddhismus.

Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo, auf deren Vision das Peacekeeper-Training zurückgeht, ist in 27. Generation Hüterin des priesterlichen Wissens ihres Volkes. In Bristol, Vermont, unterhält sie ein Friedensdorf, wo im Sommer die Lehren der Cherokee und der Tibeter gelehrt und praktiziert werden. Dort gibt es auch das erste Drikung-Kagyu-Nonnenkloster in den USA. Bei weiterem Interesse: www.sunray.org

Geleitet wird das Peacekeeper-Training von Angelika Salberg. Sie ist Lehrerin in der Ywahoo Tradition. Assistiert wird ihr von Dr. Hanna Mührl sie ist Heilerin der SUNRAY Schule für Heilende Künste. Beide werden seit 20 Jahren durch die Ehrw. Dhyani Ywahoo für diese Aufgabe vorbereitet und ausgebildet.

Die Zeit ruft uns, Frieden in unser eigenes Leben zu bringen und in die Familie, Gemeinschaft, Welt zu tragen Im Bewusstsein erweiterter Dimen- sionen, im Gewahrsein der Verbun- denheit von allem, gehen wir im
Peacekeepertraining daran, Praktiken zu lernen, zu üben und alltäglich anzuwenden, die unseren Geist und Körper reinigen, klären, stärken und ausrichten. So wird die Entwicklung unseres Potentials gefördert und die Erinnerung an die ursprüngliche, strahlende Weisheit hervorgerufen.

Wir sind von Mutter Erde getragen, von Vater Himmel dabei inspiriert. Spiralen richten uns aus, wir steigen auf zu den Sternen, balancieren Sonne und Mond, sind unterstützt von den Qualitäten der Richtungen, werden eins mit dem Kosmos...

...kehren zurück in unseren Alltag, tragen Sorge, die Friedenshüter-Haltung in Handlung und Haltung praktisch umzusetzen
Peacekeepertraining bedeutet einen Prozess der Körper- und Geistesschulung in einer Gruppe auf der Basis der jahrhundertealten Lehren der Cherokee und Tibeter.

Meditationen, Visualisierungen,

Körperübungen, Gesang, Tanz, Rhythmus, rituelles Handwerk…

...dienen der Klärung von Geist und Körper für bewusstes Leben und klares Wirken in menschlicher Gemeinschaft und Schöpfung.

Verbundenheit wird erfahren, erkundet und aktiv weitergegeben.

Wir aktivieren unser inneres Weis- heitspotential. Ein Netz entsteht, gegründet in unserer Beziehung zwi- schen Himmel und Erde.

Auf der Basis von Willen, Mitgefühl und aktiver Schaffenskraft sorgen wir für Frieden und Harmonie in uns selbst, in den Herzen der Menschen und auf der Erde.

Preis: 200,- Euro, plus Raummiete und Materialkosten.

Anmeldung (bis 12.11.2011) Sunray FriedensProjekt Dr. Hanna Mührl Klenzestr. 59 a

80469 München

089/2606099 Email: hanna.muehrl@gmx.de

Sunday August 7th at Vajra Dakini Nunnery -- 9:30 - 4

2011-08-05T21:59:00.001-04:00

Sunday, August 7, we continue our monthly day long practice sessions focusing on Ngondro, or the preliminary practice. Khenmo will give a Dharma talk on the practice of Offering the Universe to the Buddhas - Mandala, the third of the five sections of Ngondro.

Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo teaches that to understand the Dharma is to understand offerings. Every breath, every sip of water can be an offering to the deities within and without. Going up and down the stairs, when mindfully done, can hold the aspiration of leading suffering beings to enlightenment and entering the lower realms to liberate beings. Spend a day of mindfulness and practice with us!

The morning will begin with our regular Sunday practice. After a short tea break there will be a one hour Dharma talk followed by a pot luck lunch. Participants are invited to stay for the afternoon to deepen their Ngondro practice.

The first two talks Refuge and Vajrasattva practice are now available free online. They are unedited, informal and include daily practice advice, click here.

Black Indian Inn residence program in Dorchester, MA

2011-08-05T21:56:00.001-04:00

This Fall the Black Indian Inn opens a residence program. If you know people of like mind that might be interested please encourage them to visit or write our Council of Elders

Thank You,
Three Arrows

The Black Indian Inn operates a cooperative residence for students and working people interested in community living for people who can live based on Nine Principals of Right Relations: 1. Speak only words of truth 2. Speak of the good qualities of others 3. Be a confidant and carry no tales. 4. Turn aside the veil of anger at every turn. 4. Waste not the bounty, and want not. 6. Respect all life, compare nothing, and see all as it is. 7. Do no harm. 8. Harbor no thoughts of angry nature. 9. Do it now; if you see what need to be done do it. These are principles of community, equality, and simplicity. Residents share responsibility for maintaining the House. Tolerance, honest communication, and mutual support are encouraged among residents.

The Residents
There is no one word or phrase that neatly describes the women and men who live at the House students at graduate, undergraduate, or vocational programs in fields ranging from art to theology to engineering. Some are full-time working people. Although preference in admissions is given to Black Indians, other cultural and spiritual traditions are welcome. A diversity of ages, from a minimum of age 18, is welcomed. International students also live at the Black Indian Inn.

Residents are led to the Black Indian Inn for many reasons: because they want to be near Black Indian Tradition and live with other spiritual seekers; because they are excited by the challenge of cooperative living in a community with diverse individuals; because they have a concern for peace and social justice and want to be in a community supportive of their values. Others come simply because the Black Indian Inn is a good place to begin to grow roots in New England.

Organization
The Black Indian Inn offers residents a chance to live according to Black Indian principles of self-government. All is subject to the Council of Elders Residents choose representatives to serve on the Council. The decision making process, which is similar to a consensus process.

All residents and staff are expected to attend a House meeting held every two weeks. At this meeting residents may discuss all issues affecting life in the community from the sublime to the ridiculous. At House meeting, residents plan events (both social and educational) and discuss issues

A shared dinner, served every night but Friday and Saturday, is an important part of community life. No one is expected to be at every dinner, but applicants who anticipate having a schedule which would keep them away from dinner more than three nights a week should discuss that during the interview.

Application for Residency
The Black Indian Inn welcomes applications from all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or age. Anyone interested in living at BII should write the Council of Elders at the Black Indian Inn to request an application. Include your name, address and phone number since our application process does take some time and demand for space is often high, we suggest applying two months in advance. Most openings occur at the end August, but occasionally spaces are available at other times. Anyone with questions about the House or the application process is welcome to contact the office.

Ani Tsultrim's ashes placed in the burial mound at the Sunray Peace Village

2011-08-03T09:40:00.001-04:00

On July 31, at the closing ceremony of the Sunray Elders Gathering, we remembered our love of Ani Tsultrim as we placed her ashes in the burial mound at the Peace Village.

Khenmo Drolma
Abbess, Vajra Dakini Nunnery

Sunray Peace Village stream at sunrise

2011-08-02T01:09:00.001-04:00

Peacekeeper training this Wednesday, August 3rd.

2011-08-01T22:02:00.001-04:00

The Peacekeeper Mission fulfills its purpose through individual and group study, training and practice to develop four fundamental qualities of mind:

Mindfulness: The ability to see things as they are, to be fully present in the moment, and to manifest right thought, right action.

Peacekeeper Consciousness: Recognition of one’s responsibility and power to manifest peace through right relationship with all the family of life.

Caretaker Mind: Awareness of one’s privilege and duty to serve as a caretaker of this planet, honoring the Earth as a living being and sowing seeds of abundance and harmony unto seven generations.

Continuity of Mind: Understanding of cause and effect in determining the quality of one’s life, death and future lives, and in shaping the karma of groups, nations and the planet.

***********
This is a one-day event at the Adawi Temple at the Peace Village. You may register on site.

Celebrate Chokhor Duchen and HH Chetshang Rinpoche's birthday August 7th event at Vajra Dakini Nunnery

2011-08-01T21:58:00.001-04:00

August 3 is Chokhor Duchen, celebration of the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma, one of four major Buddhist holidays. It is also the birthday of H.H. Chetsang Rinpoche, head of the Drikung Kagyu lineage, His extraordinary biography, Heart of Tibet was published last year and this year his master work, History of the Tibetan Empire is available from Vajra Publications. We will observe Chokhor Duchen on Sunday, August 7.

We celebrate these holidays with increased mindfulness and offerings. Our delight in imagining all merit increased ten million times, makes it a wonderful time to see all our activities of the day as offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. For example, this time of year in Vermont is lushly green and gardens are overflowing. This beauty can be offered to the Buddhas second by second.

The supreme offering is meditation practice. Join us Sunday, August 7 when we will have a practice day with a Dharma talk on the third section of Ngondro - offering mandalas.

27th Annual Elders Gathering starts this Friday

2011-07-26T08:54:00.003-04:00

Elders Gathering 2011

Now is the Time to Actualize our Luminous Nature

Please pre-register now by clicking here. Please register for the wisdom seminars at the Peace Village.

Gathering is Friday, July 29th through Sunday, July 31st. Sunrise gathering each day. Healing Ceremony Saturday night is open to the public.
Wisdom Seminars with Native Elders, Monday and Tuesday, August 1st and 2nd.
Peacekeeper Training with Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo and Sunray Teachers, Wednesday, August 3rd.
Offerings are welcome to support the Elders Kitchen.
Questions and answers are below.

Elders Wisdom Seminar schedule.

2011-07-26T08:49:00.001-04:00

This is the current schedule for Elders Wisdom Seminars. We would encourage everyone to register for these when you arrive at the Peace Village, as we have last-minute additions or changes.

Elders’ 2011 Wisdom Seminar Schedule

Monday 9:30 am-12:30 pm	Tuesday, 9:30am- 12:30 pm
Chief Warren Ramey: Time as I see it: 2012	Janet Windwalker Jones: Creating NVWATIYI (Cherokee- A Place of Good Medicine)
Monday, 2:30- 5:30 pm	Tuesday, 2:30 – 5:30 pm
Mike Bastine will give a seminar. Allen Sackabasin will give a seminar.	Gm. Rev. Tori Hovde: Earth Changes, the Five Elements, and our Bodies Janet Windwalker Jones: Moving Beyond NVWATIYI (Cherokee- A Place of Good Medicine)

Questions and answers about the Elders Gathering

2011-07-26T08:40:00.006-04:00

Q. When and where is the gathering?

A. Friday-Sunday, July 29-31 for the 3-day segment, followed by Elders Wisdom Seminars Monday and Tuesday, August 1-2, followed by a one-day Peacekeeper training on Wednesday, August 3rd. All events at the Sunray Peace Village.

Q. What are the costs?

A. The 3 day gathering is $155. Single days are $60. Single sessions (morning or afternoon) is $40.

Elders wisdom seminars are $44 each. Healing ceremony Saturday night is open to the public and free.

Camping depends on number of people and land trust membership. Full time work-study covers the session costs, but not camping. Part time work-study cuts the session costs in half.

Q. Where can I stay?

A. You may camp at the Peace Village. To purchase camping, go here. To support the Peace Village and receive a discount on camping, join the Sunray Peace Village Land Trust by going here.

You may also stay at one of the Bed and Breakfasts or Inns in and around Lincoln or Bristol Vermont.

Q. Is there food available?

A. Yes, we will have a cantina for people to purchase food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You may also cook your own food at your campsite if you are camping.

Q. Is there a childrens' program?

A. Yes, during teachings, there will be organized childrens' activities. There is no additional cost for this.

Q. How can I register?

A. You may register online through Constant Contact events. Note: When you register this way, if you want to select more than one item, please select "ADD" under GUEST INFORMATION below the item list and then select your second item. If it is just for you, you do not need to re-enter your name. You may add up to 10 "guests" -- that is, pick up to 10 items. You may also register for multiple people. Thank you.

Q. Can I register any other way?

A. Yes. You may also register online through Sunray's website. Gathering registration is on this page. Camping registration is on this page. Land Trust membership, for a camping discount and to support the land, is on this page. Peacekeeper training registration is here. Together, they are in our download center here. Navigate by scrolling to the bottom and selecting the categories.

Q. May I register at the Peace Village?

A. Yes. If this all seems too complicated, you may always register with the helpful volunteers as you arrive at the Peace Village.

Q. What is the schedule?

A. Each day there is a sunrise ceremony at around 6 am. Then there is a break for breakfast. Teachings begin at 10 am each day. Morning teachings go until about 1 pm. Break for lunch. Afternoon teachings begin at 3 pm and go until about 5 pm.

On Friday evening there will be a special event in nearby Lincoln. We cannot say more publicly, but you don't want to miss this event. You will receive an invitation when you arrive.

On Saturday evening is the healing ceremony, which is open to the public. Registration is not required. You should be at the Peace Village by 6:30 pm.

On Sunday afternoon there will be several celebratory ceremonies.  At the end of the afternoon, the Arbor ceremonies will be over.

On Monday and Tuesday, there will be morning and afternoon workshops by Elders each day.

On Wednesday, there will be an all-day Peacekeeper training.

Q.  What is being offered in the workshops?

A.  See a new post on the blog above this one.

Q. What type of clothing should I wear?

A. Wear comfortable clothing suitable for the weather, but please cover the knees.

Q. How do I get to the Peace Village.

A. Here are directions.   We are at 2202 Downingsville Road, Lincoln, Vermont.

Q. Is there a map of the Peace Village?

A. Yes, here.

Q. What about work-study?

A. Here's a guide. Please email info@sunray.org if you want to request work-study.

Thank you for your questions. I will do my best to answer them, but as I am at the Peace Village now, my availability is generally early morning or late at night.

Hope to see you here,

Brian Siebel
Sunray President

Transformation through time

2011-07-24T08:33:00.001-04:00

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo teaches how one can transform themselves over time by pacifying and purifying emotional states through meditation.

Venerable's next webcast, Transformation through Time, will be this Saturday July 23, at 3 pm eastern

2011-07-19T23:09:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone,

Please join us on www.sunray.org on Saturday at 3 pm for Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo's latest webcast:

Transformation through Time

Please register here. Also, offerings are needed to support these programs, and to support Venerable's ability to teach.

Pass on the word so that people who may never have received Venerable's teachings can tune in.

Questions are welcome at the end. To ask them, please visit this page to watch and type in your questions.

Thank you.

2011 NGO/UN Update

2011-07-19T22:55:00.003-04:00

July 2011

Sunray continues to be a non-organization (NGO) in association with the Department of Public Information (DPI) of the United Nations. Sunray supports the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Sunray is most involved with the NGO Committee on the United Nations International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

PERMANENT FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES
The Tenth Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was held May 16-27, 2011 at UN Headquarters in New York. It works to raise awareness and promote the integration and coordination of activities related to indigenous issues. The annual Forum provides a platform for Indigenous peoples to voice their concerns and dialogue with governments and the UN system about their concerns. There was no special theme this year as the Forum has a biannual working method of one year policy year and one review year. 2011 is a review year. There was follow up to the recommendations on Economic and social development, Environment, and Free, prior and Informed consent. Under Human rights – implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was discussed; there was a dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamentals freedoms of indigenous peoples and with other UN human rights mechanisms. There was a ½ day discussion on Central and South America and the Caribbean and a ½ day on Rights to Water.

DPI/NGO BRIEFING at the UN

Mining has been a significant issue throughout the world. Our Subcommittee on Mining organized a Briefing, Indigenous Rights, Mining and Development: The Need for Free, Prior and Informed Consent with the Department of Public Information on April 28, 2011. Speakers included Chandra Roy-Hendricksen, Chief of the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Dr. Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History and Coordinator of Latin American Studies at Salem State University in Massachusetts and Francisco Ramirez Cuellar, human rights activist, former president of Colombian mining workers union and a labour lawyer. Opening remarks were by Alan Coelho de Sellos, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Brazil to the UN. The briefing examined the impact of mining on affected Indigenous communities from different perspectives with special emphasis on the impact on indigenous women. They spoke of how to include Indigenous peoples in the decision to begin mining. Free, prior and informed consent has a critical role.

ISLAND BEATS: FESTIVAL OF OCEANIA

We co-sponsored an event at the American Museum of Natural History on April 30, 2011 introducing the Pacific Island cultures through performances, workshops, demonstration and film. Highlights included an introductory hula lesson, dance and song from Hawai’i, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia as well as a Rapanui (Easter Island) carving demonstration and contemporary art displays from throughout the Pacific.

DARFUR/SUDAN

I recently met a remarkable author, human rights activist and former journalist, Rebecca Tinsley. She has written a book “When the Stars Fall to Earth” about 5 young people in the middle of a war zone (Darfur) and how they survive. In her discussion on Darfur, I was shocked and appalled to hear about the genocide that continues in the region. The media is not allowed in so we are not able to hear the real stories. Prayers are greatly needed.

UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

U. S. - On December 16, 2010, President Obama opened the Second White House Tribal Nations Conference and announced the “and today I can announce that the United States is lending its support to this declaration” (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples). The endorsement by the U.S. is a positive and long-overdue step forward. However some Indigenous organizations have expressed concern with the limitations the US decided to place on its support. The announcement of support contains a number of qualifications which call into serious question the US government’s intention to fully recognize and implement many of the key rights contained in the Declaration. It will be through continued use of the Declaration that its provisions become reality. The Declaration can be used to support and advocate for positive legislation and positive government action relating to Indian peoples. In particular, the Declaration can be used as a basis for making demands that the federal government fulfill its responsibilities to tribes and carry out its obligations to promote and respect the human rights of Indian nations and tribes. For more information: www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii; www.treatycouncil.org

NGO COMMITTEE on the UN INTERNATIONAL DECADE of the WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
In our goal of including more Indigenous voices in the International level, we have tried to bring on more local Native people to the Committee. The Chief of the NJ Sand Hill Band of Lenape & Cherokee Indians has now joined us and we continue to invite the Ramapough Lenape Nation and the head of the American Indian Community House here in New York City.

KEEPING TRACK

There are a number of programs, issues, etc, that we keep track of and try to gather information on to keep people informed. We have a Listserve of over 500 that we communicate with. Through this Listserve we exchange information about Indigenous issues throughout the world. There is a focus in the Indigenous International Community on the implementation of the Declaration (our Committee has a working group on this now), the Doctrine of Discovery and Free, prior and Informed consent. There is considerable controversy over the UN REDD program which according to the program is to make forest more valuable standing than they would be cut down by providing financial incentives for the carbon stored in trees……….

LOOKING AHEAD

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is August 9 and we will have an event at the UN in celebration of this.

In November 2010, The General Assembly decided to organize a high-level meeting to be known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, to be held in 2014, in order to share perspectives and best practices on the realization of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. We hope to co-sponsor another Indigenous event with Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey this Fall as the last one we did was so well received and many people asked to continue this. The Committee meets 1x per month at or near UN Headquarters in New York and all are invited.

I am most grateful to Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo and her ancestors for providing the vision and path that we may all work together for manifesting peace, understanding, justice and clarity at this time. May this work be of Benefit to all.

In Peace,

Sandy Sheridan, Sunray UN/NGO Representative

Dear Friends -- a community letter from Andy Tobey

2011-07-14T21:06:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends

It is time to prepare for the Elders arriving on the land for the 27th time. This has been to our great benefit to be blessed these many years with the precious teachings that these wise beings have brought to us through the wisdom and blessings of our teacher the Venerable Dhyani Yahoo.

We are told this will be the last of these Elders Gatherings as this cycle of teachings is coming to a close. We look forward to what will surely be a new form arising from this wonderful yearly event.

I am getting ahead of myself here, we need to create with our teacher and friends this final time another wonderful Elders Gathering, a culmination to this work. We honor all those Elders who have crossed by here over the 27 years.   We hear the echoes of their words, and are grateful for the examples they have set for us. I can see Red Thunder Cloud standing by the Arbor fire hands held high to father sky praying from his heart in his Catawba language and translating his own words in English so we could share in his gratitude for all we are given. All the Elders have come to share what they knew was good for the people. Wadogh (I am grateful)

In a couple short weeks the Elders will arrive on the land and we will be ready to help them share with the people their stories, songs and dances. We have a wedding, naming ceremonies, and coming of age ceremonies, wonderful joy makers for friends and family. We who live in the valley have begun the preparations on the land: the water is hooked up and tested fine for drinking, the arbor wintered well and needs little repair, the women’s arbor will be completely redesigned and built, the posts have been cut and prepared, the construction has begun, the labyrinth has had a makeover and folks come regularly to walk it. The Peace Stupa looks beautiful, the Temple of the Adawis is in regular use and hosted the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers recently for a luncheon. The community hall and kitchen are becoming the focus this week with a large area of new floor being put in the kitchen and beautification of the community hall dining area in the works. The grounds look great with all the water we had this spring, everything is lust and rich. The White Tara shrine is getting a new coat of varnish and is a sparkling addition overlooking the camping area.

So you see the locals have been busy, and what we talk about most is who is coming from California, who is coming from Germany, and who is coming from Poland, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii; we want to know. This happens for us every year we anticipate your arrival and we have learned to love a surprise.

Being the last Elders Gathering, I have told our generous donors that the passes they have earned over the years in reciprocity for their gifts, need to be used up this year. A couple of donors who have large amounts of passes have set up a sort of scholarship program to use their passes to support people to come to the Gathering who could not come without financial help. So I am putting it out to the Gadugi members here to recommend folks who would like to come and could use aid in the form of day passes to come to this last Elders Gathering.

Please contact me at artobey@gmavt.net with your recommendations of people for passes. These are day passes; camping fees and all other expenses will have to be managed by the individuals.

The donation letters went out to our generous donors several weeks ago and I recently found out that our largest donor has had to sell the family business after many years. This will create a large dent in our ability to provide the abundance of foods we have grown accustom to having for the staff meals in particular.

So we would ask that each person make a donation or collect a donation in the form of food or money equivalent to $1/meal to offset the projected short fall. This way we may be able to keep the quality and abundance of foods for staff that we have grown accustom to. This is roughly $3/day or $10 for the weekend per person.   Thanks in advance for making an effort to help with food costs and support the overall expenses for Sunray.

Over the years certain folks have made it a point to donate to the Elders Kitchen and please know how grateful we are to have had your support. This has had a huge effect on the Gathering over the years. You can send your donations this year directly to me, Andrew Tobey, PO Box 273, Lincoln, VT 05443. Make the checks payable to Sunray with a note for “Elders Kitchen”.   You can also donate directly on the Sunray secure website with a note for Elders Kitchen by going here.

If you wish to donate food for staff; fresh vegetables, fruit, berries, and cheese are good. We really have enough Zucchini, cucumbers, and bread. If you have bulk items like beans and rice, please let me know ahead of the Gathering so I can figure it into our purchases.

The Cantina will be in operation this year. If you would like to support the Land Trust you could help by doing some time working in the Cantina and of course by purchasing some their tasty items.

Also the land caretaker position is open which has a small stipend and cabin available. Contact Julie James if you are interested living on the land for the rest of summer in this way. sunraypeacevillage@gmail.com

Jeanne Hubbuch is the central focalizer for this year’s Elders Gathering. It is her first time on the Corn, Beans and Squash team. Julie James and Andrew Tobey are supporting vegetables, but I don’t know which ones. Please make an effort to thank Jeanne for her efforts and offer her your help.

Friends that are looking for workstudy opportunities please have them contact me as soon as possible at artobey@gmavt.net. Remember that fulltime workstudy folks earn a one day Peacekeeper Training Wednesday August 3rd after the Gathering.   As you know there are many jobs that need to be done at the Elders Gathering. Gadugi members are obliged to work as part of their Gadugi commitment. Please make it known to Jeanne what area you would like to support. You may email info@sunray.org with a note that it is for Jeanne and we will forward it.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Dhyani Ywahoo and her ancestors for carrying light to this time. Showing me the way to the Peace Village and encouraging me to participate in the Peace Keeper training. The benefit from these teachings and from my associations with the Sangha and Elders has been the jewel of my life. Wadogh.

Peace,
Andrew Tobey

To register, please visit here.

Please come to the Peace Village for Elders this year.

2011-07-14T08:40:00.001-04:00

Sunray Elders Gathering and workshops

2011-07-10T11:52:00.001-04:00

Sunray Elders Gathering and Workshops

More details are emerging about our 27th Annual Native American Elders Gathering July 29-August 3rd. As our 27th Elders, this may be Sunray's last Elders Gathering in this format, so please don't miss it.

You may register here.

The following Elders will be offering workshops on Monday and Tuesday, August 1 & 2.

Grandmother Patricia Downing DeAsis and Bernard DeAsis
Grandfather Chief Warren Ramey
Grandmother WindWalker Jones
Grandfather Mike Bastine
Nana Juana Escobar & Tata Ricardo Maye

Their biographies can be found here.

Please register early! We look forward to seeing you at the Peace Village.

Best,
Sunray Meditation Society

Going to the Mountain -- story about Lincoln Vermont (reprinted from Seven Days Vermont)

2011-07-10T11:42:00.001-04:00

http://7dvt.com/2011lincoln-vt-spiritual-communities (Seven Days)

Going to the Mountain

What attracts so many spiritual seekers to the tiny town of Lincoln?

By Lauren Ober [07.06.11]

Lincoln, Vt., is a slender spur that pokes into the northernmost section of the Green Mountain National Forest, southeast of Bristol and just over the mountain from Sugarbush. The New Haven River snakes north through Lincoln from its headwaters on Bread Loaf Mountain, following the main road. The town covers 44 square miles and is home to about 1200 residents, a figure that has increased only slightly in the past two decades.

Like most Vermont towns its size, Lincoln has a town hall, a library, a country store and a church, all of which sit squarely in its center. Unlike most Vermont towns, it’s also home to four sizeable spiritual communities.

Lincoln isn’t one of those towns you might happen upon while traveling elsewhere. It’s not en route to anything, unless you’re trying to get to Warren the hard way: by climbing up and over the precipitous Lincoln Gap. Lincoln is the end of the road. Author Chris Bohjalian, who moved there from Brooklyn 25 years ago, explains it like this: “You go up River Road 3.4 miles into the forest, and all of the sudden it’s like Brigadoon or Shangri-La,” he says. “Here’s this beautiful New England village.”
Only, unlike those mystical utopias, Lincoln exists. If you find yourself in Lincoln, it’s not by accident; it’s because you meant to arrive there.

Over the years, scores of people have found their way to Lincoln, drawn by something more than just the town’s charm and quintessential New Englandness. It’s no exaggeration to say there’s a spiritual pull to the place, bringing seekers to its foothills even before the Quakers arrived in 1795. In the time since, in addition to traditional Christian congregations, Lincoln has welcomed Tibetan and Shingon Japanese Buddhists, New Age dream interpreters, Native American elders, renowned dowsers, a meditation society, contemplative ecologists and students of yoga.

Today, Lincoln is a spiritual locus, home to the Vajra Dakini Nunnery, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery; Sunray Peace Village and Meditation Society, a community built on Native American teachings and Buddhist beliefs; the Drikung Dzogchen Community of Vermont, a Tibetan Buddhist practice group; and Metta Earth Institute, a holistic retreat center focusing on contemplative ecology. Each attracts legions of devotees to the town.

To understand Lincoln’s magnetism for many a seeker, we need to take a trip back in time. Before the Quakers founded this settlement, indigenous communities of the Northeast, including the Abenaki, Mohegan, Narragansett and Wampanoag people, often descended on the area around Mount Abraham, the 4017-foot peak due east of what is now the town center.

The mountain was considered a sacred meeting place where people could share information about weather and planting, dreams and visions of the future, says Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo, a Cherokee spiritual teacher and leader of the Sunray Meditation Society. Ywahoo’s elders, who moved to the area in 1980 from New York City, called Mount Abraham “Odali Utugi,” or Hope Mountain in Cherokee.
Fast-forward from precolonial America to the 1960s, when many spiritually minded people landed in Lincoln. One of those was a man named Dutch Leahy, who brought with him a practice of Tibetan Buddhism mixed with a psychedelic exploration of the boundaries of consciousness, explains David Arndt, coordinator of the Drikung Dzogchen Community.

In 1980, Ywahoo and her extended family were called to Vermont by a “spiritual direction.” “My grandparents foresaw that we would leave the cities and return to living in a more native way, and that’s what brought us here,” Ywahoo says. “It took us a while to get to Lincoln. It was like we, as a community, needed to prepare ourselves to make our way to the sacred valley.”

Ywahoo recalls dreaming about Lincoln Valley as a child. She would ask herself if the place in her dreams was heaven, because it certainly didn’t look like Brooklyn. In the dreams, Ywahoo would see a woman driving through an archway of trees on the town’s central Quaker Street with a wolf over her shoulder. Once she reached Lincoln, her dream seemed to come to life.

“I was taking my pet to training, and I noticed he was looking over my shoulder as I came down Quaker Street through that beautiful underpass, and I realized this is what I used to dream,” she says. “So the valley certainly has had a call on me. It brought me here.”

Lincoln may owe its aura to its unusual orientation — it is something of an alpine plateau, nearly surrounded by peaks. Think of the town’s nucleus as resting at the bottom of a wide, deep bowl. Gently, without much fanfare, mountains rise around this core to create the sides of the bowl. The effect is dramatic, suggesting a geological fortress. Not that the town needs ramparts — its pacifist Quaker roots run deep.

Students of geomancy, a form of divination using lines, figures and geographic features, say Lincoln has unique attributes — such as the shape of the land and flow of the river — that indicate its sacredness. One of those features is the annual autumn appearance of the rising sun in the notch on Mount Abraham, indicating that waters that run off the mountain are energizing and that prayers made in that area will have special resonance throughout the universe.

In the mid-1980s, a major figure in Tibetan Buddhism, His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche, used divination to seek out Ywahoo and her community. When he arrived in Lincoln with a coterie of monks, he went for a hike and determined that the formation of the land — the higher-altitude plateau ringed by mountains — represented female spirituality, says Khenmo Drolma, the abbess of Vajra Dakini Nunnery, which is affiliated with Sunray.

In his 2010 biography of Chetsang Rinpoche, From the Heart of Tibet, writer Elmar R. Gruber recounts the spiritual leader’s experience in Vermont, including his exploration of the cave behind Bartlett Falls. During one of his visits, Rinpoche determined the cave to be sacred based on the presence of sindhura, a type of reddish or yellowish earth used in Buddhist rituals.

“Rinpoche was struck by an unusual topographical conjunction in which river courses, together with the shape of a mountain, create an extraordinarily radiant image of two triangles crossed together,” Gruber writes. “In the Tibetan tradition, certain mountains and rivers that create crossed triangles are regarded as the mandala of Vajrayogini. They are called chöjung (triangles of arising), and are the source of existence, the well-springs of the feminine principle.”

It is because of these so-called female characteristics that the nunnery was sited in Lincoln, says Drolma: “The female Buddha practices fit where we’re living in this particular monastery.”

Sunray and Vajra Dakini Nunnery aren’t the only Buddhist groups that have been pulled into Lincoln’s vortex. From 1987 until 1999, the Mandala Buddhist Center, founded by Shingon teacher Acharya Ajari Tanaka, was located in Lincoln in a rambling Quaker farmhouse in the shadow of Mount Abraham. And since 2001, the Drikung Dzogchen Community has been headquartered in Lincoln.

In the 10 years of its existence, Drikung Dzogchen has hosted 80 events featuring renowned Buddhist teachers at village meeting halls in Lincoln and Bristol. Many of those teachers, says group coordinator Arndt, experienced similar energy in the town to that found by Chetsang Rinpoche.

“There’s something that really draws people here and amplifies their spiritual practice,” Arndt says.
It’s not just eastern spirituality that has found a home in Lincoln. Traditional Christianity has long been part of the community. Randy Rice, a former missionary and associate pastor of the United Church of Lincoln, moved there with his wife 21 years ago. It didn’t take them long to feel the town’s strong sense of community, which Rice describes as a “we-ness.” But more than that, it seemed like there was something special about the physical place, perhaps the protective presence of its biblically named mountain.

“We always felt there was a good vibration in Lincoln,” Rice says. “I don’t know how else to put it. The center of Lincoln is like a bottom of a bowl. Things feed to the center of town, and there’s this natural grouping of geography.”

Rice attributes the overarching religious and spiritual tolerance of the town to its Quaker heritage. It took a while, he says, for longtime residents to cotton to new groups moving in, but they all seem to make it work now.

“I think there’s something about the Quaker ethic of being a good neighbor,” he says. “I think that really hovers in the air or is embedded in the dirt of Lincoln.”

Gillian Kapteyn Comstock, one of the cofounders with her husband, Russell, of Metta Earth Institute, has experienced that neighborliness since moving to Lincoln in 2007. One of the couple’s neighbors, a dyed-in-the-wool Vermonter named Chuck Norton, has helped them hay their fields since they moved in.

Metta Earth Institute was founded as a retreat that focuses on sustainable living, environmental activism, and a contemplative life replete with yoga and meditation practice. While not dogmatically religious, Comstock is interested in exploring the spiritual in everyday life and felt drawn to Lincoln by the town’s supposed atmospheric conductivity. She likens Lincoln to Crestone, Colo., a minuscule village in the western foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Range, which has become a haven for many spiritual groups and boasts a Hindu temple, Zen center, Carmelite monastery and several Tibetan organizations.

“It does seem like there are energetic geological forces,” Comstock says of Lincoln. “There are definitive places that seem to have extraordinary things happening.”

Comstock can’t say for certain what makes Lincoln such a spiritual power place. Perhaps it’s the presence of large deposits of white quartz. Maybe it’s tectonic vibrations. Or it could have to do with geomancy; she’s not sure. But she knows there’s something to Lincoln, just like there’s something to Stonehenge or Easter Island.

Bohjalian isn’t quite convinced. He quips that maybe it’s something in the water or aliens (which some residents have claimed to see), or crop circles that bring seekers to the region. Or, perhaps because the rocky, hilly land isn’t great for farming, it’s spiritually fertile — a yin and yang effect of sorts.
Regardless of why people come, Bohjalian, who has chronicled rural life in Lincoln for 20 years in his Burlington Free Press column “Idyll Banter,” acknowledges that they do come. And, like most other residents of Lincoln, he welcomes them.

“There are a lot of searchers, people trying to understand their own spiritual grounding,” he says. “Lincoln is a sort of tent in that regard. But why that is, I don’t know.”

The night sky is also wonderful at the Sunray Peace Village

2011-07-10T11:24:00.001-04:00

Ocean Sky from Alex Cherney on Vimeo.

"At a star party in August 2009 I took my first long exposure photograph of the night sky. I was so thrilled with the results that I dedicated most moonless weekends since then to photographing two things I love the most in nature - the night sky and the Ocean.

Taking a series of images and combining them into a time lapse video sequence made it even more interesting. I have since experimented with all-night time lapses, panning motion, etc. But most importantly I've enjoyed the journey immensely.

This time lapse video is the result of almost 1.5 years of work, 31 hours of taking images during six nights on Southern Ocean Coast in Australia."

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will give a talk for World Peace at the U.S. Capitol on July 9th

2011-07-08T20:55:00.001-04:00

Few lives in history have spoken as deeply to the goodness of the human spirit as that of of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has spread his message of peace, non-violence, tolerance, compassion and wisdom around the world in over 62 countries and across six continents. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, His Holiness has received over 84 humanitarian commendations, including the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007, and has authored more than 72 books. He has overcome unspeakable hardships while leading the people of Tibet during and after the brutal occupation of their homeland. His Holiness has also established a democratic Tibetan government-in-exile, promoting a vision of democracy and rule of law. His simple demeanor and joyful humor have endeared him to millions of people around the world.

Wallow Fire -- Special Request from the Native Americans, Apache, Navajo, and Zuni tribes

2011-07-02T23:18:00.002-04:00

The Largest Forest Fire in Arizona History

Please forward as you see fit (sent June 29, 2011).

Hello everybody - as you can see on the news the Wallow fire in Northern Arizona is still uncontrollable and spreading.

The fire has destroyed everything in its path, over 1/2 million acres so far, the largest fire in Arizona history. Please join us in a tribal prayer to help the firefighters and all involved. Pray so the winds stop and the rains start (without lightning please) We want to pray for the safety of all. Ask for heavenly walls to protect our land and animals from fire. All the choppers, manpower, planes, and bulldozers are not enough, they need our help.

We are one Nation as Natives and our traditional prayers to the Creator as Natives can be pretty powerful; not only are our tribal lands at stake (White Mountain & San Carlos Apaches, possibly Zuni, and some Navajo areas), but our non-native friends also need our help.

Please let us all connect our minds, hearts and our prayers across the miles and pray. Wherever you are and whatever you have plan please stop for a few minutes and raise your hands to the Creator to ask for help. If all of you can forward this message across the Nations, we can reach many thru phone and internet. Please start forwarding ASAP to reach as many as we can. Please if your spiritual preference is not traditional - pray with us in however way you talk to the Creator.

Thank you,
Dorothea Stevens, San Carlos Apache Nation

Update: Based on news reports, it may be finally contained, but I'm sure prayers remain welcome.

Please register for the 27th Annual Native American Elders Gathering

2011-06-28T18:28:00.001-04:00

Please click here to register for our upcoming 27th Annual Native American Elders' Gathering at the end of July. There will be three days of teachings and ceremonies July 29-31, followed by two days of Wisdom Seminars by Elders on August 1 & 2, followed by a one-day Peacekeeper training on August 3.

As the 27th gathering, it is the end of a cycle. So please don't miss it!

You can camp at the Sunray Peace Village, or find accommodations nearby. Visit www.sunray.org for more information.

Michael Beckwith interview of Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo

2011-06-24T22:21:00.002-04:00

Click here to listen to interview.

Elders Kitchen -- donations needed

2011-06-21T23:15:00.002-04:00

Greetings from the Elders’ Kitchen at the Sunray Peace Village. For the past twenty-six years the Sunray community has hosted the Native American Elders Gathering in Lincoln, VT. The Elders’ Gathering is a rare and precious opportunity to connect with the wisdom of indigenous cultures from many nations such as Abenaki, Cherokee, Mohawk, Penobscot, Mayan, and Algonquin. The Twenty seventh Elders’ Gathering will take place on July 29-August 3 at the Sunray Peace Village in Lincoln, VT. With the blessings and support of heart and hearth, they will share their wisdom with the people through music, dance, story, workshops, and discussion.

The Elders kitchen supports the Elders, their families, caregivers, and our volunteer staff for a period of six days, during which time the food is carefully and lovingly prepared and shared. The generosity of our donors essential to producing a successful Gathering. We are asking you for your support through a monetary donation which we will use to support the kitchen.

All gifts are tax deductible. Donations can be made on our secure website by going here.

As the Elders remind us, our generosity will return to us many times over. Thank you for your kind consideration. If you would like to make a donation of food, please contact me. I can be reached at 802-453-5327 or by email at artobey@gmavt.net.

With Gratitude,

Andrew Tobey

Sunray Elders Kitchen

June 15th is the day of the Buddhist Saga Dawa Celebration

2011-06-15T09:05:00.001-04:00

There are several pivotal events in the Buddha's life that Buddhists celebrate, including his birth, his enlightenment, his first sermon, and his death and release into nirvana. Saga Dawa means 'fourth month', and it is on the 15th day of this month on the Tibetan calendar that Tibetan and Nepalese Buddhists celebrate both his birth and the day when Buddha died and attained Nirvana.

Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo is sharing an excerpt from her tele-class about the benefit of doing practice today.

Click here to listen to Ven. Dhyani

Elders' Kitchen -- donations needed

2011-06-11T18:36:00.001-04:00

All gifts are tax deductible. Donations can be made on our secure website by going here.

As the Elders remind us, our generosity will return to us many times over. Thank you for your kind consideration. If you would like to make a donation of food, please contact me. I can be reached at 802-453-5327 or by email at artobey@gmavt.net.

With Gratitude,

Andrew Tobey

Sunray Elders Kitchen

Registration is open for the 27th Annual Native American Elders Gathering

2011-06-11T18:30:00.001-04:00

Please click here to register for our upcoming 27th Annual Native American Elders' Gathering at the end of July. There will be three days of teachings and ceremonies July 29-31, followed by two days of Wisdom Seminars by Elders on August 1 & 2, followed by a one-day Peacekeeper training on August 3.

You can camp at the Sunray Peace Village, or find accommodations nearby.

Venerable's most recent broadcast -- please make an offering to support her work.

2011-06-11T17:40:00.001-04:00

Please make an offering here. Thank you.

Concepts of Time: Being Present in the Now webcast this Saturday

2011-06-08T00:55:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo will be broadcasting on:

Concepts of Time: Being Present in the Now.

Time is a construct of our minds as are appearances, arising from the photons dance each person energizes a view and belief about the world and agrees upon it's relative reality. Consider the impulse to understand the universe as memory that we have all arisen from one light and together weave a tapestry of stable relationships. This view indicates that individuals are part of a dream and each persons responses create new fields of potential and opportunity.

In this moment we may heal the errors of the past and energize a future of complementary resolution.

You may register here.

27th Annual Elders Gathering information poster -- please circulate

2011-06-03T22:07:00.003-04:00

To register for Elders, please visit the Sunray website here.

Labryinth weeding project

2011-05-23T00:30:00.001-04:00

Labyrinth Weeding Project from Julie James on Vimeo.

Sunray is on Facebook

2011-05-23T00:17:00.002-04:00

This is not intended just to be another place to learn about Sunray events. It is really intended to be a place where friends of Sunray can communicate with each other. So, please feel free to post to the page.

Next webcast of Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo will be June 11, at 3 pm eastern time (US)

2011-05-22T22:53:00.001-04:00

The topic will be Concepts in Time: Being Present in the Now.

Please join me on the Sunray website: www.sunray.org

To support these broadcasts, please make a donation.

Past broadcasts can be seen here, or on our You Tube channel.

Thank you.