Birthday Celebration of His Holiness 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje

This year the centre will be open to celebrate the birthday of HHKarmapa in person. We hope you will be able to come.

In the past HH's birthday has often been celebrated on 26 June, but according to a message from His Holiness, his birthday should be celebrated on the date according to the Tibetan calendar, which is the first day of the fifth Tibetan month. This year it falls onThursday 30th June.

We will start at 6:30pm with a light offering followed by prayers and at the end everyone will offer a katta, white scarf, to His Holiness' throne. We hope you will be able to attend.

Please note, this event is in-person only and will not be livestreamed.

Praises to Green Tara

On Saturday 25th June, from 2.00-5.00 pm, Lama Zangmo will be giving a general introduction to the meaning of the praises and practice of Green Tara.

We chant the Praises to Tara every morning at Kagyu Samye Dzong London as part of the morning meditation session. If understood properly, Green Tara practice helps us overcome both inner and outer obstacles, and especially the obstacles of our own fears and negative emotions.

Full details can be found on the course page.

Fundraising event for Ukrainian refugees

On Saturday 9th July, from 2.00-5.00 pm we will be hosting a two-part fundarising event in aid of Ukrainian refugees.

There will be an interactive talk with Charlie Morley which will explore how we can use breath-work, deep relaxation, chi gong and of course lucid dreaming to sleep better and rest deeper. This will be followed by a Skills Auction - bid for your chance to learn how to make your own bread with (in his own words) the Centre's master baker, along with many other things.

Full details can be found on the event page.

The Four Thoughts that turn the Mind to the Dharma - Introduction to Buddhism

Over two Sunday afternoons (26th June and 3rd July), Lama Zangmo will be teaching about the Four Thoughts that turn the mind to the Dharma.

This two-part course is especially for beginners but is suitable for anyone wishing to gain more familiarity with the Buddhist teachings.

For full details, please see the course page.

This is an in-person only course.

Ongoing support from the Centre

Dear Friends,

Although the Centre has now partially re-opened, we will continue to reach out to maintain the connection with the wider world.

• Meditation sessions are livestreamed from the Centre from Wednesday to Sunday on our YouTube channel and we invite you all to join us. See the weekly programme for full details and downloads of the relevant prayers.
• Lama Zangmo continues to offer online teachings - see our programme page for details.
• Our email newsletter  is sent out regularly.  If you don't already susbscribe just click on this link and follow the instructions. 

Our hope is that these activities will help maintain our connection with each other and support those in need.

Who we are

We are a Buddhist community in the heart of London, affiliated to Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. We are under the direct guidance of Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche's brother the Venerable Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche and our resident teacher Lama Gelongma Zangmo.

Our aims are:
• To make the teachings of Buddhism accessible to all.
• To foster the growth of wisdom and compassion.
• To benefit the wider community.
• To promote interfaith dialogue and understanding.

The Samye Dzong approach to course donations, by Lama Zangmo

At the beginning of 2015, in honour of our Founder Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche, we decided to offer our Dharma courses without a suggested course fee, on a donation basis. We do this with the motivation to make the precious teachings of the Dharma accessible to everyone, and no-one will be excluded due to lack of funds.

Traditionally the Buddhist teachings are given freely because they are considered priceless. In the Buddhist tradition one practices generosity, or Dana, by making monetary offerings for the teachings. This generosity is not payment for goods or services rendered; it is an offering given freely from the heart in appreciation of the Dharma... 

Read the full letter from Lama Zangmo