September Newsletter 2025
- KSD London
- Sep 15
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 25
Dear All,
Welcome to the September newsletter. Looking back to July we had a wonderful visit by Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, during which Lama gave precious and direct advice to a packed shrine room and refuge to around 60 people. During his visit we also had the pleasure of very instructive talks from both Gelong Thubten and Ani Gelongma Lhamo.
However, now the summer holidays are nearly over, the new terms is about to kick-off, the Centre has opened its doors once more (on Wednesday 27th August), and we can look forward to an autumn of teachings and practice. These include: a Weekend Retreat at the Centre; new Courses; Simply Meditation days; our annual death and dying day, and more - it's a veritable smorgasbord of dhama (to mix my cultural metaphors).
Coming up:
A Letter to a Friend with Lama Zangmo, which was due to start on Saturday 13th September, will now be starting on 4th October. This is due to a visit to Samye Dzong London by Khenpo Lekthong - full story, including booking link, below.
A reminder for those taking the Seven Points of Mind Training with Lama Zangmo, the next installment is on Saturday 20th September.
The Tibetan Doctor will next be available in KSDL on the weekend of the 20th - 21st September. To make an appointment for a consultation please contact Doctor Soktsang directly. If you want to check Dr Soktsang's availability in 2025, the dates of his attendance at the Centre are available on the website.
Wake up to sleep with Charlie Morley on the weekend of the 11th - 12th October. In this weekend workshop you can learn how to transform the harmful effects that stress and trauma can have on the third of our lives that we spend asleep. Full details are available on the website, but my top tip is - if you want to go....book sooner rather than later!
Lothlorien has a new Facebook page. And for those not familiar, I'm talking about the therapeutic community for mental health which is part of Rokpa Trust and founded by Akong Tulku Rinpoche. If you were previously following their old page, you will need to start following this new one in order to keep in touch. And for those who aren't following them...Why not? Have a look and see what good work they are doing.
Finally, as the nights start to close in again, we're starting to enter a period of time when nature starts to roll back from the profusion of life during the summer months. As the light and heat of summer starts to withdraw, it's time to start looking a little more inwardly, and here, we have a programme that can help you do precisely that.
Hoping to see you at the Centre soon.
Best wishes,
David Bates
Newsletter Editor
Visit of Khenpo Lekthong - 13th-14th September
We are delighted to announce that Khenpo Lekthong will be visiting Samye Dzong London again this year. He will be teaching on Sat 13th and Sun 14th September, as well as giving some evening talks.
The topic of his weekend course will be a summary of Chandrakirti's Entering the Middle Way, on Nagarjuna's teachings on emptiness. This text clearly defines the Middle Way, giving examples and highlighting its practical value. It explains the purpose of the philosophy of the Middle Way and the role it plays on the path of the bodhisattva.
This is a precious opportunity to receive teachings on this important topic. The course is recommended for both beginners and more advanced practitioners.
Khenpo Lekthong will also give several evening talks. More details will be posted on the website in due course.
To book your place for the weekend, please click here.
A Precious Garland - Thursday evenings with Lama Zangmo
In the text "A Precious Garland", Gampopa gives instructions on the correct view, meditation and conduct of a practitioner and outlines how to improve our spiritual practice.
Over four Thursday evenings, from the 4th September, Lama Zangmo will go through some of the verses in the text and explain them in more detail. The course is suitable for anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of Buddhism and their meditation. Each session will include time for actual meditation practice.
Gampopa, also known as Dhakpo Rinpoche, is one of the most important figures in the Kagyu lineage and the foremost disciple of the great 11th century yogi and poet Jetsun Milarepa.
Everyone is welcome to join any or all of the classes in this series.
Full details are available on the website.
Weekend Meditation Retreat at Samye Dzong
On the weekend of the 6th - 7th September, you will have the special special opportunity to do a gentle weekend retreat in the city.Calm abiding meditation (Shinay in Tibetan; Shamatha in sanskrit) is accomplished through the development of mindfulness, which can be described as an ongoing awareness in the moment.
By training in focusing this awareness stably in meditation we can give rise to a more peaceful mind. Meditation and mindfulness, practised regularly over time, have strong potential to make one’s general state of mind more positive: increasingly we can become free of habitual reactivity and unhelpful emotional patterns. With a more open and relaxed mind we will have less stress and less of a tendency to be thrown by the ups-and-downs that life presents.
Over this practice weekend Lama Zangmo will give brief instructions and reminders, but the emphasis will mainly be on having plenty of time for actual sitting practice on both days. It is suitable for anyone who has already attended our introduction to meditation courses or similar courses.
Full details, including the daily schedule, are available on the website.
A Letter to a Friend with Lama Zangmo
Starting on Saturday 13th September is Lama Zangmo's latest long-term course "A Letter to a Friend".
The great Indian Buddhist master Nagarjuna wrote his celebrated Letter to a Friend as a gift of advice to a South Indian king, and it has since become a monument in the Indian shastra tradition. Despite its short length it covers the entire Mahayana path.
The instructions combine a practical approach to daily conduct for both the layperson and the ordained, with an explanation of the different stages leading to enlightenment. It has been a source of scriptural authority for many of Tibet’s greatest scholars over time. It is an ideal guide to understand the Buddhist teachings and to apply the teachings to our lives with clarity and wisdom. It is suitable for anyone who wishes to study and learn more about Buddhism.
The course is one day a month on the following dates: 13 Sep 2025; 4 Oct, 8 Nov; 6 Dec; 17 Jan 2026; 14 Feb; 14 March. For full details, and to book your place, please visit the course page on the website.
Become a Volunteer at Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland
Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Buddhist Centre in Scotland is the mother centre of all Kagyu Samye Dzong centres in the UK as well as abroad. You can read a brief history of Samye Ling here.
From its very beginning Samye Ling has always been run by volunteers – students of the Dharma, the Buddha's teachings, who delight in engaging in activities that further the Dharma and the activities of the Lineage.
Supporting the Centre is a joyful way to incorporate Buddhist Practice into your everyday life. It generates merit by offering selfless service as daily work. In a monastery there is always work to do, and volunteers help with a diverse range of activities from cooking, gardening, preparing rooms for overnight visitors and more. It offers an opportunity to be part of a Buddhist community with regular Dharma classes and a conducive environment for practice.
Samye Ling welcomes applications from people who wish to immerse themselves in service to the Dharma with dedication and diligence and are free from any other self-interest than wanting to study and practice the Dharma.
To enquire about residential volunteering and how to begin that process, you can send an email to the Samye Ling Volunteer Team requesting an application form. The Volunteer Team should also be able to help answer any questions you may have.
If you live in or near London, you are also welcome to contact Kagyu Samye Dzong London for an initial chat with Lama Zangmo, who may be able to answer your questions.
Akong Memorial Retreat in Samye Ling with Khenpo Ghawang
This year in October Samye Ling will mark the 12th Anniversary since Akong Rinpoche’s passing with a one-week retreat devoted to the study and practice of the Guru Yoga to His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa, Rikpe Dorje.
The retreat will be led by Khenpo Ghawang who will give daily teachings and both Khenpo Ghawang and Abbot Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche will preside over the practice sessions.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Full details of the retreat, including how to book, can be found on the Samye Ling website. Preference will be given to those intending to stay for the whole retreat.
