News

Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche was invited by Kagyu students of South Florida to come to Miami to help form a Dharmakaya group there. In addition, Rinpoche was invited to address students, faculty and staff at the University of Miami in several capacities. Rinpoche arrived in Miami with Phurpa on February 19th. On Friday, February 20th, Rinpoche held a refuge ceremony with a small group, preceded by meditation instruction and teachings. It was a wonderful beginning to Rinpoche's visit in Miami.

Saturday, February 21st began the first formal programs for the new Dharmakaya Miami group. In the afternoon Rinpoche gave a public talk, "Taming the Drunken Elephant" to kick off the weekend program. The talk was well attended and made for an excellent introduction for new students as well as reconnecting Rinpoche with those local students who had previously received teachings. The next day, Sunday the 22nd, a meditation teaching and practice program was held for several hours in the afternoon and early evening. Students, both new to meditation and those with many years experience, came together to benefit from Rinpoche's guidance and instruction.

Rinpoche's programs at the University of Miami were held on Monday, February 23rd and Tuesday February 24th. The University of Miami Ethics program hosted Rinpoche on campus, along with the Religious Studies department. On Monday, after a small group lunch at the faculty club with program administrators, a midday talk hosted by the University-wide ethics programs was delivered by Rinpoche to a group of students, faculty and staff. The title of the talk was, "Ethical Decision-Making for Long-Term Social Benefit." The formal talk was followed by a lengthy series of substantial and probing questions. The event was very well received and clearly led to intellectual discourse and deep contemplation by many in the audience. This talk was followed by an early afternoon talk at the School of Business Administration on "Social Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics" where Rinpoche addressed an entrepreneurship class full of undergraduate business students. Rinpoche discussed in detail his non-profit activities in Asia, including schools and health clinics in Nepal, and how he started, motivated and organized his activities there. Monday finished up with an evening talk, "Survey on Tibetan Buddhism" where Rinpoche addressed a large and full lecture hall of well over 200 students, mostly from the Religious Studies department. On Tuesday evening, Rinpoche held a meditation program titled, "The Connection between Meditation and Wellness." This program was held at the University of Miami Wellness Center on campus, and was very well attended by students, faculty and staff, as well as some from the wider Miami community, including local Dharmakaya students. The event had to be moved to a larger room due to the turnout. After the final event Tuesday night, Rinpoche held a small group meeting with local students interested in forming the Miami Dharmakaya group.

- report from the Dharmakaya Miami Group