This year the Kagyu Monlam was the first ceremony to take place since the big Buddha statue was placed in our temple. His Eminence Sangye Nyenpa Rinpoche led the prayers. Every day we had the opportunity to listen to Rinpoche’s profound teachings and pray in his presence which was a great inspiration for all of us. On the second day of the Kagyu Monlam Rinpoche bestowed a Black Dzambhala empowerment.
This year exceptionally, many Lamas visited the Centre, including Khenpo Lama Osung. Also several Polish and German Lamas also took part in the Kagyu Monlam. Among our special guests we want to mention the sister of His Eminence Kalu Rinpoche and her husband Sonam-la who is a member of the Bhutanese royal family. As usual, there were not only Polish people participating in the Kagyu Monlam, but also many others from all over the world, e.g. Malaysia, Scotland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Latvia. On the second day representatives of our befriended Vietnamese Vajrayana Buddhism Sangha visited us.
Another important event was that the third edition of the Kagyu Monlam prayer book was released. His Holiness Karmapa had decided to create a new version. The already existing set of prayers has now been completed in a way that represents all the Kagyu Schools and to include texts recited during teachings and traditional ceremonies.
This year Marme Monlam, The Lamp Prayer which traditionally finishes Kagyu Monlam, was also special – at the end of the ceremony we set the lamps around Kyabje Tenga Rinpoche's stupa which is currently being built in the Centre.