Jhampa (formerly Canterbury Tibet Link) follows the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, which includes the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana paths. We are affiliated with Maitrikara in Brighton and the "Centre d'Etudes de Chanteloube" in France and currently run groups on Zoom. Occasionally we meet in Sandwich, Kent when our teachers visit and for short retreats and tsog ceremonies.

Study and practice groups and seminars are held throughout the year providing a resource for those wishing to start out on the Buddhist path or deepen their own practice. We feel that the goal of studying and practising the dharma is best summed up in the words of one of our teachers:

"The Buddha's teaching is a science of the mind. It is a method for bringing out the extraordinary capacities of intelligence and compassion which are an integral part of human nature."

For information regarding study and practice meetings and seminars please go to the Programme page using the link above.

Jhampa is a satellite group of Chanteloube and affiliated to Maitrikara.
Maitrikara is a Registered Charity number 1086822.

For more information please contact Caroline Latham on
phone: +44(0)7875 743 532 or email: carolinelatham91@gmail.com

History

In the beginning of the 1970s, a number of Westerners discovered a remarkable Tibetan teacher, Kangyur Rinpoche, living in exile in a tiny house in Darjeeling, India.
Gradually a group of practitioners formed around this astonishing person. After his death, his eldest son, Pema Wangyal Rinpoche, invited two great lineage holders of the Nyingmapa school, Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, to teach in the Dordogne, France. That was in 1975.

Over the years they went again and again, to share their unique knowledge and experience with thousands of students from all over the world.

Thanks to their inspiration and guidance , Chanteloube became a place of meditation where people from many countries and walks of life have completed the traditional three-year retreat. Jhampa is a branch of Chanteloube and exists to uphold this lineage and tradition here in the UK.

After his first visit in 1972, Dudjom Rinpoche regularly taught in the Dordogne until his death in 1987. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche taught at Chanteloube from 1975 to 1990 and in the course of those fifteen years visited Dordogne no less than 17 times. It is thanks to the extraordinary aspirations of these teachers that very great masters continue to come to teach in the Dordogne - such as Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, one of the most senior teachers of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and a holder of all the lineages of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Dudjom Rinpoche.

Chanteloube draws its inspiration from Tibet's non-sectarian (ri-mé) movement and is open to all Buddhist traditions.

For more information concerning Chanteloube activities please visit www.songtsen.org

Canterbury Tibet Link

The Canterbury Tibet Link, now JHAMPA, was set up in 1994 as a result of the visit of Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche to Canterbury. Khyentse Rinpoche has returned and taught six times since then, most recently visiting Sandwich in December 2019.

As a result of Rinpoche's visit we set up a weekly meeting which runs to this day. We have also received visits and teachings from leading Tibetan masters during that time- Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Rinzin-la (a Tibetan doctor), Ato Rinpoche, Geshe Tashi, HH Dalai Lama's sister and Taklung Matul Rinpoche for the last seven years. We were also part of the group responsible for inviting HH Dalai Lama to the UK to teach for a number of years.

During that time, a small sangha has been established. Over forty have taken refuge and several have joined the parallel part-time retreats running in France and Portugal. We have held many fundraising events and auctions in the past but now we would like to concentrate principally on developing our practice.

However we still need your support to help us invite the teachers and to support their projects. We are very grateful for any donations, large of small, and any monthly direct debit you might like to offer. This will really enable us to continue our contributions. All funds go to Maitrikara (Jhampa) and help pay for our teachers' visits to the UK and for their various projects which can be found at www.songtsen.org

Thank you so much.

Every little bit helps.

Lineage

We are affiliated to the “Centre d'Etudes de Chanteloube” which is situated in the Dordogne region of France. Chanteloube was founded with the inspiration and guidance of three great masters of Tibetan Buddhism.
(Please click on the names of the masters):

The lineage of all our teachers is connected with the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, which was established in Tibet in the eighth century by Guru Padmasambhava. However, the spirit of the teachings follows the Rimé movement started in Tibet in the last century by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche. The Rimé movement encourages openness and respect for all schools. The guidance and inspiration of Jhampa continues with the blessings of:

In the absence of our teachers the various groups that Jhampa run are guided by long term students.

For more information about the activities of our teachers please follow these links:
www.songtsen.org
www.chanteloube.asso.fr

Programme

Study and Practice Group

We will be reading and study 'A torch lighting the way to freedom' by Dudjom Rinpoche as well as 'Awakening Wisdom' written by one of our teachers, Pema Wangyal Rinpoche.

Both are published by Shambala, readily available online and on kindle.

We will discuss whatever arises and welcome your contribution.

We start with shine and some calm-abiding meditation, read the texts and chant the 'Shower of Blessings' practice.

To enable everyone to participate in the discussion, we urge you to obtain the books so we don't need to put them up on the screen. This allows us to communicate with each other more easily.

The term will run for seven weeks from this Thursday 24th to December 5th inclusive and start up again in January.
It runs from 7pm to 9pmish.
Feel free to invite friends along if you feel so inspired.
Please email us at carolinelatham91@gmail.com to be added to the Zoom link.

We meet on Zoom but also in Sandwich, Kent for our group as well as for tsog offerings and life release ceremonies.

Please Contact carolinelatham91@gmail.com to join the Zoom sessions and find out about the next Meeting date(s).

The evening or day meetings include guidance and practice on meditation and recitation as well as the study of various root texts and commentaries.

Korwa Dongdruk - a practice for the dead

Korwa Dongdruk - He Who Churns the Depths of Samsara - is a revealed spiritual treasure of Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa. This practice of red Avalokiteshvara is performed in order to benefit those who have passed away, their families and relatives, as well as ourselves at times of the transition we call death.

If you wish to include someone who has just passed away in the practice of Korwa Dongdruk, please send their name by email to us and they will be added to the list.

Donations, according to your circumstances, are always gratefully received for our teachers' charitable projects.

It is possible to follow Maitrikara, our satellite group in Brighton. The Brighton group presently runs zoom sessions on Monday evenings at 6pm with commentaries on texts from Wulstan Fletcher and Steve Gethin. Seminars are held throughout the year when our teachers visit.

We have also been most fortunate to receive Taklung Matul Rinpoche for several years. To receive these authentic teachings locally is a wonderful and rare opportunity. Join our mailing list to receive information on further visits from our teachers.

All information from carolinelatham91@gmail.com

Retreats

Parallel Retreats

Many practitioners are now participating in a "Parallel Retreat" run by Chanteloube, our main centre in France. The aim of this retreat is to parallel the study and practice undertaken in the traditional closed three-year retreats also held at Chanteloube.
The retreat involves receiving teachings in France from either Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche or Pema Wangyal Rinpoche over two to three weekends a year. The rest of the time is spent in one's normal working life with the commitment to practice and study the teachings given a number of hours a day. This method of practice and retreat is proving popular and many are finding it a beneficial, practical and workable way to merge their lives with the dharma.

Three-year Closed Retreat

Traditional three-year retreats are being run at Chanteloube, involving intensive meditation training for a number of students.
In the words of our teacher Pema Wangyal Rinpoche, "Following the example given by our teachers, to do long retreats is the best way to make use of our human potential."
Our teachers also say, "Meditators remaining in solitude, and their supporters who remain in active life create the auspicious connection of all achieving enlightenment at the same moment."

If you would like to contribute to this project or other retreats in the future through your prayers and/or financial support, we would be most grateful. Any donations, however small or large, are all welcome. One drop in the ocean can spread infinitesimally.

Please contact us by email: carolinelatham91@gmail.com.

Those interested in finding out more about both retreats please contact Chanteloube directly via email at : chanteloube@wanadoo.fr

Links

Maitrikara Tibetan Buddhist Group www.maitrikara.org.uk
The Songtsen organisation www.songtsen.org
Chanteloube website www.chanteloube.asso.fr
Official site of H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet www.dalailama.com
Official site of H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and the Tibetan Government in Exile www.tibet.com/Buddhism
Shechen Monastery and the Dilgo Khyentse Fellowship www.shechen.org
Official site of His Holiness Sakya Trizin www.hhsakyatrizin.net
Mangala Shri Bhuti - Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche www.mangalashribhuti.org
Siddhartha' Intent International - Official site of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche www.siddharthasintent.org
Khyentse Foundation www.khyentsefoundation.org
Tenga Rinpoche www.benchen.org
A documentary on Kangyur Rinpoche's life "54 Gandhi Road", prize winner of the New Zealand Doc Edge film festival 2020 54 Gandhi Road on Facebook

Compassion: Mindfulness and Compassion, a Kindle book by Caroline Latham
All proceeds from sales go to Jhampa.