We received this message from our members in Australia:

With Jetsunma’s blessings, six Australian retreatants attended a three-day Ngondro retreat in Canberra, Australia, in early November.  Ngondro is Preliminary Practice for Vajrayana Buddhists, the first stage of committed practice on the path to enlightenment.  Retreatants came from Melbourne, Brisbane, and Canberra.

We were fortunate in being able to have the retreat in Sakya Lama Choedak Rinpoche’s Centre on the outskirts of Canberra. Canberra is the capital of Australia and is surrounded by beautiful bush land–and lots of kangaroos! We had good weather and a full schedule from 7:00 in the morning until 9:30 at night, with breaks in between.

The retreat focused on the practice of Ngondro (Refuge and Bodhicitta) and the opening practices of the New York Palyul Retreat. We also listened extensively to Jetsunma’s teachings on Refuge and Bodhicitta.  We started and finished the retreat with a Tsog offering.  We were very grateful to have the blessings of the Lama for this retreat.

A KPC group Ngondro practice has not happened for many years in Australia and we hope this retreat is the beginning of new growth and beneficial change. Even a local kangaroo who was inspired to do at least one prostration!