Vision Statement for the Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute

Om, Svasti Siddham May the realization of wisdom be perfectly accomplished!

Liberating the Rudra of ego with the arrow of selflessness Perceiving existence as the blissful display of wisdom mind Singing sky-like wisdom songs in your glorious wisdom voice Lord master of accomplishment, Saraha, please sustain us!

Background

The Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute was founded on August 16, 2011 in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Like all Buddhist traditions, Saraha is dedicated to the Buddha's teachings of Enlightenment. Specifically, Saraha was created for "the preservation, support, practice, study, teaching and propagation of the teachings of the Dudjom Lineage of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism."

Saraha, the Name

"Saraha" is the name of the Indian Mahasiddha, or enlightened master, who founded Nalanda University, which was the first and still is the greatest Buddhist university the world has ever known. In connection with the Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute, Saraha the person is also known as a previous enlightened incarnation of the root teachers of the Dudjom Lineage, Dudjom Lingpa, and HH Dudjom Ripoche, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, as well as his present incarnation, HH Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche, Sangye Pema Shepa.

The name "Saraha" was conferred upon the Institute by HE Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. Khyentse Rinpoche is the son of HH Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, and grandson of HH Dudjom Rinpoche, the late supreme leader of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, who visited the current site of the Institute on November 8, 1980, and taught and performed a Buddhist empowerment event there on that day.

The holy blessing of this original visit was the primary reason leading to the site's acquisition by the Institute in 2011.

Saraha, the Organization

The Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute was created by the united efforts of students of the Dudjom Lineage, including three of the immediate students of HH Dudjom Rinpoche,

namely Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, Lama Tsering Gyaltsen, and Lama Sonam Tsering, who serve as directors and founding teachers of the Institute. Following the founding of the institute, the current reincarnation of HH Dudjom Rinpoche, who is HH Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche, Sangye Pema Shepa, joined the board of the Institute, assuming the official capacity of its Principal Spiritual Director. The Institute has been granted recognition as a class 501(c)(3) federally-registered religious non-profit organization, by the government of the United States of America.

Architectural Elevation of the Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Temple

Paths of Learning at Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute

The main focus of the Institute will be to provide Buddhist education in a way that is both genuine and profound. The manner in which we intend to fulfill this goal is by following the specific advice of HH Dudjom Yangsi Rinpoche, who instructed Saraha not to limit its outreach to scholars or full-time students alone. Rather, Rinpoche requested that Saraha actively engage all types of Buddhist practitioners, including students of all ages, and local community members, both individuals and families. Therefore, at the same time as it pursues its wider-ranging educational goals, the Institute will strive to create a local and family-friendly culture of learning, functioning simultaneously as educational facility, Buddhist temple, and local center for Buddhist practice.

The Five Sciences at Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute

The Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute was established for the purpose of educating students in the Buddhadharma, or the path to Enlightenment. But a thorough education in the Dharma requires more than just the study of the Dharma itself. As the Buddhist Master Lord Maitreya says, "Even Buddhas who have mastered the inner science of Buddhadharma cannot attain the state of perfect omniscience without additional mastery in the four attendent Buddhist sciences". Thus, a total of five "sciences," or fields of knowledge, are traditionally enumerated.

Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute 477 E. 40th Ave., Eugene, OR 97405 USA +1-541-359-3588 saraha.org info@saraha.org Facebook: Saraha Nyingma - 3 - Observing this classification of traditional Dharma together with the four attendent fields of Buddhist study, the Institute intends to create and administer a comprehensive Buddhist curriculum that systematically addresses all five Buddhist sciences:

1. The "Inner Science" of Buddhadharma. Dharma is the path of training that liberates one's mind from bondage in samsara and realizes the blessings of Enlightenment.

At Saraha Dharma education will follow the presentation of the traditional "nine- yana," or nine paths to enlightenment, classification of the Nyingma school of Buddhism.

The study of these nine paths encompasses the trainings of all Buddhist traditions, up to and including the three supreme inner-tantric paths of Maha-, Anu- and Ati- yoga, or Dzogchen. Because these three ultimate paths of training are renowned generally for their immediate blessings and swift results, and specifically for their timely efficacy in the context of the present age, the Institute will focus on them especially.

2. Sacred Arts and Crafts, which are beneficial for inspiring and nurturing experience in the path of Buddhist training.

3. Traditional Techniques of Medical and Spiritual Healing, which are beneficial remedies for the ailments of beings.

4. Language, which is beneficial for communicating and clarifying the meaning of the Dharma.

5. Logic which enables the confirmation of meaning, and Symbolism, which is beneficial for communicating meaning abstractly, beyond the constraints of verbal expression.

The above principles of this Vision Statement for the Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute were adopted by the board of directors of the Institute, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, Lama Tsering Gyaltsen, Lama Sonam Tsering, and Michael Maretich on November 11, 2012