Happy Losar (Tibetan New Year)! 

Wishing all of you an auspicious Tibetan Happy New Year. This Losar is the year of the Fire Bird. Yay! A year of Phoenix. We will rise like a phoenix and move forward with our life's journey into our pursuit of happiness.  People of Tibet and the Himalayan region areas follow the Lunar Tibetan Zodiac calendar.  The bird is the 10th sign of the zodiac which appears in the Tibetan calendar every 12-year cycle. 2018 will be the Year of the Dog. 

After I left Phoenix, I went to New Zealand. It was beautiful in New Zealand, their summertime. Sometimes I call it New ZA Land. Yes, I am little bit self-centered. The NZ sangha completed the extension of their new Gonpa (Temple).  It is beautiful and serves our growing New Zealand community. Then I went to Adelaide and Sydney in Australia. It was as beautiful as New Zealand. Weather was so nice and warm. Perfect temperature for outdoor activities. Had some nice beach walking meditation and forest hiking meditation. 

Presently I am in India with my monk students and my family celebrating Losar. I am pleased to see our AZ Emaho Center is participating in the traditional Tibetan purification the day before Losar by cleaning.  We can all join by cleaning our living area.  We mindfully clean, sweeping away physical, emotional, mental, karmic and spiritual obstacles paving the way for a happy, clean, pure and clear start to the new year.

Geshe-la Lobsang Choephel will be doing early Losar prayers at Emaho Tibetan Center Monday, February 27. If you can join him, it is a spiritual way to set our minds in a positive direction for the coming new year.

I will be performing the Palden Lhamo protector new year Puja with a group of monks at my Mom's new house in South India. I will keep all of you in my prayers and wish you all good luck, good health, and good happiness coming into your life. And I wish you all have enough things always.

I will be traveling to Bhutan after Losar in March with a group of friends for a special spiritual and cultural experience in this living mystical Kingdom of Himalaya. It is known as the Druk Gyalkhap (Kingdom of the Dragon).

I am planning to visit Europe in April and I will be back in USA at the end of April. I am looking forward to sharing with you some teachings and specially the Dug-Kar (White Umbrella Deity) empowerment and its mantra practice at our annual AZ retreat May 26-28.  The practice of  Dug-Kar can bring more protection and it can bring transformation of unhappy negative states into happy positive ones.

Blessings, love, and good wishes.

ZaChoeje Rinpoche