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The Buddha taught ‘letting go’ as an essential part of the path to true fulfilment. His message seems to go against the grain of our unspoken assumption that happiness comes from acquiring—relationships, wealth, kudos, fame, convictions, etc. In this series of talks, we’ll look at why letting go might just be the best thing to do.
Pamela Gayle White and Khedrub Zangmo met twenty years ago when preparing their first traditional 3-year retreat under the guidance of the great meditation master Gendun Rinpoche in central France. In second retreat, which ended in 1997, they were neighbors; they’ve been meeting together regularly ever since then to study, discuss, practice, and teach the Dharma based on the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Both are Dharma Teachers in the Bodhi Path network, where the focus is on shamatha (calm-abiding meditation), lojong (mind training), and the basic tenets of Buddhist philosophy.
Khedrub Zangmo is currently the resident teacher of the Pasadena Bodhi Path. She also teaches regularly at the San Luis Obispo center and other venues. Her interest in Buddhism dates from the early 1980s when she joined The Windhorse Project – providing care for the mentally ill in home environments – launched by students of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. A retired schoolteacher, Khedrub is actively involved in caring for her family – including two wonderful grand-daughters. She has a long experience of the power of ‘letting go’ both in practice and in everyday situations.
Pamela Gayle White oversees the Philadelphia Bodhi Path group and teaches in Europe and the Americas; most recently in Brazil and the US. A landscape gardener by trade, she began practicing in the 1980s when she was head groundskeeper for a Buddhist center in Burgundy, France. She now translates and interprets from Tibetan, travels regularly to Nepal and India, and is a frequent contributor to Tricycle Magazine. Her nomadic lifestyle frequently requires training in ‘letting go’ of assumptions and expectations – among other things – in all sorts of situations as well as on the cushion.