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New Year's Greeting from Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

Opening our hearts to the beauty of the present moment is the gateway to happiness.

Happy New Year, friends, students, and fellow meditators!

I am in the midst of an extended retreat at Sherab Ling Monastery in northern India. For the past four months, I and four hundred other monks and nuns have been receiving a profound series of teachings from the great lineage master, Kenting Tai Situ Rinpoche. Each day we spend six hours practicing together, meditating on Situ Rinpoche’s illuminating instructions on the Ocean of Definitive Meaning, one of the most secret and precious Mahamudra texts in the Tibetan tradition.

It is very rare to receive such detailed teachings on this profound topic, and especially to share the experience with so many of my fellow monks and nuns. This retreat has reminded me of the power of spiritual community and dedicated meditation practice. When combined, these two forces can awaken the compassionate wisdom and radiant joy that lies in the hearts of all beings. Now that the New Year has provided us with another chance to re-affirm our commitment to the path of spiritual awakening, I hope that you will take this opportunity to make a positive resolution to deepen your meditation practice, expand your efforts to help others, and bring peace to your own life and to the lives of others.

The New Year is also a powerful reminder of impermanence. This past year we have seen global transformations taking place in both the environment and in the economy, leaving a tremendous amount of suffering and hardship in their wake. These challenging situations highlight the inherently unstable nature of our world, and also the futility of our efforts to seek lasting happiness from circumstances that are always changing. Yet that is not the whole story. While the world will always resist our most valiant attempts to create stability, our own minds offer a lasting source of inner peace and contentment that is always available. Opening our hearts to the beauty of the present moment is the gateway to happiness.

I will keep you all in my heart this new year and pray that your lives are filled with blessings and joy!

Yours in the Dharma,

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche