Healing the Earth and Our Communities Through Indigenous Traditions

Coming together for celebration, for ceremony, for healing, for mourning, for gratitude, for planting and harvesting, for mutual support, for almost every aspect of life is foundational for indigenous communities all around the world. Interconnectedness, living on the Earth in harmony with all beings – with plants and animal life, with the elements, with nature, and with other humans – is at the core of living in a sacred way. And sacredness nourishes us, those around us, and the Earth itself. It is a way to sustain balance and harmony in life, and to restore them in times of trouble.

Toward this aim, indigenous peoples have cultivated ways of being and acting and relating that can treat imbalances in a person’s body, mind, emotions, and spirit, as well as our outer world. Restoring balance, we heal ourselves and the world around us. These traditions have supported communities for hundreds and thousands of years.

Join us for Ligmincha International’s first panel on Indigenous Healing Traditions as we welcome Mr. Dorjee Ren, from the Lepcha tribal tradition of North-East India. He will share his experiences on entering the healing path, ways of relating to nature, and ways of healing through connection to ourselves, to each other and to our beautiful planet. This event will be hosted by Khandro Tsering Wangmo Khymsar.

This program will be presented in Nepalese with consecutive translation into English.

Dorjee Hulungmoo Lepcha

Born on November 18, 1969 to Mr. Dawa Tshering Lepcha & Mrs. Narmit Lepcha in the village of Maney GumbaI, Kalimpong District, West Bengal, India. He is the third of seven children. He works for the West Bengal State Government office at Darjeeling, helping create income generation opportunities for scheduled tribes, castes and marginalized classes of people.

In September, 2001, at night, he had an awakening indicating that he should work to revive and preserve his culture’s traditions. Shortly after that night he became mentally and physically sick for three days. Soon after his recovery, he became filled with enthusiasm and passion towards reviving his culture. He began to engage more in traditional forms of worship, festivals, environment protection rituals, and other activities

Currently he is the  head (Thipon) of the  traditional body (Shezoom) working for the welfare of his community. As Thipon, his main interest in inthe revival of and preservation of Lepcha cultural practices, customs and protection of the indigenous community.

Khandro Tsering Wangmo Khymsar

Khandro Tsering Wangmo Khymsar is deeply steeped in the life, rituals and traditions of Yungdrung Bön religion and culture. Her parents fled Yatung, a village in the Chumbi Valley of Tibet, in 1959, to India, where she was born and raised. Her family name is Khymsar, and her clan is the important Zhutsang/Zhu lineage. Khandro-la is known for her personal warmth and vibrant laugh, using personal stories and experiences in her teaching to combine spiritual and practical knowledge. She is the wife of Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. They live together in California with their son, Senghe. Khandro-la has a degree in social services and is deeply involved in education, community building and support for the homeless in the Berkeley, California area.

Schedule:

11:00 – 12:30 PM New York time each day