Dear friends of the Dharma,

The shooting stars of August have fallen—hopefully accompanied by many heartfelt wishes—and summer, with its heat, is slowly drawing to a close. With this look back and ahead, we would like to keep you updated on what is happening in Möhra.

Surprise Visit

Gyalwa Karmapa visited Möhra from August 28 to 31. We were filled with immense surprise and joy when we received very short notice of this private visit, which involved no official engagements. The Möhra Sangha and the Young Sangha welcomed Karmapa, who arrived from France overnight between Friday and Saturday. Despite the very limited timeframe, Gyalwa Karmapa generously devoted his time to—among other things—answering questions from the Sangha, bestowing refuge, and holding internal meetings before departing again very early on Monday.

We would love to share the details of this special and moving event with you; however, given the tight deadline for sending out this newsletter, we are unable to include it now. A full report, complete with photos, will appear in the next newsletter at the latest.

Review

Thirty-five teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 27 participated in the annual summer camp in August. The morning schedule featured “Lojong training” with Lama Yeshe Sangmo and “16th Karmapa Guru Yoga” led by Lama Sherap Palmo, while Acharya Ngawang Tharchin taught on the paramita of “generosity.” Various workshops took place in the afternoon, and these activities were embraced with enthusiasm. The program included workshops on “Music / Lyrics / Film” (with Sven Kolib, Neo Bodenstein, and Beate Göbel), painting/acrylics (Maria Pointner), “Mantra Roll Making” (led by Sandra Bau and Eric Boyer), and a herbal workshop (with Andrea Poppinger).

But that wasn’t all; participants could also take part in additional leisure activities tailored to the young people’s wishes and needs. Amadeo always tackles this “special task” with great empathy, creativity, and organizational skill—resulting in spirited salsa dancing, a session cooking momos with Acharya Gonpo Tashi, and a hike to the linden tree. The young people also organized a unique movie night. The fruit of all this creativity and ingenuity is a video that the participants planned, filmed, and completed themselves—soundtrack included! We all felt as though it was about to start right away—as early as next week! Yet, there is still a little time to go. Titled “From the Tent to the World,” the video captures the mood ahead of the major pilgrimage planned for 2027—an event everyone is already anticipating with a mix of excitement and wanderlust.

In this context, we would like to thank those who have already generously stepped forward as sponsors. Anyone interested in supporting the young pilgrims—or providing necessary items for the journey—through sponsorship, and thereby becoming part of the pilgrimage themselves, is cordially invited to sign up on our website.
During the summer camp, the pilgrimage was discussed together with the Young Sangha, Lama Yeshe, and the Acharyas Gonpo Tashi and Ngawang Tharchin, and wishes and suggestions were considered. We will provide information on the preliminary outcome soon in a special pilgrimage newsletter.

The study course “The Jewel Ornament of Liberation” with Acharya Gonpo Tashi, which began on July 26, is currently underway; it is wonderful to see the enthusiasm and joy with which the participants are engaging in the material. It is particularly inspiring that Gonpo Tashi incorporates so much of his personal experience into the teaching.

With both Acharyas present in Möhra, the opportunity was taken to organize a workshop day with Tina Draszczyk, during which she introduced the Möhra Sangha to—and worked with them on—various methods, such as the “Insight Dialogue.”

The Workshop Café is taking a summer break and will resume in the autumn. We will let you know the dates in due course.
Regarding all other workshop activities (herbs, torma making, statue filling): If you are interested, please check with the Möhra team for opening times.

Biography of Gendun Rinpoche on the website “The Treasury of Lives”

Julia (Tenzin) Stenzel wrote a biography of Gendun Rinpoche. Enjoy!

Plant Conversations – a velvety display of blooms

In the Möhra-Gardens a sea of velvety, deep-purple flowers is currently a delight to the eye: the Mauritanian mallow, also known as the Moroccan mallow. Its relatives are the native wild mallow and the small roadside mallow. This picture-perfect and extremely prolific-flowering perennial contains anthocyanin pigments, which initially colour the tea water a gorgeous blue and later turn it into shades of blue-green. When lemon is added, the tea then turns into a pink-coloured infusion. Some fun colour experiments were carried out with it in the Möhra children’s course. Its dried flowers can be used to decorate tea blends and to colour herbal salts, liqueurs and syrups.

Its name is derived from the ancient Greek ‘malakos’ and means ‘soft, tender’, which refers to its soothing and emollient properties. All types of mallow are edible and contain valuable mucilage, which is found in the tender flowers and leaves. This mucilage, which forms a protective film over mucous membranes or the skin, makes mallow helpful for dry coughs or irritation. In folk medicine, the crushed leaves are therefore used to soothe insect bites (moist compresses with mallow tea!), itching and skin inflammations. As a particularly tender and mild wild vegetable, the young leaves are ideal for salads and soups. The Mauritanian mallow is an important and low-maintenance plant for natural gardens; it not only serves as an attractive focal point and soil improver, but also as a popular bee pasture and a source of food for many species of pollinating insects.

HAPPY THROAT

Soothing herbal tea: Mix equal parts of mucilaginous medicinal plants: mallow flowers, ribwort plantain or broad-leaved plantain leaves, and lime blossom. Please do not brew with boiling water, but only with simmering water (80–90°C). Leave to infuse for 10 minutes.