In the month of August, our community brings a full and meaningful programme across Tergar South Africa. From the reunion with Lama Tashi for POL practitioners to community wellness sessions in Muizenberg with new opportunities to learn together. Think of practice mornings, recovery‑focused meditation, and our ongoing Joy of Living cohort groups.

This month’s newsletter gathers everything happening across our circles, both online and in person, so you can join wherever your heart feels called.
With many thanks for all the contributions❤️

29 - 30 August:
A Reunion with Lama Tashi.
A rare and special offering for POL 1 & 2 Participants

One year on from our unforgettable Path of Liberation gathering (29 August–1 September 2025), we are delighted to welcome back Lama Tashi for an intimate online reunion.

About Lama Tashi
Lama Tashi is a true yogi who has devoted his life to the service of Mingyur Rinpoche and his family lineage, including the great masters Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and Tsoknyi Rinpoche.

His own path carries a quality of blessing: by extraordinary fortune, he met Mingyur Rinpoche purely by chance at the Boudhanath Stupa, while Rinpoche was on wandering retreat and had come down incognito for supplies. After some persuasion, Lama Tashi was granted the rare privilege of joining Rinpoche on that wandering retreat — spending years first at his side, and later in solitude, to complete a rare and demanding form of retreat.

His teaching style reflects all of this: direct, grounded, and utterly free of abstraction — pure practice-lineage Dharma, exactly as many of you will warmly remember.

Why This One Matters — An Invitation to Our Path of Liberation Practitioners

If you were with us in Cape Town last year for Path of Liberation 1 & 2 with Mingyur Rinpoche, this message is for you.

As a local organisation, we have until now placed most of our emphasis on supporting people in Joy of Living. That focus has served our community well. But it has meant that those of you carrying the Path of Liberation instructions have largely been practising with the support of online resources and practice groups — valuable as these are.

And as most practitioners discover sooner or later, these instructions ask for something more. The contemplations and meditations of the Path of Liberation have extraordinary depth. They reward time, sustained attention, and careful reflection — and when they are engaged properly, with genuine investment of energy and skill, they carry the potential for liberation in a single lifetime. In plain modern terms: this is a very big deal.

Which is why an opportunity like this one deserves to be taken seriously. It is rare enough to receive these teachings. It is rarer still to sit directly with a yogi who has gone deeply into this path himself — who has lived it in retreat, over years, and borne its fruit. Lama Tashi is such a practitioner, and what he offers comes from experience rather than theory.

Over two afternoons, Lama Tashi will take us through refuge and bodhicitta, the Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind, and the purification practice of Vajrasattva, returning to the meditation instructions of POL 1 & 2. There will be practice together, and there will be time for questions — including whatever has arisen for you over this past year of practice. That opportunity alone is worth showing up for.

This gathering is offered exclusively to those who attended the Path of Liberation 1 & 2 teachings in Cape Town with Mingyur Rinpoche in 2025. It is a small, intimate group by design — the same circle that shared those four days together. We warmly encourage you to join, and to encourage your fellow POL practitioners to do the same.

Saturday & Sunday  29–30 August
Time  4–7pm SAST  |  Live on Zoom
Offering  Free, with Dana offered to Lama Tashi

Registration & Offering
Open to all POL 1 & 2 in-person participants — Gold Pass, international friends, and all who were with us. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link and detailed programme. Dana to Lama Tashi is warmly invited as your offering of gratitude.

Innate Wellbeing

Community Wellness at The Commons, Muizenberg (Cape Town)
- written by Alex Kunkhyen -

Since Mingyur Rinpoche's visit to South Africa last September, we have been developing an outreach programme with a simple idea at its heart: to offer meditation where it is needed and where it is wanted, in communities.

We already have a connection with The Commons in Muizenberg, and I have been inspired by what happens there — community issues, art, music, poetry, yoga, wellness and meditation, all in one space at Surfers Corner. This season is an exploration of that collaboration.

This area of ours has so much happening in it. So much good intention, so many organisations already doing the work. It is an incredibly cosmopolitan, genuinely integrated community with a lot to offer — and a lot of people with a real need to connect with their innate wellbeing: what Mingyur Rinpoche calls our true essence, the wellspring of awareness, love and compassion, and wisdom already within us. Not something we acquire. Something already here.

So the intention is to engage with youth projects, recovery centres, yoga studios, interfaith groups — anyone who could benefit. We have resources we want to share.

And there is one more reason. Again and again I meet people who believe they need to go away somewhere, to leave their ordinary life behind, in order to learn to meditate. That is simply not true. We can meditate with anything, anytime, anywhere — and there is real benefit in working with everyday life together with awareness, love and compassion, and wisdom, rather than treating them as two separate things.

Where: At The Commons, 28 July – 27 August 2026
When: Tuesdays, 18:00 – 19:00  ·  Thursdays, 10:00 – 11:00

Including:
Sunday 2 August, 09:00 – 12:00 — Community Practice Morning
Sunday 16 August, 09:00 – 11:00 — Meditation in Recovery
Detailed information under "Community Meditation in August" in this newsletter.

Each hour holds a complete practice in plain language:
❁ Awareness Yoga, gentle movement suitable for all bodies and abilities;
❁ An introduction to meditation grounding awareness, love and compassion, and wisdom;
❁ Space to bring what is alive in our lives and our community into the room; and
❁ A closing dedication to the wellbeing of all.

A little inner warmth for the Cape Town winter. Afterwards there is time to stay on over a jasmine tea, a cacao or a coffee — community is built over the cup, not only on the cushion.

By donation. Everyone welcome. No one turned away.

Come for one session, or come to every one. And if you are a meditator, you already know what this has brought to your life and to those around you — so please share it with someone you know 🙏

Facilitators feedback from the Khayelitsha meditation course, run at Indawo Yobomi.

The 6-week course, run by Sam Zihlangu and Scott Sinani, mentored by MTP practitioner Janni Young conclude in late June. The sessions had an average attendance of 14 participants each week. We asked Sam and Scott to share some feedback.
- written by Michele Harvey -

❁ Sam: In Makhaza and Indawo Yobomi, many participants were unfamiliar with meditation. Through the materials, practices, and discussions on awareness, they gained a better understanding of its benefits and expressed the need for more meditation in their lives. They could all relate to the "monkey mind".

❁ Scott: Facilitating these six weeks of meditation, introducing people right here in the township has been a real eye-opener. Bringing practices like open awareness, love and compassion, and body scans into our daily routines wasn't just about sitting quietly—it was about creating a space to breathe amidst the noise, the transport delays, and the everyday pressures we carry.

❁ The biggest insight?
Healing and meditation aren't just for certain people; they belong in every community, and to every person.

❁ Body Scan: Taught us to listen to where we hold the tension—the tight shoulders from long commutes and the tired feet from working hard. We learned to finally give our bodies permission to let go.

❁ Love & Compassion: Reminded us that before we can give to our families and neighbours, we have to soften toward ourselves first. Ubuntu(humanity) starts within.

❁ Open Awareness: Showed us that even with the sounds of traffic, kids playing in the street, and township life buzzing outside, we can find a centred, unshakeable peace inside.

We showed up for ourselves, discovered awareness is our birthright, and created a grounding energy that stays with us long after we leave the room. Forward with inner peace 💯

Tergar International Umdze Training Course

Tergar International has a new course to follow. Begin your journey as a Tergar Umdze — register for free and start your training.

The Tergar Umdze Training course is designed for anyone who wishes to bring greater depth and confidence to their liturgical chanting practice. Rather than aiming to produce professional umdzes for large monastic assemblies, this course focuses on providing accessible, heartfelt support for your everyday personal practice. Whether you simply want to learn how to chant the melodies correctly at home or feel inspired to take on a leadership role by guiding chants in your Tergar local community, this course offers the practical tools, musical guidance, and community encouragement to help you connect deeply with the liturgy and strengthen your practice. 

The course is completely free and open to anyone who feels inspired to learn and lead chanting—whether to benefit their own practice, support their local practice group, or both. 

Community meditation in August (in-person)

Cape Town

❁ Innate Wellbeing 28 July - 27 August. The Commons, Muizenberg.
Tuesdays, 18:00 – 19:00  ·  Thursdays, 10:00 – 11:00

❁ Sunday 2 August · 09:00 - 12:00. The Commons, Muizenberg.
Tergar South Africa Community Practice Morning

09:00 – 10:00  ·  Nectar of the Path
We open with Nectar of the Path, from the Path of Liberation track of Mingyur Rinpoche's teachings. Everyone is welcome to join, whether or not you are on that path.

10:00 – 12:00  ·  Meditation and a 20 minute coffee break
Guided and unguided sitting drawn from Mingyur Rinpoche's secular teachings — the Joy of Living and Anytime, Anywhere Meditation — with time for questions and short discussions, and a 20 minute coffee break partway through.

There is something particular about practising together in person that a solitary cushion cannot quite give us. This morning is unhurried by design: room to settle properly, to ask the question you have been carrying, and to sit alongside others walking the same path.

And when we finish at midday, Surfers Corner is right there — a coffee, the boardwalk, or a winter walk along the promenade.

❁ Sunday 16 August · 09:00 – 11:00. The Commons, Muizenberg.
Meditation in Recovery

As part of the Innate Wellbeing season, we are offering a two-hour workshop for people in recovery, and for those who walk alongside them.

Recovery asks a great deal of a person. It asks them to sit with discomfort without reaching for the thing that used to take it away. Meditation is one of the most practical supports there is for exactly that work — not as a replacement for the programme someone is already in, but alongside it.

The morning introduces three qualities: awareness, love and compassion, and wisdom.
Not qualities we acquire or earn, but ones already present in every one of us. So much of addiction is the belief that something in us is broken, or that what we need is out there somewhere. Meditation shows us something different — a deep and limitless well within, a resource that was never damaged and cannot be used up.

Part of that is learning to see craving and aversion differently. Underneath the pull toward something is the wish to be happy — love, unrecognised. Underneath the push away is the wish not to suffer — compassion, unrecognised. Neither is a defect. They are the heart moving as the heart naturally moves, and difficulty arises only when we cannot see them for what they are. When we can, they stop being enemies and become doorways.

Residents, clients, staff and alumni are all warmly welcome, individually or as a group. Registration only. By donation. No one is turned away.

If you know anyone who may benefit from this workshop, please share it with them.

Johannesburg

❁ Sunday 23 August · 10:00 - 12:00. HeartCore Contemplative Studio.
Sunday Community Meditation.
Beginner and experienced meditators are invited to join this gentle morning of meditation, reflection and connection. Practice coordinators Angelic & Paul.

Joy of Living cohort groups (online)

These online groups have already started and meet weekly for practice, video teachings, and group discussions in a supportive environment. Each cohort combines self-paced online learning with the support of a local practice community. Please note that completion of each level is a prerequisite for progressing to the next course.
If you are interested in joining one of the cohorts, please contact Paul Boyter via email: practicegroups@tergarsouthafrica.org.

❁ Joy of Living 1 (JOL1): Calming the Mind
When: Every Tuesday evening from 18:00 - 19:15.
Practice coordinators: Angelic Pieplenbosch & Janique

❁ Joy of Living 2 (JOL2): Opening the Heart
When: Every Tuesday evening from 18:00 - 19:15.
Practice coordinator: Paul Boyter.
When: Every Monday evening from 18:30 - 19:45.
Practice coordinator: Janni Younge.

❁ Joy of Living 3 (JOL3): Awakening Wisdom
When: Every Monday evening from 18:00 - 19:15.
Practice coordinator: Fiona Anderson.

Mingyur Rinpoche's books

The Joy of Living and Joyful Wisdom

If you need copies of The Joy of Living and/or Joyful Wisdom by Mingyur Rinpoche, you can order these books with Huni via WhatsApp on 0829012178.