Milestones
June opens with joyful milestones for our global and South African Tergar communities. While Tergar Osel Ling opens its doors in Nepal, our South African community is expanding through new programmes, outreach work, and new practice opportunities.
In this newsletter you’ll find updates, inspiration, and ways to get involved.
We hope to meet you soon—whether face to face, in person, or on screen ❤️
A gentle reminder, still possible to join online: The Grand Opening of Tergar Osel Ling
Nepal — June 2026
Severely damaged in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, Osel Ling has been lovingly rebuilt through the devotion, generosity, and service of our worldwide community, transforming loss into a radiant expression of resilience and connection. A milestone years in the making, and a testament to what becomes possible when a community comes together around a shared vision.
Today, the first of June 2026, marks the second day of the Grand Opening of Tergar Osel Ling in Kathmandu, Nepal. Members of our TSA community have travelled to Nepal to witness this historic moment. For those who didn’t have the chance to be there in person, it’s still possible to join this cultural celebration of our Tergar Sangha online up to and including June 4 2026.
This is a most auspicious event to commemorate Tergar Osel Ling Monastery as the spiritual core of learning and practice for our global community, with teachings from H.H. Tai Situ Rinpoche and H.E. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche along with a cultural celebration . This event is free and open to all.
Tune in via livestream:
An TSA offering for the Grand Consecration of Tergar Osel Ling.
The consecration of Tergar Osel Ling is a memorable moment, whose merit will ripple for generations to come. On the auspicious full moon of Saka Dawa and the consecration of Tergar Osel Ling, our Sacred Nepal Pilgrimage group from South Africa, Turkey and the USA made a total donation of R30,000 - enabling them to present a body, speech and mind offering to Tai Situ Rinpoche at the start of the Vajrayogini empowerment on 4 June.
Tergar South Africa donated R12,500 of that amount on behalf of our entire community to accumulate merit for the benefit of all beings.
The impact of this offering on the hearts and minds of everyone involved is truly inconceivable.
Please register for our upcoming event on the 26th of June: "A Reminder of Your True Nature" with Khenpo Pema Oser
Although we love gathering face to face, we are grateful for the possibilities the internet offers—bringing our worldwide community and teachers right into our living rooms. So don’t miss the opportunity to receive a teaching and reading transmission from the Headmaster of the Monastic University at Tergar Osel Ling, Khenpo Pema Oser!
Friday 26th June 2026, 5pm - approximately 1.5 hours.
This is a Live Zoom reading transmission and teaching on Mingyur Rinpoche's tsok text, "A Simple Feast Offering", open for all and especially interesting for Path of Liberation participants!
More Information, Registration & Offering
This is a rare and precious opportunity to receive transmission and teaching from Khenpo Pema Oser on the very precious text from Mingyur Rinpoche.
Please click on the button below to get full information on this live session and to reserve your place!
Alongside this global celebration, we also have meaningful milestones within our South African community. First, we offered a first corporate meditation programme—our “Innate Wellness Programme”—to the employees of the Vineyard Hotel. It turned out to be very successful and worth repeating. Second, we launched Tergar South Africa’s Outreach Program. How fortunate we are to have facilitators and facilitators‑to‑be in our community who want to contribute their skills and heart to these programmes. Read more about the two programmes in the following two articles and get inspired!
Innate Wellness at the Vineyard Hotel
- written by Alex Kunkhyen -
Before Mingyur Rinpoche left South Africa, he sat down with Lex, one of the owners of the Vineyard Hotel, who shared a heartfelt wish: that his staff might discover meditation — not as a luxury, but as a genuine support for the quality of their work and personal lives. With Rinpoche’s blessing, that wish became a reality.
Over six sessions spanning February and March, Tergar South Africa offered the Innate Wellness Programme to Vineyard Hotel employees — a carefully designed journey touching on three timeless themes: simple knowing and presence, genuine care and kindness, and deep understanding of how life unfolds. You may notice we didn’t use the words meditation, compassion, or wisdom — and that was entirely intentional. The teachings met people exactly where they were.
One of the most meaningful aspects was simply the space itself. For half an hour, the room became a digital-free zone — phones left at the door, the workday paused. Between twelve and twenty employees came, sat down, and had the chance to simply be. To connect with what Mingyur Rinpoche introduces so directly and beautifully: an innate wellbeing that is always already present.
The overwhelming majority of participants rated the programme positively, facilitator feedback was 100% positive, and 92% said they were likely to apply what they had learned. Participants reported improved stress management, greater focus, and a deeper sense of awareness and emotional wellbeing. And perhaps most tellingly, 92% expressed a wish to continue with future programmes.
Each session followed a simple, accessible structure: a short introduction to the theme, guided meditation, practical application in daily life, and time for sharing and open conversation. As applications in daily life, participants were invited to notice the weight of the phone in their hand, the sounds of traffic, the feeling of a seat on a bus ride to work. They began to recognise that the guests, colleagues, and customers around them all share the same deep wish — to be happy. That recognition alone can quietly transform how we show up in our day.
Just recently, at Tergar Osel Ling in Nepal, Mingyur Rinpoche expressed his happiness that the sessions had taken place and encouraged us to continue. We look forward to doing exactly that — and to deepening our collaboration with the Vineyard through further programming in the months ahead.
Tergar South-Africa’s Outreach Program
- written by Michele Harvey -
Tergar South Africa’s Outreach Program, launched in March this year, aims to foster wellbeing and inclusivity by making secular meditation resources accessible for all communities.
Over the past months we have been focused on building our volunteer capacity through training. We have 11 volunteers committed to supporting the program, with a diversity of 6 languages represented including Afrikaans, isiXhosa and Portuguese. A core group of us have been meeting weekly to work through Tergar International’s Leadership Essence Training, as well as select meditation materials. It has been a deeply rewarding experience, connecting to a shared purpose, contemplating the reflections together and bringing this material to life. I’m humbled by the commitment of this wonderful group of people, as we continue to show up for each other every week.
The prerequisite training, along with a peer-lead facilitator learning exchange, provides the Outreach Team with the tools and support to guide a 6-week introductory meditation program in community settings.
If you are interested in TSA running an Outreach Program for youth or adult learners, in a school or community setting, contact Michele for further information: michele@tergarsouthafrica.org.
Testimonial on the Leadership Essence Training:
"Systematically working through codes of conduct, ethics, values, vision, and mission has been such a gift. Instead of treating these elements as a mere compliance checklist, through profound questions we get to reflect and discover what they mean for us. Intentionally aligning with them transforms abstract theory into a practical anchor. It is the quiet, stable infrastructure that holds everything else up".
Ezelle Theunissen -
Community Practice Group at Indawo Yobomi, Khayelitsha
May 20 – June 24
Sam Zihlangu and Siyamthanda Sinani (Scott), mentored by MTP practitioner Janni Young, have launched an afternoon 6-week meditation course in Makhaza. Members of the community participated in the Joy of Living 1 online course with Robin Harris last year and more recently, some attended Joy of Living 2 in person with George Hughes. In this new course, Sam and Scott are working with a combination of Rinpoche’s materials, from meditations translated into isiXhosa to select, short video clips.
Testimonial from a participant in Khayelitsha who previously attended the Joy of Living online teachings held at Indawo Yobomi and the recent in-person Joy of Living teachings with George Hughes:
"Meditation has made a huge impact/difference in my life and it has helped me to accomplish another level of an incredible life side which I have never noticed. Peace , mindfulness and awareness are the three ways I tried to through out my personal meditation sessions , it also helps me stay calm and expect everything".
Dumisa Tyata -
We also started and are starting new online cohorts of the Joy of Living. We invite you to join these online meetings, as well as our in‑person gatherings in Cape Town and Johannesburg this month 🙌
Community meditation in June (in-person)
Cape Town: Join our First Sundays Community Meditation in Muizenberg at the Commons on June 7th, from 09:00 - 11:00.
Practice coordinator Fiona (Jenny & Roseanne). No experience needed!
Joburg: Join us in Community practice on June 21st, from 10:00 - 12:00. HeartCore studio. Practice coordinators Paul & Janique.
Joy of Living cohort groups (online)
These online groups meets weekly for practice, video teachings, and group discussions in a supportive environment.
Joy of Living 1 (JOL1): Calming the Mind
In this level, Mingyur Rinpoche will teach us how meditation can transform the way we relate to stressful situations and challenging emotions, and how to embrace all aspects of life with mindful awareness. This group is for those beginning their Joy of Living path, offering space to deepen understanding and practice in community. It’s ideal for those new to Tergar or anyone wishing to explore Mingyur Rinpoche’s teachings in more detail.
When: Every Tuesday evening from 18:00 - 19:15. Starting on the 14th of July.
Practice coordinators: Angelic Pieplenbosch & Janique
Joy of Living 2 (JOL2): Opening the Heart
In this second level, Mingyur Rinpoche teaches us how to connect with our innate capacity for love, compassion, joy (joyful appreciation), and equanimity. There are two groups running.
When: Every Monday evening from 18:30 - 19:45. Started on the 4th of May.
Practice coordinator: Janni Younge.
When: Every Tuesday evening from 18:00 - 19:15. Starting on the 7th of July.
Practice coordinator: Paul Boyter.
Joy of Living 3 (JOL3): Awakening Wisdom
In this third level, Mingyur Rinpoche helps us to awaken to our innate wisdom by investigating how things truly are. Using analytical meditation, we begin to loosen our assumptions about ourselves and the world, which leads to a joyful life and open heart.
When: Every Monday evening from 18:00 - 19:15. Starting on the 23rd of June.
Practice coordinator: Fiona Anderson.
If you are interested in joining one of the cohorts, please contact Paul Boyter via email: practicegroups@tergarsouthafrica.org or WhatsApp on: 0844468746.
Mingyur Rinpoche's books
If you need copies of The Joy of Living and/or Joyful Wisdom by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, you can order these books with Huni via WhatsApp on 0829012178.