Date: Fri 12th to 14th February 2027
Times: Joining with a welcome Friday evening, ending Sunday afternoon
Format: Residential retreat
Overview
Welcome to Lam Rim Wales for a weekend making tsatsas. Tsatsas are small images of Buddhas or sacred symbols in relief, or they can be stupas that are fully three-dimensional. They are relatively simple for everyone to make because they are formed using moulds. Excellent tsatsas full of beauty and detail can be made fairly quickly and easily. Traditionally the moulds are metal and softened clay is pushed or pounded in to the mould and left to dry. Nowadays the moulds are often silicon and tsatsas are made of a modern version of plaster. We will use a modern plaster that is quick-setting, and which becomes very hard and captures every detail . Painting them will be part of the fun.
Making them is not just fun and not just artistically fulfilling. Working with Buddha images in this way is a way of purifying negative karma and accumulating merit and we transform what we make into sacred objects. This is by means of the prayers and practices we do before and during the process of making them.
By the end of the weekend people will have learned practically how to make tsatsas and how to produce them as holy objects suitable for the altar or as gifts. Each participant should be able to make their own small collection of a few tsatsas to take away, painted in gold and maroon. Small amounts of other precious substances or ashes of a departed loved one can sometimes be added to the tsatsa. The latter is a way of commemorating loved ones and benefitting them in future lives.
Have fun learning how to make beautiful tsatsas: materials and methods, making and painting.
Take home your own tsatsas that you make yourself
Learn the spiritual benefits of making tsatsas and how to make them as sacred as possible!
Images: Show previous tsa tsa making occasions at Lam Rim Wales.
Schedule
Friday Evening
Saturday
7.30am–8.15am – Morning meditation (optional)
8.15am – Breakfast
9.30am–12.30pm – Making tsa tsas (with break)
12.30pm – Lunch
2.30pm–5.30pm – Making and painting tsa tsas (with break)
6.30pm – Supper
Sunday
7.30am–8.15am – Morning meditation (optional)
8.15am – Breakfast
9.30am–12.30pm – Making and painting tsa tsas, finishing touches (with break)
12.30pm – Lunch
2.00pm–3.00pm – Conclusion and closing meditation
About the Teachers
Bessie
I have been practising and studying for over thirty years and have been coming to Lam Rim Centre since the 90s. A few years ago I was advised by of one of my teachers to make a large number of tsa tsas and spent many months doing this. I found it a very powerful practice, producing the phyisical form of the buddha and working with the earth element. I feel it is a profound practice and is very healing for the world to create the image which symbolises the qualities of enlightenment for the benefit of all, which we can aspire to develop and embody.
I found it inspiring and healing for my own body to spend time looking more closely at the shapes of, and painting the physical buddha form. I have heard that tsa tsa making is encouraged for the healing of one’s own and others’ physical problems.
Geshe Losel
I received full ordination as a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan tradition from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1994. I studied for seventeen years at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala and received my geshe degree from Drepung Loseling Monastery in 2006. More recently I have been staying at Nalanda Monastery in France and now I am helping out more regularly at Lam Rim Centre Wales. The tsatsa moulds we will be using on our tsatsa weekend in Wales were produced at Nalanda and I learned about tsatsa making there. I made the Je Tsongkhapa tsatsa in the picture from beeswax sourced from Nalanda bee hives!
Who Should Attend
Anyone interested in meditation, religious life, and inner development, Buddhist practitioners of all levels.
Lunch & Refreshments
We are pleased to provide complimentary refreshments throughout the course, with breakfast, lunch and a evening meal. Please advise of any dietary requirements on the booking form.
Location
Teachings will be onsite at Lam Rim Buddhist Centre, Pentwyn Manor, Penrhos, Raglan, Usk, Wales, NP15 2LE - directions here >
Visiting by public transport, more information here >
Residential Accommodation
To understand more about residential accommodation and the various rooms available, click here >
Tickets & Donation
Everyone is welcome to attend Buddhist teachings freely, with no donation required. However, the Centre relies on the kindness and generosity of the community to remain open and continue offering teachings and retreats. We offer two main suggested donation levels to help make attendance accessible to as many people as possible, and we kindly encourage those who are able to contribute at the higher rate to do so.
Standard Rate - Contributes to running costs and a little more to help sustain the Centre. Ticket includes food and accommodation at Lam Rim for the duration of the course.
Basic Rate - Contributes to the very basic running costs of the course. Ticket includes food and accommodation at Lam Rim for the duration of the course.
Attendance Only - For those who wish to attend the event but stay in nearby accommodation. Ticket includes lunch and supper for the duration of the course.
Support Rate - Contact us via lamrimwalesmanagers@gmail.com if the above rates are too high for you where we can discuss further subsidised options, including open entry.
Note: A slight addition to the typical Lam Rim Wales suggested donation levels is added in order to cover costs for materials.
Date: Fri 12th to 14th February 2027
Times: Joining with a welcome Friday evening, ending Sunday afternoon
Format: Residential retreat
Overview
Welcome to Lam Rim Wales for a weekend making tsatsas. Tsatsas are small images of Buddhas or sacred symbols in relief, or they can be stupas that are fully three-dimensional. They are relatively simple for everyone to make because they are formed using moulds. Excellent tsatsas full of beauty and detail can be made fairly quickly and easily. Traditionally the moulds are metal and softened clay is pushed or pounded in to the mould and left to dry. Nowadays the moulds are often silicon and tsatsas are made of a modern version of plaster. We will use a modern plaster that is quick-setting, and which becomes very hard and captures every detail . Painting them will be part of the fun.
Making them is not just fun and not just artistically fulfilling. Working with Buddha images in this way is a way of purifying negative karma and accumulating merit and we transform what we make into sacred objects. This is by means of the prayers and practices we do before and during the process of making them.
By the end of the weekend people will have learned practically how to make tsatsas and how to produce them as holy objects suitable for the altar or as gifts. Each participant should be able to make their own small collection of a few tsatsas to take away, painted in gold and maroon. Small amounts of other precious substances or ashes of a departed loved one can sometimes be added to the tsatsa. The latter is a way of commemorating loved ones and benefitting them in future lives.
Have fun learning how to make beautiful tsatsas: materials and methods, making and painting.
Take home your own tsatsas that you make yourself
Learn the spiritual benefits of making tsatsas and how to make them as sacred as possible!
Images: Show previous tsa tsa making occasions at Lam Rim Wales.
Schedule
Friday Evening
Saturday
7.30am–8.15am – Morning meditation (optional)
8.15am – Breakfast
9.30am–12.30pm – Making tsa tsas (with break)
12.30pm – Lunch
2.30pm–5.30pm – Making and painting tsa tsas (with break)
6.30pm – Supper
Sunday
7.30am–8.15am – Morning meditation (optional)
8.15am – Breakfast
9.30am–12.30pm – Making and painting tsa tsas, finishing touches (with break)
12.30pm – Lunch
2.00pm–3.00pm – Conclusion and closing meditation
About the Teachers
Bessie
I have been practising and studying for over thirty years and have been coming to Lam Rim Centre since the 90s. A few years ago I was advised by of one of my teachers to make a large number of tsa tsas and spent many months doing this. I found it a very powerful practice, producing the phyisical form of the buddha and working with the earth element. I feel it is a profound practice and is very healing for the world to create the image which symbolises the qualities of enlightenment for the benefit of all, which we can aspire to develop and embody.
I found it inspiring and healing for my own body to spend time looking more closely at the shapes of, and painting the physical buddha form. I have heard that tsa tsa making is encouraged for the healing of one’s own and others’ physical problems.
Geshe Losel
I received full ordination as a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan tradition from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1994. I studied for seventeen years at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala and received my geshe degree from Drepung Loseling Monastery in 2006. More recently I have been staying at Nalanda Monastery in France and now I am helping out more regularly at Lam Rim Centre Wales. The tsatsa moulds we will be using on our tsatsa weekend in Wales were produced at Nalanda and I learned about tsatsa making there. I made the Je Tsongkhapa tsatsa in the picture from beeswax sourced from Nalanda bee hives!
Who Should Attend
Anyone interested in meditation, religious life, and inner development, Buddhist practitioners of all levels.
Lunch & Refreshments
We are pleased to provide complimentary refreshments throughout the course, with breakfast, lunch and a evening meal. Please advise of any dietary requirements on the booking form.
Location
Teachings will be onsite at Lam Rim Buddhist Centre, Pentwyn Manor, Penrhos, Raglan, Usk, Wales, NP15 2LE - directions here >
Visiting by public transport, more information here >
Residential Accommodation
To understand more about residential accommodation and the various rooms available, click here >
Tickets & Donation
Everyone is welcome to attend Buddhist teachings freely, with no donation required. However, the Centre relies on the kindness and generosity of the community to remain open and continue offering teachings and retreats. We offer two main suggested donation levels to help make attendance accessible to as many people as possible, and we kindly encourage those who are able to contribute at the higher rate to do so.
Standard Rate - Contributes to running costs and a little more to help sustain the Centre. Ticket includes food and accommodation at Lam Rim for the duration of the course.
Basic Rate - Contributes to the very basic running costs of the course. Ticket includes food and accommodation at Lam Rim for the duration of the course.
Attendance Only - For those who wish to attend the event but stay in nearby accommodation. Ticket includes lunch and supper for the duration of the course.
Support Rate - Contact us via lamrimwalesmanagers@gmail.com if the above rates are too high for you where we can discuss further subsidised options, including open entry.
Note: A slight addition to the typical Lam Rim Wales suggested donation levels is added in order to cover costs for materials.
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