Vimala
Founded in 2007 under the auspices of the Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche, Vimala is a nonprofit Tibetan Buddhist organization devoted to facilitating spiritual development by supporting the study and practice of dharma (the teachings of the Buddha).
To this end, Vimala’s activities include collecting, archiving, and disseminating dharma teachings and practices, with a particular focus on those associated with the Nyingma lineage of Vajrayana Buddhism.
In addition, Vimala supports the translation of dharma in order to make it available to practitioners worldwide and facilitates the training of future translators and teachers to help ensure that dharma will remain in the world for the benefit of future generations.
Vimala’s Logo: The Begging Bowl:
Vimala’s logo features a begging bowl, which is a symbol of Buddha Shakyamuni, the original teacher and source of dharma in our time. In a well-known practice of supplication to Buddha Shakyamuni, he is visualized in the traditional manner holding a begging bowl in his lap. The bowl is not empty, however, but filled with wisdom nectar. At one point the practitioner visualizes light streaming from every part of the Buddha’s form, including the begging bowl he holds, filling all of space and illuminating all beings with the blessings of wisdom. In this way, the begging bowl is a symbol not of an empty vessel but of the inexhaustible abundance of the dharma—ever-overflowing to bring the radiant nectar of wisdom and understanding to all. Vimala was founded with the aspiration to always be such a source of wisdom and blessings, to fulfill Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche’s auspicious intention that it enhance and deepen the presence of the dharma in our world.
