Gompa

Guru Puja is a practice consisting of making offerings to and requesting inspiration from the Spiritual Master. Spiritual vows and commitments which might have degenerated are also restored through the practice of tsog offering (feast offering). In this practice, we unite our minds with the holy mind of the Spiritual Master, who is considered the root and life-force of the spiritual path in order to receive blessings and generate realizations on the path to enlightenment.

We need merit, or positive energy, for our enlightened potential to grow and become perfect and one of the best ways to do that is to make beautiful offering and prayers to the Three Jewels and to our Spiritual Teachers. This is what happens in the Guru Puja. A special type of offering called tsog is made. Here we offer platefuls of fruits and biscuits, which are distributed afterwards to the participants. The tsog can be eaten by oneself or shared with friends who have faith in the Three Jewels, but should not be given to animals or thrown in a dirty place.

Written by Ven. Sangye Khadro

Join us for this special screening of Being Your True Nature, a new documentary by Osel Hita and Mateo Passagato. It includes footage of Lama Yeshe.  Mark the date (Lama Tsongkhapa Day) - December 8! The movie will be followed by discussion.

More information at: http://www.beingyourtruenature.org/

8th December 2012, Lama Tsongkhapa day, marks the international launch of a new film about universal education for compassion and wisdom, the late Lama Yeshe’s initiative to create a happier and more peaceful world by helping children, young people and adults to develop their natural compassion and wisdom.

The 20-minute film was commissioned by the Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom, an FPMT International Project which develops educational programmes in universal education under the guidance of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. It was shot on location at Institut Vajrayogini in France, is narrated by Osel, and includes interviews with Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa. 

Osel’s aim is “to find new ways in which to discover the true nature of our being” with a particular emphasis on helping young people find happiness and satisfaction. “We have to start with the young children, the young generation…if those people can come into contact with Buddhist philosophy, with spirituality, with empathy, with being more conscious, then that can have a huge impact on the world in the future” he told the FPMT Europe meeting in June 2012. “I’m trying to find a different way for this future generation. One of the ways is through music, movies and audio-visual techniques.”

From December onwards, you can visit the website http://www.beingyourtruenature.org/ where you will find: a link to the movie; information about the directors and producers and additional interviews with some of the cast.

DORJE KHADRO FIRE PUJA Over the course of the year, it's easy to make lots of mistakes with our body, speech and mind. We create harmful karmic seeds from unskillful actions that will eventually ripen as suffering. Kadampa Center's annual New Year's Eve Dorje Khadro Fire Puja, a powerful Mahayana purification practice, offers an opportunity to go into the new year with a relatively clean slate. Bring along family and friends for this fire puja practice where we burn black sesame seeds which symbolize our past negative karmic actions.  All are welcome! We will have black sesame seeds available, however, feel free to bring your own, available at Asian grocery stores.

We will start with prayers in the gompa and then head outside to the fire. It's good to come by 7pm, while sesame seeds last.

This program is offered in-person only.

For an example of the practice and commentary by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, visit Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Khen Rinpoche Lobsang Delek sent advise that instead of Kadampa Center sponsoring a long-life puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Sera Je, it would be more beneficial if we held it right here at Kadampa Center. (Funds were already raised for this puja.) We will be holding this special Namgyalma Long Life Puja with extensive offerings for the benefit of our precious spiritual director, teacher and guide. The puja will be chanted by the monks in Tibetan, while students recite the short Namgyalma mantra. If you'd like to attend, we suggest bringing a potluck dish to share so we can all eat lunch together, then the puja will begin right after lunch (around 1:00pm).

A movie about Venerable Robina Courtin's extraordinary life.

In a packed 52 minutes, the extraordinary life of this irrepressible dynamo unfolds, racing through the turbulent early years into a kind of Buddhist calm that is glimpsed only when she is quietly telling her mala beads in a railway waiting room or a plane. The rest of the time the focus, the commitment and the fanatical energy remain. She still bumps headlong into her own anger and impatience; she is still intolerant of phoniness; and she can still cry over the unhappy, lonely death of her father.

In a final scene, Ven. Robina says, “I spent my life trying to get what I wanted and nothing stopped me from pushing obstacles out of the way . I was trying to change whole worlds, (to) give up attachment, give up jealousy, give up anger, for me the most sensible thing is to be a nun and after 20 years it is absolutely what I wanted.”

Excerpted from MANDALA magazine

According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, doing Tonglen meditation "is the most powerful purification for you and also for collecting extensive merit. It is the quickest way to achieve enlightenment and to be able to liberate numberless sentient beings in each realm from the oceans of samsara’s sufferings and bring them to enlightenment."

Come learn about this meditation practice of giving and taking that is part of the lamrim (from the section on bodhichitta). Special guest and FPMT teacher Karuna Cayton will be explaining this important practice of transforming the mind.

This incredibly precious opportunity for teachings by Geshe Gelek on the The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Chenmo) means learning in-depth the step-by-step to enlightenment. The Lamrim Chenmo was written by Lama Tsong Khapa, the founder of our (Gelugpa) lineage and the foundation of all our practices, including tantra. This class is open to all students, but be sure to prepare by reading the first volume of the Lamrim Chenmo, available in Kadampa Center's bookstore (proceeds benefitting the stupa project) or many online book sellers.

There will be a student discussion and meditation group on Mondays at 7:00pm (starting Sept. 24th) in the classroom building as a way to deepen understanding of the teachings. Students should be attending Geshe-la's class or listening to the recordings. Since the discussion is with peer facilitators rather than a teacher, it is recommended only for students who have completed Discovering Buddhism and so can build on that foundation.

Meditation 101 is an introductory course on basic Buddhist meditation techniques for complete beginners. It teaches basic Buddhist meditations that can be used by anyone to create more peace and happiness in daily life. David Machles will be leading this session. In keeping with our tradition, the class is offered on a donation basis and no pre-registration is needed. This course will be led by Venerable Lhamo.

The basic Buddhist meditation techniques covered include:
What is meditation?
Breathing meditations
Mindfulness meditations
Visualization meditations