Gompa

Join Geshe Gelek as he guides us to selected points in the road to enlightenment. Current and upcoming topics:   Geshe-la  is currently teaching calm abiding.

In his great compassion, Shakyamuni Buddhia opened the gates to this road to enlightenment through his teachings.

Many years later, Lama Atisha organized all of the Buddha's teachings into a step-by-step guide -- a road map to the territory of practice --  in a short text called "Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment."

Lama Tsongkhapa (the founder of our Gelugpa lineage) wrote a detailed explanation of Lama Atisha's text to help students understand and practice the instructions, called The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Lamrim Chenmo). This lamrim foundation is the basis of all practice in our lineage, including tantra.

These incredible teachings by Geshe Gelek on this text are a rare and precious opportunity to gain insights into how to practice.

On this Sunday before Thanksgiving, we'll gather with our Kadampa Center family to share our gratitude - whatever we are thankful for!

Geshe Sangpo will teach about the value of gratitude in Buddhism, and then we will open up for each of us to talk about what we are thankful for and why.

During our discussion, we will also be creating our own prayer flag of gratitude. Come with some thoughts about what gives rise to thanks in your heart, and you can write or draw a picture of it on your own flag, part of our Kadampa Center prayer flag.

The children will also be creating prayer flags in their classes, and we will all gather to share them at the end.

This is also Geshe Sangpo's last Sunday before he heads to India to take teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. There will be an opportunity to offer katas and cards or other offerings of good wishes and safe travels.

Shakyamuni Buddha Puja is a source of good collections: a rite of homage, worship (making offerings) and prayers to the teacher, the King of Sages, remembering his previous lives and biography. The main point of the puja is to develop one's faith in the Buddha and collect vast merits by thinking about the wonderful things he has done - both in his countless previous lives as a bodhisattva and in his life as Shakyamuni, feeling joyful about them and making offerings, both real and visualized.

The framework of the central part of the puja is the seven limbs - prostrations, offering, purification, rejoicing, requesting the guru to remain, requesting the teachings, and dedication. These are preceded by various preliminaries aimed at getting the participants into the right frame of mind and at setting up the visualization of the field of merit, to whom the seven limbs are addressed. One also purifies one's negative karmas by confessing them with regret and creates further merits by auspicious wishes and prayers for the flourishing of the Buddha's doctrine. These are followed by prayers which comprise the extensive limb of dedication and then saying goodbye to the beings in the field of merit.

(Extracted from A Service Manual for Spiritual Program Coordinators, FPMT and Shakyamuni Puja - Worshipping the Buddha, Wisdom Publications, London.)

From Lama Zopa Rinpoche:

I want to introduce the Guru Shakyamuni Puja, which I found very beneficial for the mind and especially, I thought for developing bodhicitta and entering into the Bodhisattva deeds - the extensive, hard Bodhisattva deeds. It gives great inspiration to sacrifice oneself for sentient beings equaling the sky.

Holy Days are an especially auspicious time to sponsor spiritual events. Sponsoring spiritual events is beneficial on many levels. It benefits the Center by providing the resources to offer the event; it benefits the students who attend the event, and it benefits the donor by deepening the practice of generosity and creating the causes to meet the Dharma again in the future.

Sponsorship of a Holy Day puja is $125, and of general Holy Day events and activities, it's $108.

Supporting the Holy Day event is a two-step process

Step One  is dedicating your generosity (click here).

Step Two  is making the donation or sponsorship (use the button below on this page)

Dedications may be very simple - "For my mother, Rosemary" - or they might encompass more extensive spiritual wishes, such as "May these teachings be the cause to liberate all sentient beings," or wishes for the teacher's long life, to benefit a person who is ill - any heart-felt positive intention!  You also can dedicate for more than one intention.

Sponsor Holy Day Puja ~ $125

Because no one requested to take the Precepts for the first time, and our volunteers must rise and travel a long way before dawn to offer them at the Center, we will not hold them in our Center gompa. Students who have previously received the Precepts from a qualified master are encouraged to take them at home before their altar.

The Eight Mahayana Precepts,  a set of eight vows taken for a period of 24 hours, from sunrise on one day to sunrise the following day. The vows include no killing, stealing, sexual activity, lying, sitting on high seats, and more.
The first time you take these precepts, it must be from a qualified master. After that, you can take them from your altar. Geshe Sangpo will offer precepts if students request it.  If you wish to take precepts for the first time, please register by 5 pm Friday, November 15.

Because no one requested to take the Precepts for the first time, and our volunteers must rise and travel a long way before dawn to offer them at the Center, we will not hold them in our Center gompa. Students who have previously received the Precepts from a qualified master are encouraged to take them at home before their altar.

Please register ONLY if you have not taken precepts before.

The Eight Mahayana Precepts are a set of vows that are taken for 24 hours, from first light before dawn to sunrise of the following day. The only prerequisite is that the first time one takes precepts it should be from a qualified teacher who has received the oral transmission of the practice. Thereafter you can perform the ceremony at first light yourself, reciting the prayers before an image of your teacher or the Buddha, imagining you are taking the vows from Buddha himself.

 It is good to take them on full and new moon days, and especially beneficial on Buddha Holy Days, when Karmic results are multiplied exponentionally, according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, citing the Vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.
 

These Mahayana Precepts enable you to live in the essence of pure moral conduct, and since you take them with the strong motivation of cherishing and wishing to benefit all others, their value is immeasurable. Taking these precepts is a powerful and effective way for you to build, maintain and increase deep propensities for spiritual practice and attainment and thus is a profound method for giving meaning to this precious human life.
 

The essence of this practice is to recall the Mahayana motivation; to take these precepts in order to become enlightened in order to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment.
 

The eight precepts are:
 

1.    Not to kill, even insects.
2.    Not to steal (Not to take what is not offered).
3.    Not to engage in sexual contact.
4.    Not to lie.
5.    Not use intoxicants: alcohol, tobacco and drugs (except for medicinal purposes).
6.    Not to eat at wrong times.*
7.    Not to sit on high, expensive beds or seats with pride. Avoid sitting on animal skins.
8.    Not to wear jewelry, perfume, or makeup; and not to sing, dance, or play music with attachment.
 

*It is alright to eat a light breakfast before or after the precepts. Avoid eating black foods: meat, eggs, onions, garlic, and radishes. The main meal of the day is to be finished by midday. After that one can take light drinks, but not undiluted whole milk or fruit juice with pulp, nor any food until sunrise of the following day.
 

You may read more about the precepts here.

Sponsor Holy Day Activities $108

Lhabab Düchen is one of the four major Buddhist holy days of the year. On this day, we celebrate the Buddha’s return to beings in our realm after a three-month separation. During that separation, he had gone to the God Realm of Thirty-Three, a higher realm where his mother was reborn after giving him birth, in order to repay her kindness by giving teachings to liberate her from samsara. His teachings in the God Realm of the Thirty-Three also benefited the Arya Beings who lived there.

As a Buddha holy day, this is an auspicious day for practice, when the karmic effects of actions are multiplied one hundred million times, according to our Spiritual Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, citing the Vinaya text The Treasure of Quotations and Logic.

Lhabab Düchen occurs on the 22nd day of the ninth month on the Tibetan lunar calendar.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, encourages students to take the Eight Mahayana Precepts on holy days. For more about the practice of precepts, please read The Direct and Unmistaken Method by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Rinpoche advises many other practices on holy days as well.

Our schedule of events for the day:

5:30 pm  Shakyamuni Buddha Puja     The Shakyamuni Buddha Puja is a  a rite of homage, making offerings and prayers to the teacher, the King of Sages, remembering his previous lives and biography. 

Students who have previously taken the Eight Mahayana Precepts from a qualified master are encouraged to take them at home before their altar.

Create merit by sponsoring a Holy Day event!  Sponsoring spiritual events is beneficial on many levels. It benefits the Center by providing the resources to offer the event; it benefits the students who attend the event, and it benefits the donor by deepening the practice of generosity and creating the causes to meet the Dharma again in the future.

Sponsorship of a Holy Day puja is $125, and of general Holy Day events and activities, it's $108.

Supporting the Holy Day event is a two-step process

Step One  is dedicating your generosity (click here).

Step Two  is making the donation or sponsorship (use the button below on this page)

Dedications may be very simple - "For my mother, Rosemary" - or they might encompass more extensive spiritual wishes, such as "May these teachings be the cause to liberate all sentient beings," or wishes for the teacher's long life, to benefit a person who is ill - any heart-felt positive intention!  You also can dedicate for more than one intention.

Sponsor Holy Day Activities $108

Sponsor Holy Day Puja ~ $125

Mahamudra - "The Great Seal" - refers to emptiness itself and to certain very special meditative methods used to realize emptiness. Rather than emphasizing the philosophical meaning of emptiness as a preliminary, it strives from the start for personal experience of the clear light nature of the mind and then proceeds to meditate on and experience emptiness first hand. The seminar will draw from the explanatory text and auto-commentary by the Panchen Lama, as well a presentation of that material in the recent book by Lama Thubten Yeshe, Mahamudra - How to Discover Our True Nature.

Sessions will consist of lectures on the commentsry but will emphasize meditation on the various stages. Periods will also be set asie for answering questions.

The course should be of interest to those wishing to have a taste of the meaning of emptiness.

Come experience Venerable George's clear and engaging teaching style!

Click here to hear Venerable George's teachings in 2014.

Volunteer opportunities!  Be a part of making this visit a success!  Watch this space for a link to the signup calendar.

Registration requested. Please click here.

Schedule:

Supporting the teachings

Supporting the teachings is an incredibly powerful and important act -- it is a practice of the highest form of generosity – giving the means to enlightenment. Kadampa Center has for many years operated within the ideal of offering teachings without charging a fee, so that money is not an obstacle for anyone to hear the precious teachings and participate in the practices. We rely on the generous hearts of those who are moved to support the spiritual offerings and keep them open to everyone regardless of ability to pay. Supporting the teachings benefits not just the Center and those who attend, but it also greatly benefits the donor, because it creates the causes to meet the teachings again in future lives, and deepens the connection with the teacher. 

Kadampa Center offers two ways to support the teachings: Sponsorships and Donations.

Sponsorships begin at $108.

Sponsors receive:

 - The opportunity to attend a private tea with the teacher at the end of the visit, on Saturday, November 16. We must receive the sponsorship by Wednesday, November 13  to assure your place at the tea.

 - The opportunity to write a personal dedication that we will post on the gompa door for all to share.  We must receive the sponsorship and dedication by Wednesday, November 6  to assure we have time to print and post your dedication.

There may be more than one sponsor for any event.

Donations are any amount less than $108.

Donors of $50 or more receive:

 - The opportunity to write a personal dedication that we will post on the gompa door for all to share. We must receive the donation and dedication by two days before the teacher’s visit begins to assure we have time to print and post your dedication.

Supporting the teachings is a two-step process

Step One  is dedicating your generosity (click here).

Step Two  is making the donation or sponsorship (use the buttons below on this page),

Dedications may be very simple - "For my mother, Rosemary" - or they might encompass more extensive spiritual wishes, such as "May these teachings be the cause to liberate all sentient beings," or wishes for the teacher's long life, to benefit a person who is ill - any heart-felt positive intention!  You also can dedicate for more than one intention.

Use our secure online community to donate by clicking your choice below.

To try our new Text Giving, send KC108 to 73256 and select your level from the drop down menu..

Don't forget to dedicate your generosity!

Venerable George Sponsorship Opportunities

Transformed Warrior (sponsor travel) ~ $350

Awakened Warrior ~ $250

Insight Warrior (teaching session) ~ $200

Compassion Warrior ~ $150

Realized Warrior (spirtual materials) ~ $108

Venerable George Donation Opportunities

Heart Giving ~ $Your Choice

Thank You!

Mahamudra - "The Great Seal" - refers to emptiness itself and to certain very special meditative methods used to realize emptiness. Rather than emphasizing the philosophical meaning of emptiness as a preliminary, it strives from the start for personal experience of the clear light nature of the mind and then proceeds to meditate on and experience emptiness first hand. The seminar will draw from the explanatory text and auto-commentary by the Panchen Lama, as well a presentation of that material in the recent book by Lama Thubten Yeshe, Mahamudra - How to Discover Our True Nature.

Sessions will consist of lectures on the commentsry but will emphasize meditation on the various stages. Periods will also be set asie for answering questions.

The course should be of interest to those wishing to have a taste of the meaning of emptiness.

Come experience Venerable George's clear and engaging teaching style!

Click here to hear Venerable George's teachings in 2014.

Volunteer opportunities!  Be a part of making this visit a success!  Sign up here to help.

Registration requested. Please click here.

Schedule:

Supporting the teachings

Supporting the teachings is an incredibly powerful and important act -- it is a practice of the highest form of generosity – giving the means to enlightenment. Kadampa Center has for many years operated within the ideal of offering teachings without charging a fee, so that money is not an obstacle for anyone to hear the precious teachings and participate in the practices. We rely on the generous hearts of those who are moved to support the spiritual offerings and keep them open to everyone regardless of ability to pay. Supporting the teachings benefits not just the Center and those who attend, but it also greatly benefits the donor, because it creates the causes to meet the teachings again in future lives, and deepens the connection with the teacher. 

Kadampa Center offers two ways to support the teachings: Sponsorships and Donations.

Sponsorships begin at $108.

Sponsors receive:

 - The opportunity to attend a private tea with the teacher at the end of the visit, on Saturday, November 16. We must receive the sponsorship by Wednesday, November 13  to assure your place at the tea.

 - The opportunity to write a personal dedication that we will post on the gompa door for all to share.  We must receive the sponsorship and dedication by Wednesday, November 6  to assure we have time to print and post your dedication.

There may be more than one sponsor for any event.

Donations are any amount less than $108.

Donors of $50 or more receive:

 - The opportunity to write a personal dedication that we will post on the gompa door for all to share. We must receive the donation and dedication by two days before the teacher’s visit begins to assure we have time to print and post your dedication.

Supporting the teachings is a two-step process

Step One  is dedicating your generosity (click here).

Step Two  is making the donation or sponsorship (use the buttons below on this page),

Dedications may be very simple - "For my mother, Rosemary" - or they might encompass more extensive spiritual wishes, such as "May these teachings be the cause to liberate all sentient beings," or wishes for the teacher's long life, to benefit a person who is ill - any heart-felt positive intention!  You also can dedicate for more than one intention.

Use our secure online community to donate by clicking your choice below.

To try our new Text Giving, send KC108 to 73256 and select your level from the drop down menu..

Don't forget to dedicate your generosity!

Venerable George Sponsorship Opportunities

Transformed Warrior (sponsor travel) ~ $350

Awakened Warrior ~ $250

Insight Warrior (teaching session) ~ $200

Compassion Warrior ~ $150

Realized Warrior (spirtual materials) ~ $108

Venerable George Donation Opportunities

Heart Giving ~ $Your Choice

Thank You!

The Jataka Tales - The Life Stories of the Buddha - are drawn from the Buddha's own explanations to his disciples concerning his own previous lives as a Bodhisattva. The Jatakas were one of the six special texts studied in depth in the Kadampa Tradition of Lama Atisha and are revered as a source of inspiration for those in meditative retreat and as examples for practice in everyday life. Talks will consist of reading and background information on several of the Jatakas drawn from three great collections. Time will be alloted for meditation on the material ans well as discussion and question and answer.

Come experience Venerable George's clear and engaging teaching style!

Click here to hear Venerable George's teachings in 2014.

Volunteer opportunities!  Be a part of making this visit a success!  Sign up here to help.

Registration requested. Please click here.

Schedule:

Students are encouraged to bring lunch Saturday and discuss the morning's teachings.

Supporting the teachings

Supporting the teachings is an incredibly powerful and important act -- it is a practice of the highest form of generosity – giving the means to enlightenment. Kadampa Center has for many years operated within the ideal of offering teachings without charging a fee, so that money is not an obstacle for anyone to hear the precious teachings and participate in the practices. We rely on the generous hearts of those who are moved to support the spiritual offerings and keep them open to everyone regardless of ability to pay. Supporting the teachings benefits not just the Center and those who attend, but it also greatly benefits the donor, because it creates the causes to meet the teachings again in future lives, and deepens the connection with the teacher. 

Kadampa Center offers two ways to support the teachings: Sponsorships and Donations.

Sponsorships begin at $108.

Sponsors receive:

 - The opportunity to attend a private tea with the teacher at the end of the visit, on Saturday, November 16. We must receive the sponsorship by Wednesday, November 13  to assure your place at the tea.

 - The opportunity to write a personal dedication that we will post on the gompa door for all to share.  We must receive the sponsorship and dedication by Wednesday, November 6  to assure we have time to print and post your dedication.

There may be more than one sponsor for any event.

Donations are any amount less than $108.

Donors of $50 or more receive:

 - The opportunity to write a personal dedication that we will post on the gompa door for all to share. We must receive the donation and dedication by two days before the teacher’s visit begins to assure we have time to print and post your dedication.

Supporting the teachings is a two-step process

Step One  is dedicating your generosity (click here).

Step Two  is making the donation or sponsorship (use the buttons below on this page),

Dedications may be very simple - "For my mother, Rosemary" - or they might encompass more extensive spiritual wishes, such as "May these teachings be the cause to liberate all sentient beings," or wishes for the teacher's long life, to benefit a person who is ill - any heart-felt positive intention!  You also can dedicate for more than one intention.

Use our secure online community to donate by clicking your choice below.

To try our new Text Giving, send KC108 to 73256 and select your level from the drop down menu..

Don't forget to dedicate your generosity!

Venerable George Sponsorship Opportunities

Transformed Warrior (sponsor travel) ~ $350

Awakened Warrior ~ $250

Insight Warrior (teaching session) ~ $200

Compassion Warrior ~ $150

Realized Warrior (spirtual materials) ~ $108

Venerable George Donation Opportunities

Heart Giving ~ $Your Choice

Thank You!