Gompa

Kadampa Center will open at 5:45 am; the Eight Mahayana Precepts will begin at 6 am. 5:45 am The PRECEPTS WILL NOT BE HELD AT KADAMPA CENTER. THOSE WHO HAVE TAKEN THEM FROM A QUALIFIED MASTER IN THE PAST MAY TAKE THEM AT HOME BEFORE YOUR 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 Gelek will offer precepts if students request it.  If you wish to take precepts for the first time, please register by Wednesday, July 31.

Please register here to take precepts for the first time.  SORRY, REGISTRATION FOR PRECEPTS IS CLOSED

Please register ONLY if you have not taken precepts before.

Following the precepts, we will have a light breakfast and a group reading of a sutra.

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

Meditation 101 is an introductory course on basic Buddhist meditation techniques for complete beginners, and includes Buddhist meditations that can be used by anyone to create more peace and happiness in daily life. Presented in five sessions. Students are encouraged to come for the whole class, but drop-ins are welcome. The basic Buddhist meditation techniques covered include:

• what is meditation?
• breathing meditations
• mindfulness meditations
• visualization meditations

Registration requested. Click here to register.

In keeping with our long-standing tradition, Kadampa Center does not charge a fee for any Dharma course. These teachings are too precious to allow money to be an obstacle for anyone to hear them!  We do, of course, have expenses to offer the course, so we happily welcome any heart-felt donations. 

Led by Patti Pandya

Are you interested in Buddhism but don't know where to start? Have you heard words like dharma and karma and samsara and wondered what they meant or why they mattered? Do you want to get an overview of Buddhism without making a long-term commitment? Then this is the program for you. In five short classes, we introduce you to the major terms and concepts of Buddhism - a fast tour of the basics to enable you to take the next steps if you want more. This course provides a broad, basic overview of key aspects of Buddhism and our practice. There is no required reading, no homework and no quizzes!

Topics covered include:

• The Four Noble Truths
• Different kinds of Buddhism: Theravadan, Mahayana, Vajrayana, etc.
• Buddha's teachings in a gradual form for the practice of one individual...where to start, what next, etc.
• A brief introduction to meditation

Registration requested. Click here to register.

In keeping with our long-standing tradition, Kadampa Center does not charge a fee for any Dharma course. These teachings are too precious to allow money to be an obstacle for anyone to hear them!  We do, of course, have expenses to offer the course, so we happily welcome any heart-felt donations. 

This session is led by Jim Sutorus

Protector, remover of obstacles, model of enlightened activity, inspiration to Lama Atisha - Tara is all of these. Doing Tara practice clears obstacles in our spiritual lives and helps us attain our positive goals, both spiritual and mundane. Come join in the first part of the retreat practice: setting up the altar and gompa in preparation for the retreat.  This involves bringing the 21 Taras from the main altar to a special altar the center of the gompa, and setting up everything needed for offerings.

Find out details about the full retreat here.

In this Saturday mini-retreat, Geshe Gelek will lead us in Tara retreat. 

Please note that lunch breaks are only one hour, so there is very little time to go out for lunch. Kadampa Center will provide lunch.

Anyone is welcome to attend any session, but we encourage all to try to attend the full retreat to get the maximum benefit.

Friday Schedule:

Supporting the retreat

Supporting the retreat 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 spiritual programs without charging a fee, so that money is not an obstacle for anyone to participate in spiritual practice. (Occasionally we will request a registration fee for a retreat.) 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 teachings and practice 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 or retreat deity.

Kadampa Center offers two ways to support retreats:  Sponsorships and Donations

Sponsorships for the one-day Tara mini-retreat are $125.

Sponsorships for lunch for everyone at the retreat at $75.

Sponsors receive:

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

Donations are any amount less than $125.

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 dedication by two days before the retreat begins to assure we have time to print and post your dedication.

Supporting the retreat 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!

Tara Mini-Retreat Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsor the lunch ~ $75

Sponsor one day ~ $125

Tara Mini-Retreat Donation Opportunities

Heart Giving - $Your Choice

Thank You!!

Protector, remover of obstacles, model of enlightened activity, inspiration to Lama Atisha - Tara is all of these. Doing Tara practice clears obstacles in our spiritual lives and helps us attain our positive goals, both spiritual and mundane. Kadampa Center has a special relationship with Tara, according to Sera Jey Khensur Rinpoche Jetsun Lobsang Delek, our Geshes' teacher, who consecrated our Tara statues during a visit to Kadampa Center.  Here is an opportunity to deepen our connection to her!

In this mini-retreat, Geshe Gelek will lead us in Tara retreat. 

This is a daytime rereat.

Please note that lunch breaks are only one hour, so there is very little time to go out for lunch. We will provide lunch at the Center.

Anyone is welcome to attend any session, but we encourage all to try to attend the full retreat to get the maximum benefit.

Registration requested. Register here.

Schedule:

Supporting the retreat

Supporting the retreat 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 spiritual programs without charging a fee, so that money is not an obstacle for anyone to participate in spiritual practice. (Occasionally we will request a registration fee for a retreat.) 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 teachings and practice 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 or retreat deity.

Kadampa Center offers two ways to support retreats:  Sponsorships and Donations

Sponsorships for the one-day Tara mini-retreat are $125.

Sponsorships for lunch for everyone at the retreat at $75.

Sponsors receive:

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

Donations are any amount less than $125.

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 dedication by two days before the retreat begins to assure we have time to print and post your dedication.

Supporting the retreat 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!

Tara Mini-Retreat Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsor the lunch ~ $75

Sponsor one day ~ $125

Tara Mini-Retreat Donation Opportunities

Heart Giving - $Your Choice

Thank You!!

Geshe Gelek will return from his spring-summer break on Sunday, July 21 at 10:30 am. Come join in our welcome home celebration! We will welcome Geshe-la in the lobby with katas, then offer flowers in the gompa, creating a bountiful and beautiful offering.

At the end of the teachings, there will be an opportunity to offer a kata personally. Students are also welcome to make a financial offering in any amount, and/or to present Geshe-la with a card with a personal message - thanking him, or, the best gift, telling him our practice while he was away.

Our Sunday morning teachings are a vibrant, interactive experience where we explore applying the methods of Buddhism to the nitty-gritty of daily life.  With the guidance of one of our resident teachers, Geshe Gelek Chodha or Geshe Palden Sangpo, we discuss the complications that make us unhappy, and how the tools of Buddhism sheds new light on our thoughts and emotions. In this process we discover how to steer our minds toward happiness.

Sunday mornings typically begin with prayers, a brief meditation, and the rare opportunity to learn from a highly trained Buddhist monk. When Geshe Gelek and Geshe Sangpo are away, one of several senior students will lead the session. The teachings and prayers are in English.

Geshe-la welcomes questions and frequently will ask for questions from us, so that he can tailor his teachings to our needs.  We collect questions at any time at the Center (there’s a box on the desk just inside the door for them), and you can also submit questions online.

Sunday is a great time for a first visit to Kadampa Center – students at every level come, from newcomers to practitioners with 30+ years of experience, and it's a great opportunity to meet others and start making new friends. 

We offer a full range of children's programs on Sundays. Children are invited to sit on the blue cushions at the front of the gompa, and then depart to their classes after opening prayers. Any child who wishes to is welcome to remain in the gompa for the teachings.

On many Sundays, we also host other events, such as the Newcomer Orientation, New Member Orientation, pujas, and more. Special events for holy days, special practices, or exhibits and visiting teachers are also occasionally held on Sundays, so for all these events please check the calendar for more information and specific times.

Family Program Summer Session will not meet separately on Sunday, July 7 - children and parents will stay in the gompa to celebrate His Holiness the Dalai Lama's birthday.

Please join us again on Sunday, July 14.

Come celebrate His Holiness' 84th birthday! Kadampa Center will host a wide array of activities to honor His Holiness for his birthday. The celebration extends over several days, beginning Saturday, July 6 and ending Saturday, July 13. Animal liberation, 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 6 Music at the Stupa, 5-7 pm, Saturday July 6 Gompa celebration with cake, prayers and stories, 10:30 am Sunday, July 7 Blood drive (our third!), 2-6:30 pm, Saturday, July 13      Register for the blood drive

                                              Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.     ~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Raise arms to save lives! Every Drop Counts... Be a wish-fulfilling jewel and offer a pint of blood, a gift of life to others! Join our third annual blood drive to celebrate His Holiness' birthday.

Sign up online! Register here.

To celebrate His Holiness’ birthday, Kadampa Center will hold a blood drive on Saturday, July 13, from 2 to 6:30 p.m.

We will send His Holiness a card signed by all our donors and support volunteers, so the more bountiful the number of donations, the better!

Your offering of blood can be the difference between life and death for another, benefiting not only the recipients but everyone in their lives.  Many of us have personal experience with blood transfusions, either for ourselves or for someone we love – our brother,  our mother, our BFF.

We’re working with the pros in blood drives, the American Red Cross, and we have a big goal – 50 pints!  Last year, our members and friends donated 28 units of blood and 11 units of "power red" blood, and more than 50 people participated, as donors or support volunteers. Please invite your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to join in our blood drive and keep hearts beating throughout our community.

Here’s what you need to know to help create our gift of compassion to others, to offer to His Holiness:

Sign up online! Register here. When you get to the link, click on the red circle with the white arrow, then choose your time and type of donation.

If you can’t donate blood for any reason but want to help create this gift to His Holiness,  you can volunteer here.

Read here about how one precious life was saved by other's kindness. You can make the same difference for someone!

And don’t forget to dedicate your merit, for the benefit of all sentient beings, and for the long, happy, healthy life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama!

Guru puja (Lama Chöpa)  is a practice of making offerings and requests to all the Buddhas and holy beings, but especially the root guru, who, according to the teachings, is the root of the path to liberation. It is a practice recommended by FPMT's Spiritual Director Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who says: This practice of Guru Puja is very profound, with many extra benefits, and is very quick to bring enlightenment. The lam-rim prayer, the prayer of the steps of the path to enlightenment, in Guru Puja has lam-rim and also lo-jong, or thought transformation. Generally, the whole of the lam-rim, from guru devotion up to enlightenment, is thought transformation. If your mind is not transformed into the path, how can you have realizations of the path? There’s no way, without transforming your mind.

As part of the puja, we perform a special practice called tsog which has extensive offerings. According to the Liberation Prison Project Tibetan calendar, on the 10th and 25th of every Tibetan (lunar) month, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, “Those who have received an initiation into Highest Yoga Tantra have a commitment to perform tsog” on these days. Kadampa Center holds pujas with tsog on these dates (when they don't conflict with other programs).

Anyone is welcome to attend pujas, even if you are unfamiliar with the practice. This puja is recited partly in English and partly chanted in Tibetan. (It is possible to read the English translations of the whole puja, and there is optional sheet music available to help learn the Tibetan tunes.) Traditionally the offerings for the sangha and puja are sponsored by Dharma students, especially if they want to dedicate the puja to their spiritual teachers or loved ones in need of support and prayers.

Sponsorship of a Guru puja is $70 - click here to sponsor this puja.