Gompa

Geshe Gelek Chocha		Geshe Palden Sangpo
Venerable Ngawang Lhamo	Venerable Ngawang Khando	Venerable Ngawang Choekyi

Our precious Geshes and nuns contribute so much to our community, and we cherish any opportunity to give back to them!

There are many opportunities to serve them at the Center, from offering a beverage during a teaching to offering a meal during a social event. 

This discussion will be an chance to learn about serving our sangha, and find out when and how to get involved.

Celebrate Geshe Gelek's 20th Anniversary as Kadampa Center's Resident Teacher!

You are invited to a summer party to honor our precious teacher, Geshe Gelek.

Geshe-la has served Kadampa Center and our spiritual path faithfully for 20 years. Celebrate this mile marker with us in a festive gathering serving tradtional Tibetan food as well as light hors d'oeuvres. 

When: Sat, Aug 3, 4 pm

Where: Kadampa Center

No dress code or anything to bring, children welcome - they will have things to do set up in the nursery with teens present.

See you there!

Chronic illness, with the pain and fatigue that can accompany it, can present a daily challenge to our happiness and even our sense of who we are. Unable to live the life we envisioned for ourselves, we can sink into depression, anger and helplessness.  But these adversities also create opportunities to explore and apply the teachings in our own lives in ways that are profoundly powerful.

In this Sunday Dharma discussion, senior student Karen Edwards will lead us through a discussion of the opportunities that illness present for spiritual growth.

Kadampa Center will open at 5 am; the Eight Mahayana Precepts will begin at 5:15 am. 5:15 am  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 Thursday, June 13.

So sorry, registration is now 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

On this Memorial Day weekend, Venerable Khando will lead a discussion and appreciation of those who offer service to our country.

Donna will be out of town June 5-7, 2019.

During Geshe Gelek's absence, he advised us to take a break and also continue to explore the four point analysis of the self. 

We will meet for one hour every second Wednesday (instead of weekly) to discuss and debate our understanding of the material.

Before each session, we will read a few pages from Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand at home (see schedule below).  This is a loose schedule - if we end a session feeling that there's more to discuss, we'll pick it up again the next time we meet.

Schedule of readings

May 15:  Blue book, page 626, Tan book, page 683  Day 22, Section 417 The First Key Point: What is to be refuted, 2 pages, ending at the paragraph that begins "In general there are three ways..." 

May 29 :  Day 22, Section 417  The First Key Point.  Blue book page 626 to 632, Tan book, page 683 to page 60.