Gompa

Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche has advised us to perform Kshitigarbha practice extensively from now until February, 2016, to pacify the danger of earthquakes, especially in Nepal and California.  Through this practice we can fulfill our teacher's wishes and also offer help to our sister centers and all the people living in earthquake-prone areas.

Please join us as we recite as many mantras as possible before beginning the Guru Puja practice at 4 p.m.

To learn more about Rinpoche's advice and to make your own pledge to recite mantras, please go to the website created by Bay area FPMT centers.

You can download your own copy of the practice here.

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 $75 - click here to sponsor this puja.

Investigate what "samsara" is and how we are stuck in it.

Find out what "nirvana" is and how to achieve it.

Learn how to be free from suffering and empower yourself with practical tools to deal with and eliminate disturbing emotions forever.

We ask that new students joining the course please come on the first night of new modules rather than entering in the middle of a subject. So this Monday please come and we'll have volunteers ready to explain how the course works and how to access online teachings by becoming a member. This makes the transition easiest for new students, and we've found that attending the entire module is the least confusing for everyone (rather than starting in the middle, not having clear instructions, and finding the topic difficult after missing the early classes).

This class is led by Stephanie (Steep) Smith.

Thank you for your interest in this event. This event is full.

For those who did not make a reservation, we wish you could be there, and we hope to offer similar opportunities in the future.

For those who made a reservation:

• No need to print an email or "ticket." We have your name on a list.
• Come any time during your selected seating (either 5 -7 or 7-9)
• Delicious Tibetan specialties buffet
• Profits will be dedicated to Family Camp 2016**
• Email questions to familycamp@kadampa-center.org

Hosted by Geshe Gelek Choda, the Tibetan Restaurant, and the Kadampa Center's Children and Youth Program.

Tibetan Restaurant
748-A E Chatham St, Cary

Making offerings to holy beings is a powerful way to create merit, and creating merit is a powerful way to remove obstacles to spiritual progress.

On this auspicious holy day, we will make extensive offerings across the width of our altar, in preparation for saying the Shakyamuni Buddha puja in the evening.  Because this is a merit-multiplying day, the merit we collect by making offerings will be increased exponentially.  How wonderful!

Please come join in, starting at noon, to create an amazing array of offerings!

Meditation 101 is a five-week introductory course on 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.

In keeping with our tradition, no fee is required to attend the class. We do rely on donations, so any offerings are greatly appreciated!

No registraiton is required, but we recommend attending the entire course for the most benefit.

The basic Buddhist meditation techniques covered include:

• What is meditation?
• Breathing meditations
• Mindfulness meditations
• Visualization meditations

This class will be led by David Machles

Meditation is a foundational tool for Buddhist spiritual practice. One's suffering and one's happiness is dependent upon one's mind. To ensure for ourselves the happiness that we so ardently desire, it is essential that we begin each day with a peaceful and calm mind.

The silent meditation includes 20 minutes of sitting meditation followed by 10 minutes of walking meditation (optional) and another 20 minutes of sitting meditation. Participants should arrive no later than 9 a.m. Each and every one is invited to come. You will find it to be a wonderful and relaxing way, not only to begin your day, but also your week. All are welcome regardless of one's level of practice.

Food for Thought is a supportive discussion group where we learn about and practice strategies and methods of mindfulness...

1. to notice our inner and outer environments while eating in order to make the food choices we wish to make,
2. to slow down, notice interconnections and practice gratitude in order to make eating more meaningful, and
3. to use eating as a mental training ground in order to develop skills to shift our attitudes and create new habits.

The group meets one Saturday of every month at noon, and we have a genuine good time. Drop-ins are welcome. Bring something you'd like to eat during the exercises we'll do using food. Participants are also invited to bring lunch and stay at 12:45 to enjoy lunch informally together.

Note: Because of the creation of the Tara sand mandala in the gompa, we will meet today in the classroom building. Participants are welcome to view the sand mandala before and after Food for Thought meets.

Tara is a female Buddha whose qualities include enlightened action and swiftly removing obstacles (Tara's 21 aspects are represented in statues on our altar). Geshe Gelek translated this special practice for us, The Practice of Tara that Fulfills All Wishes, and assures us that this will greatly benefit not just our center and community, but have the best benefit of helping all sentient beings. His teacher, (the Abbot of Sera Je Monastery) Khen Rinpoche Lobsang Delek, also said when he visited in 2011 that we have a special connection to Tara, so doing her practice is incredibly beneficial for our community, harmony working together, and the success of Kadampa Center.

Our monthly Tara practice will be greatly enhanced tonight, as we will have the opportunity to practice in the presence of the Green Tara sand mandala being created in our gompa by Geshe Sangpo and Gen Norbu. The mandala represents the sacred space that is Tara's universe, and in creating the mandala we invite Tara to be present.

This practice is for all levels of students and is done in English. It begins at 6:00pm with the group setting up an altar of extensive waterbowl and sense offerings. Once that's finished, we say prayers that include the Praises to the 21 Taras, mantras, and the opportunity to do prostrations if desired

Traditionally the offerings for the sangha and altar are sponsored by Dharma students, especially if they want to dedicate the merit to their loved ones in need of support and prayers. Sponsorship of Tara practice is $150.

Please click here to sponsor Tara practice.

If you'd like to know more about sponsoring a puja, please contact pujas@kadampa-center.org for instructions about making the donation and sending your personal dedication.

The creation of a sand mandala is a rare and beautiful practice that requires extensive training in rituals.

From Thursday through Sunday, Geshe Sangpo and Gen Norbu will create a Green Tara mandala for happiness, peace and prosperity. Students and visitors are invited to come watch as the monks build this ritual artwork by hand. The "sand" is actually mostly colored marble ground to a powder, sometimes with other precious substances.

Tara is a female Buddha whose qualities include enlightened action and swiftly removing obstacles to our spiritual growth, happiness, health and prosperity. The sand mandala represents the sacred space that is Tara's universe, and in creating the mandala we invite Tara to be present.

At 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 12, there will be a very short opening ceremony (about 5 minutes).

On Sunday the 15th, after the mandala is completed, the monks will perform a Tara puja at 2 p.m. When the puja is complete,  there will be an opportunity to view the mandala up close, followed by a closing ceremony where, with a remembrance of impermanence, the sand mandala will be deconstructed and taken to a body of water to be dispersed. Some of the blessed "sand" will be available to attendees with instructions how it can be used in Buddhist practice.