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Jonathan Landaw at Kadampa Center

Sunday, October 30, (All day) to Sunday, November 13, (All day) 2016

Kadampa Center is pleased to welcome Jonathan Landaw, a Dharma teacher at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel, CA and author of several books including Buddhism for Dummies, Images of Enlightenment and Prince Siddhartha, for two weeks of teachings. His visit will include a weekend workshop on the Seven Point Mind Training, Wednesday teachings on the Foundation of All Good Qualities, and guest teaching for Discovering Buddhism: How to Meditate and for Meditation 101.
He will also offer presentations on symbolism in Buddhist art, making pilgrimage to Buddhist holy sites, and the life of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Click here to sponsor Jonathan Landaw.

His schedule:

(See below for detail)

Sunday, Oct. 30  10:30 am - noon        Dharma for a Happy Life and the Children's Program
Tuesday, Nov. 1  7-8:30 pm                 Symbolism in Buddhist art
Wednesday, Nov. 2  7-8:30 pm            The Foundation of All Good Qualities:  A Concise Guide to Spiritual Practice
Friday, Nov. 4-Sunday, Nov. 6             How to  Create Happiness for Ourselves and Others: The Seven Point Mind Training

Sunday, Nov. 6  10:30am - noon          Dharma for a Happy Life and the Children's Program
Monday, Nov. 7  7-8:30 pm                   Discovering Buddhism: How to Meditate
Wednesday, Nov. 9  7-8:30 pm            The Foundation of All Good Qualities:  A Concise Guide to Spiritual Practice
Thursday, Nov. 10  7-8:30 pm              Making Pilgrimage to Buddhist Holy Sites
Saturday, Nov. 12  11am - 12:30 pm    The Life of Shakyamuni Buddha
Sunday, Nov. 13  10:30am - noon        Dharma for a Happy Life and the Children's Program

 

 In keeping with our tradition, Kadampa Center does not charge a fee to attend these courses. We are deeply thankful for all donations and sponsorships that allow us to bring teachers to Raleigh.

Symbolism in Buddhist Art

One of the most striking aspects of Tibetan Buddhism is its wealth of visual imagery. Ranging from the tranquility of a serenely poised meditator to the dynamic energy of fantastic, wrathful-looking beings, this vivid and diverse imagery often leaves Western observers as puzzled as they are fascinated. Who are these figures and what do they represent?
In this evening’s PowerPoint presentation, Jon Landaw—author of Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice—will focus on the ways in which this imagery illustrates the path of the altruistically-minded bodhisattvas, those spiritual practitioners dedicated to achieving full spiritual enlightenment in order to be of maximum benefit to others.        
         Jon has selected a variety of images designed to serve as a colorful introduction to the world of these supremely dedicated beings and the qualities of compassion, wisdom and skillful means they embody. Q&A session will follow.

Foundation of All Good Qualities: A Concise Guide to Spiritual Practice

The Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the process of spiritual growth and maturation are presented in terms of what is known as the Stages of the Path, or Lam-rim. The lam-rim demonstrates how all the teachings of the Buddha can be understood as the step-by-step training for properly motivated disciples, from their entrance into the spiritual path all the way up to their attainment of the full enlightenment of buddhahood.
There are many versions of these lam-rim teachings, including Atisha’s original Lamp of the Path and Lama Je Tsongkhapa's extensive Great Treatise. The text we will be following here is The Foundation of All Good Qualities, a short poem by Je Tsongkhapa called “the most concise and stirring outline available” of these lam-rim teachings.” In only fourteen stanzas, Tsongkhapa offers the practitioner a prayer that covers the entire graduated path to enlightenment, short enough to recite every day yet profound enough to study for a lifetime.
During these two Wednesday evening classes, we will be taking a look at this overview of the entire path while concentrating on certain points of particular interest to present-day students. Questions are welcome.

How to Create Happiness for Ourselves and Others - A Weekend Workshop in The Seven Point Mind Training

Friday 7-8:30 pm; Saturday 10am-4:30pm; Sunday 1:30-4:30pm

It is a fundamental insight of the Buddha that the quality of our life depends primarily on the quality of our mind. As stated in the collection of Buddha’s sayings known as the Dharmapada:
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. If we speak or act with an impure mind, suffering follows us, as the wheel of a cart follows the foot of the ox that draws it….
If we speak or act with a pure mind, happiness follows us, like a shadow that never leaves.
    
Therefore all of Buddha’s teachings can be thought of as mind training: how to lessen and eventually eliminate the various harmful states of mind responsible for suffering and dissatisfaction, and how to cultivate and bring to perfection the beneficial states of mind that lead to temporary and ultimate happiness and fulfillment.

However, the term “mind training” (and its equivalent “thought transformation”) is most commonly used to translate the Tibetan term lo-jong, which refers specifically to those spiritual instructions concerned with cultivating the altruistic motivation of a bodhisattva, the supremely compassionate being aiming to achieve enlightenment for the sake of benefitting others. The selfless motivation of a bodhisattva is known as the precious bodhichitta and, as Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche always emphasizes, the greatest obstacle to developing this supremely altruistic motivation is what he calls "the demon of self-cherishing."

The work we will look at this weekend is called the Seven-point Mind Training, one of the fundamental texts of the lo-jong tradition, and it contains very profound and eminently practical advice for reducing the strength of our habitual selfishness and generating in its place the peerless jewel of bodhichitta.
The workshop will consist of lecture, meditation practice and Q&A.

Discovering Buddhism: How to Meditate

Learn the definition and purpose of meditation, how to sit, how to set up a meditation session, different meditation techniques, and how to deal with obstacles to meditation.

How to Meditate is the second in a two-year series of classes called Discovering Buddhism. In this course we explore 13 essential topics in Buddhism, from Meditation to Karma to Death and Rebirth, with much, much more! This is an excellent course of study for those who have the very basics and wish to start going a little deeper into Buddhist philosophy. DB was developed by our affiliate organization, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, and is taught at Kadampa Center by senior lay students with many years of study and practice. Jon guest-teaches the first session in this module.

Making Pilgrimage to Buddhist Holy Sites

Before he passed away, Shakyamuni Buddha advised his followers to visit the places where the main events of his life occurred: where he was born, achieved enlightenment, first turned the wheel of the Dharma, and entered parinirvana. Many people visiting these and other holy sites associated with the life and deeds of the Buddha and other great masters report receiving powerful inspiration that greatly enhanced their faith in the spiritual path. As Lama Yeshe used to say about visiting Bodh Gaya, site of Buddha’s enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, “When you go there you don’t even have to try to meditate; because of the power of the place, your mind automatically enters into meditation.”
    In 2012 Jon led a three-week pilgrimage to many of these holy sites in Nepal and India. Come along to this evening’s session and enjoy a presentation of the photos he took during this inspiring pilgrimage and listen to stories about what took place in these remarkable places so many centuries ago.

The Life of Shakyamuni Buddha

Jon takes great delight in relating the events of Buddha’s life in a way that appeals to children and adults alike. Everyone is welcome to come to today’s session and listen to the story of Buddha while watching a colorful PowerPoint presentation of scenes from his life as illustrated by pictures from Jon’s popular work, Prince Siddhartha. Healthy snacks will be available.

About Jonathan Landaw

Jon Landaw, author of Buddhism for Dummies, was born in New Jersey in 1944 and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1965. After spending three years in the Peace Corps in Iran, Jon worked as an English editor for the Translation Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India from 1972 to 1977, producing numerous texts under the guidance of Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. As a student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche since 1973, Jon has edited numerous works for Wisdom Publications, including Wisdom Energy and Introduction to Tantra. He is also the author of Prince Siddhartha, a biography of Buddha for children, and Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice, published by Snow Lion in 1993. As an instructor of Buddhist meditation, he has taught in numerous Dharma centers throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. He currently lives with his wife and family in Santa Cruz, California.

Click here to sponsor Jonathan Landaw.

 

Location at Kadampa Center: 
Gompa