Gompa

Lama Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), the founder of tour own Gelugpa tradition, is renowned as a great scholar, practitioner, meditator, teacher, and author. Among his many accomplishments, he revitalized the monastic code in Tibet, established the annual Great Prayer Festival, established Ganden Monastery, the first of the great monasteries in the Gelugpa tradition, and wrote 18 volumes of teachings, including his Great Treatise on the Path to Enlightenment, the Lamrim.

At Kadampa Center we will have several events to mark the day.

At 3 p.m. we will do a special practice of reciting the Kshitigarbha mantra.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has advised doing this practice as much as possible before February, to pacify the possibility of earthquakes in California and Nepal. As
always, when we gather in a group for practice, the combined energies of everyone together multiplies and increases the power of our practice, so do come
and join in this special event.

At 4 p.m., immediately following the mantra recitation, we will have Guru Puja with tsog.
In Guru Puja, we reflect on and celebrate the good qualities of all our teachers -- and Lama Tsongkhapa is such an important lineage teacher for us! This
beautiful practice includes many stanzas meditating on key points of the lamrim.

After the Guru Puja, at about 5:30 p.m., we will do a light offering practice and offer lights at the stupa.

This date marks this year’s celebration of Lha Bab Duchen-Lord Buddha’s actual return from the God Realm of Thirty-three. As a Buddha Holy Day, it is an auspicious day for practice, when the karmic effects of actions are multiplied 100 million times, according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, citing the Vinaya text, The Treasure of Quotations and Logic.

Following his performance of extensive miracles at Shravasti in his 41st year, Shakyamuni Buddha ascended to the God Realm of Thirty-Three in order to give teachings to repay the kindness of his mother(by liberating her from samsara), and to benefit the Arya Beings as well. After three months, at the request of his disciples, the Buddha agreed to return to continue his teachings on earth.

Our schedule for the day is:

6 a.m.  Taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts, followed by a light breakfast and a group reading of the Vajra Cutter Sutra

7 p.m.  Shakyamuni Buddha Puja

In addition, the Center will be open all day for anyone who wishes to do personal practice.

Students who have had prior teachings on Buddhist meditation (Discovering Buddhism, Meditiation 101, etc.) are invited to participate in this practice.

Led by the Discovering Buddhism teacher, Robbie Watkins, this session is aimed at students in the course, but is also open to students who meet the above criteria. An important part of the Discovering Buddhism course is trying the practices, and this class allows students the opportunity to have guidance and the support of group practice to learn.

In five 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. Topics covered include the Four Noble Truths, different kinds of Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana, etc.), Buddha's teachings organized in a graduated path to enlightenment, and a brief introduction to meditation. We'll let you know of additional reading you can do if you're interested, but there are no specific requirements.

The course is based on the teachings found in the book "Buddhism in a Nutshell" by Ven. Amy Miller, an excellent supplement to the classes (and available in Kadampa Center's bookstore).

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 registration is required, but we recommend attending the entire course for the most benefit.

This course will be led by Elise Strevel.

Tired of lugging all your mental baggage around?  We can free ourselves of the guilt, depression and low self-esteem that arise from carrying negative karma around in our mindstream. The key is purification practice.

Come for a morning of Vajrasattva purification practice on Saturday, August 22, from 9:30 a.m. to noon -- give your purification practice a boost and close out your summer on a high note!

Many of us hold anger in our hearts either because we blame others for harming us or ourselves for our mistakes. Learn the Buddhist method of forgiving ourselves and others through purification. The basis of purification practice is the four opponent powers - regret, reliance, remedy, and resolve. This allows us to see harm done to us by others as the result of our karma, and helps us let go of our own mistakes and reduce or eliminate their harmful effects. This practice helps eliminate guilt, grudges, anger and frustration.

Geshe Gelek has been emphasizing the importance of purification this year. In this session. Kadampa Center founder Don Brown, who led the recent Vajrasattva retreat and also retreat preparation sessions in June and July, will lead us in Vajrasattva practice with guided visualizations and mantra recitations.

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 Venerable Ngawang Lhamo.

If you would like to ask questions about the Center and Buddhism in an informal setting, this orientation is for you!  Orientation sessions are on the third Sunday of each month starting after the morning teachings (approx. 12pm).  An experienced Center member will give a brief introduction to the Center and answer your questions. These sessions will include information about how we are organized, membership,volunteer opportunities, information about our e-mails lists, and information about the different aspects of the center, such as the Bookstore and Library.

 A prisoner once wrote to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, pleading for help dealing with the suffering of confinement. Rinpoche replied that most of us are in a worse prison than the inmate's, because our prisons are created by our minds.

Did you know that....

Our own Kadampa Center has a vibrant Prison Project that, for more than 20 years, has brought our students together with prisoners in a mutually beneficial study of Dharma.

On Sunday, August 9, we'll bring the Kadampa Center Prison Project to life in our gompa with an interactive hour of exploring the incredibly moving experiences of our prison volunteers.

    ♦ What is a class like in Prison? Join us for a live demonstration  -- and you can participate if you want!
    ♦ What do pen pals write back and forth about? Actual pen pals will read some amazing correspondence to give us a taste of what prisoners and pen pals discuss in their letters.
    ♦ What types of people do the volunteers interact with? You'll hear the testimonies from past and present participants, and hear from volunteers about their experiences.
    ♦ What happens when someone who is incarcerated gets out? We'll have a chance to walk for a few minutes in the shoes of a released prisoner. Through a guided visualization, we'll get a taste of how people are able to pick up their lives -- or not -- after prison, and experience how the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against most returning citizens.

Our volunteers go great distances and dedicate many hours to this project. What makes it worthwhile to spend so much time on this? Come at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday Aug. 9 to find out!

This special Medicine Buddha puja is sponsored by Sandi Mitchell for Charles Mitchell, Kolleen's father, who died recently.

Doing Medicine Buddha practice for sure benefits loved ones who are in the intermediate state (bardo), so we invite everyone in the community to come and say these prayers together in support of the family. The puja is done in English, so easy to follow if you are not already familiar with the prayers.