Gompa

Meditation is a foundational tool of the Buddhist practitioner. We use different types of meditation in our practice, to clear and calm the mind, to review and deepen our understanding of teachings, to develop concentration, and so on.

Our First Saturday meditation practice will include three common modes of meditation:  breathing, concentration and review.  

Each Saturday will begin with a brief overview of meditation, based on notes taken from Geshe Gelek. This will be followed by periods of breathing meditation, concentration meditation, and review of topics such as Tonglen, the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation  or Verses from Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life (chapter 6, Patience).

Geshe Gelek says that practicing in a group enhances and increases the power of our meditation, with all of us benefitting from the shared energy and experience of others in the room.

These sessions are led by senior students.

When we take refuge in the Buddha with a qualified teacher, we are embracing the Buddhist path as our primary spiritual practice. Geshe Gelek will offer refuge and lay vows if students request it. If you wish to take refuge with Geshe-la, you must register by Wednesday, May 18.

Geshe Gelek will offer a Refuge and Five Lay Vows ceremony on this auspicious Buddha holy day. For details about these vows, please see this Mandala magazine article. The Five Lay Vows are lifetime vows, so only need to be taken once, and should be taken with the confidence you will keep them.

Geshe Gelek recommends anyone interested in taking refuge should read the refuge section in the book Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand (available in our bookstore). He also taught a class on refuge in 2013 for students interested in the ceremony - you can listen to it in the recordings section of our website.

The ceremony will likely be in Tibetan, but it is first explained in English what you are saying. Please plan to be there at least 15 minutes before the ceremony starts. At the end of the ceremony, it is traditional to offer two katas (white offering scarfs, available in the bookstore) - one to the Buddha statue on the altar, and one to the teacher giving the vows, who returns it by placing it over your head as a blessing. While we often have spare ones to lend, it is best to buy them so you are actually making an offering of your own. It is also auspicious to give the teacher a gift, typically money (any amount) in an envelope, in appreciation for the incredible gift he has just given you with this opportunity. The center will also be giving you a copy of the FPMT booklet on refuge and how to practice it daily.

As with all our programs, we offer the Dharma and many resources freely to the community, and rely on your donations to cover the costs involved. Please consider supporting the center by making an offering in the donation boxes, through the bookstore, online, or by mailing a check.

We will have a group reading of the Diamond Cutter (Vajra Cutter) Sutra as one of our practices that morning. Geshe Gelek recommends that we begin a daily reading of any sutra on the first day of the month of Saka Dawa, May 13, in preparation for the group reading. You can download a copy of this sutra from FPMT.

The Eight Mahayana Precepts are 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 beds, taking intoxicants, wearing perfume or jewelry, or eating after noon. Our Spiritual Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, encourages students to take the Eight Mahayana Precepts on holy days.

Join us for the power of group practice to take the Eight Mahayana Precepts, followed by a light breakfast, on the celebration of the Day of Miracles, the culmination of the two-week Great Prayer Festival.

The first time a student takes these precepts it must be from a qualified teacher.

If you wish to take precepts from Geshe Gelek, please register by contacting Patrick McGinity. The deadline to register is Sunday, May 15.

We will celebrate Shakyamuni Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment, and Passing into Parinirvana this year on Saturday, May 21 (known in Tibetan as Saka Dawa). The karmic effects of all actions performed on this day are multiplied exponentially, according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, citing the Vinaya text Treasure of Quotations and Logic.

Kadampa Center will offer two opportunities on this day that are especially beneficial to newcomers to Buddhism. We are incredibly fortunate to have a qualified teacher who is happy to offer these two sets of vows when students request them.    

The first of these is taking the Eight Mahayana Precepts. https://kadampa-center.org/eight-mahayana-precepts  These are 24-hour vows that are taken just before dawn. They are vows not to kill, steal, lie, take intoxicants, engage in sexual activity, eat at the wrong times, sit on high thrones or wear jewelry.  It is incredibly powerful to live in these vows even for a single day.   The first time you take these vows it must be from a qualified master. Geshe Gelek will offer the precepts on Saka Dawa if students request him to do so. If you would like to take precepts from Geshe-la, please register by emailing Patrick McGinity You must register for precepts by Sunday, May 15.

If you are planning to attend the Light of the Path Retreat in August, this is a good opportunity to take these vows from a qualified master.  Each day of the retreat begins with the precepts,  but if you have not taken them from a master, you may miss out on this aspect of retreat.

Another wonderful opportunity for newer students of Dharma is the chance to take refuge and lay vows. Geshe Gelek will offer refuge and lay vows if students request it.
When we take refuge in the Buddha with a spiritual master, we are embracing the Buddhist path as our primary spiritual practice. Lama Yeshe said, “Buddhist refuge is a process of turning inward that begins with our discover of our own unlimited potential as human beings.”  If you wish to take refuge with Geshe-la, you must register by Wednesday, May 18.

Our schedule for Saka Dawa:

5:30 am  The  Eight Mahayana precepts STARTS PROMPTLY AT 5:30  If you haven’t taken the precepts previously and wish to do so, please contact Patrick McGinity

          Followed by light breakfast

7 am Group reading of the Diamond Cutter Sutra and other practices

        The gompa will be open all day for personal practice

4:30 pm Set up offerings for Tara practice  This may happen earlier in the day if people are present and interested in helping

6 pm Refuge and Lay vows with Geshe Gelek

7 pm The Practice of Tara that Fulfills All Wishes 

Click here to sponsor Tara Practice.

We will have a group reading of the Diamond Cutter (Vajra Cutter) Sutra as one of our practices that morning. Geshe Gelek recommends that we begin a daily reading of any sutra on the first day of the month of Saka Dawa, May 13, in preparation for the group reading. You can download a copy of this sutra from FPMT.

Because Saka Dawa is a merit-multiplying day, it’s an auspicious time for any practice, individual as well as group, and to make offerings of any kind, including financial offerings to the sangha (see more at https://kadampa-center.org/sangha-support-and-offerings), lights to the altar or stupa or flowers to the altar or stupa.

Sponsor lights or flowers:

If you are interested in becoming a member of Kadampa Center, this orientation is for you!  Orientation sessions are on the SECOND Sunday of each month (unless otherwise noted on the calendar) starting after the morning teachings (approx. 12pm). For those who wish to become members, these sessions are intended to help you feel comfortable about engaging in many aspects of Center activity, and will guide you in the process of signing up. These sessions will include information about how we are organized, volunteer opportunities information about our e-mails lists, and information about the different aspects of the center, such as the Bookstore and Library. Membership also allows you access to the new Member's Only section of our website.

Donna will be away Tuesday through Friday, May 3-6.

I will have very limited access to email.

Thanks

We will have a special talk on Medicine Buddha this Sunday, as well as our usual Children's Programs.

About Medicine Buddha: Many eons ago, seven bodhisattvas strongly prayed for the temporal and ultimate happiness of all sentient beings, that their names become wish-fulfilling in order to heal both the mental and physical sicknesses and diseases of sentient beings. They became the seven Medicine Buddhas. Just some of the benefits of Medicine Buddha practice include healing of mental and physical suffering, helping those who have died, as well as removing obstacles and creating the causes of enlightenment.

Sunday mornings typically begin with prayers, a brief meditation, and the rare opportunity to learn from a highly trained Buddhist monk. The teachings and prayers are in English.

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.

Learn what tantra is, how it works, and why it is a powerful form of practice. Get a broad overview of the four classes of tantra and learn to practice simple Kriya tantric methods. Learn to integrate tantra with lam-rim meditation for optimal results.

Students who have had prior teachings on Buddhist meditation (Discovering Buddhism, Meditiation 101, etc.) are invited to participate in this evening practice.
Led by the Discovering Buddhism teacher, Don Brown, 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.

Introduction to Tantra is the final module in the two-year course of classes called Discovering Buddhism. While anyone is welcome to attend the class, this module in particular assumes a good foundation in Buddhist concepts.