Upcoming Courses
Vajrasattva Purification Teachings and Practices (Thupten Rinpoche, May 5, 2007, Saturday 9:00 - 11:00 AM, 2:00 ~ 4:00 PM)
Thupten Rinpoche will offer instruction on the Vajrasattva purification practices during the morning session. Through developing a daily practice of this deity, we can, with proper motivation and skillful means, purify the stains of contaminated actions of body, speech, and mind created in numerous life times. Rinpoche will then lead us for a full practice session in the afternoon.
Medicine Buddha Jang Wuang (Thupten Rinpoche, May 6, 2007, Sunday 2:00 ~ 4:00 PM)
This Medicine Buddha ritual is specially performed for the assistance of those who have died. For this ceremony, please bring the name and/or a photograph of the deceased person or persons (also, any pets who have died). This will then be attached to a ritual paper, which becomes the instrument or object used for the purification. The paper carrying the name and photograph of the deceased is carefully burned. At the same time, through meditation, the consciousness of that person is visualized reaching Pure Land, which is beyond suffering.
Kalalupa Puja for Obstacle Elimination (Thupten Rinpoche, May 13, 2007, Sunday 2:00 ~ 4:00 PM)
Kalarupa is one of the most powerful protectors of the Gelugpa lineage, and is considered as the main protector for the middle scope person. The puja of Kaparupa is an extremely powerful prayer for removing karmic obstacles as well as dispelling bad, harmful spirits.
Spring Courses
Lam Rim Meditation (Venerable Yeshi Dorjee, Saturdays 3:00-5:30pm, begins March 17, 2007 for 6 weeks)
An introductory course to meditate on the outlines of Lam Rim - The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment composed by Lama Tsong Khapa. A brief introduction to Lam Rim as well as how to meditate will be taught fist, followed by analytical meditations on selected Lam Rim topics such as Perfect Human Rebirth, Death and Impermanence, Refuge(in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha), Ten Virtues and the Three Higher Trainings as well as Generating Bodhicitta. Teaching and meditation sessions will be intermixed within each class so that students can gain better understanding of the Lam Rim itself and learn to meditate on its profound meanings. Suggested course material will be the book “Lam-Rim Outlines – Beginners’ Meditation Guide” published by Wisdom Publications.
Buddhist Tenets--Sautrantika School (Geshe Tenzin Sherap, Sundays 3:00-5:30pm, begins Febuary 4, 2007 for 10 weeks)
In Lama Tsong Khapa's Three Principle of the Path he states, "You may master
renunciation and the wish, but unless you have the wisdom perceiving reality
you cannot cut the root of cyclic life". Therefore, by only practicing the
altruistic intention of compassion towards others we cannot cut the root of
suffering; we must have the wisdom to perceive reality. Tibetan Buddhist
philosophy includes the study of not only the best and final system of thought
on the true nature of reality, but also the so-called lower schools. This
provides a gradual way to approach extremely subtle topics and develops the
capacity to investigate appearances so as to penetrate their reality, which leads to liberation and the ability to help a vast number of beings. In this first course, which will be part one of a series, Geshe-la will emphasize the Sautrantika philosophical tenets so that we can build a strong foundation to understand higher schools of thought in future classes. This course will be based on Presentation of Tenets: a Precious Garland written by the 18th century Tibetan master Gonchog Jikme Wangbo. This text systematically explains and compares the four major Buddhist tenets in terms of their views of the basis, path and resultant state of Buddhahood. In addition, Geshe-la will also be using "Knowing, Naming & Negation - A sourcebook on Tibetan Sautrantika" translated by Anne Klein to further explore the Sautrantika Buddhist philosophy in depth.
Selected Topics from Lam Rim Chen Mo:The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Geshe Tenzin Sherap, Saturday 3:00-5:30pm, begins May 19, 2006, for 6 weeks)
Taking Refuge to the Three Jewels
Three Jewels are the foundation of all forms of Buddhism, and they are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. These three jewels are also referred to as the three objects of refuges in Buddhism. This course will give you the fundamental knowledge of these three jewels and its meanings.
