Upcoming Courses
Introduction to Buddhism Series: The Meaning of the Three Jewels (Geshe Gedun Samdup, December 10, 2006 Sunday 3:00-5:30pm)
The Three Jewels (the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha) are the foundation of all forms of Buddhism. This course will define these three objects of Buddhist refuge, discuss their significance and explain how they affect our lives.
Introduction to Buddhism Series: Tibetan Buddhist Ritual Practices (Geshe Gedun Samdup, December 17, 2006 Sunday 3:00-5:30pm)
This class will cover setting up an altar, making daily offerings, and how to prepare for the meditation session. This is the time to learn the answers to all those questions you've been wondering about regarding how to do your daily practice correctly.
New Year's Vajrasattva Purification Practices (Geshe Gedun Samdup, December 31, 2006 Sunday 1:30 ~ 3:30 PM, 4:00 ~ 6:00 PM, 8:00 ~ 10:00 PM, 10:30 ~ 12:30 AM, New Year's Eve Potluck Dinner 6:00 ~ 8:00 PM)
Four sessions of Vajrasattva purification practice will be held on this last day of 2006 to purify the negativities we have accumulated in the past and to welcome the new year with joyful effort.
Introduction to Buddhism Series: Four Noble Truths (Geshe Gedun Samdup, January 7, 2007 Sunday 3:00-5:30pm)
The Four Noble Truths are the central and pivotal teachings of the Buddha.
They are: the Truth of Suffering, the Cause of Suffering, the Cessation of
Suffering and the Path to the Cessation of Suffering. The Four Noble Truths are
essential in our daily practice and in how we relate to the present moment,
because their focus is on the suffering we all face and how to end it.
SPECIAL ONE DAY EVENT--Namgyal Monastery's Abbot Khen Rinpoche Geshe Dawa will be visiting our center and offering teachings on "8 verses of mind training"(Namgyal Monastery is His Holiness Dalai Lama's monastery) Date and time: Saturday January 27, 2007 from 10:00AM -12:00Noon and 2:00PM-4:00PM
Buddhist Tenets--Sautrantika School (Geshe Tenzin Sherap, Sundays 3:00-5:30pm, begins Febuary 4, 2007 for 8 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.
