Lama Zopa’s advice on helping the victims of natural disasters

Rinpoche has provided the following advice on how the FPMT centers and students can benefit those who suffered greatly from the tsunami disaster in Asia:

http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/zopa/advice/tsunami.asp#top

Although Lama Zopa provided this advice in response to a specific disaster, it is still very relevant to the many natural disasters happening today. Specifically, Rinpoche provides guidance on prayers and pujas that one can do to help the victims.

For those of you who want to make a donation to help those affected by the devastating cyclone in Burma, but are unsure about which agencies are able to deliver aid, here are a few:

• Oxfam
• Mae Tao Clinic
• United Nations World Food Programme
• Help Avaaz raise funds for the International Burmese Monks Organization and related groups

Thanks to Dina Li and ani Tenzin Lhamo for their contributions to this post!

Happy Mother’s Day: repaying all mother sentient beings for their kindness

Happy Mother’s Day!

“…In all, my parents took great care of my life with much suffering, creating bad karma by making other beings suffer so that I would be happy.

Moreover, because my present mother has been my mother in countless human lives, she has been infinitely kind to me since time without beginning.

Nagarjuna said,

“The amount of milk we have drunk from one mother is greater than the amount of water in the oceans.”

If all the milk I have ever received from my mother could be collected it would fill infinite space, and I could continue to drink it in future lives. Similarly, the food received from her is as infinite as space, and all my past ka-kas and pi-pis, the result of that food, would fill an infinite, immense extension. So would the clothes she gave me, the immense ocean of tears she shed out of worry for me, and the numberless bodies she sacrificed to protect my life.

Besides the kindness she gave me as a human, there are those she gave me as different beings.

I received exactly the same amount of benefits from each sentient being. Therefore, as my present mother has been infinitely kind to me, so has every other sentient being.

Receiving Bodhicitta depends on having Great Compassion. This depends on Great Love, which comes from the unselfish love that sees only beauty.  This can be easily achieved by considering sentient beings as mother and remembering their kindness to me. This is done because living beings cherish, of the two parents, their mother more than their father.

Even worldly people feel the responsibility of repaying help received from their mother or from other people, even if this help is in small, insignificant things. For instance, this help may be in satisfying my desires, by giving invitations to parties, food, or cups of tea, or by saying one or two sweet, empty words, pleasing to my ears. Also, even deeply ignorant animals such as dogs help their master in return for kindness received, so why can’t I do the same?

Yet, repaying mother sentient beings in their worldly needs is not enough nor is it the best way, because it can’t extinguish their suffering or its cause.

The best method of repayment is by helping them with the true realization of Dharma, because this helps them to stop all interrupting mind, and so to receive Enlightenment.

~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche (The Wish Fulfilling Golden Sun of the Mahayana Thought Training, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, www.lamayeshe.com)

Khensur Rinpoche Returns!

Ven Khensur Rinpoche will arrive in Northern Virginia late next week! His first class on Shantideva will be on Saturday, May 17.

Please see the main calendar for more information about this and other events: http://www.guhyasamaja.org/calendar.html.

For more information on the Basic Program, including instructions on how to enroll in the Shantideva class, please visit: http://www.guhyasamaja.org/BasicProgram.html.

Tara Pujas for the Success of the Center

You may have heard that Kopan Monastery has been doing monthly Tara Pujas for the success of the Guhyasamaja Center and it’s members and supporters. For those of you who don’t know about Tara or about the Tara Puja, here is an excerpt from our website:

“Tara is the female Buddha of compassion. Tibetans view her like an Enlightened mother, always ready to come to the aid of beings in need. Doing Tara practice helps us to awaken our own potential for Enlightened compassion. During the Tara puja itself, while chanting prayers, we do meditations and visualization practices to create extensive good karma together, creating causes to be able to generate inner realizations and also to be able to benefit others extensively. For beginners, it can be challenging to do the meditations and visualizations while chanting the prayers that make up the Tara puja, but such group practices are actually a very powerful way of creating karma together for success and transformation. “

According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching, Tara the Liberator, the following are benefits of doing the Tara practice:

“Tara is quick to grant success in obtaining the ultimate happiness of enlightenment. You receive much good merit, or cause of happiness; it prevents a suffering rebirth in your next life; you receive initiation from millions of buddhas; and you achieve enlightenment. Besides these, however, Tara practice has many other benefits. Reciting the Twenty-one Taras’ prayer with devotion, at dawn or dusk—or remembering Tara, singing praises and reciting mantras at any time of the day or night—protects you from fear and dangers, and fulfill all your wishes. If you pray to Tara, Tara is particularly quick to grant help.

There are also many temporal benefits from Tara practice, either reciting the Tara mantra or the Twenty-one Taras’ prayer. Tara can solve many problems in your life: liberate you from untimely death; help you recover from disease; bring you success in business; help you to find a job; bring you wealth. When you have a really serious problem, such as a life-threatening disease, if you rely upon Tara, very commonly you will be freed from that problem; you will recover from that disease. If you eat poison, if you rely upon Tara, the poison will not harm you. By doing Tara prayers and mantras, couples with difficulty having a child can have a child—and whichever they want, a son or a daughter. These are very common experiences. Through Tara practice, you can obtain any happiness of this life that you wish.”

For more information about this practice, please consult the following resources:

• Praise to the Twenty-One Taras (prayer booklet): http://www.fpmt.org/prayers/21tarasltrrdr.pdf
• The Amitabha Buddhist Center’s introduction to the Tara Puja: http://www.fpmtabc.org/buddhist-practice-1-2-4.php
• Text from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching, Tara the Liberator: http://www.lamayeshe.com/lamazopa/tara.shtml

More on the Spiritual Teacher

One of the things that strikes me the most about teachers such as Geshe Sopa Rinpoche, is his amazing ability to meet the needs of those around him. I had the good fortune to spend some time with him in October when he visited D.C. for His Holiness’s Congressional Gold Medal Award ceremony. A group of old friends and students took him out to lunch and Geshe la chatted with them about their families at length. I asked him a few questions about his latest book, and he joked around saying that there would be yet another volume which would be coming out soon and it would be expensive and thick, but that I must buy it and study it. As we were leaving the restaurant, a couple of businessmen approached us and asked if Geshe la was the Dalai Lama, and we all laughed and said “No”. But they asked if they could say Hi to Geshe la anyway. And just for an instant, Geshe la transformed into a back-slapping guy and gave them each a hearty hand-shake perfectly mirroring the businessmen’s energy. Then it was over, and he resumed speaking in his gentle manner with his Tibetan friends. Later in the afternoon, he listened patiently and with interest as Yangsi Rinpoche described the Maitripa Institute discussing all of the famous professors who had taught there recently.

I was reminded of this brief encounter with Geshe Sopa by a passage from the Flower Ornament Scripture (Avatamsaka Sutra, translated by Thomas Cleary, Shambhala Publications) which describes how bodhisattvas strive to help all sentient beings — not in a generic way, but by understanding their individual needs. The sutra says,

“…[enlightening beings] …set their minds on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment to know all the differences in afflictions of all beings in all worlds. In other words, they want to thoroughly know light afflictions and heavy afflictions, afflictions of sleep and afflictions of waking, the various differences in the innumerable afflictions of each and every sentient being, and their various musings and ruminations, to clear away all their confusions and defilements; they want to thoroughly know all afflictions based on ignorance and afflictions connected with affection, to cut off all bonds of afflictions in all realms of being; they want to thoroughly know all afflictions of greed, all afflictions of hatred, all afflictions of folly, and all afflictions of greed, hatred and folly in equal measure, to sever the root of all afflictions; they want to thoroughly know all afflictions of ego, afflictions of possessions, and afflictions of conceit, to be totally aware of all afflictions; they want to thoroughly know all basic and concomitant afflictions arising from misconceptions, and the sixty-two views arising from the idea of a real body existing, to vanquish all afflictions; they want to know thoroughly the afflictions of mental shrouds and hindrances; to develop a heart of great compassion to rescue and protect, to sunder the web of all afflictions and cause the nature of omniscience to be utterly pure — this is why they set their minds on unexcelled complete perfect enlightenment.”

A friend of mine mentioned how she told her teacher that she was so disappointed that she couldn’t attend a retreat that she had requested several year ago. She shared her feelings with ther teacher and his response was exactly what she needed to hear — that just by generating the pure intention to participate in the retreat, she would accumulate the same merit as if she actually attended. Which reminds me of another passage from the Flower Ornament Scripture explaining how bodhisattvas teach each person according to his/her needs:

“How do enlightening beings explain the truth to sentient beings according to their needs and capacities? They know what beings do; they know their causes and conditions; they know their mental behavior; they know their inclinations. To those with much greed and desire they expound impurity; to those with much anger and hatred they expound magnanimity and kindness; to those with much ignorance and delusion they teach diligent contemplation; to those in whom these poisons of greed, hatred, and ignorance are equal, they expound the teaching of the development of the knowledge to overcome them. Those who like birth and death they teach about the three kinds of suffering. To those who are attached to where they are, they teach the empty nullity of places. To those who are lazy they talk of great vigor. To those who harbor conceit, they explain the equality of things. To flatterers and deceivers they tell of the simple honesty of the hearts of enlightening beings. To those who like silence and tranquility they expound the Teaching extensively, so that they will accomplish it. Thus do the enlightening beings teach according to what is necessary and appropriate.”

We are truly fortunate to be able to receive teachings from His Holiness, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche and many other fully qualified teachers.

– Posted by Dina Li

Upcoming Dharma Teachings and Events

The Shantideva class with Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche will be held at the Unitarian Church in Reston, Saturday mornings from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm starting May 17. Class will be preceded by a short group practice and meditation session led by Dina Li. Please visit our website for more information.

Seeing Yourself through Compassionate Eyes - update:

The class “Seeing Yourself through Compassionate Eyes” ends on Tuesday May 20th. Summer break will begin as of that date. Any requests and suggestions for the text used in our next study group can be sent to aniTenzinLhamo at gmail.com (replace the ‘at’ with an @), and announcements about that class will be made in August.

Save the Date: Golden Light Sutra Recitation:

The first Sunday of the month, May 4, brings our next recitation of the Sutra of Golden Light. To be on the mailing list please contact aniTenzinLhamo at gmail.com (replace the ‘at’ with an @). Members around the world join from their own homes; reading times are coordinated so we join one another in heart and mind to read at the same hour. The sutra draws the forces of goodness to our world to promote peace, harmony and virtue.

Other Upcoming Teachings and Events include:

• Sangatha Sutra Reading, Saturday, May 3, 12:30 - 1:30 pm, The Unitarian/Universalist Church, Reston.
• Bliss of Inner Fire Retreat, June 26 - 30, Beallsville, MD with Khensur Rinpoche. Update: overnight accommodations are almost sold out, however, there is plenty of room for day commuters. http://guhyasamaja.org/InnerFireRetreat.htm. Higher Yoga Tantra initiates only.
• Mahamudra Retreat, August 15 - 18, Unitarian Church, Reston. Led by Khensur Rinpoche; Details and registration: http://guhyasamaja.org/mahamudraRetreat.htm

Please visit our website for more information about these
and other teachings and events.

Some Dharma Gems from around the Web

Audio and Video Webcasts of His Holiness’s teachings available online at the Dalai Lama Foundation Website:
http://www.dalailamafoundation.org/members/en/xivVideo.jsp

Audio of His Holiness’s teachings on In Praise of Dependent Origination, given in San Francisco, April 2008:
http://www.dalailamabay2007.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=10&Itemid=60

MP3 Files of lectures on the FPMT Discovering Buddhism series, available on www.archive.org:
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=discovering%20buddhism

Tibetan Lunar Calendar and Dharma Practice Dates (courtesy of the Liberation Prison Project Calendar):
http://www.fpmt.org/resources/dates.asp

The Bob Thurman Podcast:
http://fyminc.typepad.com/bob_thurman_podcast/

Bob Thurman and Matthieu Ricard on TED:
http://www.ted.com/speakers/view/id/119
http://www.ted.com/speakers/view/id/171

Do you know of other online Dharma resources that you would like to share with the community? Leave a comment or send us an email at gcsanghablog@gmail.com.

International Vesak Festival in Washington DC on May 24, 2008

The 22nd Annual
International Vesak Day
May 24, 2008 (2552 B.E.), 9 AM-3 PM

Join Buddhists from temples of many cultures and traditions as we celebrate the Birth, Enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana of Lord Buddha.

Keynote Address by the Venerable Lama Kalsang

The 22nd International Vesak Day’s activities also include:
Offerings and circumambulations, prayers and homages to Buddha, guided meditations and talks given by Buddhist teachers from around the Washington, DC area, and food offerings by members of the participating communities.

Held at:

Sakya Phuntsok Ling
354 Prelude Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20901, (301) 592-9286
From the Beltway - Route 495: Take Exit 30, marked Colesville Road/Columbia Pike (Route 29 North). Drive 2 miles (about 5 minutes) and turn left on Prelude Drive. The Retreat Center is 2 and 1/2 blocks on the right. Ample parking can be found on the first two blocks of Prelude Drive or by turning right onto Oak Leaf Drive (at the second intersection on Prelude Drive.)
All are welcome. No charge. Free Parking. Donations gratefully accepted.

Please note, this is not a Guhyasamaja Center event.
Please contact the organizers for more information.

Upcoming Class — Mindfulness & Compassion

Mindfulness & Compassion taught by Dr. Lorne Ladner
Saturdays, April 19 - May 3, 2008
10:30 am - noon
The Unitarian/Universalist Church, 1625 Wiehle Ave., Reston VA 20190 (lower level)

Visit our website for more information about this class.

Reminder: Next Golden Light Sutra Recitation on April 6, 2008

Join our cyber-sangha global recitation of the Sutra of Golden Light. Read in your own home, but at the same time as others in your group, for about 30 minutes.

One group reading begins at 10 am (est), the other at 9 pm, on the first Sunday of each month.  Our next recitation will be on Sunday, April 6.  Everyone reads the first chapter and the last, plus other chapters either assigned to you (to ensure a total sutra reading is completed) or chosen by you.

Please feel welcome to join a group spanning the US and circling the globe. Contact aniTenzinLhamo at msn.com (replace the ‘at’ with @) for more information.