Dharma Quote: Forgetful?

Having a mind that is forgetful or foolish, finding it very difficult to comprehend even a simple Dharma subject is the result of negative karma accumulated in relation to holy objects.

~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche, “The Heart of the Path”

Dharma Resources for Teens

Here are some links to resources for teens interested in Buddhism and Tibet:

FPMT links
HABIT New Zealand
Students for a Free Tibet

Please share your favorite links using the comment feature.

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The Center is planning on holding meditation classes for teens in the summer of 2010. We welcome your ideas and experience! Please use the comment feature, or email Ven Tendrol: anitendrol@guhyasamaja.org.

How to choose your yidam?

For students in the West who are interested in practicing tantra, one of the most perplexing questions, is which deity practice to choose. There are so many deities and initiations are offered more often now than in the past. It’s easy to keep taking initiations hoping to find the perfect practice and then end up unable to maintain the daily practice commitments.

A student asked Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa how to choose a tantric deity for his main practice. He wondered if he should ask a lama, or if he should choose one himself. Interestingly, Rinpoche advised that he make the decision himself based on the practice that he felt most comfortable with.

In my case, a college friend (one of the first Tibetan students in America in the 1980s) gave me a photo of a beautiful poster of a deity which, at the time, I knew nothing about. I hung it on the wall in my room, and then lost track of it after moving several times. Some years later, by coincidence, someone else gave me a small photo of the same deity who I still knew nothing about, but I kept it on my altar because it was fascinating. Finally, in the 90s, Ven Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche offered the initiation for that particular deity and when I saw the picture in the advertisement, I knew I just had to go. From then on, that became my main practice. To my great delight I re-discovered the original poster in my parent’s apartment more than 20 years later. It’s now framed and hanging in my prayer room.

What drew you to your deity practice? Did a lama suggest it as being the best practice for you?

Welcome to Samsara & Nirvana

This blog post is for students taking the Discovering Buddhism course Samsara & Nirvana (March – May, 2010). Weekly homework questions and meditations will be posted here. Please share your thoughts and questions. Course logistics will be posted on the website.

His Holiness Teaching in NYC May 2010

Teachings in New York, NY, USA from May 20 to 22: His Holiness will give three-day teachings on Shantideva’s A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (chodjug) & Kamalashila’s The Middling States of Meditation (gomrim barpa) organized by Healing the Divide & The Tibet Center. Contact Website: www.dalailamany.org

(source: http://www.dalailama.com/teachings/schedule)

Introducing Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa

For a short biography of our beloved teacher Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa, please visit our website — it’s mid-way down the page. There’s also a description of Ven Tashi. For more information, visit Do Ngak Khun Phen Ling’s website. This is Rinpoche’s Center in Redding, CT.

Buddhist Cosmology Teaching

Sunday, Jan 31 and Feb 28
1:30 pm – 5:00 pm
8120 Erika Drive
Manassas, VA (private residence)

Suggested offering: $50 members, $75 non-members for both classes.

We may think of cosmology as something distant from our daily lives and experiences. However, the Buddhist view is that the cosmology of the external universe is intimately interconnected with our own minds.. Understanding the nature of the universe around us and of our own minds go hand in hand. In recent decades, there have been numerous, fruitful dialogues between Buddhist masters (including H.H. the Dalai Lama) and Western physicists on the nature of physical phenomena and on the interdependent connections between mind and matter.

In this series of classes, Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa will present some detailed descriptions of the Buddhist view of the universe. His presentation will include descriptions of realms of exerience beyond the direct experience of normal, human consciousness. The essence of Buddhist practice is a path unifying compassion and wisdom. These teachings will expand our wisdom about the nature of ourselves and world around us, while also helping us to empathically imagine alternate ways of experiencing the world, allowing us to develop a broader, deeper sort of compassion that embraces beings in all possible realms of experience. They will also include interesting points about realms of experience accessed solely via meditation.

Space is limited, please pre-register by emailing your name and the days you plan on attending to: registration@guhyasamaja.org.

Lama Zopa Video Clips (FPMT)

Here’s a great website, it is a collection of short video clips featuring Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

This one is with Ven Tenzin Phuntsok Rinpoche who is seen in the terrific movie Unmistaken Child.

Thanks to my friend Gabriel M. for telling me about this. Enjoy!

Long Life Prayers for His Holiness Jan 23 2010

On January 23, 2010, Tibetan associations and students world-wide will join in offering long life prayers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A beautiful video of the prayer ceremony in Dharmasala sponsored by the Central Tibet Administration is available on His Holiness’s website.

Please read the long life prayer and then pause and rejoice in all that His Holiness does to benefit all sentient beings. May he remain with us forever and may all holy wishes be fulfilled.

Vajrayogini Initiation Filling Quickly

Vajrayogini Initiation and Tsok Commentary by Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa

Friday, March 12, Saturday, March 13, & Sunday March 14
1:30 – 6:00 pm in Manassas, VA

This is a rare opportunity to take this Highest Yoga Tantric initiation from a true master. Rinpoche’s teaching on an overview of the Tantric path and on the practice of tsog on Saturday and Sunday will be based on verses from the Lama Chopa (Guru Puja) by the First Panchen Lama. Tsok offering is a commitment for any Highest Yoga tantra practice.

Description and registration are posted on the Center website.