BuddhaFest 2013 June 20 – June 23

Another exciting weekend of films and talks brought to us by our BuddhaFest friends, tickets are on sale now. They sell out quickly.

In addition, there will be a new event, Tibet Fest.

Saturday, June 22, 3:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Artisphere Ballroom

Tibet Fest is a family friendly event inspired by Tibetan Buddhist culture and the global concern for its survival inside Tibet. Experience and explore the rich traditions of Tibet through an afternoon of activities for the whole family — from making prayer flags, to sending His Holiness the Dalai Lama a birthday card. There will also be a Tibetan market so you can take home a piece of Tibetan culture.

The afternoon will include guest speakers and meditation. Come hang out with us and share in the dance, food, music and spirit of Tibetan culture.

Free admission for children 12 and under.

Presented in partnership with International Campaign for Tibet and Capital Area Tibetan Association

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When should you not eat meat?

In a teaching given at Instituto Lama Tzongkhapa, Geshe Jampa Gelek said this in response to a student’s question about eating meat:

Regarding the question of eating meat or not, nowadays many people say that the Buddha said that one cannot eat meat in the Vinaya, in Sutra, and some tantras as well. However, if we go back to the Vinaya, which is the basis, the Buddha said that one should not eat meat characterized by three circumstances: seeing, hearing, and thinking. This means that if one sees, hears, or thinks that that meat has been killed on purpose for you or you have a doubt, “I wonder about that” then you should not eat the meat. These are the three circumstances in which one should not eat meat.

The meat that you find in supermarkets, and so forth, was not specifically slaughtered for you. You have not seen, heard, or thought that it was.

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His Holiness Sakya Trizin: Vajrasattva Initiation May 14 2013

Vajrasattva Initiation and Teaching with His Holiness Sakya Trizin

May 14, 2013

10:00 am – initiation
2:30 pm – teaching

Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza, Fenton Room
One Veterans Place, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Organizer: Sakya Phuntsok Ling

Receiving the initiation and teaching of Vajrasattva (Dorje Sempa) is not only a profound blessing, but is one of the most effective methods for purifying negative karma and removing obstacles on the path. His Holiness will bestow the initiation in the morning and will give a teaching on Vajrasattva in the afternoon. One must receive the initiation in order to attend the teaching.

Donation: $25 non-members

Sakya Phuntsok Ling – online registration

For more information, please contact the organizer, Sakya Phuntsok Ling.
Email: sakya@sakyatemple.org
Telephone: (301) 592-9286

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Helping the Honeybees

The US Department of Agriculture and US Environmental Protection Agency released a scientific report on May 2, 2013 on the health of honey bees. The report found that there are numerous factors for the decline in numbers including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.

The world-wide decline in honey bee populations is of great concern because many crops such as almonds, apples, oranges, cucumbers, squash and some beans are dependent on bees.

The USDA-USEPA report found that nutrition has a major impact on individual and colony longevity. As more land has been developed, there is less open space for bees to forage. Farmers are planting large areas of land with high value row crops such as corn thereby reducing the variety of forage types. Finally, modern weed control methods have resulted in the loss of have reduced availability of weeds that once provided valuable nutrition to bees.

What can we do to help? Rather than just pointing the finger at corporate agriculture, we could each help the honeybees by planting the flowers that they favor. As the suburbs continue to spread, more and more land belongs to individual homeowners. If every one planted a few flowers that are favored by the honey bees, that would make a significant difference. Even if you can only plant a pot of flowers, or maybe a window box, that would help the bees in your neighborhood.

So, the next time you are at your local garden center, look for plants such as the following:

Asters
Salvia
Sunflowers
Thyme
Mint
Coneflowers
Bee balm

From a Buddhist perspective, helping the honeybees is one of the several ways to practice generosity which is to offer protection to sentient beings no matter how small they are. Parents and teachers can engage children in planting flowers that bees prefer and thereby teach them consideration and respect for these living creatures who indirectly help keep us alive. Through these small steps, we can help sustain the environment and ensure that we have food to eat in the future.

References

The Honey Bee Conservancy – tips on how to create a bee friendly garden (and much more!).

Bee Keeping for Dummies – includes a chapter on which flowers to plant to feed bees.

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A quip about highest yoga tantra

Student: “If the inner offering is empty of inherent existence already in the generation stage, what is it transformed into in the completion stage?”

Geshe Jampa Gelek (Instituto Lama Tzong Khapa): “Being inherently existent”.

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Resources for Introducing Buddhism to Children

There are so many creative and inspiring books and other educational materials for teaching Buddhism to children. It’s impossible to list all of them. Here’s just a starting point:

Buddhist Studies for Primary and Secondary Students – this is an extensive collection of online materials for children including jataka stories, art projects, songs, meditations, and the history of Buddhism. It also has great advice about parenting.

FPMT’s online store has a wide selection of terrific stories, Tibetan folk tales, and other educational materials for children, parents, as well as teachers. It includes some of the resources that are available from the Maitreya Universal Education project.

Ready Set Happy is a collection of songs, poems, plays, games, and science experiments for children, families and teachers, based on the 16 Guidelines for life. It has been designed for 7- to 11-year-olds but is also being used with younger and older children.

Buddha in Your Backpackby Frank Metcalf is more than an intro to Buddhism for teens. It helps young adults see how Buddhism can help make sense of the world around them.

Parallax Press has a wide variety of books for children and parents including many by Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. A Pebble for Your Pocket is one of my all time favorites.

Prince Siddhartha: The Story of Buddha by Jonathan Landaw is a classic. With beautiful illustrations, this is a perfect introduction to the story of Buddha’s life.

Please feel free to suggest your favorite resources.

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Practices for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Health

Venerable Roger Kunsang recently published an article on the FPMT website with suggested practices to benefit Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Here is the Hayagriva prayer and mantra:

Your pure triple faces are adorned with skull ornaments of five Buddha
families.
Six limbs are holding weapons in the mudra of accomplishing siddhis.
In the aspect of great bliss with highly raised dignified horse head,
I pay supplication to you, the holy and powerful deity.
HRI VAJRA KRODHA HAYA GRIVA HULU HULU HUM PHAT

And here is Lama Zopa’s short long life prayer:

You who uphold the Subduer’s moral way, who serve as the bountiful bearer-of-all,
Sustaining, preserving, and spreading Manjunath’s victorious doctrine;
Who masterfully accomplish magnificent prayers honoring the Three Jewels:
Savior of myself and others, your disciples, please, please live long!

We owe so much to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and will be lost without his guidance and presence. Please exert yourself in these practices so he doesn’t leave us.

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Wasting food is wasting merit

Geshe Losang Dhargye of Do Ngak Kunphen Ling in Redding, Conn., said that wasting food on your plate at the end of a meal is like throwing away your hard earned merit. The only reason we are fortunate to have food to eat is because of merit that we accumulated in this and former lives. So if your eyes are bigger than your stomach and you pile too much food on your plate and toss it, you’re essentially wasting your merit (and money).

Americans waste 33 million tons of food a year, according to a 2012 report on food waste that aired on National Public Radio. That’s a lot of trashed merit!

And while childhood obesity is also a serious problem in America, in stark contrast, on the other side of the globe in Somalia, 260,000 people perished in the 2011 famine — a famine that may have been caused by climate change as well as social factors (see the April 29, 2013 Huffington Post article).  It is heartbreaking that a high percentage of these deaths were children under five.

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Gyumed Khensur Losang Jampa: Kalachakra Practice Instructions May 10 -12

Friday May 10, 7:30 to 9:30 PM
Saturday May 11 & Sunday May 12, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (with breaks for lunch and tea)

Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Jampa will teach for this weekend on Kalachakra. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other high lamas have often given the Kalachakra Initiation for world peace in the West. But, it’s rare to hear detailed teachings on Kalachakra from a fully qualified lama. Over the course of this weekend, Rinpoche will explain the essentials of Kalachakra practice, noting how it differs from other tantric practices and how it can grant enlightenment in one lifetime!

These teachings are only open to those who have received a highest yoga tantra empowerment (whether into the practice of Kalachakra or another highest yoga tantra deity).

Registration is not required.

Suggested donation: Members $35, Non-members $50, no one will be turned away due to lack of funds

Location: 10875 Main Street, Unit 108, Fairfax, VA
Hosted by: Guhyasamaja Center
Questions? info@guhyasamaja.org

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Summer 2013 North America Dharma Courses

Here’s an incomplete list of summer Dharma courses taking place in North America this year. These are primarily FPMT Centers with a few other Gelukpa Centers and teachings from other traditions as well. For registration information and the most up-to-date information, please visit the links below.

Rejoice! We are truly blessed to have so many unbelievable opportunities to learn from incredible masters.

Tsechen Kunchab Ling. H.H. Sakya Trizin: Teachings and Empowerments. April – July, 2013. Walden, NY.

Land of Medicine Buddha. Jangtse Choje Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche Fri-Sat, June 7-8, 2013. Soquel, CA.

Vajrapani Institute. Summer Program – Jangtse Choje Lobsang Tenzin Rinpoche Jun 12, 2013 – Jun 20, 2013. Boulder Creek, CA.

Land of Medicine Buddha. Lam Rim Teachings with Chöden Rinpoche – Day 1 Sun, June 30 at 3pm; Mon, July 1 at 7pm; Tue, July 2 at 7pm. Soquel, CA.

Guhyasamaja Center. Realizing Emptiness: Praise to Dependent Origination. July 1 to 7, 2013. Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa. Am Kolel Retreat Center, Beallesville, MD.

Vajrapani Institute. Open Your Heart to Others: Eight Verses of Mind Training. Choden Rinpoche and Jon Landaw. July 5 – 7, 2013. Boulder Creek, CA.

Jewel Heart. 2013 Jewel Heart Joyful Summer Retreat
Gelek Rinpoche. July 4 – Sunday, July 14. Ann Arbor, MI.

Deer Park Buddhist Center. Wisdom/Special Insight Chapter of Je Tsong Khapa’s Middle Length Lam Rim Monday, July 8th through Friday, August 2nd, 2013. Ganden Jangtse Choje Rinpoche. Oregon, WI.

Bodhicitta Chapter of Je Tsong Khapa’s Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path
Jangtse Choje Rinpoche. August 5th through August 16th. Oregon, WI.

Mindrolling Lotus Garden. Summer Shedra H.E. Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche. July 24 – August 4. Lotus Garden Retreat Center. Stanley, VA.

Vajrapani Institute. Teen Camp at Vajrapani. Jul 19,2013 – Jul 22, 2013. Boulder Creek, CA.

Namgyal Monastery. Kalachakra Six Session Guru Yoga Retreat July 28 – August 4, 2013. Geshe Lobsang Dakpa. Du Khor Choling, The Land of Kalachakra Study and Practice.

Six Yogas of Naropa & Hevajra Empowerment Chodon Rinpoche and Geshe Gyalten. August 2-11, 2013. Lasell College. Newton, MA.

Do Ngak Khunphen Ling. Nine-day Teaching on the Vajrayogini Generation Stage. Gyumed Khensur Rinpoche Losang Jampa. August 17-25, 2013. New York City.

May our precious gurus never leave us, and may we always have opportunities to study and practice the holy Dharma.

Last updated: April 26, 2013

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