Our General Schedule
-
Basic Meditation - Every Sunday, 10 to 11 AM, group instruction and practice, open to all.
-
One Hundred Deities practice with tsog offering - The second Sunday of every month at 11:30 AM. (NOTE: A "tsog" is a ritual banquet supplied by offerings of the participants. Bring offerings of flowers, finger foods, non-alcoholic beverages.)
-
Long Green Tara practice with tsog offering - The fourth Sunday of every month at 11:30 AM. (NOTE: The Tara practice requires vegetarian tsog offerings.)
-
Short Green Tara practice - All other Sundays, 11:30 AM to noon.
-
Meditation/Book Study - Wednesday evenings, 7 to 8 PM, we alternate between an advanced meditation class for experienced practitioners, and the Book Study (reading and discussion for everyone of "The Bodhisattva Way of Life," by Shantideva).
|
Book Study
On alternating Wednesdays
from 7-8 PM we have a reading from and a discussion of "The Bodhisattva
Way of Life" a.k.a. the Bodhisattvacaryavatara, by Santideva. Santideva,
an eighth-century Buddhist monk, is among the most renowned and
esteemed figures in the entire history of Mahayana Buddhism. Open to
all.
|
 |
| Santideva |
|
|
Green Tara
We practice the Long Green Tara practice with a vegetarian tog offering the fourth Sunday of every month at 11:30 AM practice lasts about an hour and a half. A "tsog" is a ritual banquet supplied by offerings of the participants. Bring offerings of flowers, finger foods, non-alcoholic beverages.We practice the Short Green Tara practice all the first and fifth Sundays of the month at 11:30 AM practice lasts about an hour. We repeat the 21 Homages to Tara seven times
Green Tara is the essence of the holy minds (dharmakaya) of all the buddhas. She is the Mother from whom all the past, present and future buddhas have been born. Her name means "the Swift Liberator" indicating her powers to hastily release and free us from the causes of samsaric suffering, eight fears or dangers (ignorance, hatred, attachment, pride, jealousy, wrong view, doubt and miserliness) and physical as well as mental diseases. It is said that through devotion and practice to the powerful Tara, one may be freed from suffering, liberate sentient beings and ultimately, achieve enlightenment.
|
 |
| Green Tara |
|
|
Meditation Class
We provide a free group
class on basic meditation instruction
and practice every Sunday from 10 to 11 AM. By learning to meditate, the
practitioner can develop a
holistic world view that is the foundation for expanding our
relationships with self and others. The class is centered around calm
abiding (shine/samatha) meditation which is the art of calming the mind
as taught in Tibetan Buddhism. Open to all.
An advanced meditation class is held alternating Wednesday nights at 7 PM for experienced practitioners.
|
 |
| Buddha Shakyamuni |
|
|
One Hundred Deities
We practice the One Hundred Deities sadhana
with tsog offering the second Sunday of every month at 11:30 AM. practice lasts about an hour and a half. A "tsog"
is a ritual banquet supplied by offerings of the participants. Bring
offerings of flowers, finger foods, non-alcoholic beverages.
Legend
has it that the One Hundred Deities text first descended upon the rooftop of
the Indian King Ja's palace. Realizing its importance, the King
practiced the Hundred Deities text for six months. Then, the golden body
of Vajrapani, measuring one inch tall, appeared and bestowed blessings
upon the King allowing him to have full understanding of the text. It
was King Ja who transmitted the Hundred Deities' teachings to our
beloved Guru Padmasambhava. While on his way to West South of Roksha,
Guru Padmasambhava also transmitted the Hundred Deities' teachings to
his disciples. Lady Yeshe Tshogyal used golden ink to inscribe the
teachings on a piece of paper and concealed it in a cave for the benefit
of future generations. The teachings were later revealed by Karma
Lingpa, who transmitted it to his disciple, Orthon Jiangpon and all the
way down to our Palyul lineage master, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche.
|
 |
| 42 Peaceful Dieties |
|
|
 |
| 58 Wrathful Dieties |
|
|
Rigdzin Dupa
Every Guru Rinpoche Day (the 10th lunar day of the Tibetan
calendar) we celebrate with a Rigdzin Dupa practice. Practice lasts around 2 hours. "Rigdzin Dupa, 'The
Gathering of Awareness Holders', is a very powerful practice for
dispelling obstacles and is one of the three root sadhanas in the
Longchen Nyingthig tradition." -Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche.
|
 |
| Rigdzin Dupa |
|
|
Yumka
We celebrate Dakini Day (the 25th lunar day of the Tibetan
calendar) with a Yumka practice and tsog. Practice lasts about 2 hours. A "tsog" is a ritual banquet provided
by offerings of the participants. Offerings may be of flowers, finger
foods or non-alcoholic beverages. The central meditation
visualization of the Yumka practice is on the wisdom Dakini Yeshe
Tsogyal, foremost consort to Guru Rinpoche. Yumka is renown as a full
path to enlightenment and as an especially efficacious means for
purifying one's Vajrayana samaya.
|
 |
| Yeshe Tsogyal |
|
|
|