Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism - Karma

  • 02/02/2020
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • 316 Commerce Street, Alexandria VA 22314

Registration

   Our weekly meditation group continues our new program this Sunday, February 2nd.  "Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism" is a series of 13 classes on learning the basic practices of our Palyul lineage masters, with an emphasis on Guru Yoga practice.  The topic for our fourth class in the series is Karma and the Cycle of Existence.    

   We meet at our usual place, 316 Commerce Street, in beautiful Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia.  

   Everyone is invited to join us!  We're asking for $10 for this class to help us cover the cost of rent but no one will be turned away, regardless of ability to pay!

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More details on our new program:

Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism: How Guru Yoga is the Quintessential Meditation Instruction and the Main Practice of Palyul

   Palyul Changchub Dargyeling, Washington DC Area will offer a 13 week course introducing the Palyul practice of Guru Yoga from the Nam Cho Terma of Tulku Mingyur Dorje. The intention for this course is to provide students with a stronger understanding of Guru Yoga, the primary practice of the Palyul tradition, and to prepare students for other traditional practices of Tibetan Buddhism. Each class will include an instruction on various aspects of the preliminary practices (Ngondro), contemplations of those instructions, and a thirty minute Guru Yoga practice. All those interested are welcome to attend, there are no prerequisites; it is recommended that students attend the whole course in order to contextual the classes. Time for Q&A will be available during each class.

   “The ritual practices of guru-yoga in all Tibetan traditions include requesting inspiration from one’s visualized mentor to realize each step of the path to enlightenment and imagining the inspiration entering one’s heart in the graphic form of brilliant light.” -Alexander Bezin Wise Teacher, Wise Student (p. 64)

   “The Tibetan word jin-lab is loosely translated as ‘blessings.’ Jin-lap transforms our whole being—our body, our speech, the way we think, how we understand phenomena, and the way we relate to ourselves and the world. Ultimately, however, what jin-lap does is to break the shell of our ego and force us to see the true nature of our minds. Among the many other causes and conditions, in the Vajrayana it is the guru who is considered the most important and indeed supreme cause for doing all of the above.” -Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Ocean of Blessings (p. vii)

   “If we continuously supplicate Padmasambhava with intense devotion, then he will not be somewhere far away—he will always be right here, inseparable from us. Whether or not we see Padmasambhava, inseparable from our root master, depends upon our recognizing that he is inseparable from us, visualizing him on the crown of our head, and generating one-point faith and devotion toward him.

   He is always present, so if we cannot see him it is due to our own obscurations, negative emotions, and conceptual thoughts.

   If we had pure perception from the beginning, we wouldn’t need to train in it. However, at present our mind is filled with disturbing emotions, our way of perceiving is very obscured, and we lack pure perception. Therefore, we need to train in pure perception.” -His Holiness Penor Rinpoche Ocean of Blessing (pp. 9-11)

Class Schedule (date, topic, instructor):

01/12 - CLASS 1: Introduction to the Series - Yeshe

01/19 - CLASS 2: The Buddhist view of a meaningful life - Gail

01/26 - CLASS 3: Death and the state between this life and the next - Rosemarie

02/02 - CLASS 4: Karma and the cycle of existence - Mary

02/09 - CLASS 5: The Cause of Suffering - Yeshe

02/16 - CLASS 6: Renunciation and Refuge - Mary & Gail

02/23 - CLASS 7: Compassion and Bodhicitta - Yeshe

03/01- CLASS 8: Merit and Purification - Yeshe

03/15 - CLASS 9: Obstacles - Yeshe

03/22 - CLASS 10: Buddha Nature - Keith

03/29 - CLASS 11: Introduction to Vajrayana - Yeshe

04/05 - CLASS 12: Guru Yoga is the main practice - Keith

04/12 - CLASS 13: The Uniqueness of Palyul - Yeshe  

PCD-DC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

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