Tuesday January 1, 2008 - New Year's Day - Happy New Year Everyone!
Wednesday, January 2 - Dakini Day
Sunday January 6
9:30 AM Ngondro
Monday, January 7
6:30 PM Vajrakilaya
Tuesday, January 8 - Shakyamuni Buddha Day
Sunday, January 13
9:30 AM Ngondro with meditation
Wednesday, January 16
6:30 PM Medicine Buddha Practice (8th Day Tibetan)
Thursday, January 17
6:30 PM Shower of Blessings (Guru Rinpoche Day, 10th Tibetan)
Sunday, January 20
9:30 AM Ngondro with Mandala Offering
Tuesday January 22 - Amitabha Buddha Day
Saturday, January 26
2:00 PM - Movie Showing "The Art of Abundance"
Special this month, you are invited to the first Namdroling Saturday Matinee on Saturday, January 26, 2008, at 2:00 PM. The event will include a feature-length science fiction movie The Art of Abundance, donated by a member of the production staff and a vicarious member of the Namdroling Sangha. This film is NOT Hollywood, but is an explorative adventure in crossing the boundaries of time and space, and should lead to a fun discussion.
For a suggested minimum donation of $10 per person, you get a movie viewing, discussion, and all of the popcorn and sweet tea that you want. (No one will be turned away for lack of funds.) Seating is limited, so please let us know if you think that you might come to the Saturday Matinee, and how many family members or friends you might bring. We are only looking for a rough estimate, so email if you have an interest.
Sunday, January 27
9:30 AM Ngondro
10:45 AM Reading Group - All are welcome. This is a great place to begin if you are interested in Buddhism. We will be working on the Mandala practice.
These practices are free and open to all interested. Donations and flowers for the temple are always welcome.
Nam Chö Ngöndro
The Great Perfection: Buddha in the Palm of the Hand
The Lama's Oral Instructions on the Recitation and Visualization of the Preliminary Practices
The Namchö teachings are known as "Space Treasures". Although the Namchö preliminary practice is very deep and profound, it is clear and easy for all to practice. A foundational practice of Tibetan Buddhism, by accomplishing this practice, one can realize the nature of the mind. With the Nam Chö Ngöndro, we can develop loving-kindness for all beings and devotion, trust, confidence, diligence, and perseverance in our spiritual path. These teachings, including the preliminary practice, were revealed in the 11th Century by the Tertön Migyur Dorje who received them from Avalokitesvara, and have been passed down from master to student through the centuries. The blessings of the Palyul lineage are pure and unbroken. - Information from His Holiness Penor Rinpoche and Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche
The Medicine Buddha (Menla)
This Mind Treasure, the River of Lapis Lazuli, the Practice of the
Medicine Buddha, the Ornament of the Luminous Expanse of Mind
This practice is not medicine as we usually think of it, but a practice to remove all afflictions of body, speech, and mind. Meditating on the Medicine Buddha can even take the practitioner to enlightenment. If the practitioner remembers the meditational practice, the lama, the lineage master, and the dakini, he or she will have great benefit at times when things are not going well, and even at the time of death.
You are invited to bring any of the following that you can - text, white katag, yellow katag - and you can dedicate the practice to anyone you like by putting his or her name on an envelope with your offering.
Shower of Blessings
A Guru Yoga Based on the Seven Line Prayer
A guru yoga practice devoted to Guru Padmasambhava, the text (sadhana) includes Padmasambhava's life story and Yeshe Tsogyal's Prayer. We offer this practice as a tsog, a feast-offering. The Tibetan word "tsog" refers to the two accumulations of merit and wisdom, which are gathered over an inestimable period of time. The fulfillment of the two accumulations constitutes the fruition of the path to Enlightenment. The beautiful purpose of tsog is to distribute merit and wisdom to the participants and all sentient beings. - Information from Palyul Changchub Dargyeling Dallas
You are invited to bring your text and finger food for the tsog. Sponsors are welcome.
Vajrakilaya
"The practice of Vajrakilaya blazes at the very heart of the ancient Vajrayana traditions of Tibet. The wrathful heruka Vajrakilaya is a yidam deity who embodies the enlightened activity of all the buddhas, manifesting in an intensly wrathful yet compassionate form in order to subjugate the delusion and negativity that can arise as obstacles to the practice of Dharma. In fact, the practice of Vajrakilaya is famous in Tibetan Buddhism as an exceptionally powerful method to remove obstacles, destroy the forces hostile to compassion, and purify the spiritual pollution so prevalent in this age." Sogyal Rinpoche
- The Words of My Perfect Teacher
- Reading Group
We are currently reading The Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrul Rinpoche. This was recommended by Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche. All are welcome to this reading group, even if you have not read any of the book or are new to Buddhism.
For more than a century, The Words of My Perfect Teacher has served as a guide to the spiritual practices common to all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is the classic commentary on the preliminary practices of the Longchen Nyingthig cycle of teachings--the great spiritual treasure of the Nyingmapa school, the oldest of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions. The author, Patrul Rinpoche, makes his subject matter accessible through a wealth of stories, quotations, and references to everyday life. His sense of poetry and irony, and his warm, colloquial style infuse of the text with the atmosphere and vitality of an oral teaching.
Patrul Rinpoche (1808-1887) was one of the greatest Tibetan teachers of the nineteenth century. Famous for his precise and direct style, he shunned high monastic office and lived the life of a homeless wanderer, writing his book in a rustic hermitage under an overhanging rock.
"For all teachings on all practices, whether preliminaries or main, this text is indispensable" Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Beginning Meditation Group
During this meeting time, we will practice two forms of meditation, as directed by Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche: Shamatha and Tonglen.
Shamatha is a basic sitting meditation in which one usually follows the breath, while observing the workings of the mind. Often translated as 'Calm Abiding' (Tibetan shinay), comprises a suite or style of meditation or concentration practices designed to enhance sustained voluntary attention.
Tonglen is a Tibetan word which means sending and taking. With the practice of Tonglen, we work directly with our habitual tendency to avoid suffering and attach ourselves to pleasure. Using this powerful and highly effective practice, we learn to embrace our life experiences with more openness, compassion, inclusiveness, and understanding, rather than denial, aversion, and resistance. When we encounter fear, pain, hurt, anger, jealousy, loneliness, or suffering, be it our own or others, we breathe in with the desire to completely embrace this experience; to feel it, accept it, and own it, free of any resistance.