New York Weekly Programming, September – December 2013
Essence of Tibetan Buddhism
with Gelek Rimpoche
SUNDAY MORNING VIDEO WEBCASTS
10:00 to 11:00 AM
We are pleased to announce that Gelek Rimpoche will once again give weekly Sunday morning talks from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Speaking from Ann Arbor and New York and other locations, these talks will also be a live video webcast.
To become a Jewel Heart webcast subscriber, visit this site.
Healing Meditation Practices
Thursdays, 7-8:30pm
September 12, 19, 26; October 3, 10, 24, 31; November 7, 14, 21; December 12
Free to All
On Thursdays when Jewel Heart retreats in the US are not being held, Jewel Heart New York will feature group practice sessions, led by senior students.
The October 10 and 24 sessions as well as November 7 will be a Medicine Buddha practice. Medicine Buddha is an extremely powerful form of enlightened energy directed at helping us to accomplish our spiritual goals as well as healing. This practice benefits those who are ill and even those who have died.
October 3 and 31, November 14 and 21, and December 12 will feature a White Tara practice. White Tara, healing protector and mother goddess of Tibetan Buddhism, is called upon around the world by those in need of healing guidance and safe-keeping. Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche, like many Gelugpa lamas, has a particularly close connection with White Tara and has taught numerous facets of the White Tara practice over the past 3 decades in the West.
Odyssey to Freedom – Section 1
Live Webcast from Ann Arbor
Mondays, 7 – 8:30pm
September 9, 23; October 7, 21; November 4, 11; December 2; January 13, 27
Gelek Rimpoche created Odyssey to Freedom as an accessible and concise Lam Rim, encompassing the stages on the spiritual path from our current situation, as it is, through to full enlightenment. This course follows Gelek Rimpoche’s transcript, Odyssey to Freedom. It is available for purchase as a paperback through the Jewel Heart Store at 734 994 3385 or [email protected], or in digital format through the Jewel Heart website.
This course is also a Live Streamed Webcast. To become a subscriber to access this class and hundreds of hours of other archived teachings, please visit the webcast subscription web site.
Please read the following important details for attending the course.
Please write to [email protected] for each session you join and notify you are there online.
2. COURSE MATERIALS:
The course is based on Gelek Rimpoche’s transcript Odyssey to Freedom:
· For a digital download of transcript ( $9.99) please go to http://www.jewelheart.org/
· For a paperback version ($17.99), please contact the Jewel Heart store at [email protected]
3. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS ATTACHED:
To prepare in advance for each session with reading and practice assignments, including September 9th, please rely on the attached homework assignment.
4. QUESTIONS?
Contact programs@jewelheart.
New York Programs, September – December 2013
Gelek Rimpoche Teaches at Jewel Heart New York
Saturday, December 14, 2013
2:00 to 5:00PM
Open to All
We are excited to have Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche teach at Jewel Heart New York in December!
Rimpoche is particularly distinguished for his thorough familiarity with modern culture and special effectiveness as a teacher of Western practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. Please join us.
No prior experience with Tibetan Buddhism and no registration is required.
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Je Tsong Khapa Day Lama Chopa Practice With Tsoh
Friday, December 27, 7:00 to 9:00 PM
Open to All
Our annual celebration of Lama Je Tsong Khapa’s life, enlightenment, and wonderful teachings falls on Friday, December 27 this year. Here are our celebratory plans as well as important advice from Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche.
On an individual practitioner level, the essence of Rimpoche’s advice is that it would be very beneficial for interested individuals to do a Ganden Lha Gyema retreat with accumulation of Migtsemas before and/or after a Je Tsong Khapa Day Lama Chopa practice with tsoh offering.
Retreat and Mantra Recitation
For each session, one should begin by reciting the Ganden Lha Gyema (without the Foundation of Perfections), paying particular attention to setting motivation at the beginning and doing appropriate visualizations throughout. At the point of the mantra in the practice, recite (and keep count of) Migtsemas over the course of an hour or hour and a half, being sure to dissolve the Field of Merit appropriately at the end. Numbers of sessions and mantra repetitions can and will vary based on time and the interest of the practitioner. If you need more advice or instruction, please feel free to contact [email protected].
Je Tsong Khapa Day Lama Chopa with Tsoh
For Je Tsong Khapa Day itself, we plan a group Lama Chopa practice with tsoh, which will include our friends at Shantideva and other groups, as we have done in the past! Please plan to join us for this festive celebration.
The celebration will begin at 7:00 PM at JHNY. If you plan to bring offerings of food or flowers, or if you wish to help with set-up, please plan to arrive 30 to 45 minutes early.
We hope to see you on the 27th!
The Lama Chopa is a guru yoga of Je Tsong Khapa. Based in secret oral teachings, the Lama Chopa was first written down in Tibetan verse by Panchen Lozang Chogyen around 1600. In Tibet, many people, even children, knew this practice by heart, and it continues to be a daily practice in the Gelugpa monasteries throughout the world.
This comprehensive practice strengthens our relationship with our spiritual teachers through offerings, especially offerings of our practice. It guides us through a meditation that includes all the necessary prerequisites: after beginning with Mahayana refuge and bodhimind, we generate our visualization of the merit field and invite the actual enlightened beings, to whom we then offer the Seven Limb practice in elaborate and beautiful verses. Also included is a detailed meditation on all the stages of the path to enlightenment.
The Tibetan word Tsoh means gathering, collection, or assembly. The Tsoh offering is a great feast offered to all enlightened beings and to all non-enlightened beings as well, including ourselves. It is one of the most important practices of generosity, and is also extremely effective for accumulation of merit.
The food offered is always of the best possible quality and quantity. After the Tsoh is completed, the food offerings are shared among the participants and may either be eaten at that time or taken home to share with family.
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2013-14 Group Practice with Tsoh Dates
Please follow this link for a complete calendar of Water Snake Year Tsoh dates. Tsoh dates at Jewel Heart New York are adjusted to fall on Sundays, unless otherwise noted in the calendar. Tsoh times are noon, unless otherwise noted in the calendar. Tsohs to celebrate special occasions, such as Kyabje Gelek Rimpoche’s birthday, will be shared in the newsletter well in advance.
PLEASE NOTE: Waning Moon Day practices are restricted to those with Highest Yoga Tantra, Mother Tantra initiation unless otherwise noted.