Have No Fear - Preparing for death utilizing meditation
A non-residential retreat, Avalon Lodge, Eugene
February 5 - 7, 2010
It is the Buddhist view that the mind (including all the aspects of character that we refer to as "heart") will outlast the body. From this perspective, the way we live our lives every day will naturally result in a state of mind that accompanies us through the dying process and onward into experiences after death.
This weekend retreat will encourage the life attitudes of loving kindness, compassion, fearlessness and mindfulness. We will also examine the nature of our fears and habits, as a way to expand our sensitivity, responsiveness and choice in every moment. On that basis, we will explore the Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the dying process, and practice meditation to prepare for our own and others’ dying.
MINDFULNESS PRACTICES FOR DAILY LIVING
A Weekend of Instruction and Meditation Practice
November 6-8, 2009 at Carpenter Hall
Mindfulness is the ability to be present and aware of what is occurring inside ourselves and all around us. This weekend of teachings will explore the four objects of mindfulness in everyday life: body, feelings, mental events and phenomena. We will utilize Calm Abiding Meditation as a way to focus and deepen our awareness.
Please join Lama Pema Clark and Lama Yeshe Parke for an exploration of these practices, along with time to refresh yourself in the natural serenity of mind's spacious quality.
INTRODUCTION TO THE VAJRA WORLD
With Druppon Lama Drupgyu Tenzin (Tony Chapman)
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
If you have ever had questions about the Tibetan Buddhist (Vajrayana) tradition of Buddhism, this evening of teaching is for you. KSC is fortunate to have a visit from a western lama well-trained in the tradition, with decades of experience as a ground for his talk. Lama Drupgyu says:
“There are many approaches to an authentic spiritual journey. Among Buddhist teachings, the Vajrayana approach of Tibetan Buddhism reflects a sophisticated appreciation of the complexity of the human experience and provides profound methods for transforming every experience into a path of awakening.
“If not properly understood, the exotic color and imagery of Tibetan Buddhism with its deities, mantras, and sexual imagery can easily be misconstrued. In this introduction to Vajrayana, Lama Drupgyu will speak of the spiritual journey, questions of identity and structures of perception, the functioning of mind, and how the transformative magic of sacred outlook can awaken us to the brilliant timeless awareness of Vajra World.”
Lama Drubgyu was a student of H. E. Kalu Rinpoche from 1972, and a monk from 1974 to 1995. He participated in the first 3-year retreat for Westerners, and was as a translator and retreat master under Rinpoche's direction for many years. Lama Drubgyu lives in France, working for Tsadra Foundation, which supports translators and contemplatives, and guiding advanced students of Vajrayana.
TEACHINGS ON CALM ABIDING, INSIGHT & MAHAMUDRA
A Weekend of Teachings by Lama Lodru Rinpoche
May 15-17, 2009
The path to Mahamudra (mind’s genuine nature) begins with the practices of Calm Abiding and Insight. On the weekend of May 15-17, Venerable Lama Lodru Rinpoche gave a teachings series on the nature of the mind. In each session, he led the Calm Abiding and Insight meditations, which are designed to stabilize and clarify the mind. The weekend’s practice provided the ground for Mahamudra meditation.
It is a fortunate occasion when we can gather to hear the heart of the dharma from such a compassionate and realized spiritual friend, and to have the priceless chance to experience our own meditation in the presence of this yogi who has, as the 16th Karmapa said, “highly developed his inner practice.”
~ From Folk to Fine Art Sale ~
Art Sale Benefit for
KSC’s New Center
Friday, December 12 (6 - 8 p.m.)
and
Saturday, December 13 (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.)
Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Great Hall
70 E. Main Street, near Pioneer Street
Generously donated folk-to-fine art, quality jewelry and unique collectibles.
Click here to view a slideshow of the event.
TRANQUILITY, INSIGHT, AND
RESTING THE MIND
A Weekend of Instruction and Meditation Practice with
Lama Pema Clark & Lama Yeshe Parke
November 7-9, 2008
For 2500 years, simple and practical Buddhist meditation techniques have helped individuals calm their minds and develop wisdom.
Calm Abiding Meditation reduces daily stress, improves problem-solving abilities, and cultivates inner peace and contentment. Insight Meditation can lead to a profound understanding of the nature of mind and the world around us.
LAMA SARAH HARDING
EXPLAINS UNBIASED LINEAGE
Teachings given in Ashland in March 2008
In March 2008, sangha members and others attended teachings in Ashland by Lama Sarah Harding, a delightful speaker and well respected translator of Tibetan texts. The topics she presented came from her recent translation of an immense collection of Buddhist teachings, The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Eight, Part Four: Esoteric Instructions, A Detailed Presentation of the Process of Meditation in Vajrayana, recently published by Snow Lion Publications. These teachings were gathered and organized by Jamgol Kongtrul in the 19th century. This founded the unbiased tradition — “re-may” in Tibetan. The book offers detailed information on the development and teachings of each of the lineages, as well as insights, historical overviews, and background material. Here are some highlights from her talks:
- Most of the Asian Buddhist teachers who came to America to teach or who taught Westerners in their home countries were considered radicals by the mainstream of their tradition.
- In many traditions, meditation is a small practice among many other practices and even monks in some monasteries do not practice it. It seems that Asian teachers may have understood the Western hunger for the rewards of meditation and therefore focused their teaching on meditation practice.
- There was a great debate in the 8th Century between masters of the Chinese Chan (Zen in Japan) way of “instant enlightenment” and the Indian teachers of the “Gradual Path”. After the Indian teachers won the debate, all Chan influence was banished from Tibet and thereafter, all Tibetan teachings traced back to an Indian guru.
Responding to a question about the tendency for students to project qualities onto a guru, Lama Sarah spoke briefly of her personal journey with projection. It began with projecting perfection onto her root teacher, Kalu Rinpoche, believing he was “the overall wise person of all time”. She felt this was a necessary step to begin on the path. She found that sometimes she disagreed with him, and eventually she found she could argue with him — they could agree to disagree. In moving through these ways of relating to Kalu Rinpoche, she discovered that her devotion and faith in his teachings became even stronger.
Lama Sarah led a lively discussion on whether the “essence of Buddhism” could be found or named. Her thought was that most Tibetan teachers, of any lineage, would say the essence is: “Only do virtue, don’t do not virtue, control your own mind.” She shared her personal thought that Buddhism is the only religion based on interconnectedness.
Sarah Harding is a lama in the Shangpa Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, currently a faculty member at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.
CULTIVATING SPIRITUALITY IN CHILDREN
A Benefit for the New Center Building Fund
Spiritually nourished children become strong adults. We all benefit as we help them gain the qualities of contentment, rightful confidence, creativity and fearless compassion. Meaningful activities for children and teens are an important addition to KSC's future programs for the New Center.
As a way to begin, in October 2007, KSC was pleased to host Julia King Tamang, who presented a weekend of events focusing on spirituality in children. Her presentation focused on five streams of the developing child's spiritual self:
- Meaning ~ making sense of life and deriving purpose
- Values ~ forming cherished beliefs and attitudes
- Transcendence ~ awareness of possibilities beyond ordinary experience
- Connection ~ meeting self, others, nature and the divine
- Becoming ~ unfolding character and purpose through reflection and mindful experience
The hands-on workshop presented adults with exercises to help children develop the foundational skills for a healthy spiritual life. The first of a series, this workshop emphasized activities to develop stable attention, mindfulness and presence in children age 4 and older. Participants learned a dozen exercises to share with the kids in their life, and there was time for questions and discussion. Participants left with handouts and tools, ready for fun. Workshop exercises were based on Buddhist practices, but were taught in a format appropriate for integration into secular and non-Buddhist spiritual settings.
The following day, a free meeting was held with the workshop presenter, Julia King Tamang, to hear about a decade of programs created at our sister center, KCC of Portland. We discussed how such programs could become a part of KSC's New Center.
Adults of all faith traditions were encouraged to attend, to learn small steps and simple skills that create rich adult-child interactions, resulting in stronger children, families and communities.
Julia King Tamang has been a teacher for 25 years and is the mother of two teens. She is assistant dharma teacher at Kagyu Changchub Chuling in Portland, Oregon, and has been the lead children’s teacher there for more than ten years.
