Lectures and Events
We invite you to participate in our lectures and events for the
general public with timely topics furthering the understanding
of how Buddhist principles can help in our daily lives.
For further information, please email office@tsechenling.org
or call (415) 621-4215.
Taking It to the Streets: Spiritual Practice When You're Out and About
Sunday Morning Dharma Talk |
Sunday, April 27, 10:00 am
Teacher:
Ven. Losang Monlam
Location:
Tse Chen Ling Center
10am-12pm. How much of your day is spent coming and going to your activities? Many of us spend those precious hours lost in thought or wishing we were doing something else. In this class, Ven. Monlam will discuss simple techniques to take our spiritual practice to the streets, so that we can use our time in transit to open our hearts, and to create the true causes for happiness.
Fee: Free
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| Buddhism in a Nutshell |
Starts Tuesday, April 29, 7:00 pm
Weekly through May 20
Teacher:
Karen Villanueva
Location:
Tse Chen Ling Center
Introductory. What does the Buddha's life and experience of more than 2500 years ago have to do with me? What is the real essence of the Buddha's teachings and how will it make me happy? Time for questions and discussion.
Fee: $79/$49 for members (no one turned away for lack of funds)
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Sunday Morning Dharma Talk
Cultivating a Bodhisattva's Motivation |
Sunday, May 4, 10:00 am
Teacher:
Ven. Geshe Ngawang Dakpa
Location:
Tse Chen Ling Center
What is most important to remember when we sit to meditate? It is to establish the motivation of a bodhisattva, the powerful wish to alleviate suffering wherever it arises. When we understand how to form this aspiration, we can be certain that our practice flourish. Free.
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| Sunday Morning Dharma Talk |
Sunday, May 11, 10:00 am
Teacher:
Ven. Tsenla
Location:
Tse Chen Ling Center
Fee: Free
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Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment
The First Lam Rim |
Starts Thursday, May 15, 7:00 pm
Daily through May 16
Teacher:
Chöden Rinpoche
Location:
Lord Atisha, the 11th-century Indian Buddhist scholar and saint, came to Tibet at the invitation of the king of Western Tibetand his nephew. His coming initiated the period of the "second transmission" of Buddhism to Tibet, formative for the Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
Lord Atisha's most celebrated text, entitled Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, sets forth the entire Buddhist path within the framework of three levels of motivation on the part of the practitioner. Atisha's text thus became the source of the Lam Rim tradition, or graduated stages of the path to enlightenment, an approach to spiritual practice incorporated within all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
We are honored to have Ven. Choden Rinpoche teach on this classic and very accessible text over 4 days: 5/15-18. Registration begins April 18.
Fee: http://www.tsechenling.org/chodenrinpoche2008.html
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Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment
The First Lam Rim |
Starts Saturday, May 17, 3:00 pm
Daily through May 18
Teacher:
Chöden Rinpoche
Location:
Lord Atisha, the 11th-century Indian Buddhist scholar and saint, came to Tibet at the invitation of the king of Western Tibetand his nephew. His coming initiated the period of the "second transmission" of Buddhism to Tibet, formative for the Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug traditions of Tibetan Buddhism.
Lord Atisha's most celebrated text, entitled Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, sets forth the entire Buddhist path within the framework of three levels of motivation on the part of the practitioner. Atisha's text thus became the source of the Lam Rim tradition, or graduated stages of the path to enlightenment, an approach to spiritual practice incorporated within all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
We are honored to have Ven. Choden Rinpoche teach on this classic and very accessible text over 4 days: 5/15-18. Registration begins April 18.
Fee: http://www.tsechenling.org/chodenrinpoche2008.html
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| Je Tsongkhapa, Three Families Jenang (Subsequent permission to practice) |
Friday, May 23, 7:00 pm
Teacher:
Chöden Rinpoche
Location:
Lama Je Tsongkhapa is the founder of the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and arguably one of the greatest masters of all time. He was an amazing scholar and yogi and is the author of the Lam Rim Chen Mo (the great treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) along with more than 10,000 pages of commentary.
This Jenang, or subsequent permission to practice, allows us to enter into the practices of the three families that united in him: Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara (Chenresig) and Vajrapani. Registration begins April 18.
Fee: http://www.tsechenling.org/chodenrinpoche2008.html
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Namtoese/Vaishravana Jenang (subsequent permission to practice)
Wealth Deity |
Saturday, May 24, 3:00 pm
Teacher:
Chöden Rinpoche
Location:
Namtoese (Vaishravana), the Protector of the North, also doubles as the god of wealth and can be seen riding a snow lion and holding a banner of victory and a jewel-spitting mongoose.
He is one of the The Four Guardian Kings normally seen at the entrance hallway to monasteries.
His home is in the northern quadrant of the topmost tier of the lower half of Mount Sumeru. He is the leader of all the yakshas who dwell on the Sumeru's slopes.
He is often portrayed with a yellow face. He carries an umbrella or parasol (chatra) as a symbol of his sovereignty. He is also displayed with a mongoose, often shown ejecting jewels from its mouth. The mongoose is the enemy of the snake, a symbol of greed or hatred; the ejection of jewels represents generosity.
Tibetan Buddhists consider his sentiment regarding wealth to be providing freedom by way of bestowing prosperity, so that one may focus on the path or spirituality rather than on the materiality and temporality of that wealth.
As with any wealth deity, one must have a proper motivation to engage in these practices - such as wanting to have enough to support the Dharma or to practice. Otherwise, as Geshe-la says, this just creates the cause of greed! Registration begins April 18.
Fee: http://www.tsechenling.org/chodenrinpoche2008.html
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| Karma, Dependent Arising and Emptiness |
Tuesday, May 27, 7:00 pm
through June 3
Teacher:
Ven. Steve Carlier
Location:
Tse Chen Ling Center
According to the Buddha, Karma, the law of cause and effect, is the true creator of our world. The Buddha also taught that all things arise in dependence upon other things - such as causes and conditions, parts and a concept that we place on them, and that nothing exists independently of these. In other words, things are empty of existing inherently.
How do these teachings mix and how does this understanding encourage us to change our behavior and our life?
This 2-part class includes time for presentation of ideas, debate and discussion.
Fee: 2 classes for $35 or $20 each (workstudy available/no one turned away for lack of funds)
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