Essential Kadampa Practices: An in-depth course Thursdays 6:45-8:15pm from January 20 to February 24

Even though our spiritual interest often starts with a very open heart, with a wish to change or deal with difficulties that life has presented us, our approach to spiritual learning and practice is still often at an intellectual level. There are two essential Kadampa Buddhist practices that can take us out of our head and into our heart. They are the practices of Offering to the Spiritual Guide and Wishfulfilling Jewel.

In this special in-depth course Gen Khedrub will offer essential commentary to these two practices, from the point of view of improving our meditative experience. Some weeks will be taught at Kadampa Meditation Center Boston, and some weeks Gen Khedrub will travel and teach that week's class in Portland, Maine.

Each week is available in person or online. However, this is not a drop-in class; it is necessary to register for the entire course.

Schedule - topics and locations

Thursday, January 20. What is Guru Yoga? @ KMC Boston.

Thursday, January 27. The seven limbs according to Highest Yoga Tantra @ KMC Boston.

Thursday, February 3. How to make requests and receive blessings @ KMC Boston - Maine.

Thursday, February 10. Offering to the Spiritual Guide Puja @ KMC Boston.

Thursday, February 17. Visualization according to the Segyu lineage@ KMC Boston.

Thursday, February 24. The mandala of Dorje Shugden @ KMC Boston - Maine.. Update: in Boston due to coming snow storm.

 

Offering to the Spiritual Guide, or Lama Chopa in Tibetan, is a special Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa that is related to Highest Yoga Tantra. It was compiled by the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen, as a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra. Although the main practice is reliance upon the Spiritual Guide, it also includes all the essential practices of the stages of the path (Lamrim) and training the mind (Lojong), as well as both the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra.

Wishfulling Jewel contains two practices revealed by Manjushri, the Wisdom Buddha. The first is a special Guru yoga in which we visualize our Spiritual Guide as Je Tsongkhapa, who himself is an emanation of Buddha Manjushri. By relying upon this practice we can purify negativity, accumulate merit and receive blessings. In this way, we will naturally accomplish all the realizations of the stages of the path of Sutra and Tantra, and in particular we will attain a very special Dharma wisdom. The second practice is a method for relying upon the Dharma Protector. Through this practice we can overcome obstacles to our practice and create favourable conditions so that we can nurture and increase our pure Dharma realizations.

 

Gen Kelsang Khedrub is the Resident Teacher at Kadampa Meditation Center Boston. He has been studying and practicing Kadampa Buddhism under the guidance of Ven. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche for almost 30 years. Gen Khedrub has served as a Resident Teacher in Chicago and in Seattle, and over the years he has taught special events and led meditation retreats around the country. His heartfelt teachings are presented with clarity and humor that make them accessible to everyone. Through his humility and deep understanding of Buddha’s teachings, Gen Khedrub provides an inspiring example of a contemporary Buddhist practitioner we can follow.

 

Resource links:

During this event we will be using portions of Offering to the Spiritual Guide and portions of Wishfulfilling Jewel. If you are not familiar with these prayers, and would like to join in, you can find the text via these link.

Want to go deeper? Check out the Foundation Program for a systematic study of Buddha’s teachings that can provide you with a foundation for a strong daily practice.

Note:

This event is being offered by livestream for residents of Massachusetts*, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont (*except those living in southern Plymouth county, Bristol county, Cape Cod and the islands; for those areas please visit our sister center at www.meditationinnewbedford.org)