Chanted Meditations
Chanting prayers together is a powerful way in which we develop a strong spiritual community. We also receive many blessings to renew and invigorate our practice. Please join us for these regular chanted prayers. In most cases, unless otherwise specified, these events are open to everyone regardless of experience..
Heart Jewel with Lamrim Meditation and Wishfulfilling Jewel with Tsog
Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa and Dharma Protector
Heart Jewel, Mon-Thurs at 5:30-6:30 pm
Wishfulfilling Jewel with Tsog, Fri 5:30-6:30 pm
This practice is the heart essence of Kadampa Buddhism. In the first part we visualize our Spiritual Guide as Je Tsongkhapa and make prayers and requests to purify negativity, accumulate merit and receive blessings. In the second part we make prayers to our Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugdän. Through this we can overcome obstacles to our practice and create favourable conditions so that we can nurture and increase our pure Dharma realizations.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide
Guru yoga practice of Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition.
10th and 25th day of each month
Please see Calendar for times.
This is a special Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa in conjunction with Highest Yoga Tantra that is a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra. The main practice is relying upon our Spiritual Guide as a Buddha and making praises and requests, but it also includes all the essential practices of the stages of the path, and training the mind, as well as both the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra. By relying upon Je Tsongkhapa our compassion, wisdom and spiritual power naturally increase. This practice includes a tsog offering so you can bring a vegetarian food offering with you if you wish. (2 hours)
Arya Tara
Liberation from Sorrow
8th day of each month
Please see Calendar for times
At Kadampa Centers worldwide, the eighth of the month is Tara Day. Tara is a female Buddha, whose name means Rescuer; she is the embodiment of swift compassion. If we rely upon Tara sincerely and with strong faith, she will protect us from all obstacles and fulfill all our wishes. Everyone is welcome and invited to join us for Tara's chanted prayer practice, Liberation from Sorrow. (1 hour)
Melodious Drum
Prayers to the Dharma Protector.
29th day of each month
Please see Calendar for times
This monthly practice consists principally of prayers to our Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugdän. A Dharma Protector is an emanation of a Buddha or Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from attaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice. Dorje Shugdän always helps, guides, and protects pure and faithful practitioners by granting blessings, increasing their wisdom, fulfilling their wishes, and bestowing success on all their virtuous activities. This practice includes a tsog offering so you can bring a vegetarian food offering with you if you wish. (3.5 hours)
Quick Path to Great Bliss
Prayers to Vajrayogini (initiation required to participate).
Saturdays 8:30- 10am
The instructions on the Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Venerable Vajrayogini were taught by Buddha Vajradhara in the forty-seventh and forty-eighth chapters of the Condensed Root Tantra of Heruka. This particular lineage of instructions, the Narokhachö lineage, was passed directly from Vajrayogini to Naropa, and from him through an unbroken lineage of realized practitioners to the present-day Teachers.
This particular sadhana, Quick Path to Great Bliss, was composed by the great Lama Phabongkha Rinpoche. Compared to other sadhanas it is not very long, but it contains all the essential practices of Secret Mantra. To practise the sadhana successfully we should first receive the empowerment of Vajrayogini, and then study authentic instructions on the practice such as those found in the commentary Guide to Dakini Land.
The 15th day of each month.
Please consult the calendar for the time.
The essence of the practice is to take eight precepts and to keep them purely for a period of twenty-four hours.
By doing this practice again and again, we acquaint ourself with the practice of moral discipline and thereby make our human life meaningful.
We receive many great benefits from practicing moral discipline in this way. It helps us to solve the problems of this life by avoiding the causes of suffering; and it creates the cause for us to take fortunate rebirths in future lives and thereby protects us from the sufferings of lower rebirth.
In particular, because it is performed with bodhichitta motivation, this practice is very powerful for purifying negative karma. It accumulates a vast collection of merit and creates the cause for us to attain the unsurpassed happiness of enlightenment.