A Meaningful Life through Vows, with Gen Kelsang Lingpur
Friday, April 4, 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at Tara Center

Teaching by Gen Lingpur, followed by formal vow ceremonies for those who wish to take or renew any of the three. It is traditional to bring an offering for the shrine. Refuge, Bodhisattva & Pratimoksha Vows will be granted.

Please register by the prior Thursday. $15
 

 
Open to Everyone!

Buddha of Compassion - Two Day Purification Retreat - at Clear Light Center, Phoenix
Introduction - Friday, April 11, 7 pm
Saturday: Precepts 6:30 am; Sessions at 7 am, 4 and 7 pm
Sunday: Precepts 6:30 am; Sessions at 7 am, 4 and 7 pm

We will celebrate Buddha's Enlightenment with a two-day purification and fasting retreat. We will begin both days by taking Mahayana Precepts Vows, in which we promise to abandon negative actions for 24-hours. (This is a pre-requisite for the rest of the day.) On the first day, we will eat only one meal. It is traditional on the second day to refrain from food and drink, if possible. This practice includes four sessions each day of prayers and prostrations to Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion. By participating fully with great faith and devotion, this intensive retreat offers a powerful method to purify negative karma, pacify strong delusions and receive boundless blessings.

You may sleep in the Center community room or we will find you accomodations with Phoenix students.  $10 per day.

Refuge Retreat at Tara Center
June 12-14
7 & 10 am, 4 & 7 pm (no session Thursday night)

Many people search for respite from mental and physical pain and suffering, yet all we ever find is some temporary relief. During this week-long retreat we can engage in four meditation sessions a day, studying, contemplating Buddha's advice on where to find our real refuge - the Three Jewels - and meditating on Mahayana refuge. In this way we can strengthen our refuge, the gateway to Buddhadharma.

You do not need to pre-register. Please join us for as many or as few sessions as you like.  $3 per session or $10 per day.

Buddhist art, or visual Dharma, reveals a spiritual path and can help link us to the Buddhas and holy beings. Comprehending the images can lead us to an understanding of the ultimate nature of reality.

In this special workshop, we can gain experience with the subtle character of Buddhist art by drawing the face of Buddha. Everyone will leave with a painted image. No artistic talent is required.   $40 includes supplies. If you have a quality brush you like for fine lines, please bring it.

Saturday, May 3
10 am - 5 pm
$40 includes supplies
 

We are alive, therefore we will die. This is the simplest, most obvious truth of our existence, and yet very few of us have really come to terms with it.

Gen Lingpur will share Buddhist insight into death and dying, helping us develop an awareness of our own mortality in a way that can totally enrich and transform our human life. In particular, she will explain a very powerful, yet simple practice called ‘transference of consciousness’. Mastery of this will enable us to meet our death with grace, clarity and fearlessness, attain rebirth in a Pure Land, and experience happiness in all our future lives.
 

Saturday, June 7
10 am - 5 pm
$75 includes lunch ($65 if pre-paid by prior Thursday)

Tara is the ‘Mother of the Conquerors’. She is the manifestation of the ultimate wisdom of all the Buddhas and also of the completely purified wind element, so she is able to help us very quickly. ‘Tara’ means ‘Rescuer’; so called because she saves us from the outer and inner fears and dangers that we face in this and future lives. She helps all beings with equal love for them – but the amount of benefit we receive depends on our faith in her.

This empowerment will help us to draw closer to our Holy Mother so that she can protect us from all obstacles and fulfil all our wishes.
 

2008 US Kadampa Buddhist Festival

April 24-29 at Kadampa Meditation Center - New York

You are invited to join the 2008 US Kadampa Buddhist Festival. Everyone, whether new to Buddhism or a longtime student, can appreciate the special magic of this annual event. The Festival is a joyful gathering where we can receive and explore Buddha’s timeless teachings in the company of spiritual friends from around the country. In the inspiring environment of the World Peace Temple, we can easily take new understandings and insights deep into our heart. Listening to clear, practical advice and meditating on it together, we lay the foundation for lasting peace and happiness.

2008 International Spring Festival
with Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

May 23 – 26, 2008

At the International Spring Festival 2008, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso will grant the empowerment and commentary to the practice of Buddha Vajrapani. The Festival will be held at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre in England.

2008 International Summer Festival
with Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

July 25 – August 9, 2008

At the International Summer Festival 2008, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso will grant empowerment and commentary on the practice of 1000 Armed Avalokiteshvara, and commentary to the book Universal Compassion.

Please visit the International Kadampa Buddhist Festivals website

2008 International Fall Festival - Paris, France
October 29 – November 7, 2008

Venerable Geshe Kelsang will grant empowerment and commentary to the practice of Prajnaparamita.

Please visit the International Kadampa Buddhist Fall Festival 2008 website