This Week at Kurukulla Center                            November 8, 2010 - November 14, 2010
From the Director


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 Dear Kurukulla Community,

Geshe-la UpdateGeshe Tsulga with HHDL


Although his mind is clear and strong, Geshe-la continues to manifest a physically weakened state. Even as his body weakens, his concern is with his students--that we study, practice and live the Dharma. As Geshe Tenley said this morning in class, the distance between our current life and our next life is but the space of a breath, and it is only our practice of Dharma that determines what that next life will be.


As we recommit ourselves to our practices, please continue your practices for Geshe-la's well-being. He most recently recommended that we recite the Chanting the Names of Manjushri and the King of Prayers, as these are both powerful prayers for the accumulation of merit. We will be reciting these every day at the Center at 5:30 pm, more details in the Calendar section below. This week's tallies are:

 

Vajrapani malas -233

White Tara malas - 220

Sanghata Sutra recitations - 2

Golden Light Sutra recitations - 1

King of Prayer recitations - 12

Manjushri-nama-samgiti recitations - 11

 

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A message from the outgoing director

As I mentioned last week, Debra Thornburg has been appointed as the new director of Kurukulla Center. She will officially take over November 15. So, I would like to again thank Debra for taking on this great responsibility and all of you for the amazing support you've given me, our Sangha and the Center over the past couple of years.

At the end of this morning's teachings I reiterated a little of what we've been saying about Geshe-la's health in recent weeks and mentioned that for now, he is not receiving any visitors at all. Geshe-la has been our teacher since 1993 and over that time has inspired us with his teachings, his practice, his advice and his very being. So it's very sad to now see Geshe-la manifesting such physical decline as he gives us his profound last teaching on impermanence, just like Guru Shakyamuni Buddha did. But we should not be sad for Geshe-la; we should be sad for ourselves, as our merit to be in his presence and receive his teachings has pretty much run out. We need to recall the precarious nature of our own lives and do what Geshe-la would want us to do: put into practice all the teachings we've received from him, especially this one.

Over the years, Geshe-la has reminded us time and time again that we have not established Kurukulla Center just for us...we've created this center for the generations to come and need to ensure that all the effort that we--and especially Geshe-la--have put into it over the past couple of decades is not wasted but built upon. We are most fortunate that for now, Geshe-la's nephew, Geshe Tenley, is here to continue giving us teachings so that Kurukulla's spiritual program can continue without interruption. But again, receiving teachings is only half the equation. We students need to put into practice what we are taught.

So let's do that. Let's rededicate ourselves to our practice and continue supporting and building Kurukulla Center so that it does become a source of wisdom, compassion, love and happiness for all beings for generations to come.

Dr. Nicholas Ribush, Director

Thank you all so much,

Nick Ribush


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Buddhism in a Nutshell


Buddhism in a Nutshell is an introductory course on Buddhism for complete beginners, organized by our parent organization the FPMT. It presents basic Buddhist philosophy and principles within the Tibetan Mahayana context, and provides simple meditation instruction. I am delighted to announce that SPC Tsültrim Davis has agreed to teach this four week series of classes, beginning Monday November 15. This is a great way to introduce friends and family to Buddhism, we encourage you to invite your friends!

 

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Stupa, Pond and Front Sign Finished


After years of planning and working, The Kalachakra Stupa for Peace, the Tara pond, and the new Kurukulla Center sign are done, rejoice! After months of work, our artists Sonam and Jampel have finished all of the finishing work and the Center really is a much more beautiful place for it. If you are interesting in making an offering to the artists you are welcome to do so, clearly marking the donation "Artists." You can see more photos of the front sign here, more photos of the completed stupa here, and more photos of the completed Tara pond here.

 

Now that he has finished the work we have given him, Jampel is available to work for you! He is skilled at sculpting statues and stupas, as well as thangka painting. If you have been waiting to add something to your personal gompa, now is the time to commission it directly from an incredibly talented artist! If you are interested in commissioning Jampel for a project, please email Damchoe.

KKC Sign

 

Jampel and Sonam

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Management Committee


We announced last week that Nick Ribush would be stepping down as Director of Kurukulla Center, and I would be taking the reigns. I thought this was a good time to remind you of everyone else who is on our Management Committee, ensuring that Kurkulla Center is able to be of as great a benefit to all sentient beings as possible. It's an amazing team, and this place wouldn't be the same without them!

 

Sean Gonzalez, Assistant Director

Ed Pignone, Treasurer

Tsültrim Davis, Spiritual Program Coordinator

 

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Day-long Yoga & Meditation RetreatLotus

with Wendy Cook and Elizabeth Brown

 

Registration for Cultivating Inner and Outer Kindness: day-long yoga and meditation workshop on Nov 13 is full. More workshops will be held in Winter/Spring 2011. Please let Wendy know if you're interested in attending then!


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November Book Club with Venerable Tsunma-la

Saturday November 20, 1:00 pm - 3:00pm 


Tsunma-la's monthly book club will be a little bit different than usual this month. We will be joined by Kurukulla Center Spritual Program Coordinator and resident vegan baker Tsultrim Davis, who will not only share a few recipes from the KKC Vegan Cookbook he is compiling, but also give a baking demonstration! In addition he has agreed to talk about what it means to eat for precepts, as well as lead a discussion about vegetarianism and Buddhism.


There is no "official book" for the book club this month, but the book Food of Bodhisattvas, which contains the translations of two texts by 18th - 19th century Tibetan scholar Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol, is suggested as background reading as a starting point of the conversation. 


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November FPMT News

Lama Zopa in Mongolia, Oct. 2010

Our parent organization, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, has just released its latest newsletter, which you can read here. Not only does it include a wonderful teaching from Rinpoche and updates of his and the FPMT's activities, but this issue mentions both the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive and Kurukulla Center!

 

DividerLiberation Prison Project

Liberation Prison Project Calendars


The Liberation Prison Project is a service project of the FPMT that offers spiritual advice and teachings to individuals in prisons who are interested in exploring, studying and practicing Buddhism. Every year as part of a fund raising effort they release a calendar which includes all of the auspicious days in the Tibetan lunar calendar. The 2011 calendars just came in, and are available for $10 in our bookstore.

 

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Kalachakra Tantra for World Peace in Washington DCHHDL

with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama


As many of you probably know, His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be giving a 10 day Kalachakra Tantra Initiation in Washington DC from July 6 - July 16, 2011. Tickets do not go on sale until December 1, unless you want to help sponsor the event in which case you are welcome to do so now. The price of the tickets will be dependent upon what they receive for sponsorship and will be announced November 15. More information can be found on their website.



Thank you again for your wonderful support.

Much love,


Debra Thornburg

  Debra Thornburg
  Director
Calendar of Events

Monday, November 8

 

Prayers for Health and Long Life of Geshe Tsulga 

5:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Join us for recitations of Chanting the Names of Manjushri and King of Prayers, dedicated to the continued health and long life of our precious teacher. Feel free to join us online.

 

Introduction to Buddhism with Tsultrim Davis

7:00 pm to 8:30 pmTsultrim Davis

Introduction to Buddhism is an on-going series. Each class introduces a new topic as a way of providing newcomers a broad overview of Buddhism. The course is designed for those who are new or newly acquainted with the Center to hear basic Buddhist teachings, ideas and concepts... Bring all your questions. It is fine to attend any class without having attended prior classes. All welcome!

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Tuesday, November 9
Ani Tsunma-la

Morning Meditation with Tsunma-la (Sue Macy)

6:30 am to 7:00 am

Start your day on the right foot by calming your mind, setting your day's purpose to be a meaningful one and remembering to just breathe! Resident nun Tsunma-la leads basic meditations that help stabilize the mind by learning to focus on the breath. By using these simple techniques, you can bring a sense of tranquility to your day. If you plan to join Tsunma-la in the meditation hall (gompa) at Kurukulla Center please arrive a few minutes early. We will start promptly at 6:30 am. Feel free to listen live online.


Prayers for Health and Long Life of Geshe Tsulga

5:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Join us for recitations of Chanting the Names of Manjushri and King of Prayers, dedicated to the continued health and long life of our precious teacher. Feel free to join us online.


Yoga & Meditation with Wendy CookWendy-la

7:00 pm to 8:45 pm

These classes include therapeutic movements, standing postures, back strengthening postures and hip openers. The last twenty minutes are spent in guided meditation, including breath awareness, visualization, and analytical techniques to enhance our inner good qualities. Suitable for both experienced and new students, you are welcome to attend on a drop-in basis. Please arrive a few minutes early and wear comfortable, fitted and modest clothing.

 

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Wednesday, November 10


Prayers for Health and Long Life of Geshe Tsulga

5:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Join us for recitations of Chanting the Names of Manjushri and King of Prayers, dedicated to the continued health and long life of our precious teacher. Feel free to join us online.


Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas with Venerable Geshe TenleyGeshe Tenley-la

7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Geshe-la continues an explanation of the Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by Togme Sangpo (1245-1369.) Come and discover what it means to model your actions after those of a bodhisattva. All are welcome. A copy of the text will be distributed in class and a commentary by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is available on the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive website. Other contemporary commentaries are available for purchase in our bookstore. Feel free to listen live online.

 

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 Thursday, November 11

 

Prayers for Health and Long Life of Geshe Tsulga

5:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Join us for recitations of Chanting the Names of Manjushri and King of Prayers, dedicated to the continued health and long life of our precious teacher. Feel free to join us online.


Discovering Buddhism: The Spiritual Teacher with Tsunma-la (Sue Macy)

7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Resident nun Tsunma-la begins a new module from our Discovering Buddhism program: Relating to a Spiritual Teacher. Tsunma-la will cover the importance and role of a spiritual teacher in Buddhist practice, the ideal qualities of a teacher, and how students can gain the most benefit from the student-teacher relationship.

The course meets four Thursday evenings: Nov 11 & 18 and Dec 2 & 9. It is highly recommended you attend all four sessions but it is not required. Feel free to listen live online.

 

Presenting the Path is the fourth of fourteen modules in our Discovering Buddhism program. This is a multi-session series that meets Thursday evenings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. It is not necessary to have attended the earlier modules in order to attend the later ones. If you would like to receive the handouts, homework and materials for this course, please click the link at the bottom of this email, "Update Profile/Email Address," and be sure that "Discovering Buddhism" is selected, or email us and we will manually add you to the list.

Discovering Buddhism (DB) is an advanced beginner's program designed by our parent organization, the FPMT, to explore the core Buddhist teachings in a cohesive and comprehensive way. Designed for beginner's who have had some background and anyone interested in a systematic program. There are readings, meditations and homework assignments. This is a highly practical program that is grounded in authentic Buddhist tradition. And it can be assured that Tsunmala will make it fun! More information about the 'Discovering Buddhism' program is available here, or you can email Program@Kurukulla.org with any specific questions.

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Friday, November 12


Morning Meditation with Tsunma-la (Sue Macy)

6:30 am to 7:00 am

Resident nun Tsunma-la continues the Morning Meditation series on Fridays with a variation on the stabilizing meditations that have been offered earlier. The focus is now using our analytical mind to investigate core Buddhist concepts as a way to deepen our understanding of them. This morning we will explore compassion, the second of the four immeasurables. These four (love, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity) are powerful antidotes to negative mental states. If you plan to join Tsunma-la in the meditation hall (gompa) at Kurukulla Center, please arrive a few minutes early. We will start promptly at 6:30 am.

You are also welcome to participate from your home by listening on-line to the live broadcast.
The class continues each Tuesday and Friday through the fall - 6:30 to 7:00 am - at your home or ours!


Prayers for Health and Long Life of Geshe Tsulga

5:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Join us for recitations of Chanting the Names of Manjushri and King of Prayers, dedicated to the continued health and long life of our precious teacher. Feel free to join us online.


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Saturday, November 13

Day-long Yoga & Meditation RetreatLotus

with Wendy Cook and Elizabeth Brown

 

Registration for Cultivating Inner and Outer Kindness: day-long yoga and meditation workshop on Nov 13 is full. More workshops will be held in Winter/Spring 2011. Please let Wendy know if you're interested in attending then!


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Sunday, November 14


Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand Day 1 with Geshe Tenley

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Pabongka Rinpoche's Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand is the seminal lam-rim, or stages on the path, text of the 20th century. It is a transcription of a 24 day lam-rim teaching given in 1921 and lays out the steps one follows to reach liberation and enlightenment. Offered as a "practical teaching," it is less scholarly than Je Tsongkhapa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, popularly known as the Lam-rim Chen-mo, and so is the text from which most modern lamas teach lam rim.

Geshe Ngawang Tenley continues teaching the first chapter, or day, of the text. The first day's teachings are concerned with the preliminaries, an introductory discourse on lam-rim. In many ways the subsequent, longer chapters are further elaborations and commentaries on the first chapter.

 

Tara PujaGreen Tara

4:00 pm to 5:45 pm

Tara is a female Buddha and represents the enlightened activity of the Buddhas. Once a month, we pay homage to her by doing practices for this specially loved Buddha. Practices to Tara are said to remove obstacles to both our spiritual and worldly success. Since most of the recitation is done in English, the Tara puja is easily accessible to those unfamiliar with this type of chanting ceremony practice.

It is customary when attending a puja to bring offerings such as flowers, unscented tea lights, fruit or cookies, or to make monetary offerings to the ordained sangha or to Kurukulla Center itself. Although we encourage you to do so, it is not required.

 


     Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies
     68 Magoun Avenue
     Medford, MA 02155
     617.624.0177
     http://www.kurukulla.org
May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes!