Happy new year! I hope the holiday season has offered everyone an opportunity for relaxation and contemplation, and, as we look to a new year, the chance to re-commit ourselves to our practice, to our dedication to benefitting others. We are excited for Kurukulla Center to be a thriving, dynamic place as we begin 2011, and we are overjoyed that we are able to offer so many opportunities to practice and study Dharma. Please join us!

Final Guru Puja in Recognition of Geshe Tsulga-la's Passing

and

Scattering Geshe Tsulga-la's Holy Ashes

Saturday January 8, 4:00 pm

and

Sunday January 9, 9:00 am

In Tibetan Buddhist belief, the 49 days following someone's death are considered important to help ensure they have a positive rebirth. With an accomplished teacher, like Geshe Tsulga-la, that isn't a concern! Instead, these 49 days are recognized as especially important opportunities for us to deepen our practice, and fulfill the request of our teacher, that we open our hearts and minds more fully, living Dharma in every moment  of our lives.

Saturday Jan. 8 marks the 49th day after Geshe-la's passing , and we will be marking the day with a Guru Puja in the afternoon, at 4:00 pm. We expect the Tibetan community to be joining us, as they are always welcome to do, and so it will be a big event, we encourage you to come! We always recommend bringing offerings of some sort, food, unscented tea lights, flowers, etc, as a way of earning merit. By making donations at, or sponsoring, a specific puja, you are strengthening and empowering the merit you receive in relationship to that puja, in this case the merit we receive by celebrating our gurus and the immeasurable benefit they have offered all sentient beings through their teachings. Generosity is the first of the six perfected qualities of a bodhisattva, planting the seeds to ensure that we will have all the material things necessary in future lives to continue our study of Dharma and working for the benefit of all beings, and this puja is a wonderful opportunity to practice generosity. This does not necessarily mean making more offerings, but rather making offerings that are of high value to you, that you find delightful and want to offer your gurus and all buddhas, quantity and quantity being factors but not defining marks for an offering. Offerings are not an obligation but an opportunity, so we encourage you to make the most of it.

The following morning, Sunday Jan. 9, in place of our usually scheduled class we will be scattering Geshe-la's holy ashes. His teachers have advised us to scatter his holy remains both off of a mountain and into the ocean. Some of Geshe-la's remains have already been brought back to India, and his students at Sera will be performing similar ceremonies at the same time as us.

We will meet at 9:00 am at Kurukulla Center, and then travel, caravan style, first to the mountain and then to the ocean. We will be leaving Kurukulla Center by 9:30 am, and are expecting the entire day's events to last for about 6 hours. The exact locations we will be performing the ceremonies are not yet decided, but it looks like we will be traveling to Mt. Agamenticus and Drake Island in Maine, about 90 minutes drive each direction. We will carpool as best we can, and make sure everyone who comes to the Center has a ride there and back. We will be sharing more details about the day's events soon, look for an email Monday or Tuesday.

Meditation 101, January 3, 10, 17 & 24

7:00 pm - 8:45 pm

Kurukulla Center is happy to be offering this course for four consecutive Monday evenings starting this week: January 3, 10, 17 & 24. It is appropriate for all levels, including people who are unfamiliar with Buddhism and have never meditated before and those who have had a practice for a number of years. More details below in the Calendar section, or on our online Calendar.

Ven. Amy Miller visits Kurukulla Center, February 2 - 14

We are delighted that Ven. Amy Miller will be returning to Kurukulla Center for teachings in February. These are tentatively scheduled, we will finalize them and provide more details in the weeks to come, but we wanted to give everyone a heads up so they can start spreading the word!

Tibetan Buddhist Rituals and Realizations: Thursdays Feb. 3 & 10, 7:00pm - 9:00

Mini Lam-rim Retreat: Friday Feb. 4, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (stand-alone talk), Saturday Feb. 5, 9:30 am - 2:00 pm, Sunday Feb. 6 1:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Advanced Class: Six Session Guru Yoga: Monday Feb. 7 & Tuesday Feb. 8, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (Note: Attendance a this class might require having previously received a Highest Yoga Tantra Initiation, we will be sure to specify as we have more information).

Rolling Mantras at the Center

Geshe Tenley has invited anyone who wants to come to the Center to roll mantras for filling and consecrating holy statues. There are supplies available in the Kurukulla Center library. You are welcome to come by at any time. If you would like to come but need instruction, you are encouraged to email Tsültrim to arrange a time for that. This is a great way to earn merit!

Discovering Buddhism resumes, January 13

Looking ahead, we wanted to let you know that next week Ven. Tsunma-la (Sue Macy) will resume the Discovering Buddhism series of classes on Thursday nights, return with a 5-part series called Death and Rebirth. More information can be found on our online calendar.

January Book Club with Ven. Tsunma-la

Saturday January 15, 2011

with special guest Tara O'Leary

Our bookclub gets off to an exciting start in 2011 with our first event of the year. Center member Tara O'Leary leads the Saturday, January 15  meeting with a discussion of Buddhism for Mothers: A Calm Approach to Caring for Yourself and Your Children by Sarah Napthali, published by Allen & Unwin. This isn't just for mothers, but rather is ideal for anyone who has or works with children.

We meet from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm with an optional brown bag lunch at 12:30 pm.

Sarah Napthali's book, as well as her others on parenting by her, can be purchased online from Amazon Books or locally at Barnes & Noble and other stories as well. Since it is published in Australia, we are not able to easily obtain copies directly from the publisher. If you are able to find a copy in advance, it is recommended that you read as much as you can before the event but it is not required. We hope you'll be able to join us.

Tara O'Leary holds a PhD. in Clinical Psychology and now specializes in pediatric neuropsychology. She is also the mother of a lovely and lively toddler.

Kurukulla South resumes, February 15

Looking even further ahead, we wanted to announce that Kurukulla South will resume Tuesday evenings starting February 15, 7:00 pm - 8:45 pm, at our new location in Bridgewater. This series of classes is called Path of Freedom, Path of Bliss: The Buddhist Journey to Enlightenment and will be an advanced beginner's class, but appropriate for any people with any level of Buddhist practice or engagement. You can download a copy of the flier here. Please feel free to print it, post it, and email it around! You can email Tsültrim with any questions.

Thank you again for your wonderful support.

Much love,