|
|
This Week at Kurukulla Center
February 21, 2011 - February 27, 2011
|
|
From the Director
|
 Quick Links About Us Programs Calendar Audio Teachings Stupa Project Contact Us eNews Archive We need your support!  With over $8,000 of monthly expenses, we need your continued support. Please consider making a one-time donation, becoming a member, or increasing your membership. Thank you for all you do to support our center and the Dharma!  Kurukulla Center is affiliated with the FPMT. If you would like to receive the FPMT's monthly newsletter, please subscribe here.  In affiliation with the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.  Follow us on Facebook!  Follow us on Twitter  Visit us on our Blog! |
Dear Kurukulla Community, Many thanks for your continued interest in Kurukulla Center and our activities. This morning we were pleased to host a group of youngsters and their parents from the Unitarian Universalist Church in Medford. Geshe-la spoke of his rugged childhood growing up as a nomad in Tibet and contrasted this with the abundant
Sunday, Feb 27, 10 AM No background in Buddhism is necessary. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce your friends to Kurukulla Center. Geshe-la wants to give us a chance to get out of our texts one week each month and think more directly about how to apply these teachings to our everyday life! Visit www.kurukulla.org/PublicTalks for more information about each talk, as well as to download a flyer for the series, which we encourage you to email and post widely!
Running concurrently with the public talk: Resident nun Tsunma-la leads a class for children ages 6-13 years that meets at the same time as the public talk. She and assistant Shayeh will lead the group in activities around the theme of Seven Steps to a Good Heart.
Following the Public Talk (12:30 pm - 1:00 pm) For any newcomers and for any of us who might have a lingering question here or there.
We are excited to be able to offer DVDs of the classes Ven. Amy taught during her recent trip to Kurukulla Center. The 2-DVD set costs $10 each, and contains both of the From Tealight to Dorje classes, both of the Buddha in Mind, Buddha in Body classes, and the opening talk of Peace from Chaos. We can ship them anywhere in the continental US for an additional $3. Please emailtsultrimdavis@kurukulla.org if you're interested.
Last week saw a well attended opening night of our new Kurukulla South series, Path of Freedom, Path of Bliss: The Buddhist Journey to Enlightenment. You are welcome to drop in on these classes, even if you didn't attend the first one. All are welcome! You can find more information at www.kurukulla.org/KKS.
Please join our community of new members or renew your membership by participating in our membership drive. This week you should receive a letter asking for your support. A remittance envelope will be enclosed that you can use to indicate your willingness to provide financial support of the center. You can either join as a member and contribute regularly according to the schedule of fees or make a one-time donation. All donations large or small are gratefully welcomed. By coming together and pooling our resources, we can raise the funds needed to continue the operation of Kurukulla Center.
Celebrate Losar at Kurukulla Center! In honor of the Tibetan New Year we will be having a potluck dinner and showing the film Mystic Tibet, we encourage everyone to come! You can find more details, including a trailer for the film, on our Calendar page.
Long-time translator Damchoe returns to Nepal in March to visit relatives and introduce his young son to his family. During the month he is away, we are very fortunate to have a skilled replacement translator available to fill in. Andy is in his final year at Harvard Divinity School, earning his Master's of Divinity in Buddhist Ministry. He is a long time student of Geshe Sopa's and lived for a number of years at Deer Park in Wisconsin as well as at Sera Je monastery in India. Please join me in welcoming Andy!
Thank you again for your wonderful support. Much love,  Debra Thornburg Director |
|
Calendar of Events
|
|
Monday February 21
Introduction to Buddhism with Ani Yeshe 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Introduction to Buddhism, taught by Ani Yeshe, is an on-going series. Each class will introduce a new topic as a way to provide newcomers a broad overview of Buddhism. The course is designed for those who are new or newly acquainted with the Center, to come and 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!
Tuesday February 22 Morning Meditation with Ven. Tsunma-la (Sue Macy) 6:30 am - 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. If you cannot make it into the Center, you are also welcome to participate from your home by listening on-line to the live broadcast.
Kurukulla South: Path of Freedom, Path of Bliss with Tsultrim Davis 7:00 pm - 8:45 pm This nine part series is an overview of the entire Buddhist path to enlightenment. It will meet February 15 & 22, March 1, 8 & 22, and April 5, 12, 19 & 26. We will begin at the beginning of the path-us, right where we are, now-and explore all the way to the end-complete enlightenment, perfect, unending bliss. This class is appropriate for people with any level of experience with Buddhist meditation or philosophy, or none. Attendance at all nine classes is encouraged but not required. Drop-ins are always welcome! Kurukulla South classes are taught at 90 First Street, Bridgewater MA 02324. Please check the Kurukulla South webpage for directions.
Yoga & Meditation with Wendy Cook 7:00 pm - 8:45 pm This mixed-level yoga class begins with setting intention and breathing techniques, followed by a therapeutic joint freeing series, standing and balancing postures, and other postures such as back and belly strengtheners and hip openers. The last twenty minutes are spent in guided meditation, using techniques such as breath awareness, visualization, and contemplating themes to enhance our inner good qualities.
Wednesday February 23
37 Practices of a Bodhisattva with Geshe Ngawang Tenley 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Geshe-la continues his explanation of The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva by Togme Sangpo (1245-1369.) Come and learn what a bodhisattva does. All are welcome. A copy of the text will be distributed in class and contemporary commentaries are available for purchase in our bookstore. If you cannot make it into the Center, you are also welcome to participate from your home by listening on-line to the live broadcast.
Thursday February 24
Discovering Buddhism: Death and Rebirth with Ven. Tsunma-la (Sue Macy) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Explore the process of death and rebirth and its impact on how we live our lives. Be guided in skillful reflection on the meaning of death and what to expect at the death-time. In this way, fulfill your purpose in life, resolve conflicts, and develop the skills to help both yourself and others at the time of death. Eventually, through Buddhist practice, one can overcome death altogether. The course meets five Thursday evenings: January 13 & 20, February 17 & 24, and March 3. It is recommended you attend all five sessions but it is not required. If you cannot make it into the Center, you are also welcome to participate from your home by listening on-line to the live broadcast.
Friday February 25
Morning Meditation with Ven. Tsunma-la (Sue Macy) 6:30 am - 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. 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. If you cannot make it into the Center, you are also welcome to participate from your home by listening on-line to the live broadcast.
Sunday February 27 Public Talk: Extinguishing Anger's Flame - The Buddhist View of How Anger Affects Your Life with Geshe Ngawang Tenley 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Anger is one of the most common experiences we share as humans, and sometimes it is even described as "justified" or "righteous." In this morning's talk, Geshe Ngawang Tenley explores what types of harms or benefits might arise from anger, and who actually experiences those harms or benefits. This will include Buddhist approaches for working with and lessening the experiences of anger in your life. If you cannot make it into the Center, you are also welcome to participate from your home by listening on-line to the live broadcast. You can find out more information, including a PDF poster to download and share, at www.kurukulla.org/PublicTalks.
Lama Chopa (Guru Puja) 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm The Guru Puja lays the whole path to enlightenment on our mindstream, connects us more strongly to our teachers, allows us to accumulate skies of merit and purifies eons of negative karma. We chant the first 2/3rds of this puja in Tibetan and the last 1/3 we recite in English.
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 quality 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. All are welcome. |
 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! |
Public Talk with Geshe Tenley
Celebrate Losar at Kurukulla Center!
