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This Week at Kurukulla Center
February 28, 2011 - March 5, 2011
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From the Director
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 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, Thank you for your interest in Kurukulla Center. This morning a group of both new and familiar faces braved the snow to meet in our gompa for the first in a new series of monthly public talks, Buddhist Thoughts for Everyday Life by resident teacher Geshe Tenley. Geshe-la led us through an investigation of what it is that prevents us from experiencing deep happiness, the kind of happiness we see in someone like the Dalai Lama who can laugh from the depths of his heart despite bearing innumerable hardships. We heard from Geshe-la that it is self-cherishing and the emotions it generates such as anger that actually cause all of our problems. Looking more closely at anger, we see that is a destructive emotion that brings us trouble, rather than an ally who brings us success. Enjoy a clip from the teaching below.
Kurukulla Center is a thriving Tibetan Buddhist center for a number of reasons. We have qualified teachers that present authentic Mahayana Buddhist teachings, we have engaged and devoted students and we have a solid underpinning of financial support. Please continue to show your support for our mission by either renewing your membership or signing on as a new member. If you cannot commit to regular monthly contributions at this point, one-time donations are welcome. If you would like to contribute but did not receive a membership letter in the mail, please reply to this message. You can also sign-up or make a one-time donation online via PayPal.
Saturday, March 5 The first day of the new year according to the Tibetan Lunar Calendar is known as "Losar." We celebrate with day long festivities. In the morning, the local Tibetan community will be around the Center for celebrations and prayer recitations which you're invited to attend. It is customary to make offerings on Losar. You can participate by bringing items such as fruit, sweets, crackers, tea lights or flowers and placing them on the special altar that will be setup in the gompa. In the evening, we offer another opportunity for the Kurukulla Center community to come together and celebrate. We are hosting a pot luck dinner and a screening of the film Mystic Tibet, which is a documentary of a pilgrimage to Tibet with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Dinner will be from 5:30pm - 6:30pm, and then the movie will follow until 8:00pm. Come! Celebrate! Everyone is welcome. If you are not able to bring a dish that is fine, just bring yourself! If you are able to bring a dish, we ask that you please abstain from both meat products and garlic. You can stop by any time during the day either to join in the Tibetan puja in the morning or the potluck in the evening.
We were overjoyed to be able to host Ven. Amy Miller, director and resident teacher at Milarepa Center, for a series of teachings here at Kurukulla Center earlier this month. We are excited to be able to offer DVDs of all of her teachings to you! Two DVDs contain video of all of Ven. Amy's teachings including a wonderful class where she explains and demonstrates all of the different offering mudras, a wonderful practice guide! The set of two DVDs costs $10, and you can pick up a copy in our bookstore, or we can mail a copy to you, anywhere in the continental US, for an extra $3 to cover packaging and shipping. If you are interested, please email Tsultrim at tsultrimdavis@kurukulla.org. The second in the Grow Your Bodhicitta: Day Long Yoga & Meditation Retreat with Wendy Cook & Elizabeth Brown has a few spots remaining. The theme for the Saturday, March 12 workshop is "Equanimity: Balancing Self and Others." Please email Wendy: wendy@lamayeshe.com to express your interest or you can reserve one of the remaining spaces by making a check out to Wendy Cook and sending to: PO Box 636, Lincoln MA 01773. The workshop meets from 10 am to 4 pm, and you can find out more information on our Calendar page. Much love,  Debra Thornburg Director |
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Calendar of Events
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Monday February 28
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 March 1 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 March 2
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 March 3
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 March 4
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.
Saturday March 5
Losar (Tibetan New Year) Celebration: Potluck and Movie Today is the first day of the new year according to the Tibetan Lunar Calendar, known as "Losar." The local Tibetan community will be around the Center in the morning for celebrations, which you're invited to attend.
Sunday February 27 Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand Day 3 with Geshe Ngawang Tenley Pabongka Rinpoche's Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand is the seminal lam-rim text of the 20th century. It is a transcription of a 24 day lam rim teaching given in 1921. Offered as a "practical teaching," it is less scholarly than Je Tsongkhapa's Jang chub lam rim chen mo or The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and as such it is the text from which most modern lamas teach lam rim. Today Geshe-la gives commentary on Day 3, on the greatness of the Dharma and how to study and teach Dharma. 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 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! |
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