Thank you for your interest in the activities of Kurukulla Center.

Yesterday we welcomed the Tibetan New Year (Losar) with daylong festivities. Before dawn, a stalwart group gathered for a lovely Guru Puja at 5 am. In place was a beautiful altar lovingly and meticulously crafted and arranged by the house residents. Then, throughout the day, a steady succession of local Tibetan families came to make offerings and share the traditional sweet rice prepared by Geshe Tenley. In the evening, we enjoyed a delicious potluck including Chef Vikrant's special baked pasta, which we followed with a showing of the film Mystic Tibet. We especially enjoyed welcoming some new visitors to our evening celebration. All this was preceded by the hard work of cleaning and polishing the center done by house residents and some of the Wednesday night students. Many thanks to everyone for making the day such a success!

Geshe continued his wonderful discussion of Pabongka Rinpoche's Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand this morning, here is a brief excerpt for those who couldn't make it. (Keep an eye on our YouTube page, we are trying to add more content for you!)

Sakya Trizin in Boston during May

We are delighted to let you know that His Holiness Sakya Trizin, the head of the Sakya lineage of Buddhism, will give a series of empowerments in the Boston area from May 26-29. The venue is the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Boxborough, I-495 Exit 28.

May 26 - Guru Padmasambhava, 6 pm
May 27 - Chakrasamvara Preliminary, 6 pm
May 28 - Chakrasamvara Main Event, 2 pm
May 29 - Long Life Empowerment, 10 am
May 29 - Changchog/Rite for Purifying the Karma of the deceased, 2 pm

The Sakya Center in Boston has kindly offered Kurukulla Center students an opportunity to purchase tickets directly from them and avoid the Ticketmaster fees.  The ticket cost is $175. Tickets are only available for the entire 4-day series, that is, partial tickets not available. Tickets are not refundable.

To purchase a ticket, please email me at director@kurukulla.org and send a check for $175 for each set of tickets. Make the check payable to: Sakya Center and mail to: Kurukulla Center, 68 Magoun Ave, Medford, MA 02155. The deadline to purchase advance tickets is March 15.

More information about the event is available at the Sakya Center's website.


Bookclub Returns this Spring

Resident nun Tsunma-la (Sue Macy) leads a new book discussion series - Women in Buddhism - beginning in April.  Each month (April, May & June) we will discuss a different book.  All of these books tell the story of how remarkable women responded to both the opportunities and limitations for women in Buddhism. Everyone is welcome - both women and men! It is suggested, but not required, that you read as much as you can. 

April 9 - Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo's Quest for Enlightenment by Vickie Mackenzie
May 14 - Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist & Buddhist by Jan Wills
June 11 - Sorrow Mountain: The Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun by Ani Pachen & Adelaide Donnelley

Our first book, Cave in the Snow, details an English nun's twelve-year retreat in the remote Himalayan mountains.  Her story is spell-binding and an inspiration! Unfortunately we do not carry this title in our bookstore. It, along with Sorrow Mountain, can be ordered from Amazon Books and other retailers (and qualify for free shipping if you spend more than $25 on your purchase!) Dreaming Me is available in our bookstore at a 20% discount.  

Donate to Festival of Lights & Merit

The most significant events in Buddha Shakyamuni's life are marked by four very auspicious festivals each year. During these four Buddhist festivals, many thousands of lights and prayer flags as well as pujas are offered each night around the Bodhi Tree gardens in Bodhgaya, India by our spiritual director Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the FPMT.  Individuals can also join in the sponsorship of these lights as well as prayer flags and pujas during these holidays:

Fifteen days of Miracles from March 5 - 19
Birth, Enlightenment and Paranirvana from June 14 - 16
First Teaching from August 2 - 4
Descent from Tushita God Realm from November 16 - 18

More information is available on the Root Institute website, or you can email manager@rootinstitute.com. 

Dalai Lama Attends Peace Summit in Newark, NJ

The Dalai Lama will participate in a conference on using strategies of peace and cooperation to deal with the many difficulties facing our contemporary world. The Newark Peace Education Summit: The Power of NonViolence meets from May 13 - 15 in Newark, New Jersey. Panel discussions and workshops with the Dalai Lama and other notable leaders are planned during the summit. Registration and more information is at http://newarkpeace.org.  

Attending the Kalachakra Event in July?

If you would like to connect with others who are attending the Kalachakra Initiation and teachings with the Dalai Lama in Washington, DC beginning July 6, try out our new Kalachakra Message Board. This is a chance to share information on accommodations, carpooling and any other relevant news. Please note that we are not able to organize any of these arrangements, we just wanted to make a space available for people in the area to talk to each other.

Thank you again for your wonderful support.

Much love,