We will have a break until Sunday January 7th.

Please have a happy holidays. Geshe la’s message for the New Year is to remember to practice reducing the 3 poisons (desire, anger, ignorance). This will bring a good heart and spacious mind, resulting in great benefit and happiness.

There have been some schedule changes for December. Please refer to the information below.

Full Day Retreat – Avalokiteshvara
Sunday Dec 3: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

10:00 – 11:30 a.m.: First Session

• Introduction to Chenrezig Retreat Practice, including Meaning & Benefits of Chenrezig mantra,Visualization instruction,
• Giving of mantra Transmission

11:30 – 11:45 a.m.: 15 minute Break

11:45 – 12:45 p.m.: Second session

• Recitation of Sadhana, Mantra with visualization meditation

12:45 – 1:45 p.m.: Lunch (potluck see restrictions below)

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.: Third Session

• Recitation of Sadhana, Mantra with visualization meditation
• (Dedication)

Food restrictions for the day: no meat including fish or seafood, no eggs. All the offerings for the alter should not contain animal fat. You can bring fruits, flowers, cookies without animal fats or lights.

Festival of Lights for Lama Tsongkapa day (Ganden Ngamchoe)
Date corrected to Tuesday evening
Tuesday Dec 12: 7 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. (You are welcome to come early and help make tsog, starting at 4 p.m.)

A day to commemorate the anniversary of Je Tsongkhapa. We will celebrate with a tsog offering. This event replaces the regular Tuesday evening prayer.

You may bring offerings such as flowers, fruits or cookies (there are no restrictions). All merit (positive potential) accumulated on this day is multiplied 100,000 times.

This event is also known “festival of lights” as it is a custom to light hundreds of lights in every home and temples and monasteries. So, in Tibet on this night because of all the hermitages in the mountains, we used to see the mountains lit up. It would be nice to start this tradition at our temple. So I will bring some white Christmas lights and if anyone else wants to bring some they are welcome.
– Lynn

Dharma Teachings
With the Festival of Lights moved, there will be a regular dharma teaching on Sunday Dec 10 at 10:00 a.m.. We are in the middle of the series on the Six Root Delusions and will start delving into the third delusion: anger.

There will be a short break later in December, no teaching on Christmas eve and New years eve. Please refer to our calendar.

Tuesday Prayers
Tuesday meditation and Tara prayer evening sessions at 7 p.m. will resume in December.

Hello,

We made an error with the date of the Festival of Lights. It will actually take place Tuesday Dec 12 at 7 p.m. to ~9 p.m., replacing the regular prayer. This is the anniversary of Tsongkhapa’s death. It will be celebrated with a Tsog offering.

You may bring offerings on this day (there are no restrictions).

We celebrate the parinirvana and enlightenment of Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419).
All merit (positive potential) accumulated on this day is multiplied 100,000 times.