H.H. 17th Karmapa in Europe - 2009

H.H. 17th Karmapa Trinlay Thaye Dorje Summer European Schedule

His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Trinlay Thaye Dorje will visit Europe in the summer 2009.

17th Karmapa in Europe. (c) Matt Balara www.flickr.com/people/mattbalara

Travel Plan:

Karma Guen, Spain

• June 3: Gyalwa Gyamtso Empowerment
• June 4-6: Teachings on Shanti Deva Text
• June 7: Benalmadena Stupa: White Tara Empowerment

Info: www.karmaguen.org

Russia

There is going to be a long-awaited and grandiose event in June: HH 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje will visit Russia for the first time on Kalmykian president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov invitation. His Holiness will visit 6 Russian cities.

• June 10: Saint-Petersburg, White Tara Empowerment
• June 13: Elista, Chenresig Empowerment
• June 14: Elista, Karma Pakshi Empowerment
• June 15: Moscow, Questions and Answers
• June 16: Moscow, Dorje Sempa Empowerment
• June 19: Irkutsk, Marpa Empowerment
• June 20: Ulan-Ude, Guru Rinpoche Empowerment and Bodhisattva Promise
• June 24: Vladivostok, Bodhisattva Promise
• June 25: Vladivostok, Milarepa Empowerment

Info: www.buddhism.ru

Minkovka, Ukraine

• June 28: Opame Empowerment
• July 2: Boddhisattva Promise

Info: www.course09.buddhism.org.ua/en

Rodby, Denmark

• July 4: Milarepa Empowerment
• July 5: Teachings on Buddha Nature

Info: www.buddha-lolland.dk

Kuchary, Poland

• July 11: Opame Empowerment
• July 15: Boddhisattva Promise

Info: www.kuchary.buddyzm.pl

Tenovice, Czech Republic

• July 16-19: Teachings of Samanthabadra”The King of Wishing Prayers”
• July 19: Chenresig (Avalokiteshvara) Empowerment; Boddhisattva Promise

Info: http://bdc.cz/tenovice/en

Karma Euzer Ling, France

• July 21-26: Teachings of Samanthabadra”The King of Wishing Prayers”
• July 24: Green Tara Empowerment
• July 25: Karma Pakshi (2nd Karmapa) Empowerment

Info: www.karma-euzer-ling.org

Manchester, UK

• July 27: Karma Pakshi (2nd Karmapa) Empowerment
• July 27: Public Teaching: The Way of the Buddha
• July 28: White Tara Empowerment

Info: www.dechen.org

London, UK

• July 30: Marpa Empowerment

Info: www.dwbuk.org

Graz, Austria

• August 1: Guru Rinpoche Empowerment
• August 2: Boddhisattva Promise

Info: www.diamantweg.at

Europe Center, Germany

• August 4: Opame Empowerment

Info: www.europe-center.org

Dhagpo Kaguy Ling, France

• August 6: Teaching
• August 7: Milarepa Empowerment
• August 8: Teaching
• August 9: Sangye Menla (Medicine Buddha) Empowerment
• August 10: Teaching

Info: www.dhagpo-kagyu-ling.org

Karma Droupgyu Tcheuling, Perpignan, France

• August 11: Teachings “The Law of Karma”

Info: www.dhagpo-kagyu-ling.org

Institute Karmapa, France

• August 13: Public Talk in Nice
• August14: Ayagriva Empowerment
• August15-16: Teachings on Nagarjuna’s “Letter to a Friend”
• August16: Manjushri Empowerment

Info: www.institut-karmapa.net

Dhagpo Kundreul Ling, France

• August 17-20: TBA

Info: www.dhagpo-kundreul.org

Karma Mygur Ling, France

• August 21-23: Teachings on the 37 Practices of the Bodhisattvas
• August 22: Mahakala Empowerment

Info: www.montchardon.org

Paris, France

• August 26: Public Lecture “Building Peace Each Day - A Buddhist Perspective”

Info: www.kttparis.org

Vienna, Austria

• August 29: Explanations and Reading Transmission of Preliminary Practices
• August 29: Buddha Shakyamuni Empowerment

Info: www.karma-kagyu.at

Last Updated: August 1

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Spring Incense Sale At The Tibetan Incense Shop

Well, long time passed since our last sale. And - Here you are! Tibetan Incense Shop is glad to offer you The Spring Sale - more than 40 kinds of incense, from all price categories, from the cheapest to the most expensive ones.

Simply jump to the Hot Sales section of our shop - and enjoy the variety of our items on sale.

Sample discounted incense:

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37 Practices of the Bodhisattva in the Daily Life

Lam Shenphen Zangpo, 3 April, 2009, kuenselonline.com

It is impossible to explain each verse in a short article like this, but at least I’ll try to offer some examples of how to approach the practices.

Let’s explore a couple of verses at random: “Regardless of how long spent living together, good friends and relations must some day depart. Our wealth and possessions collected with effort are left fare behind at the end of our life. Our mind, but a guest in our body`s great guest house, must vacate one day and travel beyond. Cast away thoughts that concern only this lifetime - the Sons of the Buddhas all practice this way.”

37 Practices of the Bodhisattva (c) CortoMaltese_1999 http://www.flickr.com/photos/drepung

Superficially, the verse appears to implore us to abandon worldly life. This is not the case. If enlightenment depended on leaving friends and kin, then all we have to do is spend some time on a desert island to achieve it. It is not that simple. Whenever we consider the teachings of the Buddha, it is important to bear in mind that the focus in on transforming the mind and alleviating suffering. Physical action only supports this role.

Of course, undergoing intense mind training in a retreat environment can offer enormous benefits, but the best time and place to practice is right here and now - not at some future location that may never materialize.

Happiness is the motivation for our lives. From having a biscuit to getting married, everything we do is done with this intention. Most of the time, however, we don’t consider whether our action actually leads to this goal. We just follow habits and impulses. Even a gangster kills with the intention of being happy. Yet, I have never met a happy gangster.

Often, we are like a person in Wangdue who wants to go to Jakar, but drives South. Even after he does not reach his destination after a day of driving, he does not check his direction. Instead he drives faster.

In this respect, Gyalsé Ngulchu Tokmé is inviting us to examine our direction. It is not that friends and relatives are bad, but that our connection with them is often one of dependency. We feel lonely, and immediately reach for the phone. In this way, friends and relatives actually hinder our goal - to achieve freedom from suffering.

I’ll explain further. Emotions such as loneliness arise in the mind through a combination of many factors, such as past fears, mood and educational and social influences. In this way, they are a compounded phenomena, no different from a rainbow or mirage. They appear, but lack true existence. If this is difficult to accept, then try to locate the feeling of loneliness. Is it in the brain, in the heart or perhaps somewhere else? Like a mirage or rainbow we will not find it. In this way, we should understand that the emotion cannot harm us. It is only a sensation, and the way to realize this is to just watch it in a non-judgmental way.

When we do this, fears dissolve like storm clouds in the clear Autumn sky. On the other hand, constantly calling a friend at the merest twitch of loneliness perpetuates the illusion. It is like taking an aspirin to cure a chronic disease. The symptoms may temporarily disappear, but the overall condition deteriorates.

Therefore, the verse is not recommending that we abandon friends and family, but instead abandon the misconception that they are a solution to our emotional problems. If we can do this, then we can develop a healthy relationship with our associates that truly benefits all.

Here is another verse: “If in the midst of a large crowd of people someone should single us out for abuse, exposing our faults and flaws, we should not get angry or become defensive but instead just listen in silence and, heeding his words, bow in respect to this man as our teacher. The sons of the Buddhas all practice this way.”

Outwardly, this passage may appear to advocate passive acceptance, but this is not the case. Like the previous verse, it offers an effective way to work with the mind. For example, most people would feel embarrassed if their faults were exposed in front of a thousand people. Resentment and perhaps revenge would follow. However, we do not have to respond in this way. Instead of following our habitual responses, we could instead use the experience to examine our mind. We question what causes us to feel embarrassed. And, if we are honest, we will acknowledge that we have developed a pretty solid and overrated impression of ourselves. This is why the words hurt.

The verse invites us to free ourselves from these habitual responses. Rather than protecting ourselves from the outer world, we use the light of wisdom to examine the target. We ask what is it that hurts. Under this kind of scrutiny, the target dissolves like ice under the midday sun. We regain our flexible and spacious mind. When this occurs, there is nothing for the words to hit. This is no small liberation.

The thirty-seven practices are an invitation to explore our mind. They are not indictments to abandon our responsibilities, but instead offer advise on how to deal with our world in a healthy and beneficial way.

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Tibetan Monks And Medical Recearch

Allison Rubin, medicalnewstoday.com

The Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR) at Boston Medical Center recently treated many of the large number of Tibetan refugee monks who fled violent religious persecution. These individuals arrived in Boston suffering from symptoms of traumatic stress, interfering with their meditative practice. The monks were diagnosed by their traditional healers as having srog-rLung, a life-wind imbalance. Recognizing that barriers exist between western and eastern medicine, the BCRHHR researched and implemented its own complementary therapy options to heal them. These findings appear online in the March issue of Mental Health, Religion and Culture.

According to Tibetan medicine, a srog-rLung disturbance has the potential to develop into a serious mental illness, leaving the victim at odds with the balance of the universe as well as jeopardizing his personal health. Symptoms of srog-rLung include uncontrollable crying, worrying, excessive mental, physical or verbal activity and an unhappy mind. Other conditions affecting the monk’s health include anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Tibetan Monk. (c) http://www.flickr.com/photos/larryhe

Research in cross-cultural health settings, particularly refugee health services, shows that successful treatment is contingent on a combination of the patient’s interpretation of the illness and biomedical categories. This allows the patient to actively participate in his or her own healing. Cross-cultural psychiatric assessment is also necessary in determining appropriate treatment options, as treatment can be detrimental if not harmonized with the religious context in which mental illness will develop for these monks. The BCRHHR used traditional healers to obtain a dual diagnosis for the development of holistic therapy that responds to both PTSD and srog-rLung.

“This research and treatment involving patients accustomed only to traditional medicine, presented an opportunity for the acceptance of non-traditional therapeutic approaches,” explains Michael Grodin, MD, professor of health law, bioethics and human rights at Boston University School of Public Health, and professor of psychiatry, sociomedical sciences and community medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. “The difference between Tibetan and Western disease pathologies represents the need for evidence-based complementary therapies, such as the Tibetan monks in exile and other religious refugee populations,” said Grodin.

Tibetan Buddhist tradition dictates that the cure for suffering is enlightenment, attainable through meditation. When this occurs, the body is freed from anxieties and fears. The monks who were treated for PTSD and srog-rLung are finding that meditation, once second nature, has become difficult after nights filled with flashbacks that put the monks in a state of hyper-vigilance for the next day.

According to the researchers, in order to provide complimentary therapy for the monks, eastern and western medicine needed to be integrated to properly address both conditions. The spiritual aspect of the Tibetan medical model, which is at the core of the monks’ experience of illness, guided this research. Ancient Tibetan Bon tradition of yogic practice was used to induce the mind into a relaxed state necessary to purify oneself through motion. This yogic practice combines movement of the body and controlled breath with movements of the mind to bring mental stability and offers an alternative to the monks’ inability to eliminate invasive thoughts. Another therapy that was used is singing bowl therapy - a form of music therapy, as sound has a direct connection to the heart, which aligns with srog-rLung experienced by the monks.

Grodin said the refugee health center at BMC integrated techniques of western medicine, such as anti-depressant prescribing and psychotherapy, with Tibetan healing practices, including medicines prescribed by Tibetan Amchi, meditation advice, Tai Chi and Qi Gong exercises. Grodin is trained in traditional Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture and meditation.

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Soon: Dalai Lama In Boston

Mary Virginia DeAngelis, examiner.com, March 22

The Dalai Lama is coming to Boston for four days this spring. The revered 73-year-old spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism will make stops in Cambridge and Boston and also at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, according to a story in “Articles of Faith” the Boston Globe blog about religion, written by Michael Paulson. Tenzin Gyatso, the man who calls himself  “a simple Buddhist monk”, has a packed itinerary.

Dalai Lama’s Boston area schedule: April 30 to May 2, 2009

Dalai Lama

Public Talk in Boston, MA on April 30:

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will give a public talk to the Harvard University Community on Educating the Heart  at the Memorial Church. Contact Harvard Website for more information.

Inauguration of The Dalai Lama Center at MIT on April 30:

The Dalai Lama will inaugurate The Dalai Lama Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and will speak about Ethics and Enlightened Leadership. Read more »

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