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Atisha Buddhist Centre
e-Dharma Newsletter |
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| September 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Relying upon the Spiritual
Guide is the foundation for all spiritual attainments.
Lamrim Retreat
Sat 25th - Fri 31st August Session
times are:
You
can come to as many or as few sessions as you like.
Sessions may change due to classes and puja’s so please check your August calendar. Lamrim is a special presentation of the stages of the path to enlightenment. During this retreat we will engage in the cycle of twenty-one Lamrim meditations in the New Meditation Handbook. Extensive commentaries to the Lamrim meditations can be found in ‘Joyful Path of Good Fortune’ Each session consists of preparatory prayers, study time and meditation. Handouts are provided with info about what to do in the session but if you're still unsure just turn up a bit early and someone will go through the sheets with you. All sessions are free of charge - donations are very welcome.
UK Dharma Celebration 2007 Thurs 13th-Sun 16th September The UK Dharma Celebration
is an annual Kadampa Buddhist event inspired by the modern day
Buddhist Master, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, and held at Tara
Centre in Derbyshire.The Celebration is taught by Gen-la Kelsang
Khyenrab, the Deputy Spiritual Director of the New Kadampa
Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU).It is a
special opportunity for people from across the UK and overseas to
gather together and enjoy a meaningful autumn holiday, with
spiritual teachings, guided meditations and prayers – a chance to
relax with friends in a beautiful and peaceful place.All the
proceeds from
the UK Dharma Celebration go to the International Temples Project, a Buddhist charity building temples dedicated to World Peace in major cities across the globe. The theme of this year's UK Dharma Celebration is Wisdom Nectar Blessings.Gen-la Kelsang Khyenrab will grant the empowerment of Buddha Manjushri and give teachings on dependent relationship.
Madhyamaka Centre, Pocklington Sunday 23rd September 2-4 pm This class is open to both those who already teach our meditation classes and also anyone who is interested in teaching in the near or distant future.
During the class, Chödor will give a short talk on how to improve our teaching skills. Then a branch teacher (selected in advance) will give a short teaching and receive constructive feedback from the rest of the group. Feedback is generally related to posture, body language, physical habits etc, not the teaching content. There's also time at the end for discussion and asking questions. There's no charge for this class and although there's no need to book, it would be helpful if you could let Debbs know if you're coming so we have enough printouts if any are done. |
Over the last month much has been done to enhance the centre for both residents and visitors. The centre now has double glazing to all windows, and the upstairs bathrooms and toilets have a fresh new look. Also, the garage now has a leak free new roof. The front and back window surrounds and doors have been painted, there has been lots of general cleaning and decorating activity. A great big thank you to everyone who has helped in any way. You can see a few photos above of these works. Visit our website to see them in more detail.
 Directors Corner Recently I went to a meeting at the Summer Festival for all Admin Directors within the New Kadampa Tradition.It was quite enlightening and I learnt a lot.
As we may know Buddhism is all about
the ‘middle way’, free from the two extremes of
existence and non-existence. Our teachers often say too, that the
example of Kadampa Buddhists needs to be free from extreme
behavior,
With this in mind can I talk a little about what’s important in the development of a Dharma Centre and in particular the material development of the Centre. Often we may focus on the spiritual side wanting to meditate a lot, study and go to pujas, whether that is in our homes or in a Centre. I know as a new practitioner I was up for abandoning my possessions and enjoyments completely but I soon learnt this was a bit extreme and that in fact good material conditions for spiritual practice are very important. Within a Dharma Centre spiritual and material development can be equally important. Spiritual development depends upon material conditions. Infarct sometimes the material development of a Centre can become more important. Depending upon our motivation and strength of our Dharma practice our spiritual development can sometimes just be benefiting our self through developing inner peace, whereas material development for a Centre can benefit others more e.g. current & future students, and all living beings in general. With the right intention none of the business and activities of the Centre are ordinary. If you are ever asked by someone working for the Centre to help out in any way please do consider their request. Of course it is the teachings that we all go to the Centre for and you don’t have to say yes to any requests but if you can help out in any way, whether it be physically, financially or in thought and prayer it makes a big difference. Thank you for your kind support.Keep your intentions big!- not just in the Centre but at home too! |
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