Many Buddhists are familiar with prayers to be reborn in the western Pure Land of Bliss (known Sanskrit as Sukhavati, in Tibetan as Dewachen, and in Chinese Jílè, Ānlè, or Xītiān) where Amitabha, the Wisdom Buddha of Limitless Light, teaches … Read More
Each morning of the Kagyu Monlam, after the Sojong vows and Sanskrit prayers, the assembly will chant the Twenty-Branch Monlam. This sequence of profound aspiration prayers has been chanted for more than five hundred years, since the Seventh Karmapa, Chödrak … Read More
We are pleased to announced that registration is now open to those only able to participate in the final weekend of this year’s North American Kagyu Monlam. Participants now have the option to register for Friday, July 8 – Sunday, … Read More
The North American Kagyu Monlam draws practitioners from many different Buddhist traditions, lineages, nationalities—and also non-Buddhist faiths. During the Monlam, most of the daily prayers will be recited in Tibetan, while others will be also chanted in English, Chinese, and … Read More
It’s a bit astonishing, in fact, to discover how shy the mind becomes when you offer to make friends with it. Thoughts and feelings that seemed so powerful and solid vanish almost as soon as they appear, like puffs of … Read More
The Maitreya Buddha statue adorns the main hall of the Maitreya Center, the site of the upcoming 2016 North American Kagyu Monlam. The throne upon which the Maitreya Buddha statue is seated is backed by an arched frame sculpted with … Read More
The ritual offering of the Ku Sung Tuk is made to the presiding lama of the Kagyu Monlam, who this year will be Venerable Mingyur Rinpoche. Ku Sung Tuk is Tibetan for enlightened body, speech, and mind. They are symbolized … Read More
The Tibetan word for meditation is gom, which, roughly translated, means “to become familiar with.” Going by this definition, meditation in the Buddhist tradition may perhaps best be understood as a process of getting to know your mind. It’s actually … Read More
Making offerings to ordained sangha and lamas is an Eastern tradition that has not yet fully taken root in the West. By making monetary offerings or sponsoring chanting, meals, or tea, we generate vast merit and accumulate positive karma. But … Read More
On Sunday, July 10, the final day of the 2016 North American Kagyu Monlam, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche will graciously bestow the White Tara empowerment. White Tara is said to have emerged from the tears of Chenrezig as he beheld the … Read More