It is a rare and wonderful privilege to sit with Will Ryken.
Will visits New Orleans every two months to sit with a gentleman on death row. We invited him to sit with us at Tibetan House whenever he is town, and he graciously accepted. This visit he will be speaking more directly about meditation and will lead us in a practice.
To sit with Will, chat with Will, be in the same room with Will, is guaranteed to brighten your perspective and lighten the depths of your being. This is so because Will simply ‘is’. He is a true testament to the teachings that he received from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Dapön Ryken became a student of Trungpa Rinpoche in October 1972 and joined the Dorje Kasung in 1975, attending the 2nd Magyal Pomra Encampment in 1979. He became the personal attendant to Rinpoche, and spent thirty years in Boulder in association with Shambala.
Dapön Ryken now lives in Ruskin FL, along with his wife Paula Bickford, Kadö and their three dogs. Will and Paula are active members of the St. Petersburg Fl Shambhala Center and teach around the Shambhala world. This year Dapön Ryken was appointed a Shastri. Dapön Ryken is widely known and beloved around the Shambhala Mountain Center for his insight, wisdom and humor.
Chamtrul Rinpoche is the recognized reincarnation of a great master and scholar from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the oldest school in Tibet.
Having studied many years, he holds a vast and profound knowledge of sutra, tantra, and dzogchen, and has been conferred the title ‘Khenpo’ – roughly equivalent to ‘Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy’.
Known for his nonsectarian quality, he has received all the cycles of teachings, empowerments and transmissions from more than twenty five accomplished masters and scholars from all four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism – namely, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug.
Chamtrul Rinpoche currently lives and teaches in India, in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala. Dedicating his life to helping people find inner peace, he also travels the world each year to teach and guide many old and new students.
In his own words:
“Teaching is what I do in this life, wherever someone asks me to teach, I am there. Without discriminating against anybody based on their gender, race, creed and so forth, I wish them to enjoy excellent peace and harmony. I try to the best of my ability to promote the view, meditation and conduct of non-violence, which is the indispensable source for the spread and enhancement of the inner peace of mind.”
Tuesday, July 24- Wednesday, July 25
Dzogchen and Vajrayana
Clearwater Sanctuary in Covington
For more information, contact:
info@clearwatersanctuary.org or (985) 630-1009
Thursday, July 26, 7pm-9pm
Topic to be announced
Mid-City Zen Center
3248 Castiglione Street
Friday, July 27, 7pm-9pm
Tong-Len: the Healing Power of Compassion
LHA Community Center
623 North Rendon
Saturday, July 28 – Sunday, July 29
Tonglen Teachings with Guided Meditation
LHA Community Center
623 North Rendon
Saturday, July 28, 11:00am-1:00pm & 3:00pm-5:00pm
Sunday, July 29, 11:00am-1:00pm
Monday, July 30, 6:45pm-8:00pm
Topic to be announced
Samten Choeling Dharma Center
For more information and to RSVP, contact:
Ngawang Legshe at (504) 723-1317
***** June 2018 *****
Tibetan House and Sorig Khang Bay Area Center for Traditional Tibetan Medicine present
Ku Nye Tibetan Massage & External Therapies Trainings With Sorig Khang Center for Tibetan Medicine
June 15–19, 2018
Public Talk with Eric Rosenbush, L.Ac. Thursday, June 14, 2018
7:00pm–9:00pm Central
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans
Streamed online at: bayarea.sorig.net/online
Ku Nye is the therapeutic massage practice of the holistic healing science of Traditional Tibetan Medicine. Based on the five elements and three humors, it offers methods to balance specific ailments and harmonize the innate constitution.
In this training you will learn:
• Fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine
• Client assessment
• Indications & contraindications
• Preparation & use of herbal oils
• Body mobilization
• Application of heat & cold
• Techniques for tissues, channels, & points
Beneficial for health practitioners & the public:
• Doctors & nurses
• Massage therapists
• Acupuncturists
• Yoga instructors
About Eric Rosenbush, L.Ac.
Eric Rosenbush, L.Ac. is a licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of Tibetan, Chinese, and Ayurvedic medicine and Jyotish Vedic astroscience. He teaches worldwide as a senior Sorig Khang International instructor.
About Sorig Khang
Sorig Khang offers study & practice programs in Tibetan Medicine & the related Yuthok Nyingthig spiritual lineage under the guidance of Dr. Nida Chenagtsang.
Wednesday May 9
6:00pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Every year we look forward to our annual Smoke Puja officiated by the Venerable Tsering Phuntsok, our very dear friend from India and Nepal. Simply explained, a Sang puja, or smoke puja, is a ritual of purification, clearing away stale and stuck energies, in yourself, in the environment, in the general state of affairs. It can be described as clearing of impurities in the midstream of those attending the offering. In truth, the depth of purpose of the Smoke Offering, or the Pure Offering, is far-reaching.
According to Sogyal Rinpoche:
Riwo Sangchö means ‘An unceasing offering to the mountain gods’, but it is much more than that. It is a practice of generosity and offering that frees your heart and inspires your generosity to others. It is a practice of prosperity that also brings you confidence. It is a practice of healing through which you repay all your karmic debts and heal your relationships. Riwo Sangchö is also practice of purification in which all your obscurations are purified and burned away in the sang offering. You purify the outer pollution (environmental degradation, disharmony, and physical sickness); You purify the inner pollution (negative emotions, blockages in your channels and imbalances in our energy) ; You purify the secret pollution (fundamental ignorance). Riwo Sangchö is also and especially a practice that enhances your energy and your lung ta, thus making your rigpa more vivid to you.
Please explore these websites for a more comprehensive understanding of what occurs when we join together with Tsering in the Smoke Offering.
Everyone who has traveled to India with one of the annual groups from Tulane, Loyola, Ochsner or LMHPCO is invited to attend.
Reconnect with classmates and network with like-minded professionals.
The evening will include a Smoke Puja led by Tsering Phuntsok and a brief presentation on the impact of 15 years of India trips from Louisiana. Perhaps we’ll also brainstorm on ways to continue to serve the Tibetan community in exile.
Food and drinks provided. Feel free to contribute if you are so inclined!
In addition to past participants, anyone attending a trip this year OR interested in joining one of the trips in the future is WELCOME to attend!
*****
Mindful Me Book Launch & Meditation Session for Youth, age 9-11
Whitney Stewart, New Orleans’ own, will be with us at Tibetan House to launch her new book, ‘Mindful Me’, written for nine to twelve year olds, and an inspiration for all ages. Whitney is also the author of ‘Mediation is Open Sky: Mindfulness for Kids’ and ‘Mindful Kids: 50 Mindfulness Activities for Kindness, focus and calm, a set of 50 colorful cards. Please come and meet Whitney, bring your kids aged nine to twelve, and experience a mindfulness practice.
About Mindful Me
Sometimes kids’ lives can get busy and out of control, and worries can take over. When that happens, knowing how to pause and regain composure with mindfulness can help! This easily digestible guide introduces kids to mindfulness as a way to find clarity, manage stress, handle difficult emotions, and navigate personal challenges. With over 30 breathing, relaxation, and guided meditation exercises, including stepby-step instructions, readers will have an entire toolkit at their disposal, and writing prompts will help them process their discoveries.In the activity book, kids will learn to settle their thoughts and look inward through a series of fun writing prompts, games, and meditation exercises. Serving as a guide to reflect upon the lessons learned in Mindful Me, it offers kids a place to record their reflections, creating a tangible account of how far they’ve grown in their meditation practice.
About Whitney Stewart
Whitney Stewart will travel far for a story. She’s trekked in the Himalaya with Sir Edmund Hillary and visited remote Buddhist monasteries in Nepal, Tibet, Myanmar, and Japan. She’s interviewed Nobel laureates, sat for days in meditation retreats, and even been a puppeteer and salad chef in France. She is the author of travel stories, multiple children’s books, and when she is not writing or traveling, she teaches mindfulness and meditation to children.
*****
Chöd Ceremony with the Venerable Tsering Phuntsok
Tuesday May 15
7:00pm – 8:30pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas St
My first experience of the Chöd practice was on a bayou in Atchafalaya Basin. Setting up for the practice began predawn. As Tsering began the hauntingly beautiful practice of Chöd , we watched the mist on the bayou as the sun slowly brought a golden light into the morning.
I have read so many descriptions of this practice. I have heard it practiced many, many times while traveling in India and Nepal. There is no simple, easy way to translate the experience into an explanation. The Tibetan word Chöd translate into ‘to sever’. In context of this practice, it is to sever the ego and is most commonly referred to as ‘Cutting Through the Ego’.
Thank you, Tsering for sharing this powerful practice with us.
If you feel inclined, investigate these sites. There are many others. There are also youtube videos.
Applied Meditation Practices A Taoist Approach with Stephen Josephs, Ed.D. and guest, Jose Calderon-Abbo, M.D
Wednesdays, May 16, 23 & 30
7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Course fee: $60
This 3 module course looks at meditation as a pathway to feeling fully alive in the midst of life challenges. What are normally considered hinderances can, in fact, be gateways to our ever expanding experience of awareness. The practices you will learn are designed to deepen and stabilize your meditation.
In three successive sessions, we will learn specific sets of meditative skills that we will apply to 1) Pain reduction, 2) Unwanted behaviors and thoughts, and 3) The Paradox of Goal Achievement.
You may recognize this approach to inviting, accepting, and embracing all experience as characteristically Taoist in flavor. It is. Yet its principles are not only consistent with non-dual teaching from many traditions, but with recent discoveries in neuroscience.
To quote Lao Tzu:
…And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface,
The core and the surface
Are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different
Only to express appearance.
If name be needed, wonder names them both:
From wonder into wonder
Existence opens.
- Witter Bynner translation (used with permission)
The sessions are meant to build on each other in succession but will be valuable as individual sessions, as well.
Stephen Josephs,Ed.D. has practiced meditation and various mind-body disciplines for over 50 years. This includes Taoist “water method” meditation – a method of systematic dissolving of blocks while in a state of non-dual awareness. He has been an executive coach for over 37 years. He co-authored Leadership Agility, a study of how leaders mature in their roles and how maturation affects their capacity to lead. This evolution for executives all comes down to “getting over yourself,” and meditation is offered to leaders as a cure for self-importance. As Lao Tzu would say of a sound man and a leader, “By never being an end in himself, he endlessly becomes himself.”
Jose Calderon-Abbo, M.D. is board certified in psychiatry and addiction medicine, with an additional certification in mind-body medicine. He is a long time Vipassana practitioner, and mind-body medicine group facilitator. Dr. Calderon is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry with LSU School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, Clinical faculty at Tulane University, and is the Medical Director of the New Orleans Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. He is Senior Faculty at the Center for Mind- Body Medicine in Washington DC. where he conducts national and international trainings and supervision in mind-body medicine skills for the general public, healthcare providers and the department of defense. He is developing and studying an emergent model for relapse prevention and mental health care combining neurosciences, mind-body medicine, and functional medicine for mental health, wellness, and addictions.
Dr. Calderon is the host of Whole Body Mental Health Radio, a radio show that thinks broadly about mental health and addictions, from the mind-body connection and genetics, to the community and the world! This program airs on WHIV, 102.3 FM, on Wednesday evenings, 7:00pm-8:00pm. The archive is available on itunes.
This photo of our dear friend, the Venerable Tsering Phuntsok, brings so much joy to my heart!!! I think his smile brings joy to anyone who meets him. We are so happy he is here with us again.Tsering will be at Tibetan House all day Thursday, May 17th, 11am – 6:00pm. If you have not met him, please come in and do so. If you have met him, he will be very happy to see you.
Tsering is available for private sessions. You can schedule an astrology readings, or a sitting, or have a question/answer discussions.
Drop in or make an appointment to visit with him.
To connect with Tsering, contact Tibetan House: info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
*****
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective with Thich Thien Tri
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri, Thay, will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. Since his arrival in the USA in 2002, Thay has taught in many US cities. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish ’Zen and Mind Family’.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will be introduced to these practices:
• Four Noble Truths
• Six Senses and the objects of Six Senses
• Sitting, standing, walking meditation
• Chanting
• Mani Mantra
We are offering two opportunities for this course:
Saturday evenings, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
June 2- July 28
Fee: $200
Pre-registration is required: contact Tibetan House at 504 897 9339 or info@tibetanhouse.com
Location: Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas St.
If you have to miss a class, Thich Thien Tri will be happy to have a make up class with you.
Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
Please let us know if you would like to participate! We need five participants for the course to take place!
*****
SoulCollage,
Workshop with Catherine Williams
Sunday, May 20
12:45pm-5:30pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Cost: $40
Please be prompt, doors lock at 1pm
SoulCollage® is an engaging process of making 5″x8″ collage cards. Different than traditional collage, the images come together in ways that may surprise you, each card reflecting an aspect of your personality.
This creative process offers a way of making meaning beyond the world of words through colors and images that appeal to you.
Created by Seena Frost, SoulCollage® has evolved as a way to deepen your connection to self and your own purpose in this world, using images that intuitively call to you.
Eventually you’ll have a deck of personal wisdom cards, created through the knowing guidance of your intuition. Then through an interactive process of ”reading” the card, you will find it offers access to a place of wisdom and kindness in yourself. From this place come messages from your Self to your self, timely and affirming. About Catherine Williams
Catherine Williams has been a SoulCollage® facilitator since September 2011. With a Master’s Degree in Drama Therapy, she has led workshops for over 20 years combining art, movement and drama therapy. She is certified as a teacher of the Enneagram in the narrative tradition.
*****
Drepung Gomang Monks in New Orleans
May 21-29, 2018
We are overjoyed that the monks of the Sacred Art Tour of Drepung Gomang Monastery in South India will be with us for the end of May. The Sacred Art Tour is committed to preserving the Tibetan Culture, Traditions and Religions.
Thursday, May 24, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
***** Vajrasattva Purification Puja
$20 Suggested Offering
Saturday, May 26, 12:00pm-5:00pm
New Orleans Healing Center, 2372 St Claude Avenue
***** 12:00pm-5:00pm Tibetan Goods Market
***** 1:00pm Puja for World Peace
***** 4:00pm Snow Lion Dance
$20 Suggested Offering
Sunday, May 27
The Fly at Audubon Park
***** 5:00pm Puja
$20 Suggested Offering
We are very sorry to have to cancel the World Peace Puja this Sunday afternoon, May 27, at the Fly. Unfortunately, the Drepung Gomang Monks from South India have to leave New Orleans earlier than expected.
Our apologies to those of you that were looking forward to this beautiful and timely peace offering
About the Monastery:
“Drepung Gomang Monastic University is one of the most reputed centers (the three great seats: Drepung, Gaden and Sera) for learning, contemplating and practicing Tibetan Buddhist thoughts and science notably known as the second Nalanda University in Tibet. As prophesied in Langsheg Sutra by Lord Buddha: When once Nagaraja Madhopa pledged Lord Buddha with a white conch, Lord Buddha handed it over to Maugalayana, one of his two closest attendants who possessed transcendental miracle-power, with blessed and instructive decree to take it to Gogpa Ri (Garlic Hill) at Gaden in Tibet and hide it there in the hill. It adds that in the future the Bhiksu of Lotus-purity in nature would unearth it and it would thereafter be used as Tsogdhung, to be blown as the signaling medium for gathering to spiritual congregation …..”
The Sacred Art Tour is also a fundraising venture for the Monastery:
“This monastery solely survives on the donations, contribution and prayer offering and every single fund helps us a lot in taking care of our monks here.
We conveys our sincere thank you to kind donors, sponsors, well wishers for their continuous support which has made this monastery to survive here in exile.
We sincerely appeal everyone to continue kind support towards this monastery and will understand if you are unable to do so. We thank you all once again and will include you all in our daily prayers.”
Tibetan House is very excited to host Will Rykenfor an evening talk. Dapön Will Ryken became a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in October 1972. If you are unfamiliar with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, you can watch the documentary film,Crazy Wisdom.
About Will Ryken
Will Ryken has been teaching in prisons for the
past twenty years and is currently a mentor for a gentleman on death row in Angola state prison in Louisiana.
He first connected to Chögyam Trungpa and the Buddhadharma in Boulder, Colorado in 1972 and that was it. While in Boulder, he became a Dorje Kasung in 1975, lived at Karme Chöling for two years and then was Director of Dorje Khyung Dzong for another two, returning to Boulder until moving to Florida in 2006. Mr. Ryken co-founded the Shambhala Sun Summer camp in 1984, and he is a Dapön in the Dorje Kasung. He currently lives in Ruskin FL. with his wife Paula Bickford. They both teach and play at the St. Petersburg Shambhala Center as well as teaching and assistant directing Shambhala and Kasung Programs around the world. Mr. Ryken is well known for his wisdom and humor.
*****
Offering Two 9-week Courses in
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective
Tuesdays, 9:00am – 11:00am April 3 – May 29
and
Saturdays, 6:00pm-8:00pm April 14 – June 9
For each course:
Fee: $200
Pre-Registration is required.
Minimum 5 students,
Maximum 10 students
Each course remains open for new participants for the first 3 classes.
To register, contact Tibetan House
info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
*****
Traditional Tibetan Medicine Workshops at Tibetan House With Sorig Khang Bay Area Center for Tibetan Medicine
April 5-April 8, 2018
We are excited to announce our next offering of talks, practices, and classes from the Tibetan medical tradition, offered April 5–8 by Jason Whitlow, director of Sorig Khang Bay Area!
And please save the date for a 5-day intensive training in Tibetan Ku Nye Massage, coming June 15–19 at Tibetan House! More details to come.
Traditional Tibetan Medicine (known in Tibetan as Sowa Rigpa) is one of the oldest healing traditions in existence, offering a vast medical knowledge that is accessible to everyone. In addition to its lifestyle, diet, and herbal remedies, TTM contains a sophisticated array of healing therapies including Ku Nye Tibetan massage, Horme Mongolian oil therapy, Lum bath therapy, Yukcho stick therapy, La energy massage, and more.
In this talk, Jason will offer an overview of the external healing therapies in the Tibetan medical tradition. He will describe the unique approach and qualities of each therapy, and explain how they can be used to prevent as well as cure disease. He will also review the fundamentals of typology in Tibetan Medicine, and help us to learn the best therapies for our individual constitution.
Suggested Donation: $20
Eliminating Obstacles Meditation
From the Spiritual Tradition of Tibetan Medicine Friday, April 6, 2018 7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans
Streamed online at: bayarea.sorig.net/online
Join us for a guided meditation practice to eliminate obstacles and hidden obstructions of all kinds. From the Yuthok Nyingthig, the unique spiritual tradition of Tibetan Medicine, this accessible practice invokes the blessings of the father of Tibetan Medicine and the four activity dakinis to clear away difficulties and develop healing wisdom for the benefit of ourselves and others.
Suggested Donation: $20
Nejang Tibetan Healing Yoga Workshop: Opening the Channels, Balancing the Energy Saturday, April 7, 2018
10:00am-6:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans
Nejang is a simple-yet-profound Tibetan healing yoga practice consisting of breath work, physical exercises, and self-massage. It is designed to improve the function of the sense and inner organs, open the channels, balance the energy, and relax the mind. With roots in the Tibetan Buddhist Kalachakra tradition, it has been prescribed to patients by Tibetan doctors for centuries due to its ability to support health and cure disease.
In this workshop, Jason will introduce the fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine, including the channels and energies of the subtle body, and teach the key points of posture and breath used in Nejang. We will then learn and practice some of the twenty-four Nejang exercises and explore their specific therapeutic applications using the Nejang text and commentaries.
For more information, and to register, please visit: bayarea.sorig.net/nola
Tibetan La Massage Sunday, April 8, 2018 10:00am-6:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans
‘La’ Massage is one of the subtle energetic treatments from the Tibetan medical tradition. It is used to replenish the vital protective energy known as ‘la’, described in both the Tibetan medical and astrological traditions as an essence of our consciousness. ‘La’ energy pervades the body, circulating through it on a lunar cycle and giving us strength and vigor, as well as bliss, sensitivity, and satisfaction. Signs of depleted ‘la’ energy include feelings of tiredness, sadness, and anxiety, a fuzzy mind, and a grayish complexion.
In this workshop, we will review the fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine, including the five elements and three humors, and will learn how their gross and subtle forms (including ‘la’ energy) manifest in our body, energy, and mind. Jason will then introduce the practice of ‘La’ Massage, including the visualizations, recitations, and techniques used to contact and replenish this protective energy. Advice will also be given on how we can gather and protect ‘la’ energy in our day-to-day life, as a means of supporting our vitality and sense of blissful well-being.
For more information, and to register, please visit: bayarea.sorig.net/nola Workshop Fees One Workshop:
Register by Mar 25: $120
Register after Mar 25: $150 Both Workshops:
Register by Mar 25: $200
Register after Mar 25: $270
About Jason Whitlow
Director of Sorig Khang Bay Area, Jason graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he studied neurobiology and computer science, and has worked professionally as a somatics teacher and modern dancer. He has studied and practiced for many years under the guidance of Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, a renowned doctor of Tibetan Medicine and holder of the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage. About Sorig Khang Bay Area
Sorig Khang Bay Area is a nonprofit center offering programs in the study and practice of Traditional Tibetan Medicine and the related Yuthok Nyingthig spiritual lineage. It is part of Sorig Khang International, a network of Tibetan Medicine centers in over 40 countries around the world.
Learn more at: bayarea.sorig.net
***** March 2018 *****
Offering Two 9-week Courses in
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective
Tuesdays, 9:00am – 11:00am March 6-May 1
and
Saturdays, 6:00pm-8:00pm March 10-May 5
For each course: Fee: $200
Pre-Registration is required.
Minimum 5 students,
Maximum 10 students
Each course remains open for new participants for the first 3 classes.
To register, contact Tibetan House
info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
*****
Practicing Mindfulness in our Daily Living
An Evening with the Venerable Dr. Thich Tam Duc
Thursday, March 22 at 7:00pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Suggested donation $20
Our instructor for Buddhism from a Zen Perspective, Thich Thien Tri, is very excited to introduce his teacher to you. His teacher, Ven. Dr. Thich Tam Duc, is visiting from Vietnam and will be in New Orleans for six weeks. He will be at Tibetan House on Thursday, March 22.
About Ven. Dr. Thich Tam Duc
Ven. Dr. Thich Tam Duc, born in 1953 in Thua Thien, Vietnam. He is a highly accomplished scholar with degrees in History, Buddhist Studies and Philosophy.
Ven. Dr. Thich Tam Duc is a Standing Member of the Central Dhamma Executive Council of Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the Vice Rector and General Secretary of the Vietnam Buddhist Research Institute as well as the Vice Rector & Lecturer of Vietnam Buddhist University in Ho Chi Minh City. He has given Dhamma lectures and presentations on Buddhism throughout the world including the United States, Canada, India, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia.
Mindfulness Meditation: Journey to a Healthier, Happier Life
Thursday February 22, 7:00 pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Suggested Donation: $20
RSVP and Questions: hmoutonlandry@gmail.com
Come and start off your New Year by developing or reinvigorating your meditation practice. If you are a meditator and need a refresher or have never meditated and want to learn, this one hour talk with give you everything you need to understand how a mediation practice will improve your relationships, focus, and general well being.
Helen Landry, a New Iberia native, is a contemplative psychotherapist and meditation teacher in Richmond VA.
***** January 2018 *****
Mind-Body-Spirit Based Relapse Prevention Workshop for Addictions
with Jose Calderon-Abbo, M.D. & William Arendell LCSW
Wednesdays, January 3, 10, 17, and 24 7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Wanting, aversion, and confusion are at the core of many unskillful behaviors including addictions. Entering and sustaining recovery often requires skillful use of psychological, behavioral and ethical/spiritual tools.
This is a 4-week workshop for those wanting to learn or modify skills to sustain sobriety from chemical or behavioral addictions. This workshop teaches mindfulness, mind-body medicine, and cognitive behavioral skills to support your practice and complement any other form of addiction treatment, 12-steps, SMART recovery, or Refuge Recovery work you may be doing. Selective mind-body skill may include gentle mindful movements and other forms of embodied mindfulness practices, meditation, imagery, cognitive behavioral skills and other.
Fee for the workshop is $80. Proceeds will go to support Tibetan House New Orleans, and the Whole Body Mental Health Radio podcast. Participants are required to attend all 4 sessions, come to sessions sober, and commit to practice between sessions.
To register please contact Tibetan House, info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
Registration deadline is December 31.
Hungry Ghosts. Preta-gati in Sanskrit. Gakidō 餓鬼道 in Japanese. The realm of
hungry spirits; characterized by great craving and eternal starvation
Tibetan Buddhist Teachings w/ Lama Lena
January 12 – January 16, 2018
Lama Lena (Yeshe Khaytup)
Comfortably straddling both East and West, Lama Lena, brings with her 40 plus years of traditional Buddhist study and practice, including a 7 year cave retreat in Tso Pema, India as well as some 30 years traveling and translating for the Venerable Wangdor Rinpoche, whose lineage in both Dzogchen and Chagchen she holds.Traveling internationally, she teaches in a direct, informal style, blending earthy wit with compassion and incisive clarity. Currently, when not teaching, Lama Lena divides her time between home in the San Francisco Bay Area and India, continuing to assist Ven. Wangdor Rinpoche, and providing medical assistance, as a Doctor of Chinese Medicines, to the Tibetan refugee community, local villagers, and mountain tribe people.
At Tibetan House Introduction to Dzogchen: Direct Mind Perception Friday, January 12, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
At LHA Community Center Lhundup Teachings: Awakening through our feelings & emotions,
the spontaneous perfection of appearances Saturday, January 13, 11:00am-5:00pm
LHA Community Center. 623 N. Rendon Street
Session 1: 11:00am – 1:00pm;
Session 2: 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Sunday, January 14, 11:00am-1:00pm (Continued)
LHA Community Center, 623 N. Rendon Street
Session 3: 11:00am – 1:00pm
These three sessions do build upon one another yet you are encouraged to attend at least one, any one, if that is all you are able to do.
At Tibetan House Refuge Ceremony and Teachings Tuesday, January 16, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
This session is for those wishing to go deeper into Buddhism.
Suggested Donation $20 for each talk. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
For more information, contact Tibetan House at
info@tibetanhouse.com or call (504) 897-9339.
Awakening the Third Eye, Wenndi Freer in New Orleans
Introduction to the Third Eye, an Evening with Wenndi Freer
Thursday, January 18, 7pm-8:30pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Free
Have you ever wondered what the Third Eye really is, and what it would be like to experience being in the third eye? In this talk, Wenndi Freer will be taking us into the mysterious and intriguing realm of the Third Eye. She’ll also be introducing us to subtle bodies and how to cultivate awakening by working on these subtle bodies of energy. Following this talk, Wenndi will be leading a workshop, “Awakening the Third Eye”, at Ashtanga Yoga Room, Jan 20 & 21.
Awakening the Third Eye Weekend Workshop
Saturday, January 20, 11:45am-6:00pm
Sunday, January 21, 11:15am-6:45pm
Ashtanga Yoga Room, 2521 Jena Street
Fee: $150
Awakening the Third Eye is for those who want direct experience of deeper states of consciousness and those who want to learn skills for cultivating and managing their energy. You will learn a technique that develops awareness of the third eye, an energetic organ of perception. It will include third eye meditation techniques for awakening spiritual vision, protecting and grounding your energy, quieting your mind, and fast recuperation from fatigue. We will explore easy and powerful ways to incorporate what you are learning into your daily life. The result will be a sense of awakening that has the potential to renew and invigorate your passion for life. Click here for additional details.
Adjustments will be made for Mardi Gras, no class on February 3 and February 10.
This course remains open for new participants for the first 3 classes.
Classes held at Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Fee: $200
Pre-registration required. Contact Tibetan House, info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
Space is limited. Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
***** December 2017 *****
Sunday, December 17 10:00am-5:00pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
There are three important aspects of meditation: mindful attention, open awareness and loving kindness. By practicing these, we can let go of negative mental patterns and expand our heart and mind, bringing about joy, peace and inner freedom. Anam Thubten will teach and guide participants in developing these three aspects of meditation and share Buddhist wisdom on working with our thoughts and emotions.Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Among his many teachers, his most formative guides were Lama Tsurlo, Khenpo Chopel, and Lama Garwang. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the U.S. and abroad. He is also the author of various articles and books in both the Tibetan and English language. His books in English include The Magic of Awareness and No Self, No Problem. To view Anam Thubten’s teaching and retreat schedule, please visit www.dharmata.org/events-calendar. Through the essential wisdom of Buddhism and his personal experience on the spiritual path, Anam Thubten brings alive the timeless teachings and invites everyone to participate.
Cost: $50 (no one turned away for lack of funds)
To register, contact Gael Thompson at info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 330-3507
Journey from Zanskar
Film Screening & Talk with the Filmmakers
at Unity Church and Tibetan House
Journey from Zanskar, Film Screening
Wednesday, December 27, 6:30pm
Unity of New Orleans Spiritual Center
3722 St. Charles Avenue
Admission: $10.00
Meet Filmmaker Frederick Marx
Thursday, December 28, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Suggested donation: $10.00
About the Film
Zanskar is one of the last remaining original Tibetan Buddhist societies with a continuous untainted lineage dating back thousands of years. In nearby Tibet and Ladakh, in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Nepal, traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture is either dead already or dying. The horror of Chinese government design in Tibet is being matched by the destruction of global economics elsewhere. Zanskar, ringed by high Himalayan mountains in northwest India, one of the most remote places on the planet, has been safe until now. But that’s changing.
In 3-5 years a road connecting Padum, the heart of Zanskar, with Leh, the heart of neighboring Ladakh, will be finished. The route which previously took up to two days by car will take only 4-5 hours. As economic growth descends on Zanskar it will bring with it an end to this unbroken Buddhist social tradition. Will the native language, culture, and religious practice be able to survive? Watch Journey From Zanskar to discover how two humble monks, far from their Buddhist temple, honor their vows by supporting these remote village children to get a great Buddhist education.
About the Filmmakers
Warrior Films produces compelling documentary films about solutions to the world’s problems: Everyday people finding ways to overcome oppressive socio-economic barriers. Most known for HOOP DREAMS, we tell transformational stories that transform lives. Though we specialize in stories of the poor, youth, people of color, the dispossessed… each story is issue specific. We go worldwide to tell the right story.
***** November 2017 *****
Introduction to Tranditional Tibetan Medicine: Cultivating Health, Long Life, and Happiness
Led by Jason Whitlow, Director of Sorig Khang Bar Area
November 16-November 19
We are very excited to announce our first workshops in the fundamentals of Traditional Tibetan Medicine, starting this November! These talks and workshops will be offered by Jason Whitlow, director of Sorig Khang Bay Area.
Sorig Khang Bay Area is a nonprofit center offering programs in the study and practice of Traditional Tibetan Medicine, and the related Yuthok Nyingthig spiritual lineage. It is part of Sorig Khang International, a network of Tibetan Medicine centers, teachers, and practitioners in over 40 countries around the world.
EVENING TALKS Thursday November 16. 7:00pm – 9:00pm “May I Benefit Beings Like the Sun and the Moon”: An Introduction to the Spiritual Tradition of Tibetan Medicine
The Yuthok Nyingthig is the unique spiritual tradition of Tibetan Medicine, practiced by doctors, healers, and meditators from all lineages. Known for its concise methods and swift blessings, it is the perfect practice for modern, busy practitioners. It contains one-of-a-kind techniques to develop intuition and healing abilities while cultivating wisdom and compassion.
These teachings have been transmitted by Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, a renowned doctor of Tibetan Medicine and lineage holder of the Yuthok Nyingthig. In this talk, Jason will introduce the history and singular qualities of the Yuthok Nyingthig, and will give an overview of the structure and approach of this cycle of Vajrayana Buddhist practice. He will also lead a guided meditation and mantra recitation from this tradition.
Suggested donation $20
Friday November 17, 7:00pm – 9:00pm Medicine Buddha Healing Meditation
Join us for a guided meditation practice on the Medicine Buddha, the embodiment of perfect healing wisdom. From the Mantra Healing Treatise of Tibetan master Ju Mipham Rinpoche, this accessible practice uses mantra and visualization, the power of sound and mind, to heal ourselves and others.
Suggested donation $20 FULL DAY WORKSHOPS Saturday November 18,10:00am – 6:00pm A Personalized Approach to Health: Typology in Tibetan Medicine
One of the oldest medical systems in existence, Tibetan Medicine offers a truly personalized approach to cultivating health based on each individual’s unique typology. Through understanding the distinctive traits of our own body and mind, we can make better choices to prevent and cure disease and to support our own well-being.
In this workshop, we will learn the fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine, including the five elements and three humors that are the foundation of typology. Through interactive exercises, we will determine our own personal typology, and will explore Tibetan Medicine advice about the best diet, lifestyle, and external therapies for each type. We will also learn about simple ‘kitchen pharmacy’ remedies that can be made using the food and spices in our own home
Nejang is a Tibetan healing yoga practice that consists of simple breath work, physical exercises, and self-massage. It is designed to improve the function of the sense and inner organs, open the channels, balance the energy, and relax the mind. With roots in the Tibetan Buddhist Kalachakra tradition, it has been prescribed to patients by Tibetan doctors for centuries due to its ability to support health and cure disease.
In this workshop, Jason will introduce the fundamentals of Tibetan Medicine, including the channels and energies of the subtle body, and teach the key points of posture and breath used in Nejang. We will then learn and practice some of the twenty-four Nejang exercises and explore their specific therapeutic applications using the Nejang text and commentaries.
For more information, and to register, please visit: bayarea.sorig.net/nola
Registration Fees for Workshops
One Full Day Workshop:
Register by Nov 4: $120
Register after Nov 4: $150
Both Full Day Workshops:
Register by Nov 4: $200
Register after Nov 4: $270
Jason Whitlow is director of Sorig Khang Bay Area, a nonprofit center offering programs in Tibetan Medicine and the Yuthok Nyingthig spiritual tradition. Jason graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he studied neurobiology and computer science, and worked as a somatics teacher and professional modern dancer. He has studied and practiced for many years under the guidance of Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, a renowned doctor of Tibetan Medicine and holder of the Yuthok Nyingthig lineage
*****
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective
9-week course with Thich Thien Tri
Tuesdays, 9:00am-11:00am
November 21-January 30 Classes held at Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Fee: $200
Registration for this course is open until December 5.
Adjustments will be made for the holidays.
Pre-registration required. Contact Tibetan House, info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
Space is limited. Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
Death and Dying from a Tibetan Buddhist Perspective
Wednesday, November 29
7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Suggested Donation: $10
A conversation with Paloma Landry about spiritual preparation and actions that can be done for ourselves and to assist others during the dying process.
About Paloma Landry
Paloma Landry studied Tibetan language at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Kathmandu, Nepal. After becoming proficient in the Tibetan language she began translating for Tibetan monks and teachers in 2002. Since then she has translated for dozens of lectures on the Tibetan and Buddhist view of death and dying, fielded hundreds of questions in translation on the topic, and facilitated advice and practices to be done during the dying process. After serving as one of the primary care takers for her grandmother and a close friend as they were dying, she realized that Americans are vastly unprepared for death, resulting in enormous stress and suffering for both the patients and their families and loved ones. After exploring this further and studying many articles and legal aspects associated with dying, she began providing death and dying workshops across the U.S. and Canada in hopes that we can be better prepared for this inevitable outcome to our lives.
***** October 2017 *****
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective
9-week course with Thich Thien Tri
October 14-December 9, Saturday evenings
Saturdays, 6:00pm-8:30pm Classes held at Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Fee: $200
This course remains open for new participants through October 28.
Pre-registration required. Contact Tibetan House, info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
Space is limited. Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
***** September 2017 *****
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective
9-week course with Thich Thien Tri
Tuesdays, 9:00am-11:30am
September 5-October 31 Classes held at Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Fee: $200
Pre-registration required. Contact Tibetan House, info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
Space is limited. Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
***** August 2017 *****
An Evening with Violet Law, Official Translator for Tsering Woeser
Voices From Tibet: Selected Essays and Reportage
written by Tsering Woeser and Wang Lixiong
Wednesday, August 9
7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas
Donations appreciated. Books will be available for purchase.
Voices from Tibet assembles essays and reportage in translation that capture many facets of the upheavals wrought by a rising China upon a sacred land and its pious people. With the TAR, Tibetan Autonomous Region, in a virtual lockdown after the 2008 unrest, this book sheds important light on the simmering frustrations that touched off the unrest and Beijing’s relentless control tactics in its wake. The authors also interrogate long-standing assumptions about the Tibetans’ political future.Tsering Woeser and Wang Lixiong are widely regarded as the most lucid, insightful writers on contemporary Tibet. Their reportage on the economic exploitation, environmental degradation, cultural destruction and political subjugation that plague the increasingly Han Chinese-dominated Tibet Autonomous Region is as powerful as it is profound, ardent and analytical in equal measure, and not in the least bit ideological.Woeser’s and Wang’s writings represent a rare Chinese view sympathetic to Tibetan causes. Their powerful testimony should resonate in many places confronting threats of cultural subjugation and economic domination by an external power.Law works closely with Woeser visiting her in Beijing and Lhasa will share details about Woeser’s current circumstances in the Communist Chinese regime.
Thursday, August 17 7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Traditional Tibetan Medicine (known in Tibetan as Sowa Rigpa) is one of the oldest healing traditions in existence. It offers a vast medical knowledge that is accessible to everyone, and supports the cultivation of a happy mind along with a healthy body.
In this talk, Jason Whitlowwill introduce TTM’s essential understanding of health and disease, its sophisticated diagnostic techniques, as well as its many practical healing methods including diet and lifestyle guidelines, natural medicines, and external therapies including massage and acupuncture.
Whitlow will also introduce the unique spiritual tradition of Tibetan Medicine, which contains a complete path of Buddhist practice as well as healing yoga, mantra, and meditation practices.
About Sorig Khang Bay Area
Sorig Khang Bay Area is a nonprofit center offering programs in the study and practice of Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan Medicine) and the related Yuthok Nyingthig spiritual lineage. It is part of Sorig Khang International, a network of Tibetan Medicine centers, teachers, and practitioners in over 40 countries around the world. Learn more at: bayarea.sorig.net
About Jason Whitlow
Jason is director of Sorig Khang Bay Area. He has studied Tibetan Medicine and the Yuthok Nyingthig for many years under the guidance of renowned Tibetan doctor and yogi Dr. Nida Chenagtsang. Jason graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he studied neurobiology and computer science, and previously worked as a somatics teacher and professional modern dancer.
Dakini Mantra Practice
On Thursday morning, August 17, from 10:00–10:30 AM Central, join Sorig Khang Bay Area online to chant the healing mantra of the five dakinis, the embodiment of feminine wisdom and power, to heal both women and men and to harmonize the planet. This short guided practice is open to everyone.
Join online at: www.crowdcast.io/sorig
***** July 2017 *****
Chamtrul Rinpoche in New Orleans
July 18-July 23, 2017
About Chamtrul Rinpoche
Chamtrul Rinpoche is the recognized reincarnation of a great master and scholar from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the oldest school in Tibet.
Having studied many years, he holds a vast and profound knowledge of sutra, tantra, and dzogchen, and has been conferred the title ‘Khenpo’ – roughly equivalent to ‘Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy’.
Known for his nonsectarian quality, he has received all the cycles of teachings, empowerments and transmissions from more than twenty five accomplished masters and scholars from all four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism – namely, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug.
Chamtrul Rinpoche currently lives and teaches in India, in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala. Dedicating his life to helping people find inner peace, he also travels the world each year to teach and guide many old and new students.
In his own words: “Teaching is what I do in this life, wherever someone asks me to teach, I am there. Without discriminating against anybody based on their gender, race, creed and so forth, I wish them to enjoy excellent peace and harmony. I try to the best of my ability to promote the view, meditation and conduct of non-violence, which is the indispensable source for the spread and enhancement of the inner peace of mind.”
Tuesday, July 18, 6:45pm – 8:00pm
A teaching on “Meditation on Metta Practices”
Samten Choeling Dharma Center
For more information and to RSVP, contact:
Ngawang Legshe at (504) 723-1317
Wednesday, July 19, 1:00pm-3:00pm
Teaching on “Practicing the Two Collections” (of merit and wisdom)
Clearwater Sanctuary in Covington
For more information, contact:
info@clearwatersanctuary.org or 985 630-1009
Thursday, July 20, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Teaching on “Mind Training”
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Friday, July 21, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Teaching on “Practicing Mindfulness and Vigilance”
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Saturday, July 22-Sunday, July 23,
Day and a Half Teaching on 12 Links of Interdependent Origination
Swaha Yoga Center, LHA 623 North Rendon Street
Saturday, July 22
11:00am-1:00pm & 3:00pm-5:00pm
Sunday, July 23,
11:00am-1:00pm
All events are free and open to the public.
Donations to help with travel expenses will be much appreciated.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the event begins.
An envelope will be provided for an offering that you can present to Rinpoche
at the end of the teaching. This offering reflects
your appreciation of the teacher and the Dharma.
For more information, visit Chamtrul Rinpoche’s website:
www.bodhicitta.org
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective
9-week course with Thich Thien Tri
Saturdays, 6:00pm-8:30pm Classes held at Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Fee: $200
Pre-registration required. Contact Tibetan House, info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
Space is limited. Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
***** June 2017 *****
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective
9-week course with Thich Thien Tri
Tuesdays, 9:00am-11:30am
June 13-August 8
Classes held at Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Fee: $200
Pre-registration required. Contact Tibetan House, info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
Space is limited. Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
***** May 2017 *****
Evenings with Tsering Phuntsok at Tibetan House
Thursday, May 4
Mantra Chanting for World Peace and Healing for the Lost Soul
7:00pm-8:00pm
Thursday, May 11
37 Practices of Bodhisattva
7:00pm-8:00pm
Thursday, May 18
Pilgrimage in Nepal with Tsering Phuntsok
7:00pm-8:00pm
Venerable Tsering Phuntsok was born in the Himalayas, in a Nepal town bordering India and Tibet. In 1982, at the age of 12, he began his study and practice of Buddhism from his own village monastery. In 1986, at 16 years of age, he joined Palyul Choekhorling Nyingmapa Buddhist Monastery in Bir, India. Tsering Phuntsok has received many teachings and transmissions in both Sutra and Tantra in Tibetan Buddhism from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, H.H. Drupwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche and many others great Masters.
Beginning in 2002, Tsering Phuntsok has been a group host, teacher and leader in programs from the United States, Europe and Mexico that study Tibetan culture and Buddhism in India and Nepal. In 2009, by invitation from universities in the United States, and by direction of his monastic Abbot, H.E. Rigo Tulku Rinpoche, Tsering began traveling and sharing his experience about Himalayan Culture and Buddhism in America and Europe. Tibetan House is located in Uptown New Orleans, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Suggested $10 donation to support travel accommodations, meals and expenses.
For more information, visit www.tibetanhouse.com or contact Tibetan House: info@tibetanhouse.com, (504) 897-9339
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective
9-week course with Thich Thien Tri
Saturdays, 6:00pm-8:30pm
May 13-July 8
or
Tuesdays, 9:00am-11:30am
May 9-July 11
Classes held at Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Fee: $200
Pre-registration required. Contact Tibetan House, info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
Space is limited. Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class building on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
Dreaming in Color, an Evening with Haiyan Khan- Founder of Santosha Village
Thursday, May 25
7:00pm-8:30pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Join us for an interactive dialogue with Haiyan Khan, founder of Santosha Village, a local organization working to build a tiny house, healing community for the homeless in New Orleans. Haiyan will describe the Village concept and facilitate a discussion on tiny house design, community living, emotional wellness, and creating the space to ask, “what is a meaningful life”.
Suggested donation $10 to support Santosha Village.
For more information about Santosha Village, visit santoshavillage.org or contact haiyan@santoshavillage.org.
***** April 2017 *****
Smoke Offering for New Orleans Commemorating Prayer Flag Day
Thursday, April 20, 7pm
Suggested Offering $10, greatly appreciated.
We are delighted to have The Ven. Tsering Phuntsok with us to officiate our spring Smoke Offering.
A Smoke offering, or Sang, is focused on the Gods of the mountain, the Gods of the sky, the Gods of the river, and the Gods of all aspects. You first invite the Gods of the whole universe, and then you offer especially to the Gods of your local place.
The Sanskrit word for offering is puja meaning to please. A traditional ritual of healing and purification, a puja is offered to overcome negativity that may be obstructing release from suffering. The chanted prayers of the puja promote spiritual, emotional, mental and physical well being.
We will also commemorate Prayer Flag Day, April 20, 2013. On this day we officially invited the City of New Orleans to raise flags as a welcoming gesture to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Ten miles of prayer flags were raised!!!
Traditionally, prayer flags are left flying until there is nothing left of them. Prayer Flags that come down before they disintegrate, should be hung in a forest, rather than put in the trash. If you are ready to replace your prayer flags, or if you have some you want to get rid of, bring them to us on April 20, and we will hang them in a forest.
***** March 2017 *****
Permaculture from Gandhian & Buddhist Perspectives: Modern & Traditional Approaches in Nepal and India An evening with Michael Smith, Co-Founder of Woven Earth
Thursday, March 9 at 7pm
This talk and Q&A will define and explore the practice of Permaculture as a contemporary expression of traditional worldviews that advance harmony and freedom within the individual, society and the natural environment. The speaker will provide practical examples that focus on Tibetan Buddhist and Gandhian ethical philosophies, discussing ways to overcome the challenge of practically implementing these perspectives in modern life and spiritual practice.
Michael D Smith, MSW MPH is a Louisiana native and adjunct faculty at the Tulane School of Social Work and Loyola University, coordinating and instructing their India Summer Study Abroad Programs. He teaches courses on culture, contemporary social activism, and the religions of north India, Nepal, and Tibet, drawing on 14 years of extensive travel, language study and work in South Asia. He is a Board Member of the Louisiana Himalaya Association (www.lhainfo.org) and a co-founder of Woven Earth (www.wovenearth.org), which organizes courses in Permaculture and natural building in Nepal and Indonesia.
Lama Lena (Yeshe Khaytup)
Comfortably straddling both East and West, Lama Lena, brings with her 40 plus years of traditional Buddhist study and practice, including a 7 year cave retreat in Tso Pema, India as well as some 30 years traveling with translating for the Venerable Wangdor Rinpoche, whose lineage in both Dzogchen and Chagchen she holds.
Traveling internationally, she teaches in a direct, informal style, blending earthy wit with compassion and incisive clarity. Currently, when not teaching, Lama Lena divides her time between home in the San Francisco Bay Area and India, continuing to assist Ven. Wangdor Rinpoche, and providing medical assistance, as a Doctor of Chinese Medicines, to the Tibetan refugee community, local villagers, and mountain tribe people.
Thursday, March 16
Spirituality in Difficult Times
7pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Friday, March 17
Symbolism of Tara from a Dzogchen Perspective
7pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Saturday, March 18
11:00am-1:00pm, 3:00pm-5:00pm
Spirituality with Lama Lena: Open Minded & Open Hearted Activism
LHA Community Center, 623. North Rendon Street
Suggested Donation $10-20 for each talk.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
For more information, contact Tibetan House at
info@tibetanhouse.com or call (504) 897-9339.
Drepung Gomang Monks from India
Tibetan Sacred Arts Tour visits New Orleans, March 19-March 25
OBJECTIVE OF DREPUNG GOMANG MONASTERY’S TOUR
A) To make a contribution to world healing and peace by sharing unique Tibetan Buddhist teachings, sacred religious performances, chanting, and Tibet’s unique identity treasures of culture and authentic traditions.
B) Recognizing well, and very deeply, that there have been great tragedies in every part of the world, we want to share our sympathy and prayers together with you as human beings sharing this planet and sharing the future of this home of ours.
C) To generate a greater awareness of the endangered Tibetan civilization and human rights abuses by the Communist Chinese since 1959. As the situation in Tibet is becoming more desperate by the day, due to massive displacement of Tibetans by Chinese citizens sent there by the Communist government, and ever new rules and difficulties, especially at the monasteries, we need your help now.
D) To raise support for the refugee monks’ community in south India for proper food, improvement in health & hygiene and for providing better education facilities for the monk students. We preserve our tradition and culture.
Full Schedule of Events Saturday, March 18 Drepung Gomang Monks in retreat at Clearwater Sanctuary in Covington, Louisiana. Teachings or private meeting available upon request. For more information, contact Clearwater Sanctuary.
Sunday, March 19 Morning Service at Unity Temple
11:00am
3722 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA
Sunday, March 19 Snow Lion Dance
Louisiana Children’s Musuem
2:00pm-3:00pm 420 Julia St, New Orleans
Monday, March 20 Green Tara Puja
Green Tara is the Female Buddha that grants protection and relief from sufferings, generates compassion, love and peace.
4:00pm-5:00pm
The Fly at Audubon Park. The Fly is located on Riverview Drive at the far end of Audubon Park.
Behind the Zoo. New Orleans, LA
Tuesday, March 21 Opening Ceremony for the Green Tara Sand Mandala
11:00am-12:30pm
Viewing the Creation of the Green Tara Sand Mandala
11:00pm-5:00pm
New Orleans Healing Center
2372 St. Claude Avenue New Orleans, LA
Tuesday, March 21 Snow Lion Dance
This evening will include the presentation of the Snow Lion pageant as well as Tibetan Chanting and a brief talk.
5:30pm-6:30pm
New Orleans Healing Center
2372 St. Claude Avenue New Orleans, LA
Wednesday, March 22 Viewing times for the Creation of the Sand Mandala
10:00am-5:00pm
New Orleans Healing Center
2372 St. Claude Avenue New Orleans, LA
Thursday, March 23 Viewing times for the Creation of the Sand Mandala
10:00am-5:00pm
New Orleans Healing Center
2372 St. Claude Avenue New Orleans, LA
Thursday, March 23 Green Tara Puja
7:00pm-8:00pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street New Orleans, LA
Friday, March 24 Last day for viewing the creation of the Sand Mandala
10:00am-5:00pm
New Orleans Healing Center 2372 St. Claude Avenue
Saturday, March 25 Green Tara Sand Mandala Closing Ceremony & Dissolution
The mandala is swept up and shared with the community in a ceremony of gratitude and blessings. This event will include a trip to the Mississippi River where the sand will be released into the water. 2:00pm-3:00pm – PLEASE NOTE THAT THE TIME HAS CHANGED
New Orleans Healing Center
2372 St. Claude Avenue
New Orleans, LA
All events are open to the public.
Donations are appreciated to support the charitable good work of the Drepung Gomang Monastery in India.
At the Healing Center the monks will have a pop-up shop and be selling Tibetan Dharma items, jewelry and gifts.
Meals for the Drepung Gomang Monks
The Drepung Gomang Monks, eight of them plus their driver, will be in need of wonderful New Orleans cuisine from March 19-25. Word has it that they would love to share a dinner with you in your home! If you want to feed the monks but feel that your home too small, you could prepare the meal and dine with them at their residence on Pitt Street in New Orleans. If you are excited by that possibility, please contact us ASAP!
The Drepung Gomang Monks are also in need of lunches from March 21 – 25 while they are creating the beautiful Green Tara Sand Mandala at the New Orleans Healing Center. This would involve preparing the lunch and delivering it to the Healing Center around noon.
Restaurants around the city are also always eager to host the Monks for a meal. They could either create a lunch and have it delivered, or have the monks come to their restaurant and dine for dinner.
It is a wonderfully auspicious experience
and we look forward to your enthusiastic response!!
***** February 2017 *****
Khentrul Lodrö Thaye Rinpoche
Public Talks in New Orleans
Khentrul Rinpoche was born in Tibet. He became a monk at the age of seven and spent thirty years studying meditation and techniques for working with the mind to bring positive change into the world from the inside out. He is the abbot of a monastery in Eastern Tibet, but has been in the United States since 2002. He oversees over twenty meditation groups across the United States and Canada. His main retreat center is in Parthenon, Arkansas.
Meditation: The Key to Opening the Secret of the Mind
Thursday, February 9, 7pm-9pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Our minds are filled with endless thoughts that move ceaselessly like waves on the surface of the ocean. Being in constant turmoil, our minds are obscured, like a sky enshrouded by clouds. So we cannot develop inner peace and happiness. This is the main source of suffering. If we know how to meditate correctly, we will be able to unveil the secret of our mind and thus establish a basis for happiness within ourselves.
Finding Joy in Troubled Times
Friday, February 10, 7pm-9pm
Audubon Yoga Studio, 511 Octavia Street
Khentrul Rinpoche will reveal how we can enjoy much greater well-being in our lives by sharing some remarkable and little known tools for transforming adversity. The vast majority of us have never considered this method for transforming our experience. It is an unparalleled approach which directly pertains to the modern challenges we face.
Suggested Donation $10-20 for each talk.
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
For more information contact
Wink at 504-251-4370 or winkwink2000@hotmail.com
Presented by The Louisiana Himalaya Association (LHA) and the Tibetan House.
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective: 12-week course with Thich Thien Tri
February 14-May 9, No Class February 28
Tuesdays
9:00am-11:00am
Fee: $200
Classes held at Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism.
He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class b
uilding on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
To register, contact Tibetan House
info@tibetanhouse.com, (504) 897-9339
Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
*****
***** January 2017 *****
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective: 12-week course with Thich Thien Tri
January 7-April 8, No Class February 18 & 25
Saturdays
6:00pm-8:00pm
Fee: $200
Classes held at Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism.
He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class b
uilding on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
To register, contact Tibetan House
info@tibetanhouse.com, (504) 897-9339
Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
*****
From Fear to Peace An evening with Swami Sankarananda
Thursday, January 12, 7pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
The workshop is interactive; it will consist of meditation, chanting and discourse.
In our hour or so together we will:
* Center ourselves in Peace, in a loving and non-threatening atmosphere.
*Discuss, experience and affirm our true nature.
*Discuss what is veiling this highest nature from us, in particular we will focus on fear and tear back its veil to see it for what it really is.
*See more clearly inside ourselves, including our highest and lowest natures.
*Explore Yoga philosophy and practices, becoming more competent in how to use the various tools that we each have available to us.
*Share some experiences of pilgrimage, including stories will help to illumine our paths.
*Become more aware of how to transcend fear and its debilitating relatives.
*Take steps towards knowing each other and all as friends on our path.
About Swami Sankarananda
Swami Sankarananda is a simple pilgrim. Not finding peace in a life of business success I turned inside, became a disciple of Swami Sivananda, and in 2013 began to walk across and through the USA in a pilgrimage for peace, completing this in early 2016. I now travel from town to town in the “Yoga for Peace” RV sharing support for our universal journey to find happiness and peace we seek. For more information about Swami Sankarananda, visit the Steps 4 Peace website.
Click here for the full schedule of
Swami Sankarananda’s events in New Orleans.
For more information, contact Haiyan Khan at (504) 598-4107.
*****
Ayurveda, The Path of Healing
An evening with Kyle Roberts
Thursday January 19, 7pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Ayurveda is an ancient medical system that not only encourages one to become healthy and vibrant but awakens the individual’s purposes for life. The ayurveda path brings awareness to one’s diet, lifestyle, and relationships which is intended to stabilize healthy living. This talk will focus on practical and simple ayurvedic disciplines that will help cultivate a deeper understanding of health within all facets of life.
Donation accepted to attend the talk.
Ayurveda Consultations
A private Ayurvedic consultation is open to all. Many who come for an appointment are interested in cultivating health within their physical, mental or spiritual being. No health imbalance is necessary to schedule an appointment as Ayurveda is a tool for getting the most out of life. Recommendations from consultations generally include customized meditations and breathing techniques, specialized diet, or herbal regimen.
Each session in an hour in length.
Cost is $85 per person.
To schedule a consultation, contact…
For more information about Kyle Roberts, visit his website, krveda.com.
*****
We are honored to share this wonderful video of Ngakpa Karma Lhundup Rinpoche’s talk on Tibetan Buddhism at the Tulane School of Social Work Mindfulness Conference from June 2016.
The heart of Buddha’s teaching is the awakening of mind and heart. In such a profound inner transformation, our awakened mind sees the wonder, the magic, the beauty, the joy of our human existence and our awakened heart can embrace all circumstances of this life with love and compassion.
Anam Thubten invites everyone to look into our karmic and psychological habitual tendencies and to undo them so such profound awakening is possible for all.
About Anam Thubten
Anam Thubeten grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the U.S. and occasionally abroad. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.
For more information about Anam Thubten, visit his website: dharmata.org
Thursday, September 8, 2016 7:00pm-9:00pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Suggestion Donation: $10
Sunday, September 11, 2016
10:00am-5:00pm, Lunch break 12:35 – 2:30
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Please register in advance.
Space is limited to 35 participants.
Cost: $50 (no one is turned away for lack of funds),
Cash, Check and Credit Cards with an additional $2 fee.
Lunch is not provided.
To register, contact Tibetan House at info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
***** July 2016 *****
Basic Buddhist Meditation from a Zen Perspective: 12-week course with Thich Thien Tri
July 12 – September 27
Tuesdays
8:00am to 10:00am
Fee: $150Classes held atTibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas St
Zen teacher Thich Thien Tri will be leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism.
He began his journey in America in 2002 and has taught in many cities in the US. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish the ‘Zen and Mind Family’ in order to teach how meditation benefits our lives, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
This course is progressive, each class b
uilding on the previous class. You will learn sitting, standing, and walking meditation practices. You will study how to chant, the Mani mantra, the Six Senses and the Object of Six Senses, and the Four Noble Truths. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and graduate to the next level.
To register, contact Tibetan House
info@tibetanhouse.com, (504) 897-9339
Minimum 5 students, Maximum 10 students
_____
Mindfulness for Kids
Led by Whitney Stewart, Meditation Teacher and Children’s Author
3-Sessions for $30
Sunday, July 10 – Mindful Body
Sunday, July 17 – Mindful Thought
Sunday, July 24 – Mindful Heart
Ages 5-8: 11:00am-11:30am, Max. 12 Students
Ages 9-12: 11:45am-12:30pm, Max 15 Students
Please respect the age group schedule; if you have children in both groups, please make arrangements for each child to participate
in their respective age-appropriate sessions
Space is limited.
To register, please contact Tibetan House:
info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339.
About Whitney Stewart
Whitney Stewart was born an adventurer. At 14, she hung off ice-cliffs, summited the Grand Teton, and dreamed of climbing the Himalaya. A sports injury led her to a yoga class where she learned to meditate. At 27, she trekked in Tibet, Nepal, and India where she met meditation masters, including the Dalai Lama. From them she learned more about mindfulness practice. Now she teaches mindfulness to children and college students in New Orleans.
Sponsored by Samten Choeling Dharma Center and Tibetan House
About Chamtrul Rinpoche
Chamtrul Rinpoche is the recognized reincarnation of a great master and scholar from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the oldest school in Tibet.
Having studied many years, he holds a vast and profound knowledge of sutra, tantra, and dzogchen, and has been conferred the title ‘Khenpo’ – roughly equivalent to ‘Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy’.
Known for his nonsectarian quality, he has received all the cycles of teachings, empowerments and transmissions from more than twenty five accomplished masters and scholars from all four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism – namely, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug.
Chamtrul Rinpoche currently lives and teaches in India, in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala. Dedicating his life to helping people find inner peace, he also travels the world each year to teach and guide many old and new students.
In his own words: “Teaching is what I do in this life, wherever someone asks me to teach, I am there. Without discriminating against anybody based on their gender, race, creed and so forth, I wish them to enjoy excellent peace and harmony. I try to the best of my ability to promote the view, meditation and conduct of non-violence, which is the indispensable source for the spread and enhancement of the inner peace of mind.”
Teachings with Chamtrul Rinpoche
Dream Yoga
Most of us spend a third of our life asleep. Taking the average life span into account, this would equate to about twenty five to thirty years.
Even though the mental state is more subtle when the body is asleep, it doesn’t mean that we can’t practice. In fact, certain practices prove to be even more effective during this state, as we are less distracted by the five physical senses.
In order to gain control of the dream, and to turn it towards the Buddhist path, we first have to know that we’re dreaming.
Tantra or Vajrayana Buddhism is one of the three vehicles taught by the Buddha for attaining enlightenment. Vajrayana motivation is the wish to not only free ourselves from cyclic existence and suffering, but to become enlightened so that we can in turn help others to be free from the grip of samsara – the cycle of cause and effect. Vajrasattva is a powerful practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It involves visualization of the deity – the image of Vajrasattva – and the chanting of a 100 syllable mantra. Vajrasattva meditation is specifically practiced for the purification of our body, speech and mind. This talk will address the purpose and details of this visualization and the mantra.
Teachings on the Heart Essence of Longchen Nyingtik Ngondro
The Longchen Nyingtik is a spiritual treasure from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the oldest school in Tibet.
Containing a precious collection of practices from sutra, tantra, and dzogchen, it constitutes a complete path, by which an ordinary person can transform his or her mind, taking them from their present state, all the way to the enlightened state of Buddhahood.
The Longchen Nyingtik translates as ‘The Heart Essence Teachings of Longchenpa’. He was one of the greatest dzogchen masters of all time, and one of the most outstanding authors in the history of Tibetan Buddhism.
Containing clearly laid out stages, each relying on the one before, the first stage are the preliminary practices, known as ‘ngondro’ in Tibetan.
Every single master has emphasized the need for the preliminary practices. Without them, it would be impossible to achieve the intended result of tantra or dzogchen, that of the enlightened state of a Buddha. It is said that it would be like trying to build a house on thin ice. We must make the foundations first.
For those who would like to further their Vajrasattva practice, we are very happy to announce that Chamtrul Rinpoche will be offering a Vajrasattva Empowerment. We did not include this in the previous announcement of his schedule.
In order to receive this empowerment, you will need to attend the Friday evening, Intro to Tantra: the Practice of Vajrasattva class, July 22, and the Sunday morning class, Preparation for the Vajrasattva Empowerment, July 24. The Empowerment will take place in the afternoon of the 24th. Please check the schedule at the end of this letter for details.
If you are interested in this Empowerment, please consider the following commitments:
• taking Refuge in the Three Jewels
• avoid killing
• recite the Vajrasattva 100 syllable mantra 100,000 times, to be completed in this lifetime.
We ask that you do not attend the Empowerment in the afternoon if you have not attended the previous two teachings, even if you have attended other teachings and have an active Vajrasattva practice.
The Empowerment is for those that wish to receive it. Please understand that it is not for those who simply want to observe it.
I requested a teaching of Vajrasattva from each teacher that has visited us this year, mostly for of the depth of this essential practice, and partly because there is an evening gathering for the practice of Vajrasattva at the Community Center of Louisiana Himalayan Association that is ongoing. It is extremely beneficial to have a group of people to consistently sit with for this practice.
If you are wanting to know more about Rinpoche, please visit his website: http://www.bodhicitta.org.
If you are wanting to know more about what an empowerment is, please consult Lama Google, as Karma Rinpoche recommends. Here is a good start: http://www.ewamchoden.org/?page_id=1351
REVISED SCHEDULE, July 20-25
Wednesday, July 20, 7pm-9pm
Preliminary Teachings for Dream Yoga
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas
Thursday, July 21, 7pm-9pm ** NEW TIME**
Dream Yoga Teaching (Must have attended Wednesday evening class)
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street.
Friday, July 22, 7pm-9pm
Intro to Tantra: the Practice of Vajrasattva
LHA Community Center, 623 N. Rendon Street
Saturday, July 23, 10am-12pm
Teachings on the Heart Essence of Longchen Nyingtik Ngondro
LHA Community Center, 623 N. Rendon Street
Saturday, July 23, 3pm-5pm
The Longchen Nyingtik Ngondro
LHA Community Center, 623 N. Rendon Street
Sunday, July 24, 3pm-5pm *** Must Have Attended Friday evening and Sunday Morning Classes ***
Vajrasattva Empowerment (Initiation) with Refuge Ceremony
LHA Community Center, 623 N. Rendon Street
Receiving the empowerment requires students to take the following commitments: to take Refuge, avoid killing and recite the Vajrasattva mantra 100,000 times, to be finished in this lifetime
Monday, July 25, 1pm-3pm
A Buddhist View of the Environment.
Clearwater Wildlife Sanctuary in Covington.
For more information, contact:
info@clearwatersanctuary.org or 985 630-1009
Monday, July 25, 6:45pm-8pm
Experiencing Subtle Mind as a Teaching
Samten Choeling Dharma Center
For more information and to RSVP,contact:
Ngawang Legshe at (504) 723-1317
For more information, contact Tibetan House at info@tibetanhouse.com
***** May 2016 *****
Ngakpa Karma Lhundup Rinpoche will be in New Orleans in May!
Listed below is the full schedule of events.
Locations for Events:
Tibetan House – 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
LHA Community Center (LHA) – 623 N. Rendon Street
Unity Temple – 3227 St. Charles Avenue
Saturday, May 14 Dur Ceremony
3pm-6:30pm at Tibetan House
Wednesday, May 18 LHA Acadiana Chapter Presents Death and Dying : Views from Hospice and Tibetan Buddhism
6pm at Lafayette Public Library in
Lafayette, Louisiana
Thursday, May 19 Ceremony for Paying Karmic Debt
7pm at Tibetan House
Sunday, May 22 Medicine Buddha Empowerment
1:00pm-2:30pm at Tibetan House
Tuesday, May 24 Dzogchen Practice
7pm at Tibetan House
Wednesday, May 25 Purification of Body, Speech and Mind through Vajrasattva practice.
7pm at LHA
Thursday, May 26 Summoning Life Force
7pm at Tibetan House
Friday, May 27 Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava Teaching, part 1
7pm-9pm at LHA
Saturday, May 28 Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava Teaching, part 2
10am-12pm at LHA
Saturday, May 28 Guru Rinpoche Day Gana Puja
6pm -8pm, at LHA includes dinner – participants bring a dish to be offered
Sunday, May 29 Guru Rinpoche Empowerment
10am-12pm at LHA
Sunday, May 29 Taking Refuge Ceremony
3pm-5pm at LHA
Tuesday, May 31 Phowa Practice
7pm at Tibetan House
Wednesday, June 1st Generating Compassion through the Practice of the Buddha of Compassion
7pm at Unity Temple
Karma Rinpoche offers his services free of charge yet there are travel expenses which must be covered and he supports a number of children and social service projects in India. In order to assist with these we suggest donations be made for any services or teachings he provides.For most events, we suggest a $10 offering per person/$5 student offering.
For Dur Ceremony: $20 offering per person.
For One-on-One sessions, we suggest : $50 per person/$40 student offering;
Group rates: $20 per person offering
Karma also offers Services, Ceremonies, and Empowerments
for One-on-One Sessions or Private Group Ceremonies.
* Divinations: done with the help of the glorious wrathful wisdom dakini Palden Lhamo
* Smoke offering (Riwo Sangchoe) and protector pujas for purification within our environment
* Summoning of Life Force
* Summoning Wealth, Fame, Name and Inner-confidence
* Paying back 100 Karmic debts, Chod ritual called Changbu-Gyatsa
* House Blessings
* Land Blessings
* Auspicious Ceremonies for Weddings
* Long life pujas
* Tsok pujas through Buddha of compassion for deceased
* Green Tara pujas for protection and generosity, Goddess of Compassion
* Dur Ceremony to pacify demonic influences and negative emotions (done with Wrathful Black Mother Dakini)
* Fire pujas (done with five root mother goddesses in Troma Nakmo chod Practices)
* Can arrange healing ceremonies for almost every human sufferings and worries
To arrange a private session, please contact Tibetan House
It is a daunting task to create an abridged version of Karma Rinpoche’s life. Here follows a few tidbits from his life story. To learn more about Karma la, you can join us at Tibetan House, meet him, and experience his talks and teachings, and rituals. He will also be speaking at other venues in New Orleans. The full schedule of his visit for the whole month of May will soon be posted on the Tibetan House website and on our Facebook page.
Ngakpa Karma Lhundup Rinpoche was born in 1959 in Lowo Gekar located in upper Mustang Kingdom at the sacred place of Mahaguru Padmasambhava on the auspicious Dakini’s day, 25th day of 10th Tibetan lunar calendar. Soon after his birth, Karma’s mother opened a sealed earthen jar of traditional “birth beer” and a blazing fire came out of the jar. This was understood to mean that the child could be a reincarnation of a powerful yogi. His parents and several nuns raised him with much love and affection. His mother taught him to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha (the Three Jewels), to generate good ‘heart prayers,’ and to recite the most sacred mantra for generating compassion: ‘Om mani peme hung.’
In 1965, as a child, Karma was admitted to a Tibetan school for refugees in Dharamsala, which is located in Northern India. The school was established by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and administered by His Holiness’s own younger sister Jetsun Pema La. Karma was raised alongside hundreds of other Tibetan refugee children who were orphaned, impoverished, or raised by a single parent. He completed his studies and graduated in 1978. Karma attended Punjab University, worked in a Catholic hospital, and dedicated himself whole-heartedly to relieve the suffering of the sick and dying. In 1987, Karma resigned from Holy Family Hospital.
Over the next seven years, out of respect for his family’s lineage, Karma studied Tantric practices at the Zilnon Kagyeling Monastery, which was established by the late Ngakchang Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, a well known personal weather controller of H.H. Dalai Lama. During this time, Karma took part and successfully completed the ‘Three year, three months, three days’ Kagye (the Nine Heruka practices) retreat in the lineage of H.H. the great 5th Dalai Lama.
In 1994 Karma gave up monastic life and wandered about aimlessly (like a stray dog) throughout the sacred caves of Mahaguru Padmasambhava, Lady Yeshe Tsogyal, Lady Maha Siddha Machig Labdron, Milarepa, and 84 other great Indian Mahasiddhas in Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, Ladhakh, Nepal and India. During this time he received precious teachings from many great masters, such as H.H. the Dalai Lama, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kyabje Minling Trizin, Kyabje Sakya Trizin, Kyabje Penor Rinpoche, Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche Kyabje Taglung Tsetul Rinpoche, Khenpo Thubten Rinpoche, Kyabje Sogyal Rinpoche and Kyabje Chockok Rinpoche. Altogether he received empowerments, oral transmissions and instructions from as many as 40 different master.
On October 11, 2002 after receiving 13 day empowerments on the ‘all knowing’ Jikme Lingpa’s four part, inner-most spirituality (Nyingthik Yabshi), Karma was formally enthroned as the unmistaken reincarnation of Mahasiddha Wariktsel Thokme by and Kyabje Khenpo Chockok Rinpoche at the sacred place of Tso Pema (lotus lake) in Northern India. Kyabje Khenpo Chockok Rinpoche is the chief abbot of the respected Dza Patrul Rinpoche’s monastery in Dzachukha, Kham in Eastern Tibet.
May every one recognize the basic goodness in himself or herself.
***** April/May 2016 *****
The Venerable Tsering at Tibetan House
Wednesday, April 13, 7pm
Dharma Talk: 6 Perfections from the Bodhisattva Way of Life
Sunday, April 17, 5pm
Fire Puja Ceremony w/ Talk:
The Meaning & Purpose of the 4 types of Fire Puja
Wednesday, April 20, 7pm
Dharma Talk: 37 Practices of Bodhisattva
Thursday, May 5, 7pm
The Buddhist Approach to Biodiversity and Human Interaction
One-on-One Sessions – Tsering is available for 1-on-1 appointments and blessings
Suggested donation: $25
For Talks, Suggested Donation $10
Tsering Phuntsok is available for 1-on-1 appointments and blessings, if you are interested, please contact Tibetan House at
info@tibetanhouse.com or call (504) 897-9339.
About Tsering Phuntsok
Tsering is one of 250 monks of Palyul Monastery near Dharamsala, India. Practicing as a Tibetan Buddhist monk for over 25 years, he is specialized in Buddhist Philosophy, Ritual Ceremonies and serves as overseer of the general health of the monks in his monastery.
Tsering has worked, since 2002, with Louisiana Himalaya Association “LHA” as a group guide on India trips and a public health project coordinator for his monastery. For the past 7 years he has traveled extensively throughout the US and Europe giving teachings about Buddhism and performing Ritual Ceremonies.
Intimacy and Awakening An evening with David Chernikoff
Thursday, April 14
7pm – 9pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Free
For many people today, the yearning for intimacy is a central life concern that plays a powerful role in both daily life and in the search for spiritual insight. One questions that the great wisdom traditions share focuses on this very issue: How do we actualize our amazing human potential to love in a mature and unconditional way? This evening will be an exploration of this question and an opportunity to take our understanding of intimacy to a new and deeper level.
We’ll begin with a period of silent sitting meditation. David will then give a talk on the topic of Intimacy and Awakening, including an interactive partner exercise for those who choose to participate. Time-permitting, there will be a question & answer period and a chance for participants to share their reflections. Join us for what promises to be a rich and moving inquiry into the heart of spiritual liberation.
*This event is being offered on a donation (dana) basis, in accordance with the Buddhist tradition of making teachings freely available. Dana translates as “generosity freely given” so participants will be invited to offer support to the teacher if they feel inclined to do so and everyone is welcome, regardless of ability to contribute.
About David Chernikoff
David Chernikoff began the study and practice of meditation in 1971 and started teaching insight meditation in 1988. He trained as a yoga teacher at the Integral Yoga Institute and completed the Community Dharma Leader program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. His teaching has been influenced by senior teachers from the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock, Tibetan teachers he studied with during a 3-year stay in Nepal, and spiritual guides from other contemplative traditions, most notably Ram Dass, Father Thomas Keating, and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Currently David has a private practice as a spiritual counselor and psychotherapist in Boulder and teaches workshops and retreats throughout the U.S.
David Chernikoff will be leading an Insight Meditation retreat at Flowering Lotus Retreat Center in Magnolia, Mississippi, April 15 – 17, 2016. The topic is ‘Grief, Joy and Awakening’. For information and registration, please contact www.floweringlotusmeditation.org or call 504-881-6566.
***** March 2016 *****
Thursday, March 31
7:00pm-8:30pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Ayurveda is a timeless practice, rooted in the mysticism of India and practicality of yoga. Intended to create health within body, mind, and spirit, ayurveda addresses the many factors uniquely influencing each individual. Through investigation of one’s lifestyle and dietary routines, ayurveda will cultivate wellbeing throughout the span of one’s life with simple actions. These introductory practices of ayurveda will help guide one towards healthy awareness of one’s current life situations and support in yoga practice.
Kyle Roberts has studied throughout the United States and in India, working to integrate both eastern and western cultures into digestible forms of practical information. Kyle’s efforts are spent teaching various subjects within yoga and ayurveda as well as integrating classical healing practices with modern practicality for individual health concerns.
For more information, visit krveda.com
Dharma Teachings with Lama Lena
March 3-6, 2016
Thursday, March 3
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street at 7pm Vajrasattva Purification
An ancient Tibetan Buddhist Practice using visualization and mantra meditation for the purpose of clearing away bad karma.
Friday, March 4
LHA Community Center
621. N Rendon Street at 7pm Introduction to Dzogchen -
Direct Mind Perception
Saturday, March 5
LHA Community Center
621 N. Rendon Street
11am – 1pm & 3pm – 5pm Meditation for Modern Times
Considered uniquely suited to our modern times, the ancient practice of dzogchen, direct mind perception, is said to offer a path to Buddhahood in this very lifetime.
Lama Lena will teach from the text, Tsig Sum Ne Deb, “Three Words That Strike to the Heart of the Essential Point” by Garab Dorje, a heart text from the Nyingma Longchen Nyingthig Lineage with Commentary by Patrul Rinpoche.
Sunday, March 6
LHA Community Center
621 N. Rendon Street, 11am – 1pm Refuge Ceremony followed by potluck/music feast offering at 1:30pm
Lama Lena (Yeshe Kaytup):Comfortably straddling both East and West, Lama Lena, brings with her 40 plus years of traditional Buddhist study and practice, including a 7 year cave retreat in Tso Pema, India as well as some 30 years traveling with translating for the Venerable Wangdor Rinpoche, whose lineage in both Dzogchen and Chagchen she holds.
Traveling internationally, she teaches in a direct, informal style, blending earthy wit with compassion and incisive clarity.
All events are free and open to the public.
Donations to help with travel expenses will be much appreciated.
***** February 2016 *****
Mindfulness for Kids & Book Signing with Whitney Stewart
Whitney Stewart will present two mindfulness meditation classes for children, based on her book Meditation is an Open Sky: Mindfulness for Kids (available at Tibetan House). These sessions will offer children simple ways to understand and work with their emotions. Stewart will offer one session for children aged 4 – 7 years, and a second for children aged 8 – 12 years. We look forward to seeing you here.
Copies of Whitney’s book will be available for purchase at Tibetan House.
This event is open to the public.
***** January 2016 *****
An Afternoon with Martha Hayden
We are very excited to have Martha Hayden visit us for a week. A joy to be with, Martha’s gift of insight and clarity regarding sacred space is exceptional. She will be here for a free talk on January 14, and will be offering an afternoon workshop on Sunday, January 17.
“A deep and fruitful meditation practice bears such gifts! The centered calm and inner strength we gain help us move through crazy busy days with grace. Those precious moments we touch on high states of sublime Being instill precious joy and sometimes, piercing clarity. Yet we often falter, slipping out of practice or letting our sessions get rote and stale. We lose our way.”
In her talk and later in the workshop, Martha Hayden will explore how we might cultivate a more meaningful practice. “How do we make room for meditation in our lives? What can we do to transform our physical environment to make it more conducive to daily meditation, more beautiful and more inviting? And how might we go about refining the space energetically so deeper and richer spaces land?”
Ms. Hayden has a background in Eastern/Western philosophy and wellness. She studied meditation at the Clairvision School and certified with Karen Kingston as a space clearer. For many years she worked in acute care psychiatry, and later built a practice as a bodyworker and meditation based personal growth coach. Presently, she travels throughout the US to do space clearing and consults with individuals who seek transformation and awakening.
Please consider attending a talk or workshop, booking an individual reading, and/or setting up a space clearing.
Martha will be here for a limited time. Space clearings require at least 3 hours for completion, followed by a quiet, contemplative time in your home. The number of Space Clearings available are limited. We will schedule appointments first come, first serve. We look forward to hearing from you.
Free Talk
Thursday, January 14
7pm
Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
Afternoon Workshop
Sunday, January 17
1pm-5pm
$65
For more information, contact Tibetan House at info@tibetanhouse.com.
***** October 2015 *****
Awakening the Third Eye: Weekend Meditation Course for 21st Century Spiritually
October 25th, 11:00am-5:00pm – October 26th, 9:00am-5:00pm
Awakening the Third Eye is a 2-day course designed for those who want direct experience of deeper states of consciousness, as well as those who want to learn skills for cultivating and managing their energy.
In this weekend course, you will learn a technique that develops awareness of the third eye, an energetic organ of perception. From this space of the third eye we will explore easy and powerful ways to incorporate what you are learning into your daily life. The result will be a sense of awakening that has the potential to renew and invigorate your passion for life.Because these techniques are straight forward and immediate, you will experience tangible results in this intriguing interactive weekend. Continuing with the practices will enhance your spiritual aspiration and connect you with a profound inner strength and joy.
When: Sunday Oct 25th, 11:00am – 5:00pm & Monday Oct 26th, 9:30am – 5:00pm Where: Tibetan House, 4900 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115 Course Cost: $125.00
Space is limited, pre-registration is required.
To register: Contact Gael Thompson at info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 330-3507 and provide your Name, Email Address, and Phone Number.
Payment: Cash, Checks or Credit Cards accepted. To pay in advance online, click here.
Please bring your lunch. Tibetan House will provide cushions and blankets. If you have your own special cushion for sitting, please feel free to bring it.
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Curious about Awakening the Third Eye?
Want to prepare for the course?
Attend a Free Talk with Instructor Wenndi Freer
Introduction to Subtle Body Awareness
Thursday, October 22
7:00pm-8:30pm
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas Street
504.897.9339
Discovering Your Etheric Body
Friday, October 23
5:00pm-6:30pm
Ashtanga Yoga Room
4905 Freret Street
804.916.0935
RSVPs for the Free Talks are appreciated.
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About Wenndi Freer, Instructor
Engage the Flow
Meditation Instructor
Space Clearing Consultant
Inner Space Techniques Practitioner
Stress Management Workshops
“The objective is to reconnect you to the parts of your life that are working well and feel alive
while clearing the blocks that prevent ongoing wellness and success….”
To learn more about Wenndi Freer, please check her website www.wenndifreer.com.
Wenndi will also be available for private sessions, and Space Clearing for your home.
To sign up, contact Tibetan House info@tibetanhouse.com or 504.897.9339
***** July 2015 *****
Tibetan Buddhist Teachings with Chamtrul Rinpoche
July 30th-August 2nd
Healing with the Mind’s Power
Thursday, July 30,
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas
7pm-9:00pm
Tantra: What is the Meaning and How to Practice
Friday, July 31,
LHA Community Center
621 N. Rendon
7pm-9:00pm
Chenrezig Teaching and Practice -The Power of Mantra – Om Mani Padme Hung
Saturday, August 1
LHA Community Center
Pt. 1: 10am-1pm (with a tea and cookie break at 11:30)
Pt. 2: 3pm-5pm
Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels – What it means to become a Buddhist a Buddhist
Sunday, August 2
LHA Community Center
10am -1pm
(with a tea and cookie break at 11:30)
Taking Refuge Ceremony: for those interested in taking formal Buddhist refuge and receiving a Buddhist name from the Rinpoche*
Sunday, August 2,
LHA Community Center
621 N. Rendon
3pm
*For those taking refuge, attending the Sunday morning session is required. For those who have previously taken Refuge from other Rinpoche’s or in other Buddhist traditions , there is no problem with participating in the ceremony once again.
*****
Applying Meditation and Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Monday, August 3
Clearwater Sanctuary in Covington
2:30pm
Sign up at 985 630 1009 or www.Clearwatersanctuary.org
Dzogchen
Monday, August 3
6:30pm-8pm
Samten Choeling Tibetan Cultural Center
For more infomration, contact: (504) 723-1317
Dream Yoga
Tuesday, August 4
Tibetan House
4900 Tchoupitoulas
7pm-9pm
If you are interested in donating a meal for Chamtrul Rinpoche during his visit, please contact us at info@tibetanhouse.com.
Attending a teaching
We are very grateful and happy to have Chamtrul Rinpoche visit us in New Orleans. We are having a wonderful response to the teachings that he is offering.
There are a few things we would like to share with those of you that are planning to attend any of the teachings.
* Dharma teachings cannot be sold or have a price put on them. Respecting this, there is no ‘door fee’. If you would like to make an offering directly to Chamtrul Rinpoche, you are welcome to do so. No one will be turned away for lack of money. As to how much the offering should be, a reasonable rule of thumb is roughly the amount you earn in one hour for each hour of teachings. Cash is appreciated. There will be envelopes available at the front table at each venue for you to do so. Each venue will let you know how the offerings will be presented to Rinpoche.
Donations go towards Chamtrul Rinpoche’s worldwide teaching tours (travel costs, venue hire, etc) and the running costs of the Bodhicitta Dharma Centre in Dharamsala, India.
* Donations for travel and food expense are always appreciated. Suggested donation is $10 per teaching.
* If you are hoping to participate in the Rufuge Ceremony, you will need to attend the morning and afternoon teachings on Sunday, the 2nd.
* Please arrive early so that we can all be seated and the teachings can begin as close to the starting time as possible.
* Pillows and chairs are available for seating at Tibetan House, LHA and Clearwater Sanctuary. If you have special needs, please let us know ahead of time. If you prefer your own cushion to sit on, please bring it with you.
* If you are hoping to attend the teachings at Clearwater Sanctuary and/or Samten Choeling Tibetan Cultural Center, please call the phone numbers provided to get the information for location, etc.
Samten Choeling TIbetan Cultural Center: 504 723 1317
Clearwater Sanctuary in Covington: 985 630 1009
About Chamtrul Rinpoche
Chamtrul Rinpoche is the recognized reincarnation of a great master and scholar from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the oldest school in Tibet.
Having studied many years, he holds a vast and profound knowledge of sutra, tantra, and dzogchen, and has been conferred the title ‘Khenpo’ – roughly equivalent to ‘Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy’.
Known for his nonsectarian quality, he has received all the cycles of teachings, empowerments and transmissions from more than twenty five accomplished masters and scholars from all four major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism – namely, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug.
Chamtrul Rinpoche currently lives and teaches in India, in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala. Dedicating his life to helping people find inner peace, he also travels the world each year to teach and guide many old and new students.
In his own words:
“Teaching is what I do in this life, wherever someone asks me to teach, I am there. Without discriminating against anybody based on their gender, race, creed and so forth, I wish them to enjoy excellent peace and harmony. I try to the best of my ability to promote the view, meditation and conduct of non-violence, which is the indispensable source for the spread and enhancement of the inner peace of mind.”
All events are free and open to the public. Donations to help with travel expenses will be much appreciated.
***** May 2015 *****
Live Streaming: Online Retreat with Pema Chodron
Getting Off the Wheel of Suffering
May 9-10, 10:00am – 6:30pm
It’s so easy to get stuck in unconscious habits that cause us to suffer. In this weekend retreat, Pema Chodron will share how habitual patterns keep us spinning, and how to stop this process at any moment by connecting with the vast, open space that is inherent in our mind.
We will be streaming the event here at Tibetan House. If you would like to participate, please check out the site and plan your day accordingly. If you cannot be present for the entire two days, and would like to participate for part of it, please check out the schedule and come between practices, at a time that will not disturb others.
This online retreat is a fund raiser. Please consider a donation to the Sango Palri Temple Project, http://www.msbsangdopalri.org
Discovering Buddhism: Special Guest Jose Calderon-Abbo, M.D.
Wednesday, May 20 at 7pm
$10
Mindfulness for beginners and experts with Jose Calderon-Abbo, M.D.. Dr. Calderon is psychiatrist and long time Vipassana practitioner. He specializes in addiction medicine and in the incorporation of mindfulness and other mind-body medicine practices in clinical care, and in a variety of settings including schools, law enforcement, business, religious institutions, and places where there is significant trauma. Dr. Calderon is faculty with Tulane, LSU and the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC.
Teaching with Lama Lena: A View of Tibetan Buddhism
Thursday, May 28 at 7pm
Donations are appreciated to help with travel expenses
We are excited to announce that Lama Lena will be visiting New Orleans May 28 – May 31, 2015. She will be at Tibetan House on Thursday, May 28 at 7pm giving an view on Tibetan Buddhism and the Dzogchen Teachings.
About Lama Lena:
Beginning in 1972, Lama Lena spent three years studying with Lama Thubten Yeshe at his monastery in Nepal and seven years in retreat and practice in a small cave above TsoPema under the tutelage of her root teacher, Ven.Wangdor Rimpoche. For the past 25 years she has traveled extensive with Wangdor Rimpoche as his translator and assistant. Lama Lena has also studied Chinese medicine and had a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2005 she returned to Tso Pema to assist Wangdor Rimpoche.
She currently lives on the mountain above Lotus Lake with her two kandros. When she is not traveling, teaching or translating, she works providing medical assistance to the Tibetan refugee community as well as the local Indian villagers and mountain tribespeople. At the request of H.E., Zigar Choktrul Rimpoche and Ven.Wangdor Rinpoche – as well as many Western and Tibetan dharma students – she has been traveling and teaching from the lineages she holds.
Check out our facebook event for details on the full schedule of weekend teachings:
Each evening will be a talk followed with a meditation practice
Every Wednesday in April, 7pm Suggested donation $10
April 8 Evening about Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava
The Lotus-born Guru Padmasambhava was an 8th-century master of Buddhist tantra who is credited with bringing Vajrayana to Tibet and Bhutan. He is revered today as one of the great patriarchs of Tibetan Buddhism and the founder of the Nyinmapa school. In Tibetan iconography he is the embodiment of the dharmakaya.
April 15 4 Thoughts that Turn the Mind
The actual wording in Tibetan for the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind is “Turning the Mind from Samsara.” With practice you’re reversing the mind’s interest in perfecting this life by turning it away from samsara.
April 22 An Evening of Vajra Sattva
Vajrasattva’s name means “diamond being”. He represents the innate purity of the mind. Vajrasattva mantra is a powerful purification prayer that invokes the mindstreams of all the Buddhas. “To meditate on Vajrasattva is the same as to meditate upon all the Buddhas. His hundred-syllable mantra is the quintessence of all mantras.” -Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
OM VAJRASATTVA HUM
April 29, 7pm An Evening of Om Mani Padme Hum: The Jewel is in the Lotus
In the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon of enlightened beings, Chenrezig is renowned as the embodiment of the compassion of all the Buddhas, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. It is said that the mantra connected to Chenrezig, Om Mani Padme Hum, contains all the teachings of the Buddha.
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About Tsering Phuntsok
Tsering Phuntsok was born in the Himalayans, in a Nepalese town bordering Tibet. In 1982, at the age of thirteen, he began his study and practice of Buddhism from his own village monastery. In 1986, at 16 years of age, he joined Palyul Choekhorling Nyingmapa Buddhist Monastery in Bir, India. Through his practice and study of Buddha dharma in the monastery, he was appointed by his abbot, H.E. Rigo Tulku Rinpoche, to teach the younger monks, as well as to spearhead social service initiatives. Beginning in 2002, Tsering has participated as a group leader in programs from the United States, Europe and Mexico that study Tibetan culture and Buddhism. In 2009, by invitation from universities in the United States,and by direction of his monastic Abbot, Tsering began traveling and sharing his experience about Buddhism in America and Europe.
***** FEBRUARY 2015 *****
Space Clearing An Auspicious Way to Start Lent
Saturday, February 21st
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
$125
Most people can easily recognize when a room or home feels comfortable, warm and inviting or when it feels cold or even creepy. The dilemma is that most people don’t know what to do to get the desired feeling they want in their home or work place. This is where space clearing comes in.
Space clearing is a branch of Feng Shui dedicated to balancing, harmonizing and revitalizing the energy in your home or office. The basic principles of Feng Shui were founded on knowing how to sense what is happening energetically and working with the energy of a space in a way that brings alignment and vibrancy. When the energy flow is alive and healthy, life feels synchronistic and wellbeing presides. When it stagnates we feel stuck.
On Saturday, February 21st Wenndi Freer will share with you:
Why you would want to space clear your home or office
When are the best times to space clear and when you should avoid space clearing
How to prepare for your space clearing
Tools you can use to space clear effectively
How to set your intention after you’ve cleared your space
And a whole lot more!
Space is limited, please contact Tibetan House at info@tibetanhouse.com or (504) 897-9339 for more information and to register.
The Dharmata Foundation presents
Meditation and Teaching An Evening
with Anam Thubten
at Tibetan House Thursday, February 26, 7pm – 9pm $10 donation is appreciated
The focus of this evening is to unburden ourselves from mental habits that cause unnecessary suffering and to realize our natural state which is the inner dimension of peace, joy, and love. Anam Thubten invites everyone to experience this spiritual transformation through meditation practice and the timeless teachings for the Buddha.
Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet and at an early age began to practice in the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the founder and spiritual advisor of Dharmata Foundation, teaching widely in the U.S. and occasionally abroad. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also the author of The Magic of Awareness and No Self, No Problem. Through his personal experience on the spiritual path, Anam Thubten brings alive the timeless teachings of the Buddhist tradition and invites everyone to participate.
For more information about the Dharmata Foundation, click here.
We look forward to seeing you on February 26th!
***** JANUARY 2015 *****
An Evening with Thomas Laird
Sunday, January 18th
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Thomas Laird is an American photographer, journalist and writer who has explored the art, culture, history, and modern life of Tibetan and Himalayan people for forty years. Fortunately for us, he currently divides his time between New Orleans and Asia.
Laird will read from his book, The Story of Tibet, Conversations with the Dalai Lama, a history written with His Holiness the Dalai Lama–and will sign the book afterwards. For more than thirty years Laird has worked to document the greatest murals painted in Tibet during the past thousand years. He will speak about the murals from the Dalai Lama’s private mediation chapel, in the Lukhang, Lhasa–subject of an earlier book, The Dalai Lamas’ Secret Temple. He will also show a five minute film about his upcoming book, The Murals of Tibet, TASCHEN publishing, 2015.
Several of Laird’s books will be available, and he will bring a few large format prints of Tibetan murals, images captured at life size, using new digital tools, to give us a glimpse of his new work.
Stephen Josephs,Ed.D. has practiced meditation and various mind-body disciplines for over 50 years. This includes Taoist “water method” meditation – a method of systematic dissolving of blocks while in a state of non-dual awareness. He has been an executive coach for over 37 years. He co-authored Leadership Agility, a study of how leaders mature in their roles and how maturation affects their capacity to lead. This evolution for executives all comes down to “getting over yourself,” and meditation is offered to leaders as a cure for self-importance. As Lao Tzu would say of a sound man and a leader, “By never being an end in himself, he endlessly becomes himself.”
leading this course. He graduated from Vietnamese Buddhist Association with a Bachelor of Arts in Buddhism. Since his arrival in the USA in 2002, Thay has taught in many US cities. In July 2015, he was invited by Van Hanh Buddhist Center of New Orleans to establish ’Zen and Mind Family’.
Tibetan House
Thursday January 19, 7pm
Ms. Hayden has a background in Eastern/Western philosophy and wellness. She studied meditation at the Clairvision School and certified with Karen Kingston as a space clearer. For many years she worked in acute care psychiatry, and later built a practice as a bodyworker and meditation based personal growth coach. Presently, she travels throughout the US to do space clearing and consults with individuals who seek transformation and awakening.
