Vairotsana Foundation

Longchenpa’s Seven Points of Mind Training

admin — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:00:21 +0000

Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen Retreat offered by Tulku Orgyen P’huntsok Rinpoche

Rinpoche will lead an in-town retreat on the Pith Instructions of the Seven Points of Mind Training. This classic text was composed by the great Dzogchen master Longchenpa and has been recently translated by Rinpoche. The text includes tsa lung and tigle yoga instructions, which are considered especially precious.

Saturday July 9 – 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Sunday July 10 – 10:00 AM –12:00 PM 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM

A Tsok feast will be celebrated at the conclusion of the retreat.

Shambhala Meditation Center

920 41st Ave. Suite F, Capitola, CA 95010

Suggested donation: $75 for entire weekend; $45 per day. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Please contact Juan Jose at 831-535-8692 or iinterpret@yahoo.com to register

Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen Retreat offered by Tulku Orgyen P’huntsok Rinpoche Rinpoche will lead an in-town retreat on the Pith Instructions of the Seven Points of Mind Training. This classic text was composed by the great Dzogchen master Longchenpa and has been recently translated by Rinpoche. The text includes tsa lung and tigle yoga instructions, which are considered especially precious. Saturday July 9 – 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM Sunday July 10 – 10:00 AM –12:00 PM 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM A Tsok feast will be celebrated at the conclusion of the retreat. Shambhala Meditation Center 920 41st Ave. Suite F, Capitola, CA 95010 Suggested donation: $75 for entire weekend; $45 per day No one will be turned away for lack of funds.Please contact Juan Jose at 831-535-8692 or iinterpret@yahoo.com to register

Live Release

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 04:42:38 +0000

“…freeing the lives of sentient beings who are certain to be killed is supreme among all types of longevity practices. For this reason and because freeing lives brings immeasurable benefits, all sensible people should increase their efforts to free lives.”

- Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, from his Terma, Increasing Life and Prosperity: A Method for Freeing Lives (see this page for the full text)

Saving the lives of animals to be killed is considered to be one of the greatest acts of generosity and the merits can be dedicated to the benefit of all beings, especially to aid those who are ill or dying. If you like, you may include a note in the paypal contribute box indicating for whom you are making this donation.

Donations will be saved and applied to the soonest scheduled live release. Please also send an email to Kathleen indicating how much you have given so the money can promptly be directed toward saving animals whose lives are at risk.

The Benefits of Saving Lives
by His Holiness Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche

I bow down before the Lama, Buddha Amitayus,

And the bodhisattvas in training.

I shall now in brief describe the benefits

Of freeing animals and ransoming their lives.

To save animals from slaughter and any mortal danger,

With an entirely pure motivation and conduct,

Is without doubt a practice to be taken up

By all followers of the Buddha Shakyamuni.

Many sutras, tantras and commentaries

Describe in detail the advantages it brings,

And countless learned and accomplished masters of India and Tibet

Have stressed the value and importance of benefitting beings.

Even in the basic vehicle one avoids inflicting harm on others,

In the mahayana this is the very training of a bodhisattva,

And in the secret mantra, a principal samaya of the ratna family.

The reasoning behind this is as follows: in this world,

Nothing is as dear to someone as his or her own life,

So no greater crime is there than taking life away,

And no conditioned virtue brings greater merit

Than the act of saving beings and ransoming their lives.

Therefore, should you wish for happiness and good,

Exert yourself in this, the most supreme of paths,

Which is proven through scriptures and through reasoning,

And is free of obstacles and potential dangers.

Consider your own body and with this as an example,

Make every effort not to kill any living creature,

Birds, fish, deer, cattle and even tiny insects,

And strive instead to save their lives,

Offering them protection from every fear.

The benefit of doing so is beyond imagining.

This is the best practice for your own longevity,

And the greatest ritual for the living or deceased.

It is my main practice of benefitting others.

It dispels all external and internal adversity and obstacles,

Effortlessly and spontaneously, it brings favourable conditions,

And, when inspired by the noble mind of bodhichitta and

Completed with dedication and pure aspiration prayers,

It will lead one to complete enlightenment,

And the accomplishment of one’s own and others’ welfare—

Of this you need have no doubts at all!

Those whose minds incline to virtue and acts of merit,

Should prohibit hunting and fishing on their land.

Some birds, in particular, such as geese and cranes,

Are impelled by their karma to migrate

And fly south in autumn, north in spring.

At times, weary from the efforts of their flight,

Or having lost their way, some are forced to land,

Distressed, afraid and anxious; when this happens,

You should not throw stones or shoot at them,

Nor try to kill them or do them any harm,

But protect them so they may easily fly once more.

To offer care and affection to sentient beings

In desperate situations who lack protection

Brings just as much merit as the meditation

On emptiness with compassion as its core—

So it has been said by glorious Lord Atisha.

Lamas, officials, monks, nuns, men and women,

In all the places over which you have control,

Exert every influence and do all within your power

To release animals and ransom their lives,

While encouraging others to do the same.

In all those places where this is done,

Sickness among people and livestock will cease,

Harvests will be plentiful and life will be long.

All will enjoy happiness and well-being in abundance,

And at death let go of deluded experience,

Before finding an excellent rebirth within the higher realms.

Ultimately, there is no doubt that this will lead one easily

To find the supreme and perfect state of awakening.

In response to the request of Doctor Dordrak,

Who offered a pure silk scarf and a hundred Nepali rupees,

The one called Chatral Sangye Dorje,

Who strives continuously to ransom lives,

Wrote down spontaneously whatever came to mind.

By the merit of this may all sentient beings

Come to practise enlightened actions!

Mamakoling samanta!

Events for Saga Dawa 2011

admin — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:32:39 +0000

This is a copy of an email that went out to the Sangha on June 2nd.

Dear Sangha Members and Friends,

Happy Saga Dawa!

June 2^nd through July 1^st is Saga Dawa. The birth, Enlightenment, and Parinirvana of Lord Buddha Shakyamuni are all observed in this month. Therefore, it is an especially important month for the practice of Dharma, in which the effect of positive and negative actions is multiplied many times over. In recognition of Saga Dawa, Vairotsana Foundation will be hosting a number of opportunities to gather vast stores of merit in our efforts toward Buddhahood. Please join us as much as your schedule allows. May All Beings Benefit!

Vairotsana Foundation Special Events for the Month of Saga Dawa

June 11-12 10am-12:30pm and 2pm-4:30pm

A weekend of In-Depth Ngondro (Preliminary) Teachings and Practice with Ven. Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche

Saturday June 11 (Guru Rinpoche Day): Teachings and Practice

The Outer Preliminaries: The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind Toward Dharma
The Inner Preliminaries: Refuge, Bodhicitta and Mandala Offerings.

(Please note Shower of Blessings Tsog will be performed at 5:00pm, rather than at 7:00 as we usually do)

Sunday June 12: Teachings and Practice

The Inner Preliminaries: Vajrasattva and Guru Yoga
P’howa: Transference of Consciousness at the Time of Death

Please bring Mandala pan for both days, if you have one. Vegetarian lunch will be served. Please bring something to share. Contact lunch coordinator, Maria Gonzalez: mariadel55@yahoo.com

June 15, 7:00pm

Saga Dawa Düchen: Full Moon Practices

10:00 a.m. – Fish Release Ceremony at 1 Bora Bora Way, Marina Del Rey, CA, led by Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche and Vairotsana Lamas. If you cannot attend but wish to send an offering, please contact Kathleen at dakiniheart@gmail.com to make arrangements. You can make your donation on our live release page. Please do not call the bait shop ahead of time or they will fish for the release.
6:00 p.m. at Vairotsana Garden Grove: Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche will lead Buddha Puja and Tsog (no meat and no alcohol)
7:00 p.m. at Vairotsana Santa Barbara: Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche will lead Buddha Puja and Tsog (no meat and no alcohol).

Friday, June 24 – Monday, June 27

“Interdependence Days” Mani-Thon for World Peace

Friday 6:30pm: Public Talk by Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche: “Sound of Great Compassion: The Origin, Meaning, and Benefits of the Six-Syllable Mantra OM MANI PEME HUM” (Unity Church, Santa Barbara)
- $15 Donation
- See attachment “ManiTalk.pdf”
- Friday 8:00pm – Monday 5:00pm: 1 Million “Mani Mantra” Accumulation Retreat (Vairotsana Foundation Santa Barbara)
  - $20 per Chenrezig Practice Session/$35 Full Day (10am – 5pm)
  - Visit this document: “ManiRetreat.pdf”
  - Please go to http://tinyurl.com/VFmanithon to sign up for a shift!
  - Saturday 10:00am – 12:00 noon: Buddhist Calligraphy Workshop with Aaron Joseph, M.Ed., “Drawing and Painting the Six-Syllable Mantra “OM MANI PEME HUM” as a devotional and meditative practice” (donation scale: $20-40) NEW! See Attachment!

Dorje Drolo Retreat in Garden Grove with Vairotsana Lamas

admin — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 22:13:17 +0000

Saturday, Feburary 26th, 2011
Practice 9:00AM – 12:00PM
Lunch Break 12:00PM – 2:00PM
Practice 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Sunday, Feburary 27th, 2011
Practice 9:00AM – 12:00PM
Lunch Break 12:00PM – 2:00PM
Practice 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Location:

12755 Brookhurst Ave, Suite #104 Garden Grove, CA. 92840

Meditation Supplies: There are cushions available but there may not be enough for everyone. Please bring your own cushion if you own one.

About Dorje Drolö:

Dorje Drolö is the eighth aspect of Padmasambhava. In this wrathful manifestation, Dorje Drolö embodies the forces of insight and compassion beyond logic and convention. Hesitancy and clinging are transformed into the fearlessness and spontaneity of the awakened state. Dorje Drolö rides a pregnant tigress, which symbolizes the latent power of our intrinsic Buddha nature.

Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche has said: “The wrathful practice of Dorje Drolö is critically important in pacifying all the negative circumstances that we face in today’s world. Since the whole spectrum of Buddhadharma teachings and its essence is love, compassion, and wisdom, this wrathful practice is not just the expression of some sort of ordinary rage; rather, it is the pinnacle practice of compassion and wisdom underlying the practice of Buddhadharma at its most profound level. Therefore, for the sake of all sentient beings, particularly in this degenerate time, this practice is a very powerful and immediately effective way of bringing peace and harmony to the world. This particular sadhana, called ‘The Vital Essence Sadhana of Dudjom T’hak-T’hung Pema,’ was H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche’s heart essence and by doing this practice, H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche overcame many obstacles and gained long life.”

Fire Puja and T’hroma Chöd 11/26

admin — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 06:29:19 +0000

Practice led by Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche, Tulku Orgyen and Vairotsana Lamas

Fire Puja on Friday Morning November 26th, 2010 from 10:00 to 12:00

Chöd will be on Saturday November 27th, 2010 and Sunday the 28th, 2010 from 9am to 12pm & 2pm to 5pm

Held at: Vairotsana Foundation – Santa Barbara 1524 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Chöd practice is extraordinarily effective in cutting through our ego and bringing us much closer to the nature of our own mind, thus taking us much faster towards attaining the Ultimate Liberation. Chöd removes obstacles, both short term and those hindering enlightenment. It carries incredible healing powers and accumulates merit and wisdom in a vast way. Merely making a connection to the practice brings great short-term and long-term benefit.

Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche will lead us in practicing the Medium Length Sadhana of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche’s Black T’hroma (with Tsog), dedicating to healing and peace in the world.

The suggested donation is $20 for each day. This helps to maintain our center and support future dharma activity in Santa Barbara. Please bring a food or drink offering for tsog.

Pre-register for the event vairotsana.org@gmail.com Download our flyer here.