Manjushri Dharma Center

Wednesday Night Chanted Prayers Online-Green Tara Practice
2021-12-22 17:00 - 18:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | online event, CA, United States
Green Tara is known as the Mother of all Buddhas, born from Chenrezig’s tear of compassion. She will swiftly come to comfort and protect those who supplicate her. Especially from emotional, and physical sufferings. In her hands she holds utpala flowers which symbolize power and purity.
This is also my daily practice; we will pray for overcoming fear and clearing of obstacles. Also pray for those who have passed away from coronavirus. If anyone would like to join please sit and recite the mantra “OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA “. The prayers will be recited in Tibetan, but please participate. You can see me and recite the mantra at the same time so we can practice together for those who have recently died. Thank you and Tashi Delek.
Via Facebook Live: Manjushri Dharma Center Facebook

No Wednesday Night Chanted Prayers
2021-12-22 17:00 - 18:30, 2021-12-29 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-01-05 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-01-12 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-01-19 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-01-26 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-02-02 17:00 - 18:30, 2022-02-09 17:00 - 18:30 and 1 more date
Please note that there will be no chanted prayers this Wednesday.
Photograph courtesy of Michael Klimov.

No Saturday Morning Teaching: Precious Garland of the Supreme Path
2021-12-25 09:00 - 10:30, 2022-01-01 09:00 - 10:30
We will resume on Saturday, January 8th, 2022. Happy New Year!
More information: Precious Garland of the Supreme Path

Monday Night Chanted Prayers - Green Tara Practice
2021-12-27 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-01-24 18:30 - 20:00
Note* Monday night prayers are held both in-person at the Dharma Center and virtually on Zoom.
The feminine embodiment of enlightened activity, Green Tara is the swift liberator, a compassionate and loving protector in times of distress and great danger. Through meditating on the form and mantra Arya Tara, and chanting the Praises to her 21 different manifestations, we receive the blessings to become inseparable from Tara herself, actualizing the potential to liberate all motherly sentient beings from the suffering ocean of samsara.
She is known as the Mother of all Buddhas, born from Chenrezig’s tear of compassion. She will swiftly come to comfort and protect those who supplicate her. Especially from emotional, and physical sufferings. In her hands she holds utpala flowers which symbolize power and purity.
This is also my daily practice; we will pray for overcoming fear and clearing of obstacles. Also pray for those who have passed away from coronavirus. We will recite the mantra “OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA “. You can see me and recite the mantra at the same time so we can practice together for those who have recently died. Thank you and Tashi Delek.
Prayers will be recited in both Tibetan and English.
Text:

Main prayer text, courtesy of KTD Publications in Woodstock NY (for students only, please do not make or distribute printed copies): Green Tara Sadhana of Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa
Supplemental texts:

Concise Tara Prayer by Lama Gephel
GreenTara-Sevenfold Supplication by Drikung Kyobpa Jikten Sumgon

Description of the Tara practice above was written by Khenpo Karten Rinpoche. Image courtesy of Miles McBreen.

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Monday Night Chanted Prayers - Medicine Buddha
2022-01-03 18:30 - 20:00, 2022-02-14 18:30 - 20:00
Note* Monday night prayers are held both in-person at the Dharma Center and virtually on Zoom.
On Monday we will practice the prayers of Medicine Buddha (Buddha of Infinite Healing), creating the causes for a world that is healed from illness and disease. You can find a link to the prayer text here: MedicineBuddhaPuja_༄༅།-།སྨན་བླའི་སྒྲུབས་ཐབས་བཞུགས་སོ།-།.pdf
Additionally, Rinpoche wrote a very short but beautiful teaching on the practice of Medicine Buddha, which includes the visualization: Medicine Buddha Practice for Corona Virus from Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, posted on the Teachings page originally in March 2020.
Also, our main Monday night prayer practice has always been Buddha Amitabha (the Buddha of Infinite Light), so we typically also recite the Amitabha mantra. Here are two versions of that text–first a short version: Amitabha Prayer Practice. And here is the long text (this is our main text for practice): The Recitation for Accomplishment of Sukhavati from the Sky Dharma Mind Terma.
Please join us as we wish for all beings to have health and peace of mind.

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Saturday Morning: Precious Garland of the Supreme Path Online
2022-01-08 09:00 - 10:30, 2022-01-15 09:00 - 10:30, 2022-01-22 09:00 - 10:30, 2022-01-29 09:00 - 10:30
Instructions of Gampopa: A Precious Garland of the Supreme Path
Teachings and Oral Transmission with Khenpo Karten Rinpoche
Saturdays until completed
9:00am – 10:30am Pacific Time (time updated as of 11/27/2021)
Online via Zoom, link below
All welcome to join at any time
Free of charge, but donations always welcome

Although he lived long ago, Gampopa is someone who can relate to the suffering and turmoil of modern times. Gampopa, a medical doctor of his time, lived through a pandemic in Tibet, losing his son, daughter, and his wife. In his intense suffering, he sought relief by becoming a monk, and studying the Dharma (teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni). He entered the Kadampa order, learning many texts and becoming well versed in the Dharma, but it was Milarepa, the fully enlightened yogi of Tibet, who became his root guru. Under Milarepa’s teachings, he learned the visualization practice of tantra. He combined the step-by-step, graduated path and logic of the Kadam master Atisha, with the tantric practice of Milarepa, and founded the “practice lineage,” the Karma Kagyu.
“Gampopa, the father of the Kagyu tradition in Tibet, wrote a number of commentaries on Buddha’s teachings. The most notable are The Jewel Ornament of Liberation and A Precious Garland of the Supreme Path. In A Precious Garland, Gampopa gives precise instructions on what is needed to develop one’s understanding, meditation and conduct on the spiritual path. Gampopa succinctly outlines in twenty-eight categories what we need to know in order to perfect our spiritual practice*.”
This is the fourth text by Gampopa that Khenpo Karten Rinpoche has taught at the Manjushri Dharma Center. Previously he taught the Jewel Ornament of Liberation, and next he taught on his succinct commentary called the “Excellent Path Of Freedom, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation in Brief,” and most recently he taught on the Four Dharmas of Gampopa. In the Four Dharmas of Gampopa, one line says: “May the Dharma become the Path.” The Precious Garland of the Supreme Path addresses the many facets of turning the Dharma into the Path: bullet points for right actions and intentions. In addition, the text includes many inspiring and poetic descriptions of the ultimate nature of mind and reality. The text will be shown on the screen, and resources to purchase or download a free version are below. There will be time made for questions and answers at the end of the class periodically. Please join us for the this precious series of teachings!

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About Venerable Gampopa Sonam Rinchen:
“Gampopa lived from 1070 to 1153. He was born in Central Tibet and trained as a doctor. At age 26, when his family succumbed to an epidemic, he promised his wife on her deathbed that he would become a monk and devote his life to Buddhism. He eventually met the great yogi Milarepa and became his foremost student. He founded the system of Mahamudra which combines the tantric teachings of the great siddhas of India with the graduated path teachings of Atisha.*”
*Note: The general description of the text and Gampopa’s life is credited and quoted from Shambala Publications: https://www.shambhala.com/snowlion_articles/the-instructions-of-gampopa/

About the Venerable Khenpo Karten Rinpoche

Khenpo Karten Rinpoche is an accomplished teacher and practitioner of the Karma Kagyu Lineage and is also trained in the Nyingma Lineage of Buddhism. He was born in the beautiful mountains of the Himalayas of Tibet. At the age of twelve, he was ordained at Ja-pa monastery, where he began his formal education of reading, writing and ritual practice. At the age of fifteen having completed the basic studies, he furthered his studies in the Sutra and Tantric texts under the accomplished master Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche and Pema Tsewang Rinpoche for eight years. Subsequently Khenpo Karten Rinpoche went to the hermitage of anther accomplished teacher, Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche and completed five years of retreat under the great master. In the retreat he completed the practices of the Naropa’s six yoga, Mahamudra and many others. In recognition of his achievements, Sangye Tenzin Ringpoche bestowed upon him the title, Khenpo Karma Lekshe Tharchin in 1994.
In 1996, he left Tibet and traveled to Dharamsala, India to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Upon His Holiness’ advice, he spent another two years doing retreat. H.H Dalai Lama also recognizing his achievement, bestowed upon him the title Khenpo Rinpoche. After his retreat, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche was requested by H.E Tai Situ Rinpoche to go to the monastery of Venerable Tsoknyi Rinpoche, to teach the young monks there.
Khenpo Karten arrived in the United States in 2008, and taught in the Monterey Bay area for the first time in September of that year. After meeting a group of prospective students and seeing the hills of Big Sur which remind him of Tibet, he returned in 2009 to make the Monterey Bay his permanent home. Since then, Rinpoche has established the Manjushri Dharma Center (MDC) in Pacific Grove, California, which has become his main teaching location and his home residence. With unflinching faith in the precious Buddha Dharma, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, now a U.S. citizen, bestows sacred teachings to thousands of people all over the world, with weekly teachings and events.

About the Text
Instructions of Gampopa: A Precious Garland of the Supreme Path was written roughly 900 years ago, and there are many translations in many languages.

Here is a Tibetan version of the text, and please email rachelmdc2016@gmail.com for an English version.
An English version, translated by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso and Laura Roth, can be purchased from Snow Lion publication, with commentary by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. Shambala Publications has an e-book, and it was originally published in 1996 as a paperback.
There is a free, downloadable PDF version of the text in both Tibetan and English, translated and edited by Dr.Konchok Rigzen of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies in Leh-Ladak, India. It includes an extensive introduction, description of Gampopa’s life, and detailed footnotes.

Accompanying Texts:

Preliminary prayers (in English)
Closing prayers (in both Tibetan and English)
Khenpo Karten Long Life Prayers (in Tibetan)-Updated
Khenpo Karten Long Life Prayers (in English)-Updated

Recordings from Past Sessions

Session #1, Verse 1: July 10th, 2021,The Ten Causes of Loss

https://youtu.be/7fp-4mLF8fQ

Session #2, Verse 2: July 17th, 2021,The Ten Necessary Things

https://youtu.be/4b5MVrxW7KA

Session #3, Verse 3: July 24th, 2021,Ten Things Upon Which to Rely

https://youtu.be/tW8bugRPQLw

Session #4, Verse 4: July 31st, 2021,The Ten Things to be Abandoned

https://youtu.be/l82UXM2RXkA
Notes from Session 4

Session #5, Verse 5: August 7th, 2021, The Ten Things Not to be Abandoned

https://youtu.be/RG9QGJ4BVKA
Notes from Session 5

Session #6, Verse 6: August 14th, 2021,The Ten Things to be Known

https://youtu.be/1JJ0Qt4fdxE
Notes from Session 6

Session #7, Verse 7: August 21/2021,The Ten Things to be Practiced

https://youtu.be/4QWv51yTVDs
Notes from Session 7

Session #8, Verse 8: August 28, 2021,The Ten Things to Emphasize

https://youtu.be/xebiQ2kbasM
Notes from Session 8-part 1
Notes from Session 8-part 2-How to Listen to Dharma

Session #9, Verse 9: September 4, 2021, Ten Exhortations

Unfortunately, this recording was not captured–technical difficulties

Session #10, Verse 10: September 11, 2021,Ten Deviations

https://youtu.be/PlkF9MtopvM

Session #11, Verses 11-12: September 18, 2021,Ten Confusions of One Thing for Another & Ten Unmistaken Things

https://youtu.be/H9gMbaOdQGY

Session #12, Verse 13, September 25, 2021,Fourteen Useless Things

https://youtu.be/1RkXTJjk9rA

Session #13, Verse 14: October 2, 2021,Eighteen Hidden Evils of Practitioners

https://youtu.be/vJj5UUZBVqI

Session #14, Verse 15: October 23, 2021,Twelve Indispensable Things

https://youtu.be/I0ZxbI8xwIQ
Notes from Session 14, Verse 15
Notes from Session 14, Verse 15-part 2

Session #15, Verse 16: October 30, 2021, Eleven Marks of a Holy Person

https://youtu.be/kMlT5Bgvce0

Session #16, Verse 17: November 6, 2021,Ten Things of No Benefit

https://youtu.be/HuHihvG9Zog
Notes from Session 16, Verse 17

Session #17, Verse 18: November 13, 2021,The Ten Ways of Accomplishing One’s Own Disaster

https://youtu.be/iOCGKO8emLs

Session #18, Verse 19: November 20, 2021, The Ten Great Kindnesses to Oneself

https://youtu.be/0OLsh0e-R10
Notes from Session 18, Verse 19

Session #19, Verse 20: November 28, 2021, The Ten Perfect Things

https://youtu.be/e6pM9rr53uQ
Notes from Session 19, Verse 20

Session #20, Verse 21: December 4, 2021, Ten Bewilderments of Practitioners

https://youtu.be/wtUVT6bfNBA

Session #21, Verse 22: December 11, 2021, Ten Necessary Things

https://youtu.be/Z0UbQrkxQMo
Notes from Session 21, Verse 22

Session #22, Verse 23: December 18, 2021, Ten Unnecessary Things

https://youtu.be/qdt4_1Wa0QI
Notes from Session 22 (referring back to question in Session 21)

Session #23, Verse 24: January 8, 2022, Ten Superior Things

https://youtu.be/La5PeWGjll8

Session #24, Verse 25: January 15, 2022, Ten Situations in which Whatever is Done is Excellent

https://youtu.be/fQ7-VVhk6Rs

Session #25, Verse 26: January 22, 2022, Ten Qualities of Genuine Dharma

https://youtu.be/umB1xh06ioc
Notes from Session 25, Verse 26

Session #26, Verse 27: January 29, 2022, Ten Things that are Merely Names

https://youtu.be/suCjNAKyFuM
Rinpoche also read verses from his composition The Excellent Path of Freedom: The Jewel Ornament of Liberation in Brief, verses 67-71

Session #27, Verse 28: February 6, 2022, Ten Things that are Spontaneously Present as Great Bliss

https://youtu.be/0wvmT7kvLf4
Please note: the final session of this series was part of the 2-day retreat held in early Februrary, 2022. The entire retreat and videos can be found here: https://manjushridharmacenter.org/event/2022_februaryretreat/2022-02-05/

Written Transcriptions of Each Session
Through the kindness of Florence Lee, written transcriptions of each session are being compiled. They will be uploaded here as they become available.

Monday Night Chanted Prayers - Chenrezig Practice
2022-01-10 18:30 - 20:00
Note* Monday night prayers are held both in-person at the Dharma Center and virtually on Zoom.

Avalokiteshvara, or Chenrezig in Tibetan, is the Bodhisattva who embodies the love and compassion of all Buddhas. Chenrezig is an important deity in Tibet and considered the patron Bodhisattva of the Tibetan people. Chenrezig is also believed by Tibetans to be the actual progenitor of the Tibetan people, and HH Dalai Lama and the Karmapa, who are considered living Buddhas, are also believed to be emanations of Chenrezig. It is said that even babies upon birth know the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM.

Text: https://manjushridharmacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ChenrezigPracticeText.pdf

Please do join us for this profound practice. Tashi Delek

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Wednesday Night Chanted Prayers Online--Calling the Guru from Afar
2022-01-12 17:00 - 18:30
Calling the Guru from Afar is a heartfelt request to the guru for blessings to realize all the stages of the path to enlightenment, as well as a meditation on the nature of the guru.
This beautiful devotional guru yoga practice was composed by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye; one of Tibet’s greatest scholars and poet. He also wrote more than 90 volumes of works known as the Great Treasuries.

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye’s second reincarnation is Jamgon Kongtrul Palden Khyentse Oser, who was born in Tsurpu as the son of 15th Karmapa. Palden Khyentse Oser was a renowned Mahamudra master and passed on the lineage to the 16th Karmapa. My root guru’s teacher was the second Jamgon Kongtrul and this text is also very much connected to our guru yoga practice that we hold regularly.

Jamgon Kongtrul’s best student was a very good practitioner and requested him to write a guru yoga practice . In her mind he is the triple gems as well as the lama, yidam and dakini. Being humble he said that he did not have any good qualities but agreed to write this precious text for her. First he paid homage to all the lineage gurus from the four major lineages and then placed his own name at the end.�One of his best works was “Seven Points of Mind training” which is a direct path to the practitioner’s heart and transforms his mind. That is why it is also called the great path of awakening.

Please do join us. Thank you and Tashi Delek.

Here is the link to the text for reference:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10Lb6ZK8mZwoaaiePE2CMiU6vd0CMXBB5L92YBSsRdA8/edit?usp=sharing
Via Facebook Live: Manjushri Dharma Center Facebook
Editor’s note: There is a wonderful version of this chanted prayer with beautiful images of Tibet on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhuW8xhcbUA.

Monday Night Chanted Prayers - Amitabha Puja
2022-01-17 18:30 - 20:00
Monday night prayers are held both in person at the Dharma Center and virtually on Zoom. Our main Monday night prayer practice has always been Buddha Amitabha (the Buddha of Infinite Light). Here is a link to the main text: The Recitation for Accomplishment of Sukhavati from the Sky Dharma Mind Terma.
We also have a shorter text for reference: Amitabha Prayer Practice.
Please join us as we wish for all beings to have health and peace of mind.

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Khenpo Karten Rinpoche public talk at the CSA: Transforming Life's Highs and Lows into Spiritual Practice
2022-01-23 10:00 - 11:30
Rinpoche has been invited to visit and hold a teaching with his longtime friends at the Center for Spiritual Awakening in Pacific Grove, California. The event will be held on Sunday, January 23rd, at 10:00AM at the CSA:
522 Central Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Rinpoche will teach on the 13th verse of his text Heartfelt Advice Of Dharma Nectar. The topic of the talk will be: Transforming Life’s Highs and Lows into Spiritual Practice
Whether we are jumping for joy
Or crying in pain, during all highs and lows,
Whatever illusions of happiness or sadness arise,
Use them for your spiritual path! That is my heart advice.
Please do join! Rinpoche will also be accompanied by expert Tibetan translator, Jampa Tharchin. Chanted prayers will be held with accomplished pianist, Michael Martinez.
The event will also be livestreamed on the Center for Spiritual Awakenings website:
https://www.centerforspiritualawakening.org/csa-sundays.html
And on the CSA YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJQ751Yfg67eCuNxMQmj4lA

Monday Night Prayers Online--Guru Rinpoche
2022-01-31 18:30 - 20:00
Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava or the Precious Master, is the founder of Tibetan Buddhism. He established the Buddhadharma in Tibet, and then developed the practice so that all the teachings of Buddha were preserved as a living tradition that has continued down to the present day.
Trinley Nyingpo, the “Essence of Enlightened Activity,” is the concise Guru Rinpoche sadhana practice from the Tugdrub Barche Kunsel, a hidden treasure teaching discovered by the King of Treasure Revealers, Chogyur Dechen Lingpa in the mid-19th century.
The central visualization for this practice is a triad of deities of the Three Kayas (“Enlightened Bodies”): the Dharmakaya Buddha Amitayus, the Samboghakaya Buddha Avalokitesvara, and the Nirmanakaya Buddha Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche). It also includes twelve additional manifestations of Guru Rinpoche.
Outwardly, Guru Rinpoche was a fully enlightened being who was invited from India by the Tibetan King Trisong Deutsen in the 8th century to establish the Vajrayana Buddhist teachings in Tibet. He personally blessed every square foot of Tibet and concealed innumerable “treasure teachings” (Terma) for future generations to receive and practice when the time was especially right. Trinley Nyingpo is one such terma.
Inwardly, Guru Rinpoche is the embodiment of all the Wisdom Gurus of the past, present, and future, and the essence of our own enlightened mind.
Prayers will be recited in both Tibetan and English.
Main text: Trinley Nyingpo, the “Essence of Enlightened Activity,” is the concise Guru Rinpoche sadhana practice from the Tugdrub Barche Kunsel
Lineage text: Thugdrup Barched Kunsel Lineage Prayer
Additional texts: Awakening to the Guru’s Pure Vision
Yeshe Tsogyal’s Prayer to Guru Rinpoche as He Left Tibet

Zoom Link to Join:
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Meeting ID: 862 7430 6749
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Image from Flickr, artist Wonderlane, public domain image

Transforming Difficulties into the Path of Joy; Buddhist Wisdom for the New Year
2022-02-04 18:00 - 19:30
The ancient teachings of the Buddha contain countless methods for using both favorable situations and our biggest problems into opportunities for lasting, genuine happiness. With warmth, humor and clarity, Tibetan Buddhist Lama, scholar and yogi Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, will give advice on how to do just that through his characteristic blending of personal story, original composition, and classical verse. Rinpoche will also answer your questions.

This virtual public talk was held on Zoom, free and open to the public. This event also preceded the two-day February virtual retreat, which also took place on Zoom.
Video of the Talk:

https://youtu.be/6i3Vup7Uhqs

Transcription of the Talk

Transforming Difficulties into the Path of Joy: Buddhist Wisdom for the New Year-talk transcription
courtesy of Florence Lee (thank you Florence!)

Texts

Two texts were referenced in the teaching, one written specifically for this evening class, and one offered in previous years.

Transforming Difficulties into the Path of Joy: Buddhist Wisdom for the New Year
Medicine For The Mind: Instructions for My Boston Dharma Brothers On Using Suffering and Obstacles for Mental Development
Dharma Gong to Wake Us from Ignorance

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Heart Advice from Guru to Student: Two-Day Virtual Retreat
2022-02-05 09:00 - 16:00, 2022-02-06 09:00 - 12:30
Heart Advice from Guru to Student
A Two-Day Virtual Retreat with Khenpo Karten Rinpoche
& Guest Teacher Thich Minh Tinh (Thay Kozen)
Saturday and Sunday, February 5-6, 2022
February 5th: 9:00am-10:00am, 10:00am-12:00pm & 2:00pm-4:00pm Pacific Time
February 6th: 9:00-10:30am, 10:30am-11:00am & 11:15am-12:15pm PT
Online via Zoom–Registration via EventBrite Requested
Donation requested at $10.00 per session, $50.00 for entire retreat
No one turned away for lack of funds
Videos from the Retreat

MDC Retreat 2022, Session 1 & 2, Saturday, February 5, 9am to 12pm
MDC Retreat 2022, Session 3, Saturday, February 5, 2-4pm
MDC Retreat 2022, Sessions 4-5 and board meeting, Sunday, February 6, 9am to 12pm

About the Retreat
We are blessed in the Monterey area to have living with us an internationally recognized and revered Buddhist scholar, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche. Khenpo Karten leads the Manjushri Dharma Center in Pacific Grove, and he is a master at relating age-old wisdom from Tibet to our busy and distracted Western ways of life. Rinpoche will be leading a virtual retreat the first weekend of February to impart “Heart Advice from Guru to Student.” Khenpo Karten will be joined by Zen master Lama Thay Kozen for part of the teachings. Together, these veteran practitioners will have rich wisdom to share with both seasoned Buddhists and members of the public who would like to get a taste of what Buddhist practice is all about. We hope to see you on zoom!

Retreat Schedule
Saturday, February 5th, 2022

Session One: 9:00am-10:00am PT: Teaching on Metta practice by Venerable Thich Minh Tinh (Thay Kozen). “I would like to tell the story of the beautiful Metta Sutra and the wonder filled life living the Brahmavihāra. Metta (loving kindness ) opens our hearts to living a kind and caring life; as we learn to let go of anxiety, stress, anger, ignorance and desire,” says Ven. Kozen.
Session Two: 10:00am-12:00pm PT: Venerable Khenpo Karten Rinpoche will give a teaching on Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé ‘s “Advice for Lhawang Tashi”. This general advice from the great Master covers every level of the spiritual path. Drawing upon famous statements by Atiśa and Śāntideva, the text offers ethical guidance and practical instructions for watching the mind, cultivating renunciation, compassion and devotion, and realizing the nature of all phenomena.

Session Three: 2:00pm-4:00pm PT: Continuation & conclusion of teaching on Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé ‘s “Advice for Lhawang Tashi”.

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Session Four: 9:00am-10:30am PT: Preliminary practices to include Amitabha prayers. Following that, Rinpoche will give teachings on the final verse in the Lam Chok Rinchen Trengwa/Precious Garland of the Supreme Path by Venerable Gampopa Sonam Rinchen. Khenpo Karten has been teaching this text since MDC’s January 2021 retreat, and he has chosen to auspiciously close our 2022 retreat with this culmination of Gampopa’s teachings, full of wisdom accessible to all practitioners.
Session Five: 10:30am-11:00am PT: Bodhisattva Vows, Butterlamp Offering, Closing Prayers and Dedication of Merit
Post-Retreat All Sangha Meeting: 11:15am-12:15pm PT: All Sangha Board Meeting and New Board Elections

Registration, Donation, and Zoom Participation

Step one: REGISTER & DONATE via EventBrite. Click the link to register.

This is a fundraiser for the Manjushri Dharma Center, so your generosity in giving $10.00 per session or $50.00 for the retreat is appreciated. If you can give an additional amount to pay for those who cannot donate at this time, that would be greatly appreciated. If you cannot donate at this time, please know there is no shame in that, and you are still welcome to join all sessions. You will indicate any amount comfortable for you to complete registration. All donations are tax deductible. A donation of $1.00 is required to process the registration on Event Brite. You will be able to indicate if your donation includes dana (a monetary gift for the teachers or translator).
Other Ways to Donate: There are three additional ways to donate for the MDC Retreat if you prefer

Online via MDC Giving Page: https://manjushridharmacenter.org/give/

Please select: “I would like this donation to go to a specific fund” and indicate your donation is for the retreat and/or Dana for our teachers or translator.

Via Pay Pal: Going directly through Pay Pal is an alternative way to give and support Khenpo Karten Rinpoche and his Dharma teachings. Please log into PayPal directly at https://www.paypal.com/ and enter your login information. Then select “Send” and enter the following email: carmelkhenpo@gmail.com and this will reach Manjushri Dharma Center. You may put the name “Manjushri Dharma Center” in the name if it requires it. You may put a note in the payment to specify that the donation is for Dana or any specific fund or purpose. We will make sure to honor your intentions.
Via the Mail: Please make checks payable to “Manjushri Dharma Center” and mail to Manjushri Dharma Center, 724 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950. You may put a note in the payment to specify that the donation is for the retreat or Dana etc. We will make sure to honor your intentions.
For any payment questions please contact: tPam Krone, MDC Co-Treasurer: pamkrone@gmail.com

Step two: Join via Zoom link below or by phone:

ZOOM LINK TO JOIN

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86345470369?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 863 4547 0369
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+16699009128,,86345470369#,,,,*[REDACTED]# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,86345470369#,,,,*[REDACTED]# US (Houston)
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 863 4547 0369
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About the Venerable Khenpo Karten Rinpoche

Khenpo Karten Rinpoche is an accomplished teacher and practitioner of the Karma Kagyu Lineage and is also trained in the Nyingma Lineage of Buddhism. He was born in the beautiful mountains of the Himalayas of Tibet. At the age of twelve, he was ordained at Ja-pa monastery, where he began his formal education of reading, writing and ritual practice. At the age of fifteen having completed the basic studies, he furthered his studies in the Sutra and Tantric texts under the accomplished master Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche and Pema Tsewang Rinpoche for eight years. Subsequently Khenpo Karten Rinpoche went to the hermitage of anther accomplished teacher, Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche and completed five years of retreat under the great master. In the retreat he completed the practices of the Naropa’s six yoga, Mahamudra and many others. In recognition of his achievements, Sangye Tenzin Ringpoche bestowed upon him the title, Khenpo Karma Lekshe Tharchin in 1994.
In 1996, he left Tibet and traveled to Dharamsala, India to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Upon His Holiness’ advice, he spent another two years doing retreat. H.H Dalai Lama also recognizing his achievement, bestowed upon him the title Khenpo Rinpoche. After his retreat, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche was requested by H.E Tai Situ Rinpoche to go to the monastery of Venerable Tsoknyi Rinpoche, to teach the young monks there.
Khenpo Karten arrived in the United States in 2008, and taught in the Monterey Bay area for the first time in September of that year. After meeting a group of prospective students and seeing the hills of Big Sur which remind him of Tibet, he returned in 2009 to make the Monterey Bay his permanent home. Since then, Rinpoche has established the Manjushri Dharma Center (MDC) in Pacific Grove, California, which has become his main teaching location and his home residence. With unflinching faith in the precious Buddha Dharma, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, now a U.S. citizen, bestows sacred teachings to thousands of people all over the world, with weekly teachings and events.

About the Venerable Thich Minh Tinh (Thay Kozen)

Thich Minh Tinh (Thay Kozen) is a Buddhist monk in the Zen tradition, and co-founder of the Mount Adams Buddhist Temple at the Trout Lake Abbey retreat center in Trout Lake, Washington. For several years, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche and his sangha in Portland, Oregon have made their annual retreat at the Trout Lake Abbey, where Thay Kozen and Khenpo Karten became good friends. Thay Kozen has been transmitted in the Vietnamese Rinzai Zen line of Thich Thien An and Thich An Giao. In addition he has studied in Japan with Nanrei Kabori Roshi, then in the US with Soyu Mastsuoka Roshi, then in Japan with Doki Suda Roshi. Matsuoka Roshi later transmitted Kozen after a period of time as the Long Beach Zen Center’s administrative assistant. It is under Matsuoka Roshi’s and Thich An Giao’s request that Kozen teaches and maintains a temple and teaches. Saito Roshi from Japan, has been a mentor and dear friend and teacher. Saito Roshi and Kozen were both student priests over 40 years ago in Southern Japan.

About the Venerable Gampopa Sonam Rinchen

The Venerable Gampopa (སྒམ་པོ་པ་བསོད་ནམས་རིན་ཆེན།) is known as the father of the Kagyu Lineage in Tibet. Gampopa lived from 1070 to 1153 of the common era. He was born in Central Tibet, trained in Buddha-dharma and medicine, and was known as a great doctor and healer. At age 26, there was a terrible epidemic in Tibet. He buried both of his children, a daughter and a son, and then his wife became ill. He promised his wife on her deathbed that he would become a monk and devote his life to Buddhism. He knew great sorrow, losing his wife and family, but determined to become a monk and fulfill his promise. He eventually met the great yogi Milarepa and became his foremost student. He founded the system of Mahamudra which combines the tantric teachings of the great siddhas of India with the graduated path teachings of Atisha.
Gampopa wrote a number of commentaries on Buddha’s teachings, including The Jewel Ornament of Liberation and The Instructions of Gampopa: A Precious Garland of the Supreme Path. In A Precious Garland he gives precise instructions on what is needed to develop one’s understanding, meditation and conduct on the spiritual path for practitioners of beginning, moderate, and advanced levels. Gampopa succinctly outlines in twenty-eight categories what we need to know in order to perfect our spiritual practice–bullet points for right actions and intentions. The text includes many inspiring and poetic descriptions of the ultimate nature of mind and reality.

About the Venerable Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye

Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (འཇམ་མགོན་ཀོང་སྤྲུལ་བློ་གྲོས་མཐའ་ཡས་) was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar, poet, artist, physician, tertön and polymath. He was one of the most prominent Tibetan Buddhists of the 19th century and he is credited as one of the founders of the nonsectarian Rimé movement. He achieved great renown as a scholar and writer, especially among the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages and composed over 90 volumes of Buddhist writing, including his magnum opus, The Treasury of Knowledge.
Jamgön Kongtrül was affected by the political and inter-religious conflict going on in Tibet during his life and worked together with other influential figures, mainly Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892) and also with the Nyingma treasure revealer Chogyur Lingpa (1829–1870) and Ju Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912). Kongtrül and his colleages worked together to compile, exchange and revive the teachings of the Sakya, Kagyu and Nyingma, including many near-extinct teachings. This movement came to be named Rimé (Ris med), “nonsectarian,” or “impartial,” because it held that there was value in all Buddhist traditions, and all were worthy of study and preservation.

“Here is an introduction to the lineage gurus for the teaching by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye’s “Advice for Lhawang Tashi” during our retreat. The first photo is Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye and the second photo is 15th Karmapa Khakyab Dorje wearing his “Liberation on Seeing” black crown. Next in the third black and white photograph shows the son of Khakyab Dorje , Palden Khyentse Osel who is the second Jamgon Kongtrul . In the 4th photo is my root guru Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche . So this teaching was passed on from the 1st Jamgon Kongtrul to his disciple , the 15th Karmapa Khakyab Dorje then to his son the second Jamgon Kongtrul and then to my root guru Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche. And my root guru passed on this teaching to me.”
Written by Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, shared with permission 2/14/22

Texts and Resources:

Preliminary Prayers in English (recited in Tibetan by Rinpoche, sorry to not have the Tibetan text available)
Mandala Offering and Request for Teaching (recited by the students for the teachers at the beginning of the retreat)
Metta Sutra (received from Thay Kozen)
Metta Sutra meditation (received from Thay Kozen)
Heart Sutra Chant in English (received from Thay Kozen)
Advice to Lhawang Tashi
The Instructions of Gampopa: A Precious Garland of the Supreme Path, Shambala Publications, 1996; or on Amazon (we cannot offer a free version here, but plan to link to the text in the chat during our Zoom retreat)
Bodhisattva Vows Prayer
Butter Lamp Prayer
Prayer for World Peace
37 Point Mandala Offering
Prayer for the Long Life of Khenpo Karten Rinpoche (English) and Prayer for the Long Life of Khenpo Karten Rinpoche (Tibetan)
Closing Prayers (recited by Rinpoche) in English and Tibetan
Additional resources and texts referenced during the retreat:

Khenpo Karten Rinpoche previously taught on the Jewel Ornament of Liberation, and he composed a succinct and poetic commentary called the “Excellent Path Of Freedom, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation in Brief.”
Khenpo Karten wrote “Showing the Path to Liberation: An Exhortation To Seek Isolated Places,” which is a good text to read prior to retreat, along with his blog post, “A Reminder Prior to Retreat.“
A Door of Entrance to the Heart Advice Called A Ship Sailing to Liberation. A Commentary to the Heartfelt Advice of Dharma Nectar, Tibetan text
A Door of Entrance to the Heart Advice Called A Ship Sailing to Liberation. A Commentary to the Heartfelt Advice of Dharma Nectar, English text
Dharma Gong to Wake Us from Ignorance
Excellent Path Of Freedom: The Jewel Ornament of Liberation in Brief (verses 26-28, 67-71)
Amitabha Sadhana:

Butter Lamp and Khata Offering:

At the conclusion of the retreat, Khenpo Karten will lead us in a traditional “Butter lamp offering prayer.” The offering of butter lamps symbolizes filling the world with the light of wisdom and dispelling the darkness of ignorance, which is the root of all suffering. For this prayer, please have a candle ready to light and hold during the prayer. If you have one, please also have a khata (traditional Tibetan white silk scarf) ready, so that we may make a virtual khata offering to Rinpoche and the guest lamas at the conclusion of the retreat.
Advice for the Virtual Retreat & Zoom Shrine:

This weekend, let us collectively rejoice in the decision to engage in even a few days of online retreat. We are extremely fortunate to be able to hear the liberating wisdom of the Buddha dharma. To even have the inclination to focus our efforts on study and meditation on this long weekend, when many others are just watching extra Netflix shows, is a rare phenomenon. At the beginning of the COVID shutdowns nearly a year ago, many of us marveled at the quiet, and took advantage of both the heightened awareness of suffering and the time at home to step up our meditation practice. Now, we have an opportunity to reflect on where our mind and actions are, a year into the pandemic lifestyle. Have we continued to keep up the level of spiritual practice we might have been inspired to engage in when this situation began, or have we, like so many others, settled into the “new normal” and slowly reverted to a level of distraction and busy-ness similar to what we experienced before. Let us reinvigorate our determination to take advantage of our precious human life, and remember the suffering of motherly sentient beings in samsara. Even though most of us are in our own homes, and we might have family around us and other other responsibilities in the evenings, let us make a concerted effort, for these two-and-a-half days, to disengage from the distractions of ordinary activities and focus whole-heartedly on the Dharma to the greatest extent possible. If you are able sleep in a different room than usual (or even a tent) and maintain “noble silence” during the whole weekend, that is excellent! Perhaps you are only able to shut off your cell phone between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM. That is excellent! Whatever the case, consider the level of retreat you can realistically commit to, and maintain that discipline. This will be of great benefit to you, as it will increase the merit of your hearing, contemplation and practice of the teachings during this special weekend.

Khenpo Karten Rinpoche has expressed his preference that we leave our cameras on (as willing and able) during virtual practice and teachings. It brings him joy to see all of us sangha together as if we are in one place. During this upcoming retreat, Rinpoche has a special request for us to prepare a shrine in our practice space and make it visible on camera (it is okay to position the shrine behind us), as a way to inspire each other’s practice with many pleasing offering and images of holy dharma on screen. This is of course optional, but you are warmly encouraged to do so. Traditional Tibetan Buddhist shrines typically have supports for Enlightened Body (statues or pictures of deities and teachers), Enlightened Speech (scriptures and mantras), and Enlightened Mind (represented by a crystal, mirror, or stupa), and sense offerings such as flowers, candles, incense, or a row of seven bowls of water symbolizing seven types of offerings. However, your shrine may also be as delicately simple as a flower, a candle, and a photograph of the Buddha or other holy being.

How to Specify a Donation of Dana at the MDC January Retreat 2022 (if not using EventBrite to do so)

Dana is a monetary offering to an individual–it is a sign of respect and thanks for the teachings and services provided during the retreat. You may make a dana offering by following the steps below:
Step 1: Fill out our Dana Donation Form to specify your wishes
Step 2: Make Payment by credit/debit card or by check (can be part of one payment for retreat/dana at time of registration)
We will distribute your donations to each teacher in the amount you specified.
For questions, contact: Pam Krone, MDC Co-Treasurer: pamkrone@gmail.com

For questions & more information
Please contact David Winkler, Manjushri Dharma Center Board Vice President, +1 607 227 0558 or wink01@gmail.com. You may also subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates on events and written teachings delivered to your email in-box each Monday.

No Monday Night Chanted Prayers
2022-02-07 18:30 - 20:00
Following the retreat, Rinpoche will take a short repose; there will no chanted prayers this Monday; prayers will resume the following Monday.

No Saturday Morning Teaching: Conclusion of the Teaching series on the Precious Garland of the Supreme Path
2022-02-12 09:00 - 11:30
Sunday, 2/6, marked the conclusion of the Teaching series on Gampopa Sonam Rinchen’s A Precious Garland of the Supreme Path. Khenpo Karten Rinpoche had been teaching on this text since MDC’s January 2021 retreat, and he chose to auspiciously close the 2022 two-day virtual retreat with this culmination of Gampopa’s teachings.
