Completed – RIG SUM GONPO EMPOWERMENT w/ H.E. Thartse Khen Rinpoche
June 12, 2023 by bhockman
Filed under Completed Special Events, Empowerments
H.E. Ngor Thartse Khen Rinpoche has kindly agreed to give the following empowerment.
THE THREE BODHISATTVAS རིགས་གསུམ་མགོན་པོ། (Rig Sum Gonpo) in a combined empowerment.
Empowerment of Avalokiteshvara སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་
Empowerment of Manjushri འཇམ་དཔལ་དབྱངས་
Empowerment of Vajrapani ཕྱག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ་.
DATE: June 18, 2023
TIME: 10:00 AM California Pacific Time
DO NOT leave before the lama is completely finished, and dedication and long-life prayers have been recited. If you leave early, you cannot re-enter and you will not have received the entire empowerment.
REGISTER BELOW, scroll down this page.
PLEASE DONATE TO SUPPORT EWAM CHODEN in bringing H.E. Thartse Khen Rinpoche to you.
The DONATE button is on the right side of the website page.
H.E. Ngor Thartse Khen Rinpoche is the 77th abbot of Ngor, a main branch of the Sakyapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The visit fulfills Lama Kunga Rinpoche’s wish to establish a lasting connectionwith the Ewam Choden Tibetan Buddhist Center, which derives from the Ngor Thartse tradition.
Born in 1968 into a royal family in Mustang, Nepal, Rinpoche was ordained as a monk at the age of eight by His Eminence Chogye Trichen Rinpoche. At the age of thirteen, he was recognized as Ngor Thartse Shabdrung Rinpoche by His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin.
Rinpoche then completed extensive studies of ritual and rites of the Ngor tradition, with close instruction from His Eminence Luding Khenchen Rinpoche, who ordained him as a bhiksu at the age of 19. After completing his formal monastic education and training, Rinpoche attended Sakya Institute to study Higher Buddhist Philosophical studies and Art. He later joined Sakya College to further study Tantra.
Thartse Khen Rinpoche travels extensively in Asia where he founded and supervises numerous monasteries and Sakya centers.
Happily Completed–BIRTHDAY PARTY PICNIC FOR VEN. LAMA KUNGA RINPOCHE on SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2022 in the Arlington Park, El Cerrito, CA
August 17, 2022 by bhockman
Filed under Completed Special Events
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A BIRTHDAY PARTY PICNIC for VEN. LAMA KUNGA RINPOCHE IS GOING TO BE HELD in person this Sunday after the Compassion Meditation that is on Zoom.
We will honor and celebrate Ven. Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche with a picnic and prayers and wishes for his continued long healthy life of dharma activities for the benefit of all beings.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME! BRING FOOD TO SHARE.
Reminder: Lama Kunga Rinpoche doesn’t eat anything with sugar or any sugar-type sweetener.
WHEN: Sunday, August 21, 2022
TIME: from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
WHERE: Arlington Park, 1120 Arlington Blvd., El Cerrito, CA
HOW: Drive northward on Arlington Blvd. (past where you turn for Ewam Choden). The park is on the right with plenty of street parking.
See a map Here. At the park, we’ll be at Site 1, past the tennis courts.
LAMA KUNGA RINPOCHE LOOKS FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE.
NOTE: If you aren’t feeling well or test positive for Covid (or any other currently circulating illness), please stay home and recover.
Completed—PUBLIC DHARMA TALK by H.E. THARTSE KEHN RINPOCHE – TODAY, SUNDAY 6PM
July 31, 2022 by admin
Filed under Completed Special Events
DHARMA TEACHING ON ZOOM:
His Eminence will speak on:
“THE PURPOSE OF BUDDHA’s TURNING THE WHEEL OF DHARMA IN THIS UNIVERSE, AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT BY PRACTICING HIS TEACHING.”
ZOOM LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87622434839?pwd=Z0kvV3lmNVVXK0JUcFFpQ1NYbS94dz09
CLICK HERE more info on His Eminence Thartse Then Rinpoche
Successfully completed–HEVAJRA Empowerment with Thartse Khen Rinpoche July 19-20, 2022
July 16, 2022 by admin
Filed under Completed Empowerments, Completed Special Events, Empowerments
HEVAJRA (ཀྱེའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་) is the main deity of the Sakya tradition and its practice is the focus of the Lamdre teachings. This empowerment may be taken either as a practice or as a blessing.
This Empowerment will be In-person and will not be Livestreamed.
Preparation Day / Tuesday, July 19 2pm – 4pm
Main Initiation / Wednesday, July 20 2pm – 6pm
Note: All times refer to California, USA, Pacific Daylight Time
Please arrive no later than 30 minutes before each session
No one can be admitted after the start of the Preparation Day or the Empowerment day.
IMPORTANT: YOU MUST ATTEND BOTH DAYS OF THIS EMPOWERMENT
LOCATION:
Gyuto Foundation
15 minutes north of Ewam Choden
6401 Bernhard Ave, Richmond, CA.
COVID ACCOMMODATIONS:
Large shrine room with adequate spacing and ventilation.
Nonetheless, Masks are required.
TOTAL ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED TO 100 PERSONS
25 PLACES are allocated to people who have not received this empowerment from a Sakya lama.
The remaining 75 PLACES are available to people who have already received this empowerment from a Sakya lama.
THIS WILL NOT BE LIVESTREAMED and WILL BE IN-PERSON ONLY
EVERYONE MUST PRE-REGISTER USING THE FORM BELOW.
On the form, please indicate if you’ve already received Hevajra from a Sakya lama, or if this empowerment is new to you.
$108 PER PERSON
Payment will be processed by PayPal Account or by Credit Card via PayPal (PayPal account not needed). Please continue to Pay after completing the Registration Form. If necessary, please arrange directly with Ewam Choden for other means of payment.
COMPLETED-SAKYA NORTH AMERICAN MONLAM JULY 15-17, 2022
June 30, 2022 by bhockman
Filed under Completed Special Events
NOTICE of the Fifth Annual Sakya North American Monlam for World Peace with H.H. Sakya Trichen (41) and H.H. Sakya Trizin (42) .
The term Monlam means the path of aspiration and is a form of prayer. During a Monlam, the participants recite prayers with the aspiration to liberate all sentient beings from suffering and for all to achieve enlightenment.
PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES FOR INFORMATION.
https://www.facebook.com/NorthAmericanSakyaMonlam/
SAKA DAWA—SACRED and CELEBRATORY MONTH from May 31 thru June 29,2022 – Special Day is June 14, full moon day
May 31, 2022 by bhockman
Filed under Completed Special Events
During this period, we commemorate the Birth, the Enlightenment, and the Parinirvana (passing on) of the Buddha.
OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI SHAKYAMUNI SVAHA
The most holy day is the day of the full moon (the 15th Tibetan day), which is on Tuesday, June 14.
During this entire period, the merit of all good that you think or do is multiplied many times, from 100 to 100,000 times to as many as one hundred million times. On the other hand, your negative deeds and thoughts are also multiplied.
Therefore, this is a perfect time to be focused on and dedicated to spiritually and ethically positive thinking and behavior.
WHAT TO DO
Here are some suggestions of what we might do during Saka Dawa.
*Respectfully clean your shrine and make offerings to the Three Jewels and your shrine space.
*Practice generosity to all beings. This includes the generosity of forgiving the people and situations that upset and enrage you. Forgive yourself, too, in order to awaken your own Buddha-nature.
*Practice meditation, especially with compassion and without grasping. Do any of your Buddhist practices with focus and sincerity.
*Recite long-life prayers for your gurus.
*Light incense and candles, place water bowls, and dedicate them to the Three Jewels.
*Read biographies of the Mahasiddhas and of great Lamas.
*Save and assist animals and insects.
*Be kind and patient with all people.
*Eat vegetarian or vegan. <–This is recommended by Lama Kunga RInpoche, especially on June 14th.
*You can also make mental offerings of all kinds.
*Some people take the Eight Mahayana Precepts for a day or more, especially on the full moon day, June 14th.
*Do purification practices, such as, Vajrasattva or Prostrations to the 35 Confession Buddhas.
*Spend a couple of days eating like an ordained person, which means, don’t eat after 1:00 pm.
*Recite food offering prayers before you take food, and visualize the offering to the Three Jewels.
*With a view of emptiness, dedicate the merit of everything you do to all sentient beings.
For a copy of the Food Prayer used at Ewam Choden click HERE.
BIRTHDAY WISHES and LONG LIFE PRAYERS For HIS HOLINESS the 41st SAKYA TRICHEN
September 6, 2021 by bhockman
Filed under Completed Special Events
Ven. Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche with the Sangha and friends of Ewam Choden Tibetan Buddhist Center send prayers and wishes for the long life and good health of His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin.
May you continue to benefit countless beings in many ways.
Here is a link to His Holiness’ long life prayer.
Activity Completed–Have a rich, resourceful, and righteous New Year! LOSAR MEDITATION, TEACHING, and ACTIVITIES on ZOOM with Ven. Lama Kunga Rinpoche on Sunday, February 14, 2021
February 4, 2021 by bhockman
Filed under Completed Special Events
༄༅།།ལོ་གསར་ལ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས་ཞུ།
It’s time to welcome a new year according to the Tibetan lunar calendar. This is the year of the METAL OX, 2148.
It is said that the OX represents stability, loyalty, and trustworthiness. In some Buddhist paintings, an ox and its herder show the path to realize our Buddha nature.
After a unique year of challenging difficulty for people throughout the world, we can look for an improvement.
Although the Ewam Choden Center has to remain closed. we are all very fortunate for Lama Kunga Rinpoche’s presence at Ewam Choden and we are grateful for his kind and inspiring Sunday morning compassion meditation sessions.
We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to maintain your membership in the Center and to please be generous with your donations. The Center is in need particularly because of the lack of large events with visiting teachers during the past year. TO DONATE: Select the DONATE button on the front page of this website.
TO LOGIN TO THE LOSAR ZOOM MEDITATION ON SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 14, 2021 AT 10:00 am Pacific Time (US),
Please go to the page for ZOOM MEDITATION on the front page of this website.
completed–SAKA DAWA—SACRED and CELEBRATORY MONTH from May 23, 2020 – Special Day is June 5, full moon day
April 1, 2020 by bhockman
Filed under Completed Special Events
Click on photos to enlarge them.
The Life of the Buddha
SAKA DAWA In Tibetan, Dawa is moon and Saka is a star that appears with the full moon at this time. DURING SAKA DAWA, we commemorate the Birth, the Enlightenment, and the Parinirvana (death) of the Buddha. This is the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, starting on May 23 in the year 2020. The most holy day is the day of the full moon (15th Tibetan day), which is June 5th. During the entire period, the merit of all good that you do or think is multiplied many times, from 100 to 100,000 times to as many as one hundred million times. On the other hand, your negative deeds and thought are also multiplied. Therefore, this is a perfect time to be focused and dedicated to spiritually positive behavior.
WHAT IN PARTICULAR CAN WE DO? Respectfully clean your shrine and make offerings to the Three Jewels and your shrine space. Practice generosity to all beings. This includes the generosity of forgiving the people and situations that upset and enrage you. Forgive yourself, too, in order to awaken your own Buddha-nature. Practice meditation, especially with compassion and without grasping. Do any of your Buddhist practices with focus and sincerity. Light incense and candles, place water bowls, and dedicate them. Read biographies of the Mahasiddhas and of great Lamas. Save and assist animals and insects. Be kind and patient with all people. You can also make mental offerings of all kinds. Some people take the Eight Mahayana Precepts for a day or more, especially on the full moon day, June 9th. Eat vegetarian or vegan. Spend a couple of days eating like an ordained person–nothing to eat after 1 pm. Recite food offering prayers before you take food, and visualize the offering to the Three Jewels.
Here are the traditional Sakya food offering prayers used by Lama Kunga Rinpoche at Ewam Choden.
CLICK ON THE WORDS AFTER THE ARROW TO OPEN A DOWNLOADABLE PDF FILE —–> FOOD OFFERING PRAYERS
HERE are photos taken during Ven. Lama Kunga Rinpoche’s last trip to India.
Bodhgaya and Sarnath
(Thangka photo courtesy of http://www.himalayanart.org/items/30696)
CANCELLATION OF ALL EVENTS AT EWAM CHODEN until further notice – posted on 3/13/20
March 13, 2020 by bhockman
Filed under Completed Special Events
Ven. Lama Kunga RInpoche wants you to know that he is sorry we have to do this.
He wants everyone to be as safe and healthy as possible.
On the other hand, we want our precious Lama to be as safe and healthy as possible.
Therefore, Sunday compassion meditation, empowerments, classes, and all other activities at Ewam Choden will not be conducted for the time being.
We’ll send an announcement of any change.
Meanwhile, you may do the (Sunday) Chenrezig meditation at home, saying prayers and mantras for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Send an email if you have any comment or question. info@ewamchoden.org
