Happy New Year of the Dragon!

We wish you the best for the new year and look forward to seeing you at our weekly Zoom Sangha. Beginning this year, we will start with a 15-minute quiet meditation at 6:15 PST. Our regular teaching will commence at 6:30 PST and end at 7:30 PST. We are also excited to announce that we will add a once-a-month Ngöndro teaching with  Q&A. Several in-person events are in the works in 2024, so stay tuned for details! During the Zoom sessions with our Lamas, we ask that you please keep your questions short and relevant to the topic. We also ask that you type your questions in the chat window, which helps our teachers get through all the questions promptly. Looking forward to a transformative year together, Your Santa Monica KTC Dharma family

• January 4 | Lama Karma – Ngondro
• January 11 | Lama Kathy – Joy of Living Book Study
• January 18 | Lama Adam – Resilience and Resourcing on the Buddhist Path
• January 25 | Chenrezig Practice

January 4 Lama Karma Drodhul – Ngondro

Lama Karma will teach on Ngondro, often called the “preliminary practices” in Tibetan Buddhism. Ngondro lays the foundation for a practitioner’s spiritual journey. These foundational practices are designed to purify the mind, accumulate merit, and establish a strong framework for advanced Vajrayana practices. Typically consisting of prostrations, Vajrasattva purification, mandala offerings, guru yoga, and mantra recitations, Ngondro is a profound and systematic way to prepare the practitioner for higher levels of meditation and realization. Through diligence in these practices, individuals aim to transform their ordinary perception and purify obstacles on the path to enlightenment. Ngondro serves as a transformative and purifying process, fostering a deep connection to one’s spiritual path and the wisdom of the tradition. Lama Karma will answer any questions, whether you are already practicing or just thinking about starting.

January 11 Joyful Wisdom Book study with Lama Kathy

Lama Kathy will teach Rinpoche’s illuminating perspective which addresses the timeless problem of anxiety in our everyday lives. “From the 2,500-year-old perspective of Buddhism,” Rinpoche writes, “every chapter in human history could be described as an ‘age of anxiety.’ The anxiety we feel now has been part of the human condition for centuries.” So what do we do? Escape or succumb? Both routes inevitably lead to more complications and problems in our lives. “Buddhism,” he says, “offers a third option. We can look directly at the disturbing emotions and other problems we experience as stepping stones to freedom. Instead of rejecting or surrendering to them, we can befriend them, working through them to reach an enduring authentic experience of our inherent Wisdom, confidence, clarity, and joy.”

January 18 Resilience and Resourcing on the Buddhist Path with Lama Adam

Cultivating the ability to skillfully lean into discomfort is an undeniably vital factor in our progress on the Buddhist path. But bare ambition for awakening may mask counterproductive tendencies when we neglect to develop the balancing factor of a keen awareness of our resources and vulnerabilities. In this series, Lama Adam will share practical means to increase resilience on the path through discernment and compassion in our formal and post-meditation practice.

January 25 Chenrezig Practice

Chenrezig’s practice is a profound meditation that cultivates compassion and loving-kindness. This practice is open to all, it will be in English and Tibetan, and we encourage everyone to participate and experience its transformative effects. Chenrezig, also known as Avalokiteshvara, embodies compassion in Tibetan Buddhism. Through this practice, we tap into the limitless wellspring of compassion within ourselves and extend it to all sentient beings. It is a beautiful opportunity to nurture our hearts, deepen our connection with others, and bring positive change into the world. No matter your experience or familiarity with the practice, we welcome you to join us. As a compassionate community, we will create a collective space of love, kindness, and healing energy. Let us unite in our dedication to cultivating compassion and making a positive difference in the world.

ZOOM credentials for our regular sessions will remain the same, starting at 6:15 PM PST:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87204694084

Phone
+1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 815 7439 2660

Please be mindful, mute yourself, and keep questions to a maximum of two, concise and to the point. We can arrange an interview with the teacher if you have more in-depth questions.

Inspirational Quote:

Let’s consider an example of how linking to “me” and “mine” creates suffering. If we were to go into a store and then a watch that was for sale fell on the floor and broke, we would not think much of it. But if we were to drop our own watch and it broke, we would feel upset. If the mechanism broke and it stopped, we would be unhappy. If we look to see where this feeling comes from, we will see that it comes from saying this is “mine.” If we look for this “mine,” we will not find it inside the watch, or outside or between the outside and inside. In fact there is not much difference between the watch in the store and our own watch, but because we cling to one as “mine,” we experience the feelings of suffering. If there were no thought of “mine,” there would be no suffering. If we examine our clinging to objects and see that there really is no “mine,” we would also discover that there is no suffering.

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

Teaching Link:
Heal the World with Compassionate Leadership with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche