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| January News |
| Dear Dharma Friends, Happy New Year 2025, the Year of the Wood Snake! As we embark on this new year filled with hope and renewal, we are excited to continue our journey together at KTC SoCal. In January, we will continue with our teachings: • Lama Adam Berner will guide us through “On the Wings of Wisdom and Compassion.” • Lama Kathy Wesley will lead our engaging book study on Mingyur Rinpoche’s “Joyful Wisdom.” • Join us for our regular Chenrezig practice and Dharma Discussion (online). • Don’t miss our Mindfulness Meditation classes on the first and third Saturday of the month. JOIN KTC SOCAL TODAY BEGIN 2025 WITH A GIFT TO YOURSELF & THE SANGHA! As the New Year begins, now is the perfect time to commit to your own practice and to your friends in the dharma by joining KTC SoCal as a member. New Year’s are known for the fresh starts they provide in life. With KTC SoCal in the middle of a successful Membership Drive, we invite you to make the commitment you’ve been waiting for by joining KTC SoCal now. A wonderful way to begin the New Year! Membership in our growing sangha provides practitioners with a steadfast refuge unlike any other in life. Members often mention the noticeable change for the better in their lives when they make a commitment to join a formal sangha. KTC Southern California provides that critical link connecting members with each other, the dharma, the profound lamas of the Kagyu lineage, and their own practice. With a consistent schedule of Lama teachings via Zoom, In-person Mindfulness Meditations, Dharma Discussions, Chenrezig Practice, Monthly Newsletter, and more, including membership in the KTD monastery, KTC SoCal is a strong sangha worthy of your support. Please help make our Membership Drive, which continues into mid-January, even more successful by joining KTC SoCal now. To do so, click the link in this email or visit ktcsocal.org and click on Donate – Become a KTC SoCal Member. Thanks for your support. Happy New Year! Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our shared path of awakening. Here’s to a year filled with peace, wisdom, and compassion. Yours in Dharma, KTC SoCal |
January 4| Mindfulness Mediation January 9 | Lama Adam – On the Wings of Wisdom and Compassion January 16 | Lama Kathy – Joyful Wisdom Book Study January 18 | Mindfulness MediationJanuary 23| Chenrezig practice January 30| Dharma Discussion |
| Membership Drive |
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| Our KTC SoCal Membership Drive is ongoing, and we invite you to become an official member of KTC SoCal and KTD Monastery! Our drive has been off to a strong start, and there’s still time to join before it concludes in January. To become a member, please visit ktcsocal.org and click “Donate – Become a Member.” We send our quarterly membership dues to KTD Monastery at the end of each quarter. To be included as a member of KTD in 2025, please join by the end of January. Your membership helps strengthen our community and brings immeasurable benefits to both you and others. Don’t miss out—join today! |
| Join Dr. Charles Dawes, senior meditation practitioner and KTC SoCal Board member, on the first and third Saturdays in Desert Hot Springs for instruction on practicing mindfulness meditation. Classes are held at 11 am, Hidden Springs Country Club, Community Center Clubhouse, 15500 Yerxa Rd, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240. Classes are free, open to all, reservations not required. |
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| Join Dr. Charles Dawes, senior meditation practitioner, and KTC SoCal Board member, on the first and third Saturdays in Desert Hot Springs for instruction on practicing mindfulness meditation. Classes are held at 11 am at Hidden Springs Country Club, Community Center Clubhouse, 15500 Yerxa Rd, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240. Classes are free, open to all, reservations not required. |
| January 9 Lama Adam – On the Wings of Wisdom and Compassion |
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| Most of us begin meditation by learning to let go. Through practices such as calm-abiding meditation, we notice thoughts and concepts and then repeatedly train to let them go. This is a partial path to the rich experience of awakening, though, as our daily lives continually demonstrate that, in fact, there are plenty of things we do need to pick up. Discerning what is to be adopted and how to do so is, in many ways, the territory of Lojong, or “mind training”, which is best known for its hallmark practice of taking and sending (tong-len) and its list of 59 pithy slogans. This series of interactive discussions will explore the Lojong teachings found in Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche’s Great Path of Awakening, as expanded on by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in his book Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness. With guided practice and lively discussion, we’ll extend our understanding of the relationship between compassion and non-conceptuality, and why they are considered to be like the two wings of a bird; both necessary for us to take flight. |
| January 16 Lama Kathy Wesley – Joyful Wisdom Book Study |
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| Lama Kathy Wesley will teach Joyful Wisdom, which addresses the timeless anxiety problem 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 23 Chenrezig Practice |
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| Chenrezig‘s practice is a profound meditation that cultivates compassion and lovingkindness. It is open to all and will be in English and Tibetan. 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 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. Regardless of your experience or familiarity with the practice, we welcome you to join us. |
| January 30 Dharma Discussion |
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| We will watch several short teaching videos, and after each one, we invite you to share your thoughts and reflections. This is an excellent opportunity to ask questions about the Dharma and deepen our understanding of the teachings. We look forward to hearing your insights and practicing together! |
| ZOOM starts at 6:15 PM PST with a 15-minute silent meditation; regular teaching begins at 6:30. Please be mindful when entering at that time. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81574392660 Phone +1 669 900 6833 Meeting ID: 815 7439 2660 Ask questions via chat and keep them concise and to the point. If you have more in-depth questions, we can arrange an interview with the teacher. |
| Inspirational Quote: Just as the ocean has waves, and the sun has rays, so the mind’s own radiance is its thoughts and emotions. The ocean has waves, yet the ocean is not particularly disturbed by them. The waves are the very nature of the ocean. Waves will rise, but where do they go? Back into the ocean. And where do the waves come from? The ocean. In the same manner, thoughts and emotions are the radiance and expression of the very nature of the mind. They rise from the mind, but where do they dissolve? Back into the mind. Whatever rises, do not see it as a particular problem. If you do not impulsively react, if you are only patient, it will once again settle into its essential nature. When you have this understanding, then rising thoughts only enhance your practice. But when you do not understand what they intrinsically are—the radiance of the nature of your mind—then your thoughts become the seed of confusion. So have a spacious, open, and compassionate attitude toward your thoughts and emotions, because in fact your thoughts are your family, the family of your mind. Before them, as Dudjom Rinpoche used to say: “Be like an old wise man, watching a child play.”Rigpa Glimpse of the Day Teaching Link: Work-Life Balance with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche |