Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Teachings on Modern Buddhism in Manila
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Manjushri Puja
There will be a Manjushri Puja on September 29, Saturday, at 4:30pm - 5:30pm at PCCI Library.
"Anger Solves Nothing"
Public Talk on Modern Buddhism
Public Talk on Modern Buddhism - Ancient Wisdom in a Modern World
6 December 2012, Hong Kong
The teachings of Buddha reveal how to find pure happiness through developing deep peace within our own mind. In the text ‘Modern Buddhism’ Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso has presented these teachings in a way that makes it easy for modern people to gain experience of the profound path to inner peace.
Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong, General Spiritual Director of the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union, will share her practical experience from the Modern Buddhism teachings and guide us on how to follow these instructions and apply them into our lives.
The Public Talk registration is now open. To facilitate us to process the registrations, please register online. For registration and details, please visit KMC Hong Kong's website:
http://www.meditation.hk/en/courses/Modern-Buddhism-Ancient-Wisdom-in-a-Modern-World/
Asian Festival - A World of Loving Kindness
Blessing Empowerment of Buddha Maitreya
7 - 11 December 2012, Hong Kong
The Asian Festival is a precious opportunity for friends from all over Asia to receive spiritual advice and enjoy a spiritual holiday. Everyone is welcome. This year, we have the good fortune to receive the Blessing Empowerment of Buddha Maitreya and the Teachings on Loving Kindness from Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong.
Buddha Maitreya is the Buddha of Loving Kindness and the source of Kadam Lamrim. From these precious teachings, we can learn the three aspects of love and begin to practice them in our busy daily lives. Through our own experience we will understand how keeping a loving heart makes us happy and is the best protection from problems and pain. Eventually, through receiving Buddha Maitreya’s blessings continually, we will come to know the most powerful love, that wishes everyone to be happy all the time and works tirelessly towards that goal.
The Asian Festival registration will start at 9:00pm on Sunday 16 September 2012 (Hong Kong time). To facilitate us to process the registrations, please register online. For registration and details, please visit Asian Festival's website:
http://www.kadampafestivalasia.org/en/
Monday, June 11, 2012
June Teaching: Joyful and Meaningful Life
A Warm and Friendly Heart—Affectionate Love
"In general, whenever we see our child, husband, wife or parents a heart-warming feeling of affection naturally arises within us and we hold them dear. But such affection does not arise when we see other sentient beings, especially those who disturb us. If we are to develop true bodhichitta this warm feeling must be extended to embrace everyone. if as a result of long and continual meditation our mind becomes accustomed to looking upon each being with affection and warmth, we have realized this fourth stage in the development of the mind of enlightenment."
Pure Concentration—Abiding in a Tranquil State Free from Distractions
"Bodhichitta and the wisdom directly realizing emptiness are like the two wings of a bird that can carry us to our destination, the ground of enlightenment. To realize emptiness directly, we need to attain tranquil abiding. Without tranquil abiding, our mind is unstable, like a candle flame exposed to the wind, and so we are not able to realize clearly and directly realization of emptiness. It is not just the direct realization of emptiness that depends upon tranquil abiding; we also need tranquil abiding to attain spontaneous realizations of renunciation and bodhichitta..."
The Supreme Good Heart—The Wish to Benefit Others
"Bodhichitta is the supreme good heart. This profoundly compassionate mind is the very essence of spiritual training. Developing the good heart of bodhichitta enables us to perfect our virtues, solve all our problems, fulfill all our wishes, and develop the power to help others in the most appropriate and beneficial ways. Bodhichitta is the best friend we can have and the greatest quality we can develop."
Increasing Concentration and Wisdom—Seeing the Real Nature of Things
Emptiness is not nothingness but is the real nature of phenomena; it is the way things really are. Emptiness is the way things exist as opposed to the way they appear. We naturally believe that the things we see around us, such as tables, chairs, and houses, are truly existent because we believe that they exist in exactly the way that they appear. However, the way things appear to our senses is deceptive and completely contradictory to the way in which they actually exist. Things appear to exist from their own side, without depending upon our mind.
Although things appear directly to our senses to be truly, or inherently, existent, in reality all phenomena lack true, or inherent, existence...If we dream of an elephant, the elephant appears vividly in all its detail—we can see it, hear it, smell it, and touch it—but when we wake up we realize that it was just an appearance to mind. We do not wonder, 'Where is the elephant now?', because we understand that it was simply a projection of our mind and had no existence outside our mind. When the dream awareness that apprehended the elephant ceased, the elephant did not go anywhere—it simply disappeared, for it was just an appearance to the mind and did not exist separately form the mind. Buddha said that same is true for all phenomena; they are mere appearances to mind, totally dependent upon the minds that perceive them.
...Notwithstanding their real nature, we are fooled by appearances, and grasp at...tables, bodies and worlds as truly existent. This grasping mind is self-grasping. The result of grasping at phenomena in this way is that we develop self-cherishing, attachment, hatred, jealousy, and other delusions, our mind becomes agitated and unbalanced, and our inner peace is destroyed.
To understand how all phenomena are empty of true, or inherent, existence, we should consider our own body. Once we have understood how our body lacks true existence, we can easily apply the same reasoning to other objects."
"In general, whenever we see our child, husband, wife or parents a heart-warming feeling of affection naturally arises within us and we hold them dear. But such affection does not arise when we see other sentient beings, especially those who disturb us. If we are to develop true bodhichitta this warm feeling must be extended to embrace everyone. if as a result of long and continual meditation our mind becomes accustomed to looking upon each being with affection and warmth, we have realized this fourth stage in the development of the mind of enlightenment."
Pure Concentration—Abiding in a Tranquil State Free from Distractions
"Bodhichitta and the wisdom directly realizing emptiness are like the two wings of a bird that can carry us to our destination, the ground of enlightenment. To realize emptiness directly, we need to attain tranquil abiding. Without tranquil abiding, our mind is unstable, like a candle flame exposed to the wind, and so we are not able to realize clearly and directly realization of emptiness. It is not just the direct realization of emptiness that depends upon tranquil abiding; we also need tranquil abiding to attain spontaneous realizations of renunciation and bodhichitta..."
The Supreme Good Heart—The Wish to Benefit Others
"Bodhichitta is the supreme good heart. This profoundly compassionate mind is the very essence of spiritual training. Developing the good heart of bodhichitta enables us to perfect our virtues, solve all our problems, fulfill all our wishes, and develop the power to help others in the most appropriate and beneficial ways. Bodhichitta is the best friend we can have and the greatest quality we can develop."
Increasing Concentration and Wisdom—Seeing the Real Nature of Things
Emptiness is not nothingness but is the real nature of phenomena; it is the way things really are. Emptiness is the way things exist as opposed to the way they appear. We naturally believe that the things we see around us, such as tables, chairs, and houses, are truly existent because we believe that they exist in exactly the way that they appear. However, the way things appear to our senses is deceptive and completely contradictory to the way in which they actually exist. Things appear to exist from their own side, without depending upon our mind.
Although things appear directly to our senses to be truly, or inherently, existent, in reality all phenomena lack true, or inherent, existence...If we dream of an elephant, the elephant appears vividly in all its detail—we can see it, hear it, smell it, and touch it—but when we wake up we realize that it was just an appearance to mind. We do not wonder, 'Where is the elephant now?', because we understand that it was simply a projection of our mind and had no existence outside our mind. When the dream awareness that apprehended the elephant ceased, the elephant did not go anywhere—it simply disappeared, for it was just an appearance to the mind and did not exist separately form the mind. Buddha said that same is true for all phenomena; they are mere appearances to mind, totally dependent upon the minds that perceive them.
...Notwithstanding their real nature, we are fooled by appearances, and grasp at...tables, bodies and worlds as truly existent. This grasping mind is self-grasping. The result of grasping at phenomena in this way is that we develop self-cherishing, attachment, hatred, jealousy, and other delusions, our mind becomes agitated and unbalanced, and our inner peace is destroyed.
To understand how all phenomena are empty of true, or inherent, existence, we should consider our own body. Once we have understood how our body lacks true existence, we can easily apply the same reasoning to other objects."
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
What is the NKT-IKBU?
The Manila Kadampa Buddhist Centre, being a branch of the Kadampa Meditation Centre Hong Kong (KMC HK), is part of the New Kadampa Tradition - International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU). It is an international association of Mahayana Buddhist study and meditation centres that follow the Kadampa Buddhist tradition founded by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. These Centres all follow the three New Kadampa Tradition Study Programmes and are guided by a common code of moral discipline called the Internal Rules of the NKT-IKBU.
Although the lineage Gurus of the NKT from Je Tsongkhapa up to Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso are Tibetan Lamas, the NKT is not Tibetan Buddhism. When the NKT became the International Kadampa Buddhist Union, which is legally registered under English law, it became a legally independent Buddhist tradition. The main reason why NKT-IKBU has chosen to become legally registered as an independent Buddhist tradition is because it was recognized that in Tibetan Buddhism there are so many political problems. These problems are due to the mixing of Dharma and politics, with higher Lamas using the holy Dharma of Buddha's teachings for political aims. The NKT wants the holy Dharma to be free from these political problems.
The purpose of the NKT-IKBU is to preserve and promote the essence of Buddha's teachings in a form that is suited to the modern world and way of life.
The NKT - IKBU studies and practises its own tradition purely but sincerely respects all other spiritual traditions. This attitude is encouraged by Geshe Kelsang in his teachings and writings, and is included in one of the internal rules of the NKT - IKBU.
The central office of NKT - IKBU is located at the Conishead Priory, Ulverston, Cumbria, England. This is also the location of Manjushri KMC, the spiritual home of Venerable Geshe Kelsang and the home of the first Kadampa Temple for World Peace. For more information, visit its website at nkt-kmc-manjushri.org.
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| The first Kadampa Temple for World Peace |
Although the lineage Gurus of the NKT from Je Tsongkhapa up to Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso are Tibetan Lamas, the NKT is not Tibetan Buddhism. When the NKT became the International Kadampa Buddhist Union, which is legally registered under English law, it became a legally independent Buddhist tradition. The main reason why NKT-IKBU has chosen to become legally registered as an independent Buddhist tradition is because it was recognized that in Tibetan Buddhism there are so many political problems. These problems are due to the mixing of Dharma and politics, with higher Lamas using the holy Dharma of Buddha's teachings for political aims. The NKT wants the holy Dharma to be free from these political problems.
The purpose of the NKT-IKBU is to preserve and promote the essence of Buddha's teachings in a form that is suited to the modern world and way of life.
The NKT - IKBU studies and practises its own tradition purely but sincerely respects all other spiritual traditions. This attitude is encouraged by Geshe Kelsang in his teachings and writings, and is included in one of the internal rules of the NKT - IKBU.
The central office of NKT - IKBU is located at the Conishead Priory, Ulverston, Cumbria, England. This is also the location of Manjushri KMC, the spiritual home of Venerable Geshe Kelsang and the home of the first Kadampa Temple for World Peace. For more information, visit its website at nkt-kmc-manjushri.org.
What is Kadampa Buddhism?
Kadampa Buddhism is a special tradition of Mahayana Buddhism founded by Atisha (982-1054 CE), an Indian Buddhist Master largely responsible for the reintroduction of Buddhism into Tibet in the 11th century. Ka refers to all Buddha's Sutra and Tantra teachings, and dam refers tp Atisha's special instructions called the Stages of the Path, or Lamrim in Tibetan. Kadampa Buddhists integrate their knowledge of all Buddha's teachings into their everyday lives. The Kadampa Geshes, the followers of Atisha, were not only great scholars but also spiritual practitioners of immense purity and sincerity.
-from Modern Kadampa Buddhism-
-from Modern Kadampa Buddhism-
Monday, April 30, 2012
April 22 Teachings and Meditation in Photos
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Fernan Soria and Mar Dizon took their refuge vows after the April 22 Teachings and Meditation. Between them is Gen Kelsang Yangdak who officiated the Refuge Vow ceremony.
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Friday, April 27, 2012
www.meditationmanila.org2012 Calendar of Teachings and Meditations
January 14 Saturday
Wishing Love from the Eight Steps to Happiness
Venue: PCCI Library Lounge
Time 6-8pm
January 15 Sunday
Karma from the Joyful Path of Good Fortune
Venue: PCCI Library Lounge
10am to 4:30pm
March 30 Friday
Transforming Adversities from the Eight Steps to Happiness
Venue: PCCI Library Lounge
Time 7:30-9:30pm
March 31- April 1 Saturday-Sunday
Stop Worrying — Start Living
Venue: PCCI Studio A&B
10:30am-5:00pm
April 20 Friday
Accepting Defeat and Offering the Defeat from the Eight Steps to Happiness
Venue: PCCI Library Lounge
Time 7:30-9:30pm
April 21- April 22 Saturday-Sunday
Learning to be Patient—manage and control your anger
Venue: PCCI LIbrary Lounge
10:30am to 5:00pm
May 11 Friday
Meditation on Taking from the Eight Steps to Happiness
Venue: PCCI Library Lounge
Time 7:00-9:00pm
May 12-13 Saturday-Sunday
Healing Power of Meditation—A Healthy and Carefree Life
Venue: PCCI LIbrary Lounge
10:30am to 5:00pm
June 8 Friday
Meditation on Giving from the Eight Steps to Happiness
Venue: PCCI Library Lounge
Time 7:00-9:00pm
June 9-10 Saturday-Sunday
A Joyful and Meaningful Life
Venue: PCCI LIbrary Lounge
10:30am to 5:00pm
July 5 Friday
The Supreme Good Heart from the Eight Steps to Happiness
Venue: PCCI Library Lounge
Time 7:00-9:00pm
Weekend Retreat in August
August 24-26 Friday Night to Sunday Morning
Venue: Tagaytay (TBA)
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