The Shiwa Center for Peace -- Current schedule of teachings

The Shiwa Center for Peace invites you to join us for a new series of teachings beginning on Saturday, June 7 at 2 o’clock. Rinpoche will be teaching “Transformation of Mind,” also known as “lo-jong” in Tibetan. The classes will be approximately one hour long and will run every Saturday for an indefinite period. (HOWEVER, PLEASE NOTE THAT, AFTER THE JUNE 21 CLASS, THE CLASSES WILL BE SUSPENDED UNTIL JULY 12, WHEN RINPOCHE RETURNS FROM ATLANTA.) No previous experience is necessary and classes may be attended on a stand-alone basis. See below for more information.

On Sunday, July 13, there will be a pot- luck dinner at 5 o’clock at Shiwa, to celebrate the occasion of the Dalai Lama’s birthday. Please join us for this wonderful event

The initial four- series class on the “Practice of the 21 Taras” has concluded. However, the ongoing Wednesday night Tara practice will resume on Wednesday, May 28, at 7 o’clock.  The initial series of classes has been completed, and newcomers are welcome to join us, and to learn as we proceed on Wednesday evenings. If you have an interest in this profound and beautiful practice, please come for a visit on Wednesdays at 7.  It is not necessary that you have attended the initial series of classes.

The Tara practice is ecumenical, powerful and profound. A series of Tibetan chants will be learned, so that those participating in the class may have this resource to use in their lives and also so that the community at large may benefit as well. The Tara practice assists on both the outer and inner levels of our lives, and helps us, and those around us, in significant and varied ways. Such assistance is becoming increasingly more important in these times. For more detailed information on the Tara practice, see below, or you may call Shiwa at 971-6095 if you have questions.

Participating in this practice will yield immense benefits and we look forward to having you with us. Together, we can all put a little bit of our time and energy into learning a new way of connecting with divine energy, and helping our world become a more wonderful place in which to reside.

Rinpoche will be teaching in Charleston, Atlanta and Asheville this year; please check our website regularly for schedule updates.

WEEKENDS

TRANSFORMATION OF MIND TEACHINGS – LO-JONG
These teachings are designed to enable us to shape our minds in such a way that we naturally become more compassionate and loving. The basis for the teachings is a poem by an 11th century master, Langri Thangpa (see below). Some of the benefits of the lo-jong teachings include the enhancement of compassion, the development of balanced attitudes toward self and others, the increase in positive ways of thinking and the transformation of adverse situations into conditions favorable to spiritual development.

Rinpoche’s commentary and teachings provide a wonderful opportunity to learn more about how to achieve ultimate peace and happiness. We look forward to having you join us.

Poem by Langri Thangpa
With a determination to accomplish
The highest welfare for all sentient beings
Who surpass even a wish-granting jewel
I will learn to hold them supremely dear.

Whenever I associate with others I will learn
To think of myself as the lowest among all
And respectfully hold others to be supreme
From the very depths of my heart.

In all actions I will learn to search into my mind
And as soon as an afflictive emotion arises
Endangering myself and others
Will firmly face and avert it.

I will learn to cherish beings of bad nature
And those oppressed by strong sins and suffering
As if I had found a precious
Treasure very difficult to find.

When others out of jealousy treat me badly
With abuse, slander, and so on,
I will learn to take on all loss,
And offer victory to them.

When one whom I have benefited with great hope
Unreasonably hurts me very badly,
I will learn to view that person
As an excellent spiritual guide.

In short, I will learn to offer to everyone without exception
All help and happiness directly and indirectly
And respectfully take upon myself
All harm and suffering of my mothers.

I will learn to keep all these practices
Undefiled by the stains of the eight worldly conceptions
And by understanding all phenomena as like illusions
Be released from the bondage of attachment.

Way of Life Teachings
The classes are experiential rather than theoretical, and have a direct and profound impact on day-to-day life, almost immediately. This is a transformative opportunity for those who wish to dive in and actually wake up instead of sleepwalking through life. With a combination of teachings, discussion, question and answer periods and practice, we explore the true nature of reality and begin to uncover the beauty of our true natures, which have been covered up for so long. The effects of the teachings linger long after the sessions have concluded, and begin to affect our everyday experiences. We are not merely learning to “feel good,” -- we are transforming ourselves from the inside out. As this process unfolds within each of us, we begin to pass on the energies of calmness, peace and tranquility to those that we encounter within the community.

By our active participation in these teachings, we undergo an alchemical transformation of our fears, doubts and confusion into our natural state of openness, clarity and harmony. We are free, we always have been – it is just that up until now we have not realized it. Humanity has lived in darkness and confusion for such a long time – why not become a vital part of the effort to transform ourselves as individuals and as a planet?

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CHILDREN’S EVENINGS

On the second Wednesday of the month, Rinpoche offers a one -hour children’s class at 5:30, WHEN HE IS IN TOWN. Please check the website or call or email to confirm the schedule.

Childhood and teen years offer a wonderful opportunity to begin learning and practicing peace at the very start of one’s life. Building a foundation at the very beginning of their lives, children and teens can learn to become content, joyful, confident, focused and positive – traits that may strengthen and remain with them for the rest of their lives.

Meditation provides a wonderful starting point for learning and creativity. It can help children to find a simple and natural way for their minds and bodies to navigate the pressures of modern living, while helping them to find better ways to focus their minds.

It can improve concentration and memory while helping them to cope with worry, stress and anxiety, and increase their overall sense of well-being. By learning methods to be calm and to concentrate, children can learn mastery over their impulses and actions, leading to a more focused and joyful way of life.

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TARA PRACTICE

Chanting and visualizations are utilized, as participants learn to connect with the energy of the “Mother of All the Buddhas,” Tara.

(We emphasize that this is an ecumenical teaching, which enriches positive energies regardless of anyone’s particular religious beliefs)

Tara has many aspects and embodies many qualities of the feminine principle. She existed in human form and is also a powerful deity and symbol. She stands for fearlessness, protection, healing, prosperity, longevity, and more. Her powerful, compassionate, peaceful and benevolent nature makes her one of the most revered deities in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and participating in her practice is a profound means to develop these inner qualities in ourselves.

Tara is also called “the Liberator”, because she releases us from suffering, in all forms, and at all levels. This female aspect of the Buddha guides all living beings away from all dangers and towards the perfected state. By participating in her practice, you receive her blessings directly into your heart.

Tara meditations serve a dual purpose. In one sense, Tara practice greatly helps one in facing the travails of everyday life. However, on a deeper level, this practice also provides a means in which to look at the true nature of your mind. The practice helps to reduce all forms of afflictions and obstacles, helps to spark and generate loving-kindness in one’s heart, and helps to purify and open the energy channels and centers within the body, allowing a more natural expression of generosity and compassion to flow from the heart center. With this practice, one begins to untangle knots of psychic energy that stand in the way of deeper stages of realization, thereby preparing us on the inner levels to become more in touch with subtle spiritual energies. In doing so, one is led to the removal of the veils which cover our inherently pure nature. Reality itself then becomes transformed in a similar fashion.

While using her practice to wish for favorable conditions for yourself, you are also conveying the wish to serve. Gaining Tara’s blessings enables us to share these blessings with others, expanding her healing energy to those around us, and even to all the beings of the universe. According to the Dalai Lama, Tara practice is “primarily to transform how you see yourself, others, the environment and your activities. By visualizing yourself as having compassionate motivations, like Tara has, you can make this transformation in your outlook.”

Tara was an actual historical figure that took a vow to remain in female form in order to lead all beings to the awakened state. She was female by deliberate choice to demonstrate that a woman may benefit beings and attain enlightenment but, at the same time, she was also fully aware that, in the ultimate sense, there can be no real distinction between male and female. Within Tibetan Buddhism, she has 21 major forms, each associated with a certain color and energy, each offering some attribute of ultimate benefit to those who ask for her assistance.

In the context of Tara as a deity, the question often occurs – is Tara a separate being outside of us, or is she found within? When seen as a tutelary deity (“yidam” or “indwelling deity”) Tara may be perceived as a latent aspect of one’s mind. While not actually an independently existing goddess, there are occasions when she is regarded as such, for the purposes of practice. By perceiving her as real and separate, one opens to her energies of wisdom and compassion. Eventually, one comes to a deeper place where these energies are embodied in the practitioner.

All of the actions of the Buddhas, or awakened beings, are manifested in this female aspect of Buddha, in order to help all living beings to successfully reach immediate, ordinary happiness, and eventually, ultimate happiness.

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PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS

Rinpoche is happy to meet with interested parties during the week for private consultations. He is available whether one is participating in the classes, or not. Please contact Rinpoche or Barbara Butler at Shiwa Center for Peace at 843-971-6095 or info@shiwacenter.org if you have any questions or would like to schedule a private meeting.

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EVENTS

Shiwa Saga Dawa Ceremony

We invite you, your friends, and family to a gathering at the Shiwa Center for Peace.  On Tuesday, May 20, at 7 p.m., we will be celebrating Saga Dawa, which is one of the most important and sacred holidays in Tibet.  At the time of the full moon in May, prayer ceremonies and celebrations are held throughout Tibet, to honor the day of Buddha’s birth, death, and enlightenment.  At Shiwa, we will be holding a prayer ceremony, followed by tea and snacks.  Please join us for this most auspicious and happy occasion!

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PROJECTS

• SPONSORSHIP OF TIBETAN MONKS AND NUNS

• REBUILDING OF KANTA MONASTERY IN TIBET

More to be announced...

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The teachings at Shiwa are offered on a donation basis, and we encourage everyone to come. If you are not able to make a financial contribution to assist with Shiwa's overhead, a donation from the heart of goods or services is accepted with deep gratitude. Like any organization, Shiwa has certain ongoing expenses to cover, and we are also trying to build a fund which can go towards our permanent retreat center.