Guided Lamrim Meditation Live + Zoom
2025-05-19 18:30 - 19:30, 2025-05-26 18:30 - 19:30, 2025-06-02 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Learn the most essential teachings of Mahayana Buddhism as we meditate together on most Monday evenings. Please check our web calendar to confirm class meetings.
Each class begins with a guided breathing meditation, preparatory prayers, and culminates with a second meditation based upon the topic of the evening. Drop in to any or all classes in this course. Perfect for beginners or those with meditation experience.
About the Class
Lamrim is a special presentation of Buddhist teachings that modern people can practice in their daily lives. Lamrim originated with the Indian Buddhist Master Atisha, and was later clarified by Tibetan Master and scholar Je Tsongkhapa.
Our Founder, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, makes Lamrim even more accessible for modern people in his books, which appear in many languages. These are the texts we use in the class for our Lamrim meditations.

Please arrive five minutes early to settle, either in person or on zoom.
(Zoom access is available with a monthly membership.)
Membership: Class included with Online, GP, FP and Benefactor Memberships. Contact us to join.

Guided Lamrim Meditation
2025-05-19 18:30 - 19:30, 2025-05-26 18:30 - 19:30, 2025-06-02 18:30 - 19:30

Lunchtime Guided Meditation
2025-05-20 12:30 - 13:00, 2025-05-27 12:30 - 13:00, 2025-06-03 12:30 - 13:00
Simply breathe. Relieve stress. Find peace.

Our Lunchtime Meditations are great for beginners and experienced meditators. Drop in any Tuesday at 12:30 for 30 minutes of peaceful meditation.
Cost per class: $5

Heart Jewel Prayers
2025-05-20 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-05-27 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-06-03 17:00 - 18:00
Join us In Person
If you enjoy meditating with others, chanted meditations are a great opportunity to engage in group meditation. These chanted meditations are also known in Sanskrit as pujas, meaning offering; and the prayers we recite are sadhanas, meaning methods for receiving attainments.
Our prayers are in English. We request the blessings, protection and guidance of the holy beings. We can make requests for ourselves or for others who need help or protection. These spiritual practices create a strong connection with the Buddhas, and help us purify our negativity and fill our mind with positive, healing energy.
Heart Jewel puja includes a period of silence for meditation. By relying upon this practice, we can purify negativity, accumulate merit, and receive blessings. In this way, we will naturally accomplish all the realizations of the stages of the path to Enlightenment and attain a very special Dharma wisdom.
All chanted prayers are free.

Foundation Program
2025-05-20 18:30 - 20:30, 2025-05-27 18:30 - 20:30, 2025-06-03 18:30 - 20:30
“Everyone, whether religious or non-religious, is looking for happiness all the time and wants to be free from problems and suffering permanently. We can fulfill these wishes through understanding and practicing the instructions given in this book.” – Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Wednesday Evening Meditation Class
2025-05-21 18:30 - 19:30, 2025-05-28 18:30 - 19:30
Fundamentals of Buddhist Meditation

Each class begins with a guided breathing meditation and culminates with a second meditation based upon the evening’s topic. Perfect for beginners or those with meditation experience. Open to everyone.
Please arrive a few minutes early to settle.

International Kadampa Spring Festival
2025-05-23 - 2025-05-28

The Happiness Habit
2025-05-23 17:30 - 18:30, 2025-05-30 17:30 - 18:30
New series to start your weekend

“Always rely upon a happy mind alone.” – Geshe Chekhawa
Our own habits of gratitude, sense of purpose, and especially cherishing others are our best friends. Spend more time with them!
Each class begins with a guided breathing meditation, a Dharma talk, and culminates with a second meditation based upon the evening’s topic. Perfect for beginners or those with meditation experience. Open to everyone.
Drop in, or join as a monthly member for this ongoing Friday class.
Please arrive a few minutes early to settle.

Wishfulfilling Jewel Prayers w/ Offerings
2025-05-23 19:00 - 20:15
By relying upon this practice, we can purify negativity, accumulate merit, and receive blessings.
If you enjoy meditating with others, chanted meditations are a great opportunity to engage in group meditation. These chanted meditations are also known in Sanskrit as puja, meaning offering, or as sadhana, meaning method for receiving attainments.
Using prayers in English, we receive the blessings, protection and guidance of holy beings. We can make requests for ourselves or for others who need help or protection. These spiritual practices create a strong connection with the Buddhas, help us purify our negativity, and fill our mind with positive, healing energy.
In this way, we will naturally accomplish all the realizations of the stages of the path to Enlightenment and attain a very special Dharma wisdom.
All chanted prayers are free.

Offering to the Spiritual Guide Prayers
2025-05-25 12:00 - 14:00
Everyone is welcome to join us for this beautiful prayer practice.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide is a special Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa in conjunction with Highest Yoga Tantra. It was compiled by the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsän, as a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra. The main practice is relying upon the Spiritual Guide, but it also includes all the essential practices of the stages of the path (Lamrim) and training the mind (Lojong), as well as both the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra.
This puja (prayer practice) normally takes place on or near the 10th & 25th of the month.

All chanted prayers are free.

Heart Jewel Prayers w/ Meditation
2025-05-26 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-06-02 17:00 - 18:00

Melodious Drum Puja
2025-05-29 17:00 - 20:30
This extensive sadhana or “ritual prayers for spiritual attainments” is called Melodious Drum Victorious in All Directions, or Kangso in Tibetan, which means “Fulfilling and Restoring Ritual”.
Usually performed once a month in Dharma Centers in our tradition, it is used for fulfilling our heart commitment to practice Lamrim, Lojong, and Mahamudra, for restoring any degenerate or broken commitments we may have incurred, and to rely on the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden, regarding him as inseparable from our Spiritual Guide and Buddha.

Wishfulfilling Jewel Prayers w/ Meditation
2025-05-30 19:00 - 20:15
If you enjoy meditating with others, chanted meditations are a great opportunity to engage in group meditation. These chanted meditations are also known in Sanskrit as puja, meaning offering, or as sadhana, which means method for receiving attainments.
Using prayers in English, we receive the blessings, protection and guidance of the holy beings. We can make requests for ourselves or for others who need help or protection. These spiritual practices create a strong connection with the Buddhas, and help us purify our negativity and fill our mind with positive, healing energy.
Wishfulfilling Jewel puja includes a period of silence for meditation on Lamrim. By relying upon this practice, we can purify negativity, accumulate merit, and receive blessings. In this way, we will naturally accomplish all the realizations of the stages of the path to Enlightenment and attain a very special Dharma wisdom.
All chanted prayers are free.

Prayers for World Peace
2025-06-01 10:30 - 11:00
Prayers for cultivating inner peace is the best method for establishing world peace. Thirty minutes of meaningful contemplation using prayers in English, turning our minds towards the happiness and freedom of every living being.
Stay after for a guided meditation class.

Sunday Morning Meditation Class
2025-06-01 11:00 - 12:00
Each Sunday morning class begins with a guided breathing meditation and Dharma talk, and culminates with a second meditation based upon the morning’s topic. Perfect for beginners or those with meditation experience. Open to everyone.
Please arrive a few minutes early to settle.

Powa Prayers
2025-06-01 12:30 - 13:15
Through practicing transference of consciousness, known as powa, with faith, compassion, and concentration we can transfer the consciousness of those recently deceased to a higher rebirth or to the Pure Land of a Buddha. The Powa Ceremony can be done either by a group of practitioners or individually on behalf of one or more deceased persons, or countless deceased beings. By engaging in this practice we also create a great collection of virtue, which will also lead us into the pathway to a Buddha’s Pure Land.
All chanted prayers are free.

Dharmachakra Day: Offering to the Spiritual Guide Prayers
2025-06-04 18:30 - 20:30
Everyone is welcome to join us for this beautiful prayer practice, celebrating Buddha’s first turning of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmachakra Day) and the birthday of our beloved Spiritual Guide, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.

Offering to the Spiritual Guide is a special Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa in conjunction with Highest Yoga Tantra. It was compiled by the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsän, as a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra. The main practice is relying upon the Spiritual Guide, but it also includes all the essential practices of the stages of the path (Lamrim) and training the mind (Lojong), as well as both the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra.
We have prayer booklets in English for use during the practice. It is traditional to bring a small offering of food or drink for this practice.
