After School Kids Classes: Registration Required
2023-05-29 15:15 - 16:15, 2023-06-05 15:15 - 16:15 (America/Los_Angeles) | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Buddhist meditation, stories, and crafts.
Mondays from 3:15-4:15 May 8th – June 5th

Each week will include a guided meditation, a discussion, and an art project.

In this series we will look at the life and deeds of Buddha, we will create our own books on the subject, and conclude with a party and a play. Approximate age range is 5-12.

An adult must be present throughout the classes.
$120 per family

Please reserve your spot by emailing info@meditationinsantabarbara.org with your name, a contact number, and the name and age of the children who will be attending. Space is limited.
No drop-in classes are available at this time.

If you have questions please send a message to info@meditationinsantabarbara.org or call us at (805) 563-6000 and we will promptly reply.

Long Protector Puja
2023-05-29 17:00 - 20:30 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
This extensive sadhanaâ€”ritual prayers for spiritual attainmentsâ€”is called â€œKangsoâ€ in Tibetan, which means â€œFulfilling and Restoring Ritual.â€
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.
All chanted prayers are free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

Lunchtime Meditation
2023-05-30 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-06-06 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-06-13 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-06-20 12:30 - 13:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Tuesdays
Simply Breathe

Everyone is welcome to drop in at the Center for lunchtime meditations.
During these half hour sessions we are guided through a simple guided breathing meditation. This type of meditation is perfect for beginners and advanced meditators. By focusing on the breath all our worries, distractions, and obsessive ways of thinking fall away and we experience inner peace. Our mind is refreshed and relaxed and we’ll find it easier to deal with day to day stress.

Foundation Program
2023-05-30 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-06-06 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-06-13 18:30 - 20:30 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
We are studying How to Understand the Mind by living Buddhist Master Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. This book offers us deep insight into our mind, and shows us how an understanding of its nature and functions can be used practically in everyday experience to improve our lives.

Through systematic study and meditation on this program we can deepen our understanding and insight of Buddhaâ€™s teachings, gain confidence in our meditation practice, and transform our lives by transforming our own mind. By learning to understand our own experiences of difficulty, problems, and suffering, we will be better able to support to those around us, and impact their lives in a more positive, meaningful way.

This study program requires enrollment, with a commitment to attend scheduled classes. Classes meet on Tuesday nights. Please click here to learn more.

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Lunchtime Meditation
2023-05-31 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-06-07 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-06-14 12:30 - 13:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Wednesdays
Stress Relief

Everyone is welcome to drop in at the Center for lunchtime meditations.
Let go of your stress and concerns, unwind, and enjoy a place of peace in the middle of your work week. In our busy lives, we need to nourish our mind as well as our bodies. Come enjoy a relaxing lunchtime break with a guided breathing meditation.

Wednesday Evening Meditation Class
2023-05-31 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-06-07 18:30 - 19:45 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Disarming Our Own Hatred: Meditations on Compassion

Other living beings are not our problem; our own dislike of them is our real problem.
Because the “I” we cherish and spend so much time and energy protecting is nothing more than an idea, we can begin to understand that “others” are also an idea.
In this series of meditation classes we will learn Buddhist meditations for developing our own mind of compassion for others.
Far from being a mere intellectual exercise, the practice of these meditations creates an experience of freedom from anxiety and worry – the effects of our own hatred and distrust of others. And ultimately, these meditations lead to the realization of the true nature of things: that everything, including I and other, exists as mere name.

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.

Lunchtime Meditation
2023-06-01 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-06-08 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-06-15 12:30 - 13:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Thursdays
A Joyful Path

Everyone is welcome to drop in at the Center for lunchtime meditations.
Joy is a state of mind. In these lunchtime meditations we will hear about different Buddhist views that cultivate joyful minds. These Introductory meditations are based on Lamrim, the backbone of Kadampa Buddhism.

Hundreds of Deities Retreat Reciting Geshe-la’s Name Mantra
2023-06-04 09:00 - 16:30 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
This retreat is free of charge, in celebration of Venerable Geshe-la’s birthday. This retreat is particularly suitable for Highest Yoga Tantra practitioners and anyone who has a sincere wish to receive the HYT empowerment. Join us.

Session 1 9:00 – 10:30 am
Session 2 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Session 3 3:00 – 4:30 pm
We will be collecting recitations of Geshe-la’s name mantra. Please bring your mala and a copy of Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land According to Highest Yoga Tantra, or the text Oral Instructions of the Mahamudra. We have copies of both publications available for sale in our bookstore.

Guided Lamrim Meditation
2023-06-05 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-06-12 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-06-19 18:30 - 19:45 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Transform Your Life

In these meditation classes we will familiarize ourselves with the minds of Lamrim.

Lamrim is a special set of meditations presented by the Indian Buddhist Master Atisha and clarified by the great Tibetan Buddhist Master Je Tsongkhapa. Lamrim condenses all the essential teachings of Buddha into a practice that modern people can use in their daily life.

Each class begins with a guided breathing meditation, preparatory prayers, and culminates with a second meditation based upon the eveningâ€™s topic. Drop in to any or all classes in this course. Perfect for beginners or those with meditation experience.

Please arrive five minutes early to settle.
Suggested donation is $10.

Wednesday Evening Meditation Class
2023-06-07 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-06-14 18:30 - 19:45 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Meditations For A Peaceful Life

Sometimes life looks like family friction. Sometimes it looks like trying to escape loneliness. Sometimes our craving for people and things takes over.
Whether we are dealing with life’s challenges positively or negatively depends on how swiftly we are able to manifest peace in our own mind. This is one of the most practical reasons for developing a meditation practice.
Join us on Wednesday evenings to learn how to transform life’s constant stream of challenges into a peaceful life.

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.

Heart Jewel Prayers w/ Special Class
2023-06-08 18:00 - 20:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Join us In Person. Tonight’s special class is on Emptiness in Sutra and Tantra.
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.
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.

Meditation for World Peace
2023-06-11 10:30 - 11:45, 2023-06-18 10:30 - 11:45 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
â€œWithout inner peace, outer peace is impossible.â€ ~
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche

Prayer and meditation are neither small nor passive actions. Rather, they are a force for change in our shared world. Join us to bring peace to our world through the action of meditation, and dedicating our prayers for world peace. Everyone is welcome â€“ you do not need to be a Buddhist to attend.
Class is $10, payable at the center or through our Donate page.

Each class consists of a guided breathing meditation, a short teaching on the practice of wisdom and compassion, and prayers (in English) to the Buddha of Compassion. Prayer booklets are available for use at the center. Prayer booklets and downloaded e-prayer booklets can be purchased HERE.

LOMPOC Meditation Workshop
2023-06-17 11:00 - 13:00 | Blooming Energy, 103 W. Walnut Ave., Lompoc, CA, 93436, United States
Buddhist Meditation to Reduce our Reliance on Anger

Is anger ever justified?
Does anger defeat enemies or create them?
Are you really in control when you are angry?
Buddha taught that of all the delusions, anger is the most harmful — yet so much of our modern society honors and even encourages it.
In this morning workshop we can be inspired to see for ourselves the deep extent to which anger controls our minds and our lives. Learn how anger is the source of so much of our suffering, and how we can start using the practice of meditation to reduce our reliance on anger, and eventually eradicate it from our minds altogether.
PRE-REGISTER HERE: tickets
At Blooming Energy
Blooming Energy is Located at:
103 West Walnut Ave
Lompoc, CA 93436

Powa Prayers
2023-06-18 12:15 - 13:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Through practicing transference of consciousness â€” known as â€˜powaâ€™ â€” 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 Buddhaâ€™s Pure Land.
All chanted prayers are free.
