Guided Lamrim Meditation
2023-03-20 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-03-27 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-04-03 18:30 - 19:45 (America/Los_Angeles) | 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.

Lunchtime Meditation
2023-03-21 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-03-28 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-04-04 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-04-11 12:30 - 13:00
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
2023-03-21 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-03-28 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-04-04 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-04-11 18:30 - 20:30
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
2023-03-22 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-03-29 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-04-05 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-04-12 12:30 - 13:00
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
2023-03-22 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-03-29 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-04-05 18:30 - 19:45
Class Fee $10 – Overcoming Anxiety

Everyone from time to time experiences anxiety. It’s a feeling in the mind – no more, no less – but sometimes it’s so strong it can affect our physical well being. Instead of letting anxiety call the shots, what if we reverse-engineer it by simply stopping the thoughts that give rise to it? What if we think in new ways? Learning to focus on something that makes our mind peaceful is what it means to practice meditation.

Each class begins with a guided breathing meditation and culminates with a second meditation based upon the eveningâ€™s topic. There is no requirement to attend the the whole series.

Please arrive a few minutes early to settle.

Lunchtime Meditation
2023-03-23 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-03-30 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-04-06 12:30 - 13:00, 2023-04-13 12:30 - 13:00
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.

Meditation for World Peace
2023-03-26 10:30 - 11:45, 2023-04-02 10:30 - 11:45, 2023-04-09 10:30 - 11:45
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.

Long Protector Puja
2023-03-29 09:00 - 12:30
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.

Powa Prayers
2023-04-02 12:15 - 13:00
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.

Wednesday Evening Meditation Class
2023-04-05 18:30 - 19:45, 2023-04-12 18:30 - 19:45
Class Fee $10 – The Emptiness of the â€œIâ€

What if the â€œIâ€ we cherish and spend so much time and energy protecting is nothing more than an idea? In this series of meditation classes we will learn a traditional Buddhist meditation on the emptiness of the I.
Far from being a mere intellectual exercise, the practice of this meditation creates an experience of freedom from anxiety and worry â€“ and ultimately leads to the realization of the true nature of things: everything, including our I, or self, exists as mere name.

Drop in to any or all classes in this course. Perfect for beginners or those with meditation experience.

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Each class begins with a guided breathing meditation and culminates with a second meditation based upon the eveningâ€™s topic. There is no requirement to attend the the whole series.

Please arrive a few minutes early to settle.

Nyungne Fasting & Compassion Retreat
2023-04-14 - 2023-04-15
This special fasting and purification practice is traditionally done by Kadampa Centers worldwide, beginning on April 14 and concluding on Buddhaâ€™s Enlightenment day, which we celebrate on April 15.
Thousand-Armed (eleven-faced) Avalokiteshvara â€“ â€œMahakarunaâ€ â€“ is the nature of our Guruâ€™s great compassion. Making exquisite offerings, praises, and prostrations to Avalokiteshvara, we accumulate huge merit, purify vast negativity for ourselves and others, and receive powerful blessing to propel ourself swiftly along our path to enlightenment.
Beginning each day we promise to engage in the practice of Mahayana Precepts, with fasting and three sessions of prostrations using the sadhana â€œDrop of Essential Nectarâ€ over two days. Nyungne is held over two days, but participants can chose to attend only one day.
Usually, the second day is accompanied by a full fast; although strongly recommended, this is not compulsory. The practice culminates in a tsog puja, Offering to the Spiritual Guide, at 6pm on the 15th, Buddhaâ€™s Enlightenment Day. Everyone is welcome to join us for this special retreat! ** Please read details about the retreat below. **

FASTING: On the first day it is customary to abstain from all meals except lunch. The second day is a complete fast, abstaining from all food and drink until 6:30am on the following day. Those who are unable to engage in fasting can participate to the extent they are able.
PRACTICE: On both days, participants take Mahayana Precepts at 6:30am and do three sessions of chanted meditation and prostrations (physically or mentally) with the practice of Drop of Essential Nectar.

Cost: $15 for Each Day of Retreat â€“ Free for Monthly Members
To practice this retreat one must engage in Mahayana Precepts at the start of each day, 6:30am. If you havenâ€™t taken precepts before, please click here to learn about the commitments of precepts.Â

Friday, April 14
6:30 â€“ 7:00AM Mahayana Precepts
7:00 â€“ 8:30AM Session 1
9:00 â€“ 10:30AM Session 2
12:30 â€“ 2:00PM Lunchtime
3:30 â€“ 5:00PM SessionÂ 3

Saturday, April 15
6:30 â€“ 7:00AM Mahayana Precepts
7:00 â€“ 8:30AM Session 1
9:00 â€“ 10:30AM Session 2
11:00AM â€“ 12:30PM SessionÂ 3
6:00 â€“ 8:00PM Special Offering to Spiritual Guide Prayers

PRAYER BOOKLETS FOR THE RETREAT

Precepts

Drop of Essential Nectar
