Blissful Path Retreat
2024-01-06 - 2024-01-08 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Suitable for Highest Yoga Tantra practitioners and those who are planning on receiving HYT empowerments in Brazil in 2024.
Saturday introduction to the practice â€“ 3:00-4:15pm with Resident Teacher Kadam Keli, followed by Session 1 of retreat — 4:45-6:00pm
Sunday
9-10am (guided session)
10:30-11:30am (guided session)
12:30-1:30pm (guided session)
2-3:15pm (guided session)
Monday
9-10am (self-guided session)
10:30-11:30am (self-guided session)
5-6pm (self-guided session)
6:30-7:45pm (self-guided session)

Blissful Path prayer booklets are available for purchase in our bookstore. These prayers also appear as an appendix in the texts The Mirror of Dharma and Modern Buddhism.

Cost for whole retreat $35
Saturday teaching only $15
Each guided session $10
Free for Foundation Program members

Introduction to Vajrayogini Retreat
2024-01-06 15:00 - 16:15 (America/Los_Angeles)

Lunchtime Guided Meditation
2024-01-09 12:30 - 13:00, 2024-01-16 12:30 - 13:00, 2024-01-23 12:30 - 13:00, 2024-01-30 12:30 - 13:00, 2024-02-06 12:30 - 13:00
Simply breathe. Relieve stress. Find joy.

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

Quick Path to Great Bliss w/ Offerings
2024-01-09 17:00 - 19:30
*Highest Yoga Tantra practitioners only, please.

Vajrayogini Day Offering to the Spiritual Guide
2024-01-10 10:30 - 12:30
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.

Wednesday Evening Meditation Class
2024-01-10 18:30 - 19:45, 2024-01-24 18:30 - 19:45, 2024-01-31 18:30 - 19:45, 2024-02-07 18:30 - 19:30, 2024-02-07 18:30 - 19:45
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.

Lamrim Wisdom Retreat
2024-01-13 - 2024-01-18
Meditating on the cycle of Lamrim meditations is the same as meditating on all of Buddha’s 84,000 teachings. Join us in this Lamrim retreat to create good momentum in the mind for the new year! All sessions will be guided by our Resident Teacher, Kadam Keli Vaughan.

Saturday introduction to the retreat — 3:00-4:15pm with Kadam Keli, followed by Session 1 of retreat — 4:45-6:00pm — Meditation on the Preciousness of our Human Life

Sunday — Initial Scope Meditations (4)
9-10am — Meditation on Death
10:30-11:30am — Meditation on the Danger of Lower Rebirth
12:30-1:30pm — Meditation on Going for Refuge
2-3:15pm — Meditation on Karma

Monday — Middling Scope Meditations (4)
9-10am — Meditation on Renunciation
10:30-11:30am — Meditation on our Determination to Recognize, Reduce, and Abandon the Root of Samsaric Rebirth
5-6pm — Meditation on our Determination to Engage in the Actual Path to Liberation
6:30-7:30pm — Meditation on our Determination to Attain True Cessations

Tuesday — Middling Scope Meditations (2)
5-6pm — Meditation on Cherishing All Living Beings
6:30-7:30pm — Meditation on Universal Compassion

Wednesday — Great Scope Meditations (2)
5-6pm — Meditation on the Supreme Good Heart, Bodhichitta
6:30-7:30pm — Meditation on our Determination and Promise to Practice the Six Perfections

Thursday — Great Scope Meditations (2)
5-6pm — Training in Meditation on Emptiness
6:30-7:45pm — Meditation on Relying on our Spiritual Guide

The retreat introduction with Kadam Keli on Saturday is $15.
Each guided retreat session is $10.

Registering for the whole retreat is $35.
This retreat is free for Foundation Program members.

Introduction to Lamrim Retreat
2024-01-13 15:00 - 16:15

Wednesday Evening Meditation Class
2024-01-17 18:30 - 19:45
Tonight’s class will be 6:30-7:30pm – Meditation on our Determination and Promise to Practice the Six Perfections. This will include short teaching and prayers.
Please arrive a few minutes early to settle.

Guru Sumati Buddha Heruka Retreat
2024-01-20 - 2024-01-23
Suitable for Highest Yoga Tantra practitioners and those who have intention to receive HYT empowerments in Brazil in 2024.
Saturday introduction to the practice â€“ 3:00-4:15pm with Resident Teacher Kadam Keli, followed by Session 1 of retreat â€” 4:45-6:00pm
Sunday
9-10am (guided session)
10:30-11:30am (guided session)
12:30-1:30pm (guided session)
2-3:15pm (guided session)
Monday
9-10am (self-guided session)
10:30-11:30am (self-guided session)
5-6pm (self-guided session)
6:30-7:45pm (guided session)

Tuesday
5-6pm (self-guided session)
6:30-7:45pm (guided session)
Prayer booklets for the practice, Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land According to Highest Yoga Tantra, are available for purchase in our bookstore. This prayer also appears as an appendix in the texts The Oral Instructions of the Mahamudra and Mirror of Dharma with Additions.
Bring your mala for mantra recitation, or pick up a new one in our bookstore.

Cost for whole retreat $35
Saturday introduction only $15
Each guided retreat session $10
Free for GP and FP members

Introduction to Guru Sumati Buddha Heruka Retreat
2024-01-20 15:00 - 16:15

Heart Jewel Prayers w/ Meditation
2024-01-24 17:00 - 18:00, 2024-02-01 17:00 - 18:00, 2024-02-08 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 â€œofferingâ€; and the prayers we recite are sadhanas, meaning â€œmethods for receiving attainmentsâ€.
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.

Heruka Day Offering to the Spiritual Guide
2024-01-25 17:00 - 18:00

Amitayus Day-Retreat
2024-01-27 - 2024-01-28
The practice of the path of Buddha Amitayus is an auspicious start for our new year. Amitayus is the Buddha of Long Life, Great Wisdom and Good Fortune.
Saturday introduction to the practice – 3:00-4:15pm with Resident Teacher Kadam Keli, followed by Session 1 of retreat – 4:45-6:00pm (guided session)
Prayers for this practice can be purchased in our bookstore or in a downloadable format HERE.

Sunday Retreat Schedule:
Session 1 9-10:15 am (guided session)
Session 2 10:45 am-12 pm (guided session)
Session 3 1-2:15 pm (self-guided session)
Session 4 2:45-4 pm (self-guided session)

$25 for whole retreat, including introduction to the practice
$15 for intro only
$10 for each guided retreat session
Free for monthly members.

Introduction to Amitayus Retreat
2024-01-27 15:00 - 16:15

Long Protector Puja
2024-01-29 17:00 - 20:30
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.

Heart Jewel Prayers w/ Meditation
2024-02-06 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 â€œofferingâ€; and the prayers we recite are sadhanas, meaning â€œmethods for receiving attainmentsâ€.
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 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.

Foundation Program
2024-02-06 18:30 - 20:30
We are studying How to Understand the Mind by 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 Buddha’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.

Tara Prayers
2024-02-08 18:15 - 19:00
This practice is offered on the 8th of every month. See calendar for day and time.
The Tara Puja Liberation from Sorrow includes a special prayer composed by Buddha, â€œPraises to the Twenty-one Tarasâ€. Tara is a manifestation of the ultimate wisdom of all Buddhas. Each of the twenty-one distinct Taras is a manifestation of the principal Green Tara, also known as â€œMother of the Conquerors.â€
Mother
As children we turn to our mother for help and guidance. She protects us from immediate dangers, provides us with all our temporal needs, and guides and encourages us in our learning and personal development. In the same way, during our spiritual growth, we need to turn to our Holy Mother, Tara, for refuge. She protects us from all internal and external dangers, provides us with all the necessary conditions for our spiritual training, and guides us and inspires us with her blessings as we progress along the spiritual path.
Rescuer
â€œTaraâ€ means â€œRescuer.â€ She is so called because she rescues us from the eight outer fears of lions, elephants, fire, snakes, thieves, water, bondage and evil spirits; and from the eight corresponding inner fears of pride, ignorance, anger, jealousy, wrong views, attachment, miserliness and deluded doubts.Â Temporarily, Tara saves us from the dangers of rebirth in the three lower realms and ultimately saves us from the dangers of samsara and solitary peace.
Protector
If we rely upon Mother Tara sincerely and with strong faith, she will protect us from all obstacles and fulfill all our wishes. Since she is a wisdom Buddha, and since she is a manifestation of the completely purified wind element, Tara is able to help us very quickly.Â If we recite the twenty-one verses of praise we shall receive inconceivable benefits. These praises are very powerful because they are Sutra, the actual words of Buddha. It is good to recite them as often as we can.
All chanted prayer practices are free of charge, but donations are always welcome!

Offering to the Spiritual Guide Puja
2024-02-10 15:00 - 17:00
