Tara Prayers
2024-03-08 18:15 - 19:00, 2024-04-08 16:00 - 16:45 (America/Los_Angeles) | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
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
2024-03-10 11:00 - 13:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
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.

Lunchtime Guided Meditation
2024-03-12 12:30 - 13:00, 2024-03-19 12:30 - 13:00, 2024-03-26 12:30 - 13:00, 2024-04-02 12:30 - 13:00, 2024-04-09 12:30 - 13:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
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

Foundation Program
2024-03-12 18:30 - 20:30, 2024-03-19 18:30 - 20:30, 2024-03-26 18:30 - 20:30, 2024-04-02 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 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.

Wednesday Evening Meditation Class
2024-03-13 18:30 - 19:30, 2024-03-20 18:30 - 19:30, 2024-03-27 18:30 - 19:30, 2024-04-03 18:30 - 19:30, 2024-04-10 18:30 - 19:30 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
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/ Meditation
2024-03-14 17:00 - 18:00, 2024-03-28 17:00 - 18:00, 2024-04-04 17:00 - 18:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
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.

Practice Class: Introduction to Tantra
2024-03-17 10:30 - 11:45, 2024-03-31 10:30 - 11:45, 2024-04-07 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 visualization, meditation, and dedicating our prayers for world peace. Everyone is welcome â€“ you do not need to be a Buddhist to attend.
Class is $15, payable at the center or through our Donate page. Please consider becoming a member!

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.

Powa Prayers
2024-03-17 12:15 - 13:00 | CA
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.

Heart Jewel Prayers
2024-03-19 00:00 | CA

California Dharma Celebration at KMC Los Angeles
2024-03-22 19:30 - 2024-03-24 16:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Join the Kadampa family gathering for the Empowerment of Buddha Maitreya and Teachings on Loving Kindness. REGISTER HERE

Offering to the Spiritual Guide Prayers
2024-03-25 17:00 - 19:00, 2024-04-09 17:00 - 19:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States

Long Protector Puja
2024-03-29 17:00 - 20:30 | CA
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
2024-04-10 17:00 - 18:00 | Mahakankala Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1825 State Street Suite 202, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
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.
