Discovering Buddhism

Our lovable, Venerable Osel has started Dharma classes with discussion on topic set by our repected Geshe Tenzin Zopa in Losang Dragpa KL. During classes we were shown wonderful videos on Discovering Buddhism. You can watch all of them here.

Part 1 - Mind and Its Potential


Part 2 - Death and Rebirth


Part 3 - The Spiritual Teacher


Part 4 - Presenting The Path


Part 5 - How To Meditate


Part 6 - Introduction To Tantra


Part 7 - Refuge In The Three Jewels


Part 8 - All About Karma


Part 9 - Establishing A Daily Practice


Part 10 - Samsara And Nirvana


Part 11 - How To Develop Bodhichitta


Part 12 - 12 Transforming Problems


Part 13 - Wisdom Of Emptiness

Repost: Advice from Rinpoche on Sickness‏

Recently there have been a number of people asking CGC for prayers to prevent or minimise the risk of contracting H1N1. CGC has earlier posted the advice by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has kindly given this precious sutra for countering diseases such as H1N1, cancer etc. Please read the letter below from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, and also attached is the Sutra.

Enjoy reading.
Daniel

My very dear Brothers and Sisters,

Human life is much more precious than mountains of gold and diamonds, more than the world filled with wish granting jewels, because without this precious human life we cannot be liberated. With all this wealth alone we cannot achieve higher rebirth, [especially the] extremely difficult to achieve human rebirth, so impossible to achieve cessation of the ocean of suffering of cyclic existence, including the cause; karma and delusion.

Not only that, but the great liberation of enlightenment cannot be achieved for sentient beings, that which benefits the numberless sentient beings. Of course that means one cannot liberate the numberless sentient beings who are most dear, most precious, most kind from the oceans of samsaric suffering and its cause. Not only that, but one cannot bring them into the great liberation of enlightenment, which is cessation of all the mistakes of the mind and completion of all the qualities.

Since so many people are all of sudden getting cancer, swine flu and other life threatening diseases and dying, which is happening all the time, those who have faith, who are able to practice Buddha Dharma and who purify the past negative karma, will not experience [diseases] such as this swine flu.

So here I am offering some suggestion of a short practice, what you can easily try to read everyday. This very precious method from Buddha, from the Buddha's teaching in the Kangyur [is called] The Dharani Called Possessing the Limbs of All the Buddhas and is extremely worthwhile to try to do. Recite three times if possible, if not then one time. Buddha has explained the benefits of this practice are that you will not get a bad disease, harm from the four elements of earth, water, fire and wind, poisoned, or a life threatening disease, and that it will help you not get reborn in the lower realms of hell, hungry ghost or animal and you will be able to benefit the lives of all sentient beings.

The motivation is not only for your own health and life success, think of all the sentient beings, to benefit their life and to bring them peace and happiness, not only temporary, but ultimate as well.

Thank you very much.

With much love and prayers,
Lama Zopa

PS: “I thought may be good to put this prayer on the web site: “The Dhahran Called Possessing the Limbs of All the Buddhas” which protects from cancer, swine flu as well as new diseases, and also stops untimely death, possibly stops old age.”

NEW Advice from Lama Zopa Rinpoche: Eating Meaningfully

At CPMT 2009, one student mentioned that eating certain types of food is cruel to other beings. Printed here is Rinpoche’s solution:

…in the very, very, very reality, in the very reality, even more reality, you cannot survive your life without harming others. No way. There’s no way to live life without others receiving harm, without being killed, without others suffering, there’s no way you can survive even one day, you can’t survive even for one day. So, this is how life is in samsara. That’s why we need to be liberated: the answer, the ultimate answer is to get liberated, to get out of samsara.

As I normally say, whenever work is done in the field for this one grain of rice, so many beings got killed and received harm and somebody created negative karma, harming them. So now, this one rice came from another rice, then so many sentient beings suffered for that, died, killed, got killed … it goes on and on like that back to the very beginning of the continuity of rice when it started in this world.

So there’s no way to eat this rice without some serious careful, meaningful thinking, without at least something benefiting to the numberless sentient beings who died for each of these rice grains. Especially, the really hardest, most difficult thing to do, the most painful thing, is to eat with this – only thinking about my happiness, completely ignoring all those numberless sentient beings who died, suffered, and killed, creating the negative karma for all this rice.

So therefore you can see now, the emergency of practicing Dharma becomes the most important thing in the life – more than anything else, achieving liberation from samsara for your sake and for the sake of sentient beings, for them to not suffer, not get killed – that’s the main answer. The greatest purpose, benefit, is to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. In everyday life, this is the most important thing to achieve: enlightenment for sentient beings, to liberate numberless sentient beings from oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to enlightenment – wow!

We have met all these teachings this time, so that shows how we are the most fortunate persons in the world. But this incredible opportunity, this wish-fulfilling, perfect human rebirth where we have met all this Dharma, sutra and tantra, can be stopped anytime. So, therefore, really to learn, practice, and actualize the path is more important than anything else in life, the most important.

Teachings, May 1, 2009, Institut Vajra Yogini, France. Transcribed by Ven. Thubten Munsel and edited by Claire Isitt. Futher edited by Doris Low for FPMT News August 2009.

CGC Celebrates Ven.Osel's Birthday - Friday, 7th August 2009

CGC members celebrated Ven. Osel's birthday with a pot luck dinner party on Friday, 7th August 2009. It was a very joyous and happy occasion for all who attended with lots of delicious pastries, noodles, vegetables and desserts to choose from. Attached below are a few photos of the night's event.

The Loving Kindness & Wisdom CD (We sell RM 55.00 per piece)

This is a two CD anthology of Tibetan Mantras and Prayers chanted and commented on by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Vocal accompaniment by Faye Wong.

Volume 1 - Invocation of the Twenty One Taras (Mantra and Commentary)

Volume 2 - Invocation to Maitreya (Mantras and Prayers)

The Heart of the Path (We sell RM 96.00 per book)

The Heart of the Path: Seeing the Guru as Buddha contains Lama Zopa Rinpoche's most essential teachings on guru devotion. Drawn from nearly fifty teachings given over three decades, this long-awaited volume includes commentary on the traditional guru devotion teachings found in the lam-rim, practical advice on guru devotion, and inspiring stories of past guru-disciple relationships, as well as extensive commentary on the practice of guru yoga.

"Without guru devotion, nothing happens-no realizations, no liberation, no enlightenment-just as without the root of a tree there can be no trunk, branches, leaves or fruit. Everything, up to enlightenment, depends on guru devotion". - Lama Zopa Rinpoche