Hayagriva Buddhist NEWSLETTER Centre March to June 2016 Program highlights Sign up to our weekly eNews for program updates www.hayagriva.org.au Geshe Sonam Teaching For new or experienced students • 7.30pm Tuesday evenings • 7.30pm every second Wednesday from April 6 • 2.30pm Sunday afternoons >> see page 3 Shakyamuni Buddha Introduction to meditation A little bit about Geshe Ngawang Sonam Great chance to explore useful Resident teacher at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre meditation techniques The title Geshe is a monastic • 7.30pm Thursday April 14 & 21 degree awarded after many • 7.30pm Thursday June 16 & 23 years study and practice. In Geshe Sonam’s case, he >> see page 3 became a monk at 12 and studied for 22 years at Sera Jey Monastery in southern India. Improve He studied and rigorously mental debated the great Tibetan Buddhist texts in the Gelugpa (yellow hat) tradition including balance the Paramitayana (or Bodhisattva Secular presentations mixing path) in which he came third out ancient skills and modern of 100 students who took the science final exam. • Genuine happiness Geshela was the Disciplinarian of • Buddhist Ideas for Everyday his Khamtsen which had 1,300 Life monks (a khamtsen is section of • Walking the walk the monastery with monks from a particular region of Tibet). Geshe Sonam with his house teacher Geshe Pema Wangchen >> see page 4 who lived at Kopan for many years “The more you learn in the monastery, their whole life (Kyabje is a mark of respect studying Buddha’s teachings reserved for the senior most lamas Holy day dharma, the more of the tradition whose realization and the commentaries by the Sakadawa on Saturday May 21 great pundits, so you are and powers are extraordinary.) sun shines in your >> see page 4 studying from them which they life, in your heart” have done their whole life. So then you have great, great, great, great, great opportunity to learn Holy relics Our Spiritual Director, Kyabje the teachings of the Buddha Zopa Rinpoche, said: “When you without mistakes. The more you visit Perth learn Dharma at the centre from learn Dharma, the more sun qualified teachers, the geshes shines in your life, in your heart”. >> see page 2 who have studied their whole life Relics of High Lama in Perth His Eminence Choden Rinpoche’s relics at Thanks Ven Hayagriva Buddhist Centre Dekyi! 9am - 5pm Saturday April 2. 9am - 5pm Sunday April 3. His Eminence Choden reincarnated lama at age three. Any donations will go towards Rinpoche was a highly realised At eight he entered Rabten building a stupa in Bodhgaya, master, scholar and yogi who Monastery and at 15 went to India, for Kyabje Choden passed away last September. He Sera Je Monastery, where he Rinpoche. visited Hayagriva Buddhist studied the five main texts. Centre several times giving Rinpoche became an expert on teaching and tantric initiations. the teachings on Vinaya – monastic discipline. He was a As is common for highly realised A talk by Geshe Gyalten who highly respected scholar and practitioners, precious relics was chosen as one of two Sera was Rinpoche’s attendant will were collected following his Je monks to debate with His cremation and will be on display be given each day at 11.30am Holiness the Dalai Lama during at our Centre. They are said to at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre His Holiness’ geshe exams. empower blessings on those who view, make prayers to, or Many benefited from Venerable circumambulate them. Dekyi's warmth and wisdom during her six week visit over The relics are considered a summer while Geshe Sonam was result of the master’s special away. Her down-to-earth compassion and wisdom. approach forged by her life Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche said: “It experience and long period as a will be very powerful if you nun studying and practicing fortunate ones coming to receive Buddhism gives her a special blessings from the relics make ability to connect with people. strong requests to actualize the During her visit Venerable Dekyi complete path to enlightenment, visited the Catholic Ursuline especially loving kindness, sisters in Fremantle and compassion, bodhicitta, and discussed the similarities of the clear light from the highest two traditions. They included tantra, secret Vajrayana, and the living in vows, confession and resultant two kayas, in this very daily meditation. The two nuns lifetime, without delaying for a she met were from the second”. Philippines and teach in Catholic Kyabje Choden Rinpoche was schools. Venerable Dekyi born in 1933 in eastern Tibet and described it as a wonderful was recognized as a encounter. “In my experience, Cut attachment and be free what we need is a by Lama Zopa Rinpoche calm mind and The whole life, busy with peace. We have no worries, suffering, the easier it is to attachment and anger, is like an nothing. develop compassion for others. warm-heartedness elephant caught in a quagmire. It Before developing bodhichitta, It is so much easier to develop provides a basis for cannot get out, it is completely we have to have preliminary bodhichitta, so much easier to caught in a quagmire of mud. that. That’s how we renunciation of samsara. Before enter the Mahayana path, so Life is like that, we are renunciation of samsara in the much easier to achieve make ourselves completely caught in the next life, we need renunciation to enlightenment for sentient quagmire of attachment and happy as individuals this life. The mind has to be beings, so much easier to anger, like a hallucination. living in Dharma, otherwise we enlighten sentient beings. in families, local Therefore, if we are really can’t have bodhichitta. Without communities and practicing Dharma, we can cut renunciation, we can’t have attachment and be totally free. bodhichitta. We can’t jump nations. I believe that As much Dharma as we practice, ahead, thinking, ‘Oh, I don’t have if we can train those the less attachment is possible. renunciation, but I will jump.’ Even though problems, worries who are young today Many people do meditation, but and fears are not completely cut they don’t like renunciation. The in these qualities the off, they become much less in more we meditate, the more we our life. Therefore, there is much world will be a more learn Dharma, the more we see peace in our heart; there is great our suffering, samsaric suffering, peaceful place later peace, because we are living our then it’s so easy to generate life in Dharma without in this century.” compassion for others, who attachment. Even when death have been suffering since comes, any time, we die in great His Holiness beginningless rebirth just like us. the Dalai Lama The more we see our own Lama Zopa Rinpoche Please check the calendar on our website at www.hayagriva.org.au or our weekly eNews for updates and changes to Teachings with the program Geshe Sonam Information Tuesday Sunday Afternoon Teachings Evening Mind Training Like the Rays of the Sun Teachings 2.30pm Sundays (not on 3, 17 April) Letter to a Based on the essential sayings of the no-nonsense King meditator/scholar Kadampa masters, this text deals 7.30 pm - not on with the erroneous minds of self grasping and self last Tuesday of cherishing. This is one of the great texts dealing each month with the elimination of these disturbing emotions. This text by the By donation. great Indian master, Nagarjuna, is as Wheel of Sharp Weapons relevant today as when he sent it as a letter of 2.30pm Sundays starting 5 June advice to his friend, a King, 2,000 years ago. The If you want an answer to the “why me?” question, King was healthy, wealthy and very busy yet this short text by the great 9th Century yogi, profoundly dissatisfied. The letter, a summary of the Dharmaraksita, has all you need to know. It shows Mahayana Buddhist path, sets out the reasons for how the force of karma plays out in our everyday this unhappiness and how to conquer it. life revealing many specific effects and their About Hayagriva Hayagriva Buddhist Centre is a By donation. causes, but the overall message is one of hope and optimism. Centre for Buddhist learning and practice in Kensington following Commentary on the Yamantaka Sadhana By donation. (restricted class) the Tibetan Gelugpa Buddhist tradition. 7.30pm last Tuesday of each month. Other Events with Geshe Sonam It is affiliated with the Foundation Finishes 24 May. for the Preservation of the Q&A and Cake with Geshela A Yamantaka Initiation is a prerequisite to attend Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) these teachings. 3.30pm Sunday 27 March, 24 April, 29 May, 26 which was founded by the late June. Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935 – By donation. 1984) in 1975 and is under the Join Geshe Sonam for a cup of tea and cake in an spiritual guidance of Kyabje informal setting to ask any questions or raise any Zopa Rinpoche who consults issues you may have. Q&As are generally held on Wednesday Evening Teachings closely with His Holiness the the last Sunday of each month. An Evening with Geshe Sonam Dalai Lama. All welcome. 7.30pm every 2nd Wednesday commencing 6 April Our resident teacher is Geshe Suitable for new or experienced students Ngawang Sonam, a fully ordained monk who has In these easy to digest classes, Geshe Sonam will (photo Geshe Sonam with HBC member Ben completed the entire monastic teach from the heart addressing key points of the Herzog) training in India’s Sera Jey Buddhist path he feels are most appropriate to the Monastery.