June 3-7 in Toronto

The Canadian Festival is held at Kadampa Meditation Centre Canada located in downtown Toronto near Little Italy. The inspiring Temple and it’s friendly, welcoming community of practitioners offer an oasis of peace in the city.

Gen-la Kelsang Kunsang will give an Introduction to the Festival followed by a Blessing Empowerment of Buddha Shakyamuni and commentary on Saturday and Sunday. Meditations will be guided by Gen Kelsang Thekchen.

On Monday and Tuesday, Gen Kelsang Thekchen will lead two days of retreat on the practice of Buddha Shakyamuni.

For further information and to register, visit kadampafestivals.ca

The National Spiritual Director and Resident Teacher of KMC Canada, Gen Kelsang Thekchen, will also give instructions on powa practice. Powa, or “transference of consciousness” is a method by which we can transfer our consciousness to a higher rebirth or a Pure Land at the time of death. We can also help those who have recently died attain this same state. This is the most compassionate action we can do for those who have passed away.

“Our ability to use powa to help the dying and those who have recently passed away will depend upon the strength of our compassion, and sincere reliance upon Avalokiteshvara is a powerful cause of developing compassion. If we have powerful compassion for all living beings we can definitely help them. Furthermore, extending our compassion to include all living beings is a powerful method for purifying our mind, and if our mind is pure, we shall easily  attain the Pure Land of a Buddha”  Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Join us in Toronto for this special event.  It’s a chance to see the beautiful Temple in Toronto, and to meet Sangha friends from surrounding centres.

Empowerment Fee: Friday & Saturday Fee: $75 (vegetarian lunch included)

Time: Friday, March 18th at 7pm; Saturday, March 19th from 9am to 6pm

Dorm Accommodation: Please speak to Admin Director Kelsang Rigden at admin@kadampa.ca or 416.762.8033

To register for the event and for more information, please visit the KMC Canada website.

Location:

Kadampa Meditation Centre Canada

631 Crawford Street (2 blocks West of Christie)

Toronto, ON

1.866.523.2672

info@nkt-kmc-canada.org

I would like to personally thank Gyalchog for accepting this wonderful opportunity to work with the Guelph Centre and community. Please offer her your prayers and support to help Kalpha Bhadra reach its potential to benefit others.

With love,

Kelsang Yonten

Website Visitors - 5 year history

Kalpa Bhadra Centre would like to thank everyone for your increasing support and enthusiasm. In July, we designed a new website to connect people to the precious Dharma teachings. Visitors to the site have tripled in the last six months. Your regular visits provide great feedback that you are enjoying these changes.

This year will be adding to the site with Centre member interviews. By reading about the stories and experiences of others, we can get to know the people at the Centre and see a practical example of how to integrate the Dharma teachings into our life.

Our new class series will be starting on Monday, January 10th, so check out the class locations for the dates and times for your area. We will also have a brand new Foundation Program in Stratford starting January 16th.

We wish you happiness and success in your upcoming 2011. We hope to be a part of your life and offer support and encouragement for you to reach your potential.

The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union

To provide a vehicle for promoting Kadampa Buddhism throughout the world, in 1991 Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso founded the New Kadampa Tradition, the International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU).

It is an international association of study and meditation centers that follow the pure tradition of Mahayana Buddhism derived from the Buddhist meditators and scholars Atisha and Je Tsongkhapa and introduced into the West by the Buddhist Teacher Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

The purpose of the NKT-IKBU is to increase the Buddhist Faith throughout the world.

with National Spiritual Director, Gen Kelsang Thekchen

• Friday 1 Oct 1 – Sunday 3 October, 2010
• Kadampa Meditation Centre Canada, Toronto

The Ontario Dharma Celebration is a special opportunity for students of Kadampa Centres across Ontario to come together to enjoy Kadam Dharma while also taking a spiritual holiday at the beautiful Kadampa Buddhist Temple in downtown Toronto.

During this Celebration Weekend, Gen Kelsang Thekchen will grant the Empowerment of Medicine Buddha and give teachings on transforming adverse conditions into the spiritual path.  Medicine Buddha is a Buddha doctor whose function is to release living beings from outer and inner sickness by bestowing blessings upon them.

By relying on Medicine Buddha and receiving his blessings, we are given the special opportunity to improve our health and increase our happiness.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is the founder of the New Kadampa Tradition, an international union of Kadampa Buddhist Centers with over 1000 Centers and branches worldwide.

Geshe Kelsang is primarily responsible for the worldwide revival of Kadampa Buddhism in our time.

Born in Tibet in 1931 and ordained a Buddhist monk at the age of eight after which he studied extensively in the great monastic universities of Tibet and earned the title ‘Geshe’, which literally means ‘spiritual friend’, under the guidance of Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, his Spiritual Guide. After leaving Tibet in 1959, he spent the next eighteen years in meditation retreats in the Himalayan region and northern India.

In 1977, he accepted an invitation from Manjushri Buddhist Centre in Ulverston, England, to take up residence as their Spiritual Teacher, and in 1982 he became a naturalized British citizen. Since arriving in the UK, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso has worked tirelessly to establish Buddhadharma in the West and to fulfill the wishes of those who wish to practice Buddhism.

During these years he has given extensive teachings on major Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. These teachings, which are exceptionally clear and easy to understand, have been published as a number of highly acclaimed books that bridge perfectly the ancient wisdom of Buddhism and contemporary life.

Geshe Kelsang currently divides his time between Europe and North America, where he continues to teach and guide thousands of disciples.

He has established three unique study programs and over 1000 Centers and branches around the world, trained qualified teachers and a flourishing ordained community, and created a project to build Buddhist temples in every major city in the world.

In his teachings Geshe Kelsang emphasizes the importance of meditation and how to apply it in daily life, the need to be truly happy, and how to cultivate a good heart to help others — and he demonstrates these qualities perfectly in his own life.

This remarkable teacher inspires so many people from so many different countries because he teaches from example.

He is a humble Buddhist monk dedicated to helping people throughout the world find true happiness in their hearts.

Listening to Dharma - Manjushri Centre, England

On Saturday, Sept.11, Kalpa Bhadra Centre offered the first Kadampa teaching in Owen Sound. Originally requested by Siegrid and Bob Hala, who live in the area, the idea was to offer a free public talk, open to everyone, to explain the basics of meditation.

Nine people joined the class, listening to Buddha’s teachings and practicing meditation. People responded well and were eager to listen again in the future. The venue, Trilliam Healing Arts Centre, was warm and welcoming, providing a peaceful space for listening and contemplating Dharma. We will keep in touch the Owen Sound group and visit again soon to continue the classes.

It is wonderful whenever Je Tsongkhapa’s special Dharma is reach people and enriching their lives. Spiritual knowledge, knowing our own mind, is the key to finding a happy and pure life. How fortunate we are to have clear and effective instructions so we can understand our mind.

Recently, Gen-la Dekyong was explaining about Buddha’s teaching on our precious human life. Buddha gave the following analogy: “Suppose there existed a vast and deep ocean the size of this world, and on its surface there floated a golden yoke, and at the bottom of the ocean there lived a blind turtle who surfaced only once in every one hundred years. How often would that turtle raise its head through the middle of the yoke?” Ananda, Buddha’s student, answered, “It would be extremely rare”. Buddha explained that we are like this blind turtle in the vast and deep ocean of delusion. The golden yoke is like Buddha’s teachings which are rare and hard to find. Gen-la Dekyong commented that we need to make more golden yokes!

We, who have connected to Buddha’s teachings and appreciate their meaning, can make opportunities for others to learn about their mind. The teachings in Owen Sound are an example of putting these instructions into practice. We are putting energy into making Dharma available to people in their area. We will continue to make effort to create opportunities everywhere, for everyone.

To support the growing Centre activities, Aron Weir has graciously accepted to become the teacher in Cambridge and we will welcome Bonnie McCutcheon and Chris Peterson as new weekly teachers in September.

The Kalpa Bhadra web site has seen the best month of web activity in Kalpa Bhadra’s five year history. This month, the number of site visits jumped from a 877 average to a new peak of 1516! Our annual average of unique visitors of 405 was also surpassed by August reaching 617.

We are looking forward to carrying this momentum into the fall season. Kalpa Bhadra will be offering a free public talk in a brand new location: Owen Sound. We will also be hosting our Autumn Retreat Sept. 25-26. The Haliburton Hills will be alive with colour as a vibrant backdrop to a special retreat. We currently have 16 people registered and we have space for 21. If you wish to attend, please register as soon as possible.

Further in the season, we will be offering a Mahamudra weekend retreat. Mahamudra is a method which uses the mind itself as the object of meditation. In this way it makes it easier to achieve quiet and concentrated minds. This retreat will be held at Kalpa Bhadra. More details to follow.

We look forward to welcoming everyone this fall and working with you to continually improve the harmony and happiness in the community. Thank you to everyone for your love and support.

We should understand that the principal function of a Dharma Protector is to protect our Dharma practice, not help our mundane affairs. Bearing this in mind we should not become discouraged if we do not suddenly become very wealthy, for wealth does not necessarily help spiritual practice and can be a great distraction. If we rely sincerely upon our Protector, he will arrange the conditions that are most conducive for our Dharma practice but these will not necessarily be the ones that we ourself would have chosen! He will bless our minds to help us transform difficult situations into the spiritual path, and he will open the wisdom eyes of his faithful followers, enabling them always to make the right decisions. Although physically they may find themselves alone, inwardly those who put their trust in him will never be apart from a powerful ally and a wise and compassionate guide.