During the visit Khenpo Ugyen made some torma offerings for our Mahakala practice.

The ornaments are made of butter by molding the butter in cold water. The heat of the hands softens the butter so it  can be molded. They start with small balls of different colors.

Khenpo Ugyen Tenzin received the Acharya degree from Nalanda Institute and Sapurnanand Sanskrit University, jointly, in 1991. He taught at Nimalung Monastery in Bhutan, and then at Nalanda Institute in Rumtek, where he was Senior Abbot/Principal Teacher. His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa asked Khenpo Ugyen to go to Karma Triyana Dharmachakra in 2005. He has since completed a 3-year retreat at Karme Ling and continues to teach at KTD as well as at many of the KTC’s.

All events will be held at the Ann Arbor KTC

Free Public Talk: Buddha Nature
Friday,March 16 7:30 p.m.
Khenpo Ugyen will talk about the premise that we all have Buddha Nature, the seed of enlightenment, and that we can fully develop this potential through the skillful means of meditation practice.

Weekend Seminar: Green Tara Practice
Saturday – Sunday, March 17 – 18 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
We are delighted that Khenpo Ugyen will teach the practice of Green Tara, the female Buddha of enlightened activity. Green Tara embodies universal compassion–the virtuous, enlightened, and miraculous activity of all Buddhas–and provides practitioners protection and freedom from obstacles. In this seminar, participants will learn the meaning of the visualizations and meditations of Green Tara Practice.

Green Tara Empowerment
Saturday, March 17 7:30 p.m.
Khenpo Ugyen will give the Green Tara Empowerment (a ritual in Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism which initiates a student into a particular tantric deity practice). Refuge is required to receive the empowerment, and will be given before the empowerment.

Fees:
The Public Talk is free.
It is traditional to make a donation to the teacher at the end of the empowerment.
Weekend Suggested Donation: $50/Day.
All donations are welcome.
No one is turned away for lack of funds.

Whether you think you may want to follow the Buddhist path, or simply want to learn to meditate to gain the benefits of increased mindfulness, stability and awareness, this session will give you the tools to develop a regular sitting meditation practice of your own.

Free, donations are accepted.

Send ‘Em Back for Regrooving — How to Change the Mental Habits that Imprison Us
Lama Nancy will give this free public talk.

Our minds are often cluttered with negative, unhelpful thoughts that are so habitual we don’t even notice them. Buddhist practice offers simple but profound techniques for observing these thought patterns and then transforming them into positive and compassionate intentions that benefit both ourselves and those around us.

Free, donations are accepted.

Love the One You’re With, Even If It’s Yourself! — How Meditation Can Help You Accept Yourself and Others
Lama Nancy will give this free public talk.

By seeing ourselves as separate from others, we set the stage for comparison and judgment of those on both sides of the “self/other” divide. Then, when things go wrong, we look for someone to blame–and if we can’t find someone else, it must be our own fault! Buddhist practice helps us relax our boundaries so we can experience the innate goodness underneath all our stories and judgments.

Lama Tsultrim Yeshe (John Samuelson) has been a student of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, Abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, Woodstock, NY, since 1989 and completed the traditional Tibetan three-year retreat in 1996 led by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. He is especially known for workshops in which participants use Tibetan Buddhist practices to explore the nature of forgiveness and to learn how to heal old wounds and guides participants with an approachable and open style.

Public Talk: Using Life’s Manure for Spiritual Growth
Sept. 29; 7:30 p.m.
When faced with circumstances we don’t like, our first reaction is to try to push them away, without thoroughly examining the source of these circumstances and what we might be able to learn from them. Lama Yeshe will explain how to use these unwanted experiences as a way to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our choices, like manure brings nourishment and growth to a garden. Though we can’t prevent unhappiness from occurring in our lives, we can learn to transform it into compassion and wisdom.

Loving Kindness and Compassion: Start with Yourself
Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, 10:00 a.m.-12:00p.m., 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
We often find it easier to be loving and compassionate toward others than to extend the same consideration toward ourselves. Our negative feelings toward ourselves, such as regret, guilt, shame, anger, and even hatred, are often deep-rooted. In this seminar Lama Yeshe will help participants examine the roots of these feelings and learn a variety of meditative techniques for addressing and transforming them. The seminar will include a combination of explanation, practice and individual interviews to help participants learn and practice some new ways of transforming our own negative feelings about ourselves into compassion for ourselves as well as others.