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We were fortunate in January, 2025 when Lama Karma Drodhul, from our parent monastery Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, visited the Ann Arbor KTC January 17-19, 2025 to give teachings, Refuge and Green Tara Empowerment.

The teachings were shared Zoom.

On Friday in the public talk Lama Karma gave us insight into the founder of the Ann Arbor Karma Thegsum Choling. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche who was Lama Karma’s uncle and Lama. Khenpo Karthar was abbot at our parent monastery Karma Triyana Dharmachakra until he passed away on October 6, 2019 at the age of 95.

On Saturday and Sunday Lama Karma gave teachings about how Green Tara can help us remember our own potential for enlightenment in the face of fears we face today.

The Buddha taught that anyone who practices with great effort cannot fail to reach enlightenment since all of us possess Buddha nature, the potential for awakening. Learning about and doing the practices of an enlightened deity like Arya Tara is one very effective way of getting in touch with our Buddha nature. Through learning about her qualities and engaging in her practice, we can cut through our confusion and ignorance and develop our enlightened potential.

Green Tara for Today: Remembering Fearlessness

Green Tara is one of the most beloved deities in Vajrayana Buddhism. The embodiment of wisdom, the mother of all Buddhas, Green Tara is especially known for her unflinching compassionate action in the face of dangers of all kind.

Her name itself can be translated as the one who saves, who rescues, who drives away evil. From fire and floods to hatred and desire, Tara specializes in liberating us from all kinds of fears. While Tara has been praised and venerated in Tibet for over a thousand years, her promise to help us in our times of need remains as strong as ever.

Lama Karma will provide two teaching sessions about how Green Tara can help us remember our own potential for enlightenment in the face of fears we face today. To supplement these teachings, he will also provide the Green Tara empowerment and reading transmission on Saturday afternoon. For the last session on Sunday afternoon, he will lead us in the practice of Green Tara.

The Buddha taught that anyone who practices with great effort cannot fail to reach enlightenment since all of us possess Buddha nature, the potential for awakening. Learning about and doing the practices of an enlightened deity like Arya Tara is one very effective way of getting in touch with our Buddha nature. Through learning about her qualities and engaging in her practice, we can cut through our confusion and ignorance and develop our enlightened potential.

Schedule

All programs will be held in-person at Ann Arbor KTC. Our address is 614 Miner St in Ann Arbor, MI. Enter through the back door.

In addition, all programs except refuge and empowerment will be accessible through our usual Ann Arbor KTC zoom link.

To register, please make a donation to Ann Arbor KTC for the programs you would like to attend.

Suggested donation amounts

Donations can be made through our PayPal account.

Alternatively, you can donate via cash or check. Checks should be made out to Ann Arbor KTC. If mailing a check, please mail it to: Ann Arbor KTC, 614 Miner St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103.

No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If you have any questions, please contact our president, Ani Tsekyi, at tsekyi108@gmail.com.

About our visiting teacher, Lama Karma Drodhul

Lama Karma is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and former president of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery in Woodstock, NY. He is also the nephew of KTD’s first Abbot, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, and he assisted Khenpo Rinpoche at KTD. As a youth, Lama Karma excelled in all aspects of dharma study at Thrangu Monastery. Thrangu Rinpoche sent him to the United States to deepen his understanding of the dharma under the tutelage of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche.

Lama Karma has completed two traditional three-year retreats in March 2004 and February 2008, respectively, under Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche at Karme Ling Retreat Center. For the past 10 years, he has regularly taught at dharma centers throughout North and South America. Lama Karma is the author of Amrita of Eloquence: A Biography of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche and Siddhas of Ga: Remembered by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. He was appointed as the president of KTD by HH Karmapa in September of 2018, completing his term in September 2021.

It takes a village!

Please join us for a karma yoga work day on Sunday, January 12 at noon after the morning puja. We will be tidying up the KTC so it’s ready for our program the following weekend. Please consider stopping by to help for an hour. Snacks will be provided! 

Former KTD President Lama Karma Drodhul visited Ann Arbor from 24 to 26 March to give teachings, Refuge, and a Chenrezik empowerment.

Lama Karma taught on the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, a poetic text written by Tibetan Monk and Scholar Gyalse Tokme Zangpo in the 14th century. It outlines the practices of an enlightened being committed to helping all beings (Bodhisattva).

For those of us who are not Bodhisattvas, the verses offer a lot of good advice for how to live a meaningful life.

Sorry we only recorded the Sunday afternoon Zoom sessions. The links to the recordings (which are posted on DropBox) are below.

On Sunday afternoon Lama Karma sang the Impermanence Song by Milarepa (near the beginning) and later (at 1:07:45 in the recording) chanted the 37 Practices with a traditional melody that they used in his Dharma School in Tibet.

Sunday Morning

Sunday Afternoon

Lama Tsultrim Gyaltsen, retreat master for the men’s retreat at our parent monastery’s retreat center, visited last weekend to practice with the members and visit his home town. Lama Tsultrim was a member of Ann Arbor KTC for several years.

One of the last acts of our founder Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche was to help prepare a set of images and practice materials to encourage his dharma centers to do Amitabha practice. While Lama Tsultrim was here we requested that he help us with all the details of the long Amitabha sadhana, and how to properly use the practice materials.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved teacher and guru, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, on April 1, 2021, at the age of 72. Born in Kham, eastern Tibet, he was recognized at a young age by His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa. In 1977, His Holiness asked Bardor Rinpoche to help establish his new monastery, Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) in Woodstock, New York. 

Bardor Rinpoche served KTD for over 30 years, providing inspiration as he worked side-by-side with the volunteer construction crew that built the main monastery building.  Later he began teaching at KTD and its affiliate Karma Thegsum Choling centers (KTC’s), and was the main teacher traveling to the Ann Arbor KTC for many years. In 2003, Rinpoche established his own center, Kunzang Palchen Ling (KPL) in Red Hook, New York, to help preserve teachings from all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, including his own tradition. In 2020, he completed construction of KPL’s monastery building. 

Bardor Tulku Rinpoche and his wife, Sonam Chotso Lama, raised three daughters in Woodstock. He is also survived by his son-in-law and two young granddaughters, as well as a large extended family and a community of devoted students. 

More information, including a full biography,  can be found on the KPL website, https://www.kunzang.org/.

On the day of Rinpoche’s cremation, a cloud in the shape of a double dorje appeared above his cremation stupa in the morning: