In honor of Khyabje Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
On January 5th, Lama Yeshe led the group in White Tara and then spoke to us on the topic of Renunciation. “The Buddhist path leads us from samsara to the way out. We need to have a desire to reduce our suffering and eventually escape samsara altogether by traveling the path. Without renunciation of samsara, we really just want to be more comfortable in samsara. That doesn’t get us out.”
On January 12, Lama Yeshe led the group in meditation and then taught us about the importance of the lama in Tibetan Buddhism. “There are different Lamas that we have. The highest one is Gyalwang Karmapa. The way we regard him is extremely import. It is even important how you see all of your other teachers because if you don’t respect them, you won’t respect their teachings. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche would say, ‘You need to regard your root Lama as the Buddha, and in our case this is not making things up, because Gyalwang Karmapa is the Buddha.’”
On January 19, Lama Yeshe led the group in Chenrezig practice and then gave a teaching on the importance of bodhicitta. “Tibetan Buddhism is Mahayana which means we are cultivating loving-kindness and compassion for all sentient beings. This is relative bodhicitta. It also includes an absolute component which relates to emptiness and wisdom. Bodhicitta means awake mind — the mind of a bodhisattva.”
On January 26, Lama Yeshe led the group in meditation and then spoke to us about the meaning of refuge in Buddhism. “Many of us took refuge years ago; some have yet to take this vow. It is good to investigate what taking refuge actually means and how to get the most benefit from this vow.”
The Hay River KTC Buddhist Meditation Center is located near Ridgeland, WI. The center is dedicated to the teachings and practices of the authentic Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Lama Yeshe, a fully ordained monk in this tradition is the resident teacher. See our website at www.ktchayriver.org.