E-News: July/August 2012 
IN THIS ISSUE
FPMT Regional and International Projects
Register Now - Upcoming Pujas
Save the Date - Ven. Robina Courtin in September
Rejoice - Retreat with Ven. Amy Miller and Community Gathering
Call for Volunteers

 

Dear Dharma Friends,

 

It's hot time summer in New York City and during August many are away and Shantideva Meditation will take a short break from our full program schedule.    

 

Sometimes slowing down gives us the space to reflect and rejoice. At our recent community party, we were sharing good company celebrating that we are now a Center and Affiliate of FPMT.   

Lama Zopa Rinpoche with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, India - May 2012.

Our deepest gratitude is extended to our beloved Spiritual Friends who guide and protect us on the path -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

 

This month, all of us in the FPMT North American Region are collaborating to honor His Holiness the Dalai Lama's birthday. We also remember the kindness of FPMT monks and nuns on International Sangha Day. 

 

Shantideva Meditation will also complete the Discovering Buddhism: Presenting the Path Study Group and will continue to offer pujas during July and August, now held at the Jewel Heart Center. Many thanks to George Cuesta and Luke Dedrick for graciously hosting pujas in their home for the past year.

 

We look forward to seeing you in September when Venerable Robina Courtin returns to New York for teachings that will be both provocative and inspiring.

 

With warm wishes and oceans of love,

 

 

Mary Esbjornson, Director 

Shantideva Meditation Center  

 

  
F P M T   R E G I O N A L   &   I N T E R N A T I O N A L   P R O J E C T S 

Compassion Day

Shantideva Meditation Center is delighted to participate in Compassion Day, an initiative organized by The North American Region of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 77th birthday on July 6th.

You are invited to join with Shantideva Meditation Center and the collective efforts of FPMT centers across the United States and Canada to celebrate compassion and bring greater joy, connection and meaning to our lives.
Participate through a deliberate act of compassion, meditating on compassion, and rejoicing - and then share your stories, thoughts, or creative inspirations.

 


   

Rejoicing

Join us as we come together to create a gift for His Holiness to show appreciation for how he inspires us with his exemplary kindness and compassion toward all sentient beings. The most precious gift we can give to our teachers is our practice and sincere hearts.     

 

On the occasion of His Holiness' birthday, Shantideva Meditation Center is collecting notes, images, poems, works of art, or other expressions of gratitude.  We especially wish to send a strong message of gratitude from the New York community and encourage everyone to participate -- children and adults -- novice writers and accomplished artists.  

 

Share your offerings of gratitude on Shantideva Meditation Center's Facebook Page or e-mail them to Jennifer Kim by Monday, July 15. We will compile a beautiful offering which the FPMT North American Region will present to His Holiness along with offerings from other centers. 

 

Compassion in Action

Compassion is removing the suffering of others. There are so many ways -- big and small -- to practice compassion on a daily basis. The energy of that willingness to leap forth from your meditation to assist any beings who need you is the idea behind Compassion in Action.  

 

How can we cultivate compassion, not just in our hearts as we do our daily practices, but in reality, in a real and meaningful way that benefits others?  


Please make a deliberate act of compassion. You may share your experiences on Shantideva Meditation Center's Facebook Page to foster inspiration for others. 

 

Meditation

Compassion and loving-kindness can be developed and practiced in each moment. Like any other qualities, they can be cultivated over time. But unlike the fitness of our bodies, which have a limit, these qualities can be developed immeasurably.

We invite you to meditate on love and compassion any day through July 6th. Guided meditations are available from Compassion Day's Website.  

 

Bodhisattva Attitude and Joy of Compassion Offered for Free

   

Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, dedicated to preserving the teachings of our lineage, particularly of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, is offering anybody in North America copies of Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Joy of Compassion and Bodhisattva Attitude post-free if ordered from the LYWA Website on Compassion Day, July 6th.  

  

 

FPMT International Sangha Day

 

 

The tenth annual FPMT International Sangha Day will be celebrated July 23, the day commemorating the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.    

 

The Sangha, the community of Buddhist monks and nuns, is the oldest monastic tradition going back to the time of the Buddha, nearly three thousand years ago.  They serve as one of the three jewels of refuge and are a living example of the teachings put into practice.  

   

For over 30 years, the monks and nuns of International Mahayana Institute (IMI) have tirelessly helped bring the Buddha's teachings to the far corners of this planet. Today, over 300 monks and nuns continue to serve as teachers, retreat leaders, directors, program coordinators, editors and counselors in FPMT centers worldwide.     

 

The presence of ordained sangha within FPMT is a source of strength for centers like Shantideva Meditation and we are especially grateful to Lama Zopa Rinpoche and our teachers who  consistently support Shantideva Meditation including Yangsi Rinpoche, Geshe Thubten Soepa, Geshe Thubten Sherab, Venerable Fedor Stracke, Venerable Robina Courtin, Venerable Amy Miller, and Venerable Rene Feusi.  

 

Shantideva Meditation Center makes a donation to the Lama Yeshe Sangha Fund established to help support the monks and nuns within the IMI community to study, practice, and live a life in the Buddha's footsteps. We encourage you to make a donation to the fund or perhaps other acts of appreciation to the Sangha.  Remembering our refuge in the Sangha and protecting the ordination of the monastic community, has tremendous benefit in our own lives, now and in the future.     

  


Even after death, whoever donates to this fund will get the merit of  

having contributed, for as long as the Sangha continues to exist.

 

- Lama Zopa Rinpoche 



 
U P C O M I N G   E V E N T S 

Pujas and Practices - New Location 

 

Pujas are offered twice monthly beginning at 7pm 

Jewel Heart Center 

260 West Broadway, NYC 10013

 

Shantideva Meditation students gather regularly for pujas, a ritual where prayers are offered to enlightened beings to request blessings and invoke help. Pujas help clear away obstacles and allow practitioners to realize their worldly and spiritual aspirations. Come as an observer or participant in this highly beneficial practice within a supportive community.   

  

Please note that our pujas will now be hosted in the beautiful gompa at Jewel Heart Center in downtown Manhattan.   

  

        

Guru Puja (Lama Ch�pa) lays the whole path to enlightenment on our mindstream, connects us more strongly to our teachers, and allows us to quickly and effectively accumulate merit and purify negative karma.          

 

 

Medicine Buddha purifies and heals on all levels - physical, mental, spiritual and environmental.  It is considered particularly powerful for people who are sick or have recently died, and for bringing both temporary success and the ultimate success of enlightenment.           

 

 

Green Tara puja is especially swift in helping to grant wishes and quickly remove obstacles to our worldly success and spiritual development, helping us to accomplish our goals.

      

 

You may wish to bring a small offering of food or flowers to create merit (positive energy). Please contact Jennifer Kim to request a dedication for yourself or someone else to be recited during the puja. You may also sponsor a puja via this link or make an offering at the door.  

 

RSVP  Guru Puja (Lama Ch�pa)   Friday, July 13
RSVP  Medicine Buddha Puja   Friday, July 27
RSVP  Green Tara Puja   Friday, August 10
RSVP  Guru Puja (Lama Ch�pa)   Friday, August 24

       


S A V E   T H E   D A T E  --  V E N E R A B L E   R O B I N A   C O U R T I N
Karma, Emptiness, and other Essential Buddhist Concepts  

    

Shantideva Meditation is pleased that Venerable Robina Courtin returns to New York City to offer teachings and guidance about concepts in Buddhism essential for our understanding and practice.

More program details will be provided as our plans unfold. 

 

Public Talk: Friday, Sept 14, 7-9pm  

Retreat: Saturday Sept 15; Sunday Sept 16, 10am-4 pm

Tibet House, 22 West 15th Street, NYC 10011  

  

Teaching:  Friday, Sept 21, 7-9 pm  

Jewel Heart Center, 260 West Broadway, NYC 10013

 

Public Talk on Engaged Buddhism: Wednesday, Sept 19, 7:30-9:30pm

Co-sponsored by The Interdependence Project (IDP) 302 Bowery, NYC 10012

 

Ven. Robina Courtin

Ven. Robina Courtin, born in Australia, became a student of Lama Yeshe and was ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun at Kopan Monastery in 1978. Since then she has worked for FPMT as editorial director of Wisdom Publications, editor of the magazine, Mandala and director of the Prison Liberation Project. Since 1987 she has taught at FPMT centers worldwide. Well-known for her intense energy and no-nonsense manner, Ven. Robina is the subject of an award-winning documentary, Chasing Buddha and a film by Christina Lundberg, On the Road Home.

 

Please note that programs and schedules are subject to change. Watch for reminder notices or get the latest information on upcoming events at Shantideva Meditation's website.   


R E J O I C E   -   R E C E N T   D H A R M A   E V E N T S 

Ven. Amy Miller on Living the Path to Enlightenment 

 

In May, students attending Ven. Amy Miller's retreat on Living the Path to Enlightenment learned about the Lam Rim (Tibetan for "stages on the path") and ways to weave the Buddhist philosophy into our everyday activities.    

 

As an understanding of the Lam Rim is critical to the path to enlightenment, and since Presenting the Path is the topic of our current Discovering Buddhism Study Group, we are especially delighted and grateful that Ven. Amy was able to come from the Milarepa Center in Vermont to teach us.

  


 Even though [external treatments - like hospitals] are beneficial,  

they are completely lost when you compare their benefits  

with one minute of reciting or listening to lam-rim prayer.  

 

- Lama Zopa Rinpoche 


     

Special thanks to Ganden Thurman of Tibet House for offering the use of facilities and support with outreach; Mary Esbjornson for event coordination; Jennifer Kim for communications and altar set up; Allan Tarantino for audio recording/editing; and Lana Popovic for providing accommodations for Ven. Amy; and Maria Perez for sponsoring lunch for students. Thanks also to our volunteer team for assisting with this event: Sandra Benedict, Lyn Hayes, and Michele Parlabean and Jessica Robinson.


Listen to the audio recording of Ven. Amy Miller's retreat.  For highlights of other Shantideva Meditation recordings, go to the Archive at our website.   

 

 

 

Gathering to Celebrate Becoming an FPMT Center and Affiliate 

Shantideva Meditation Center's management team - Jeffrey Caspari, George Cuesta, Gustavo Cutz, Mary Esbjornson, and Jennifer Kim - hosted a beautiful community gathering in early June to celebrate, share, and imagine our future.

 

Well-wishers attending the event and those from afar rejoiced in the collective efforts and potential of the Center and shared aspirations to bring the study and practice of the Buddha's teachings to many students in this vibrant city of New York and within the mandala of FPMT International.

 

Shantideva Meditation leaders extended a heartfelt thanks to our Dharma family in New York and around the world. We look forward to supporting one another on our spiritual paths and to fulfilling our mission to develop wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.

 

Celebrants at the Community Gathering

C A L L    F O R    V O L U N T E E R S



Shantideva Meditation Center is seeking people to coordinate important organizational functions. Offering service as a volunteer is a wonderful opportunity to cultivate positive spiritual potential and share your talents in a meaningful way, generating merit (positive potential) for yourself and benefiting others.  

 

Spiritual Program Implementation 

Assist in the implementation of Dharma events including visiting teacher public talks and retreats, pujas, and other educational activities. Set up the sacred space and altar, manage volunteers, assist with Sangha care, prepare Dharma materials, and other responsibilities.

 

Administrative Management

Manage bookkeeping and financial reports, mailing list management, inventory and archiving, technical systems, registration, and correspondence.

 

At this time, positions are non-paid but we do offer opportunities for connecting with visiting teachers, participating in retreats and other events, and practicing within a harmonious community.     

Please write to Mary Esbjornson at Shantideva Meditation for more information or to express your interest volunteering or other ways you might wish to be supportive.   

    

P R A C T I C E    G E N E R O S I T Y


Your Support is Appreciated


 

Shantideva Meditation Center Board members wish to express our heartfelt thanks to those who have made contributions to fund our organizational expenses as well as donations for pujas and Dharma teachings.

 

We are now seeking sponsors for Venerable Robina Courtin's visit in September. Funds are needed to support transportation, space rental, accommodations, meals for the teacher and students, and materials.

 

If you wish to create positive potential and serve the Dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings, consider making a donation via the link below or contact Mary Esbjornson at Shantideva Meditation to discuss giving opportunities. Thank you! 

 

 

Make a Donation





In giving we not only find wealth while in
cyclic existence but we achieve the zenith of
 prosperity in supreme enlightenment.


- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 


A B O U T   U S


Shantideva Meditation Center is dedicated to developing the good heart by cultivating wisdom and compassion through the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism within the New York City area community.

We are affiliated with The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), which is based on the Gelugpa tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa of Tibet as taught by Founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe and Spiritual Director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

For more information, please e-mail Shantideva Meditation or visit our new website! 

Find us on Facebook
 

To learn more about Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition go to FPMT.