Gen-la Khyenrab, retired NKT-IKBU General Spiritual Director and National Spiritual Director for Canada, recently completed a tour of public talks in Ontario culminating with the Ontario Dharma Celebration in the beautiful Temple at KMC Canada in Toronto. Gen-la gave the empowerment and commentary of Arya White Tara as well as profound teachings on faith. The Friday introduction was given by Kelsang Kunden of Avalokiteshvara Centre in Guelph, Ontario

Gen-la is a very popular and inspiring Teacher and his talks in Kitchener, Kingston, Barrie, Hamilton and Ottawa were well attended, with 350 people attending the last talk.

Then came the empowerment and teachings in the Temple. See below for a first-hand account.

Next empowerment with Gen-la
On December 30, Gen-la will grant empowerment of Arya Green Tara and teachings on refuge at the Temple in Toronto - an occasion not to be missed. For more information and bookings visit the empowerment website.

The Ontario Dharma Celebration in their own words
'After receiving the blessing empowerment of Arya White Tara, we spent the remainder of Saturday afternoon receiving a commentary from Gen-la on the practice of the Yoga of White Tara, and finished the day with the special prayer Offering to the Spiritual Guide.
We learned that Tara is completely skillful at liberating us from all of our fears, however we must practice a strong reliance on her that is sustained by the supreme common practices of refuge and bodhichitta.

'On Sunday morning Gen-la told us, ‘If we really want powerful inner peace, then we want a faithful mind.’ He read from the book How to Understand the Mind where Venerable Geshe-la says that if we want success in our spiritual practices it is vital that we listen to, read, and study Dharma with a faithful mind. Then Gen-la explained the three types of faith - wishing, believing and admiring. - and encouraged us to pursue our Dharma practice in a gentle way that nurtures us while slowly increasing our wisdom over time.

The weekend offered a rare opportunity to enjoy the inspiring company and pure example of a wide group of Canadian Sangha - spiritual friends new and old from Dharma centres in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, as well as centres in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

'The last teaching focused on the uncommon practice of generating ourselves as Buddha White Tara and receiving blessings based upon an understanding of emptiness. In this practice, all parts of our mind take the form of White Tara - encompassing beautiful symbols of wisdom, bliss, and universal compassion. We receive her blessings bestowing long life and good fortune, remembering that everything that appears to us arises from the emptiness of all phenomena, and we hold onto this meaning in our mind with strong faith.

'At the end of the teaching, Gen-la urged us to encourage our friends to visit our Dharma centres, powerful places that magnify blessings for those who enter them, and give everyone without discrimination the opportunity to find inner peace.

'How wonderful!'