Over 200 people are enjoying the post Summer Festival Retreat at Tara International Kadampa Retreat Centre this week, with 50 in-person and the remainder taking part online. And after months of careful restoration – repainting and gold leafing – the Buddha Shakyamuni statue was installed in the shrine for the retreat!
Right now people in New York City are enjoying a week-long post Summer Festival retreat with Resident Teacher of KMC New York City, Kadam Morten. To the delight of many, during one session Kadam Morten proclaimed the memorable line, “It just so happens that reality is bliss.”
Artists, construction workers and landscapes are all working hard to bring the Temple to completion. Windows are installed, the cladding for the pillars in place, the exterior landscaping under way and the final touches being added to the lantern tower before it is liften into place at the top pf the Temple.
Enjoy and share some of the amazing videos that appeared on the Video Wall in the 2021 Summer Festival Diaries.
As the International Summer Festival 2021 draws to a close this is a great time to look back over the delightful days of Week 2 as revealed in the Festival Diaries
The 2021 Summer Festival was remarkable in so many ways. It is as if we have experienced a modern miracle. A global community of over 6,000 people came together virtually to enjoy the very essence of modern Kadam Dharma, including for the first time ever, the HIghest Yoga Tantra empowerments of Heruka and Vajrayogini transmitted online.
Yesterday, thousands of people around the world came together to meditate for world peace. We meditated on a peace that for most people is impossible even to imagine – the deep peace of Guru Heruka’s mind.
Yesterday, with two extraordinary teachings on Heruka body mandala, Gen-la Jampa’s teachings drew to a close. Teachings that, though extremely profound, were presented in such a practical way that everyone felt empowered and eager to engage in the practice.
Yesterday Gen-la completed a brief, essential commentary to Vajrayogini and began an equally powerful and inspiring commentary to the practice of Heruka body mandala based on the sadhana The Yoga of Buddha Heruka. The day concluded with a powerful worldwide Offering to the Spiritual Guide puja, with a special dedication to the long life of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.
Yesterday, Gen-la Jampa began a series of six teachings as brief commentaries to the practices of Heruka and Vajrayogini. The teachings on the practice of Vajrayogini yesterday felt like another empowerment! Faithfully following the teachings of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Gen-la’s instructions were extraordinarily clear and profound.
General Spiritual Director
