A Weekend of Inspiration and Blessings
Across the Kadampa community, practitioners recently came together to celebrate, receive precious teachings, and deepen their spiritual practice. From a weekend of Green Tara teachings and empowerment in Amsterdam to the 30th anniversary celebration in Ottawa, these gatherings offered joyful opportunities to connect with others, strengthen our faith, and find inspiration in the wisdom of Kadam Dharma.
Green tara Empowerment Weekend at Kadampa Meditation Center Netherlands
Special Event
Fearless Wisdom with Green Tara
Kadampa practitioners from the Netherlands, UK, France, and Germany gathered in Amsterdam for a wonderful weekend, Fearless Wisdom – The Empowerment of Green Tara.
In the morning, GP and FP Teacher Adrienne Weiss prepared everyone for the empowerment by guiding a meditation and encouraging us to develop the best possible altruistic motivation.
Our Resident Teacher of KMC Netherlands, Gen Kelsang Dragpa, then granted the empowerment of Green Tara and gave two inspiring sessions of teachings on the sadhana Liberation from Sorrow. He shared part of Venerable Geshe-la’s explanation of verses from the Homage to the Twenty-One Taras, which he received in 2021 from Gen-la Dekyong. On Sunday, the teachings also focused on the essential practice of faith.
Together, the assembly also engaged in two sessions of Liberation from Sorrow, including guided meditations. It was a very auspicious and blessed weekend for everyone, and a joyful opportunity to practice together and strengthen our faith in Green Tara and our precious Dharma teachings.
It was lovely to attend a Tara empowerment at KMC Netherlands. Gen Dragpa gave us
beautiful teachings and practical tips to deepen our connection with Green Tara.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Kadampa Meditation Centre Ottawa
Celebrating 30 years
30 Years of Kadam Dharma in Ottawa
We began our celebration of the 30th Anniversary of KMC Ottawa with a wonderful half-day course with our National Spiritual Director, Gen Kelsang Chodor, A Life of Great Meaning & Purpose. He gave us a transmission of a teaching given by Venerable Geshe-la in 1994 on the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. It was deeply moving and inspiring.
After the course, we enjoyed a delicious High Tea, complete with scones and Devonshire cream, lovingly prepared by our talented Admin Director, Kelsang Khandro, and her enthusiastic team of helpers.
We were then treated to a very moving video presentation of our Center’s history, featuring many photos of memorable moments from our 30 years together. A lot has changed during that time! It was wonderful—and sometimes amusing—to see ourselves as we were back then.
We began as Joyful Land Buddhist Centre in 1996 and have since experienced many changes as a community, including several different Teachers and two different center locations. Two of our previous Teachers, Gen Kelsang Suma and Gen Kelsang Zopa, shared inspiring and encouraging talks about their fond memories of their time here. Our present Teacher, Gen Kelsang Thekchen, completed the presentation with an inspiring talk about our hopes to move into a new, beautiful, larger center nearby. This new space will help us better serve the people of Ottawa and offer them the opportunity to discover a life of great meaning and purpose through the practice of Kadam Dharma.
We pray that Venerable Geshe-la and Dorje Shugden will continue to bless and guide our center, helping us to grow and develop and to cherish others more and more, just as we have endeavored to do throughout our 30-year history.
