A beautiful day of retreat guided by Gen Tonglam, with five sessions of meditation using Heart Jewel prayers drawing us closer and closer to Dorje Shugden. The retreat gives us time to meditate on the teachings and bring everything we have learned together into our practice of Heart Jewel. Gen Tonglam takes us on an inner journey step by step through some of the essential teachings from the Festival, giving helpful encouragement and advice on how to practice.
By now there is a strong feeling of harmony at the Festival amongst everyone attending, a pervasive feeling of peace and protection. Everyone is appreciating the teachings, which help us to understand how to improve our own practice and help others to find happiness.
It’s day three and everyone is enjoying the daily program of teachings, meditations and chanted prayers around which everything else is woven. This gives a strong meaningful focus to each day and creates a natural rhythm of quiet periods alternating with a friendly sociable buzz between sessions.
The sunshine and clear blue skies added to the special atmosphere of the empowerment day. People enjoyed preparing well in the powerful and contemplative morning meditations with Gen Devi. Then, after a relaxed and joyful afternoon in the gardens of Manjushri KMC, it was time to enter into Dorje Shugden’s mandala.
The first day of Spring Festival 2024 is here, with over a thousand people arriving at Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre from around the world. Whether we are coming for the first time or are regular attendees at International festivals, there is a sense of coming into our spiritual home. We enjoy being in a family of dedicated Kadampa practitioners, working to improve ourself and to benefit others.
Today the international ordained Kadampa disciples had the precious opportunity to gather together for the Spring Festival ordination ceremony with Gen-la Kelsang Kunsang.
It’s been a very special, blessed festival, and now like a pure dream, the festival draws to a close, but leaves everyone forever changed.
After receiving a wealth of teachings, we complete the Festival with a day and a half of retreat beautifully and skilfully guided by Gen Rabten. The emphasis is on the first of the eleven reversals, taking us step by step through the meditation on relying on the Spiritual Guide from the book Mirror of Dharma with additions. He gives everyone a lot of time to contemplate, find their own object of meditation and meditate to deepen our familiarity with that object. Then we engage in the Medicine Buddha Sadhana as an extension of our faith, visualising our Spiritual Guide in this pure, healing aspect. Each day concludes with the Medicine Buddha Prayers, where we use the connection we have made with Medicine Guru to make powerful prayers and visualisations to heal the mental continuum of all living beings.
After another wonderful meditation session on Medicine Buddha we had the final two teachings from Gen-la Khyenrab. In the first teaching he completed the commentary to the practice of the 11 reversals.
Alongside the practice of Medicine Buddha, we are learning about the Eleven Reversals. As Gen-la Khyenrab explained this is another way of dividing up and practising Lamrim.
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A joyful weekend of inspiration, blessings and connection unfolded in Western Canada as Gen Kelsang Chodor, NKT National Spiritual Director of Canada and Resident Teacher of KMC Toronto, visited Vancouver.
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