Kusali Chöd Practice and the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara Sadhana with Ven. Khenpo Choephel

Saturday and Sunday, August 18-19, 2018

10am – 4:30pm

The Venerable Khenpo Choephel, spiritual director and resident teacher of TRTCC, will lead a practice on Kusali Chöd (གཅོད) which literally means “cutting through“.  It is an internal mental practice to offer one’s body as nectar to the beings in the six realms in order to cut through one’s self-grasping and self-cherishing.  This is an important practice to help practitioners cut through ego and all forms of attachment, the root of our suffering.  This is also a great purification practice to purify our negative karma, the past harmful actions that we have done.

Saturday, August 18, 2018
10am – 12pm    Explanation of the Chöd practice
12pm – 1:30pm   Lunch break
1:30pm – 4:30pm   Kusali Chöd practice

Sunday, August 19, 2018
10am – 12pm    the Thousand Armed and Thousand Eyed Avalokiteshvara Teaching
12pm – 1:30pm    Lunch break
1:30pm – 4:30pm    Avalokiteshvara Sadhana practice

Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezig in Tibetan) is the deity embodying loving kindness and compassion.  The action in loving Kindness and Compassion is much needed in today’s world where suffering abounds.   The essence of this Thousand Armed and Thousand Eyed Chenrezig practice is to generate the awakening mind, bodhicitta, in order to liberate all sentient beings from all forms of suffering.  The practice includes invocation, offering, visualization, recitation of mantra, meditation on compassion, and some ritual practices such as torma and tsok offering.  This practice is beneficial to the world, to all sentient beings in this world, and to oneself as well.

As our resounding dedication prayer goes on: “Bodhicitta, the excellent and precious mind, where it is unborn may it arise.  Where it is born, may it not decline, but ever increase, higher and higher.“

The Venerable Khenpo Choephel, spiritual director and resident teacher of
Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center

 

ALL ARE WELCOME

Suggested donation is $35 for each day Saturday and Sunday and $60 for both days.  Your donations will support TRTCC’s many teaching and cultural events year round.  No one will be turned away from dharma teaching for insufficient funds.  To download a flyer, please click here.   August 2018 flyer

Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center is located at: 7313 Florence Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15218

 

 

Visiting Teacher The Venerable Tashi Nyima

The Pureland Teaching, The Yoga of Dying, and the OTHER Emptiness

Friday-Sunday, July 27-29, 2018

The Venerable Tashi Nyima is an ordained monk in the Jonang lineage of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, and leads the Universal Compassion Buddhist Congregation, with Sanghas in Texas, Mexico, and Argentina. For more than three decades, Lama Tashi has shared the Dharma in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.  Known for his directness, clarity of expression, and sense of humor, Lama Tashi shares the Dharma in fluent English and Spanish.

FRIDAY, July 27, 7-9pm
The Pure Land Teaching
In this brief talk, the Ven. Tashi Nyima will explore Pure Land practice as the gate to the Way of the Bodhisattva, as well as the practice of Powa (transference of consciousness) in Tibetan Buddhism as an integral practice at the time of death.

SATURDAY, July 28, 10am-12pm,  1:30-3:30pm
The Yoga of Dying
As a way to further explore and deepen our understanding of the practice of Powa at the time of death, the Ven. Tashi Nyima will discuss issues concerning the death process, such as medication for pain, prolongation of life, removal of support, assisted suicide, organ donation, embalming, and the medical power of attorney.

SUNDAY, July 29, 10am-12pm, 1:30-3:30pm
The OTHER Emptiness
While the Buddha encouraged us not to be fooled by appearances and to stop ascribing independent existence to that which is temporary and dependent, it is important not to interpret his teaching as promoting “nothing” as the ultimate truth.  The Ven. Tashi Nyima will examine the notion of emptiness with regard to “no thing exists independently of the consciousness that perceives it.”

Suggested donation is $10 for the Friday talk, $30 for each day Saturday and Sunday. Your donations will support TRTCC’s many teaching and cultural events year round. No one will be turned away for insufficient funds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

LOCATION: Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center
7313 Florence Avenue,
Pittsburgh PA 15218

 

To download a flyer:  Tashi Flyer

 

CHOKOR DUCHEN   ཆོས་འཁོར་དུས་ཆེན།

Commemorating Buddha Shakyamuni’s First Turning of the Dharma Wheel

Sunday July 15, 2018

SUNDAY, JULY 15
10am – 12pm
1:30pm – 3:30pm

CHOKOR DUCHEN ཆོས་འཁོར་དུས་ཆེན། is on the 4th day of the 6th month of the Tibetan Lunar Calendar.  It is the anniversary of Buddha Shakyamuni’s first turning of the Dharma Wheel.

TRTCC will have a day of practice with prayers, supplication, recitation and chanting led by Ven. Khenpo Choephel to commemorate this special event.

Please consider giving a donation to our center to help sustain TRTCC’s many teaching and cultural events year round.

 

ALL ARE WELCOME

 

LOCATION: Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center
7313 Florence Avenue,
Pittsburgh PA 15218

To download a flyer please click here:
Shakyamuni July15 2018 flyer

 

H.H. Dalai Lama is 83 years old today

July 6, 2018

Happy Birthday!

His Holiness Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people committed to promoting human values such as compassion and love, and to enable understanding and harmony among all religions. He has been working in great effort on preserving Tibetan Buddhist culture of peace and non-violence.

He said, “All major religious traditions, including its different ideologies, all carry one message, ie. message of love, forgiveness, tolerance and self-discipline. On that basis, we can develop genuine harmony.”

Living a disciplined life for the benefit of all living beings for decades, he is still strong and healthy at age 83.  He said he is looking forward to another 15, 20 years,  continuing to promote a sense of oneness of the 7 billion human beings on this Earth.

The following is an excerpt from his book Ethics for the New Millennium:

The best way to ensure that when we approach death we do so without remorse is to ensure that in the present moment we conduct ourselves responsibly and with compassion for others. Actually, this is in our own interest, and not just because it will benefit us in the future. As we have seen, compassion is one of the principal things that make our lives meaningful. It is the source of all lasting happiness and joy. And it is the foundation of a good heart, the heart of one who acts out of a desire to help others. Through kindness, through affection, through honesty, through truth and justice toward all others we ensure our own benefit. This is not a matter for complicated theorizing. It is a matter of common sense. There is no denying that consideration of others is worthwhile. There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. There is no denying that if society suffers, we ourselves suffer. Nor is there any denying that the more our hearts and minds are afflicted with ill-will, the more miserable we become. Thus we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion.

This, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. In this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine, or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple. The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need. So long as we practice these in our daily lives, then no matter if we are learned or unlearned, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or follow some other religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is no doubt we will be happy.

TRTCC’S spiritual director, Ven. Khenpo Choephel is currently out of town teaching.
When he comes back next week we will have a simple celebration of the birthday of
His Holiness Dalai Lama.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at 7pm.

ALL ARE WELCOME

LOCATION: Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center
7313 Florence Avenue,
Pittsburgh PA 15218

 

 

His Eminence Tritsab Rinpoche
Pittsburgh Teaching Schedule

June 15th-20th, 2018

FRIDAY, June 15th, 2018

7pm-9pm  at the Sixth Presbyterian Church
PHOWA Transmission and Teaching by H.E. Tritsab Rinpoche:

Phowa in the Vajrayana Buddhism practice is a method of training to face death fearlessly and compassionately for oneself and others and transfer one’s consciousness into a pure and peaceful realm of Buddha field.

Sixth Presbyterian Church is located at:
1688 Murray Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217

SATURDAY, June 16th, 2018

10am – 12pm at the Sixth Presbyterian Church

BASUDHARA Empowerment and Teaching by H.E. Tritsab Rinpoche:
H.E. Tritsab Rinpoche will bestow the empowerment and blessings of the female enlightened being Basudhara, also known by the name Lhamo Norgyunma, or Vasudhara, the goddess of wealth. Basudhara is the embodiment of prosperity, wealth, good fortunes and abundance of resources.

2pm – 5pm at the Sixth Presbyterian Church

BASUDHARA practice led by H.E. Tritsab Rinpoche and Venerable Khenpo Choephal :
The afternoon will be devoted to the practice of the teaching of Basudhara, the female wealth deity Lhasa Norgyunma with four Zambala retinues led by H.E Tritsab Rinpoche and Ven. Khenpo Choephel, with prayers, mantra recitations, visualization, silent meditation and dedication for the benefit of all sentient beings.

(Suggested donation: $20 for each session, $50 for both Friday and Saturday. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. )

To download a flyer:  HE Tritsab Rinpoche teaching flyer 2018(2)

 

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SUNDAY, June 17th, 2018

10am – 12pm at Frick Park

Blessing of the Environment and Cleansing Rituals:

H.E. Tritsab Rinpoche will perform the Dorje Namjom and Dorje Sempa Cleansing Rituals for all sentient beings and natural environments.
These cleansing rituals are performed in the traditional way as a blessing to purify physical and mental defilement or sicknesses of all living beings and to remove contamination of the environment. These include removing obscurations of the mind and violations of moral precepts, and the cleansing of negative energies of evil spirits. The intention is to heal and restore a balanced progress for all sentient beings and the natural environment to function in a wholesome way.

1pm – 2:30pm at Frick Park

Incense and Smoke Offering

3pm – 4pm at Frick Park

Silent meditation with H.E Rinpoche and Ven. Khenpo Choephel

(Suggested donation: $30 for the whole day.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds. )

To download the direction to the space at Frick Park:  TRTCC 2018 Frick Park direction

 

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WEDNESDAY, June 20th, 2018

7pm – 10pm at TRTCC

Special Teaching and Practice of the Great Dharma Protectress
ACHI CHOKYI DORLMA by H.E. Tritsab Rinpoche

The evening is devoted to the special teaching and practice of ACHI CHOKYI DORLMA. 

(Suggested donation: $30 for the session.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds. )

 

ALL ARE WELCOME

 

As always, your donations to our center will help sustain TRTCC’s many teaching and cultural activities year round. Our heartfelt thanks to your continual supports for TRTCC!  No one will be turned away from seeking teaching for lack of funds.

 

 

Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center is located at:
7313 Florence Avenue,
Pittsburgh PA 15218

 

 

Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center presents:

A Public Talk on Tibetan Medicine and Meditation:

Mind-Body Connection and Treatment of Insomnia, Depression, and Fibromyalgia

by Mempa Youlha Tsering

Friday, May 25, 2018    7:00 – 8:30pm

at the Sixth Presbyterian Church of Squirrel Hill

Mempa Youlha Tsering will give a brief introduction on the mind-body connection approach of Tibetan Medicine, including perspectives from embryology, pathology and diagnosis of common disorders such as insomnia, depression and fibromyalgia.  He will explain how spiritual practices and meditation play a role in Tibetan Medicine.

 

LOCATION: Sixth Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh
1688 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217

 

Mempa (Doctor) Youlha Tsering  graduated from the Qinghai University Tibetan Medical College in 2003 after completing a five-year degree in Tibetan Medicine.  After graduation, Mempa Youlha practiced for a year in Lhasa at a clinic specializing in musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.  He then traveled abroad and founded the Yuthog Clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal.

During his stay in Nepal, he volunteered nearly a year of his time as a physician in one of the most remote areas of the country before traveling to India to continue advanced medical studies.  His training and experiences have given him a deep knowledge of Tibetan herbs, Tibetan methods of diagnosis, physical therapies such as moxibustion, Ku Nye massage, and “Golden Needle Therapy”.  After coming to the United States, he continued to study a variety of massage therapy and bodywork training in Conway, MA and Asheville, NC, and has been licensed as a Massage Therapist.

Mempa Youlha has had a life-long dream of acting as a bridge between cultures and between medical traditions.  With a solid foundation on Tibetan medical knowledge, Youlha still actively seeks out new ideas and new ways of understanding lifestyle needs and individual diets to effectively address the mental and physical well-being of his patients.

His professional presentations included: Tibetan Perspectives on Pathology and Wellness, Promoting Health by Decreasing Negative Emotions, and Tibetan Medical Perspectives on Arthritis.

This presentation at the Sixth Presbyterian Church in Squirrel Hill is free to the public. Donations to support Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center‘s educational events are heartily appreciated as always.

 

ALL ARE WELCOME

 

During his 3-day visit to Pittsburgh, Mempa Youlha is also available for individual consultation on May 25-27, Friday through Sunday at TRTCC, located at 7313 Florence Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15218.

If you are interested in scheduling a consultation please send us a message to threeriversdharma@gmail.com with your full name, phone number, and preferred time. Thank you.

To download a flyer please click here:
Tibetan Medicine flyer May 25, 2018

 

Venerable Khenpo Choephel returns to teaching at Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center

Saturday and Sunday, May 5th and 6th, 2018 at 10am

A Reception on Sunday, May 6, 2018, after the morning teaching

 

Venerable Khenpo Choephel will return to TRTCC this weekend and continue with his regular morning teaching starting at 10am.

TRTCC will have a reception around noon on Sunday to welcome him back.  Tea and refreshment will be served.

Sunday, May 6, 11:30am – 12:30pm,  Reception

 

ALL ARE WELCOME

 

Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center is located at: 7313 Florence Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15218

As always, your donation to TRTCC  to help sustain our many teaching and cultural events year round will be much appreciated.

 

Mindfulness Fair:

Saturday, 4/7/2018  10am-4pm

TRTCC Varjapani Empowerment and Vajrasattva Practice:  

Saturday & Sunday, 4/21,22/ 2018    10am-3pm

VESAK 2018:

Sunday, 4/29/2018      3-5pm

Vajrapani Empowerment and Practice

Saturday, April 21, 2018

10am – 3pm

Visiting teacher Venerable Lama Sonam will return to TRTCC to give a special empowerment and teaching on Vajrapani, the wrathful protective deity in Tibetan Buddhism who represents the Buddha’s power in overcoming obstacles and adverse conditions.

10am – 12pm  Vajrapani instruction and Empowerment
12pm – 1pm    Lunch break
1pm – 3pm    Vajrapani practice

On Sunday, Lama Sonam will be teaching on Vajrasattva, the preliminary practice of purifying the mind’s negative activities.

 

Venerable Lama Sonam is currently the Spiritual Director of Drikung Meditation center in Arlington, Massachusetts.  Originally from Drikung Katsal monastery, Tibet, Lama Sonam has been trained since young age in the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and has received teachings and transmissions from many lineage masters in monasteries in Tibet and India.

 

 

 

Vajrasattva Teaching

Sunday, April 22, 2018

10am – 3pm

10am – 12pm  Vajrasattva Instruction and teaching
12pm – 1pm    Lunch break
1pm – 3pm    Vajrasattva practice

 

 

ALL ARE WELCOME

Your donations to our center will help sustain TRTCC’s many teaching and cultural events year round.

Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center is located at: 7313 Florence Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15218

 

Workshops on Setting up a home shrine and
Ritual Instruments for Chöd practice

Saturday, February 24, 2018 and
Sunday, February 25, 2018
2:00-4:00pm

Venerable Lama Kalsang will offer two workshops this coming weekend:

Saturaday, Feb 24, 2-4pm

Lama Kalsang will provide guidance on setting up a home shrine, explaining the meaning of the objects that are on the shrine at the center and how we can create similar meaning with a home shrine. This workshop will also provide instruction in the offering mudra of yidam practice.

Sunday, Feb 25, 2-4pm

Lama Kalsang will do a workshop on the use of ritual instruments during practice, including the Bell and Damaru and also ritual instruments used for Chöd practice.

Please let us know if you plan to come to either or both of these workshops, so we can arrange the space to make sure there will be room for everyone. Email us at:
threeriverstibetancc2017@gmail.com. if you are planning to attend.

 

ALL ARE WELCOME

 

Suggested donation is $15 for each workshop.  Your donations will help sustain TRTCC’s many teaching and cultural events year round.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center is located at: 7313 Florence Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15218