MINDSPACE

COME CELEBRATE BUDDHA'S BIRTHDAY, ENLIGHTENMENT AND PARANIRVANA

Northwest Arkansas Buddhists will celebrate Vesak 2008 with a potluck picnic beginning at 3:30 pm (dinner starts around 5:30 pm) on Sunday, May 18 at Agri Park in Fayetteville. All area Buddhists and all those interested in Buddhist theory and practice are cordially invited to attend.
Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s birthday,” Vesak celebrates the birth, enlightenment (Nirvana), and passing (Paranirvana) of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni. An official state holiday in many Buddhist countries, Vesak is also known as Vaisakha, Buddha Jayanti, and Saga Dawa. The exact date of Vesak varies according to the various lunar calendars used in different traditions. For many of those traditions, Vesak falls on May 20 in 2008.
Please bring food and drink, plates, cups, and utensils to share with those attending, as well as lawn chairs, games, etc. Local practice groups are invited to bring information about their group’s practice and activities to share with others. Those who wish may bring offerings of fruit, flowers, incense, or candles to be placed on the altar.
The event will feature a period of silent meditation, and perhaps a Dharma talk or two. At the close of the event, Ven. Geshe Thupten Dorjee will offer to those interested the Eight Precepts Vow, to be honored for the 24-hour period beginning at sunrise on Tuesday May 20. Participants who take the vow undertake to abstain from: taking life (both human and nonhuman); taking what is not given (stealing); all sexual activity; telling lies; using intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness; eating at the wrong time (the right time is eating once, after sunrise, before noon); singing, dancing, playing music, attending entertainment performances, wearing perfume, and using cosmetics and garlands; and using luxurious places for sitting or sleeping.
Located on Garland Avenue north of the University of Arkansas and Deane Street, Agri Park features a covered pavilion; in the event of rain, the event will proceed as planned.

ANAM THUBTEN RINPOCHE TEACHES AT ST. PAUL'S

Anam Thubten Rinpoche gave an extraordinary teaching on Monday, April 21 at St. Paul's.  Thanks to all of you who turned out for Rinpoche's teaching.  He had a wonderful time and would like to return to do a weekend retreat. Thanks also to St. Paul's for hosting the event, and to Veronica Pucci for the wonderful photographs, which you can view at Dharma Eyes.  There is a possibility that we will have a visit from another Lama in late May or early June; I'll keep you posted. 

ANAM THUBTEN RINPOCHE TO SPEAK IN FAYETTEVILLE

WHAT:  Dharma Talk

WHEN:  Monday, April 21, 7:00 P.M.

WHERE:  St. Paul's Episcoal Church, 224 N. East St., Fayetteville  AR  72701 (442-7373).  For directions, click here.

Fayetteville residents have an extraordinary opportunity to hear one of the most talented and perceptive teachers currently active in the United States today. 

Anam Thubten Rinpoche was born in Tibet and entered into Buddhist training in the Nyingma tradition at young age.  Among his teachers, he had a special affinity toward a very inspiring Dharma teacher named Lama Tsurlo, who became his main mentor.  Lama Tsurlo's kindness and wisdom gave him the firm base to advance in his dharma practice, and still serves as a source of inspiration in his ever-unfolding love of true Dharma, as well as his work as a teacher.  Anam Thubten was recognized as the reincarnation of Anam Lama, when he was quite young.

Rinpoche will give a general dharma talk on the nature and availability of spiritual truth.  More specific descriptions of his teachings often narrow the scope of his message--you simply have to hear him to appreciate the full dimensions of his capacious mind, his generosity, and his compassion. 

Simply put--this is a talk that is not to be missed.  All are welcome, and a $10 donation for adults and $5 for students are suggested to help defray the costs of travel.  No one, of course, will be turned away.

It is traditional inTibetan culture for students, after the teaching, to line up for a blessing from the teacher.  This is entirely optional, of course.  But if you would like a personal blessing from Rinpoche, it is easy to do.  You simple bow, and present him with a kata, or white scarf, draped over your hands, which he will take, bless, and place around your neck.  If you have a kata you may bring it.  If not, we will have several for you to share with others.  It is also traditional that you present the teacher with your donation in a white envelope at this time.  We will have white envelopes available for you to use as well.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday, 21 February, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 7:00 p.m.

SPECIAL NOTE:  RINPOCHE WILL ALSO BE LEADING A RETREAT IN LITTLE ROCK, APRIL 18-20.  CONTACT KAREN WISDOM FOR MORE INFORMATION (501-681-2895).

NEW ARTICLE IN THE TRAVELER FEATURING GESHE DORJEE

Have a look at the following article in The Traveler, which came out today, on Geshe and his life and teaching mission at the University and the community of Fayetteville.  Thanks to Pam Acosta who did a wonderful job both on the research and the writing.  We also had a successful lecture & vigil last night for the Tibetans in Tibet.  I'll post on that later, but thanks to all who attended.

TCIA'S FIRST ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

The Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas held its first organizational meeting on March 12, 2008, at the Pat and Willard Walker Meeting Room at the Fayetteville Public Library.  Over thirty people attended.  By the end of March, Geshe la and the officers will appoint a Board and convene its first meeting soon thereafter.  Everyone who attended shared with us helpful ideas for our future growth, and we are looking forward to working with everyone as we begin to formalize our plans.  James Owenby, our secretary, has provided minutes of the meeting, and they can be viewed on this site under "TCIA Minutes" and under the same heading at TIBETSPACE.

THE DALAI LAMA ON BUDDHISM IN AMERICA

Have a look at the 8:00 minute video below.  His Holiness last summer gave a talk in Carmel, New York, and during the talk he addressed some very important issues regarding the practice and development of our spirituality as Americans.  He also had some very simple and wise comments regarding our goals and aims.

GESHE LA & RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

For those of you who missed the wonderful piece that Christie Storm wrote in The Democrat Gazette last Sunday (27 February 2008), you can have a look at it here.  Thanks to Christie--she does remarkable work covering religion and spirituality in our state, and she and her paper have been extraordinarily generous to Geshe la, Rinzin, and the Tibetan Cultural Institute. 

Also on a distantly related topic . . . I stumbled on the following site through a newsletter I received.  It's a very brief and helpful discussion, particularly for beginners, of the proper leg positions in seated meditation.

GESHE LA'S TEACHING AWARD

As many of you know, Geshe la received his Outstanding Faculty Award on Thursday, 21 February 2008 (he's pictured to the left with our Chancellor, John White, and his wife, Mary Lib) at an honorary banquet held at the Hembree House.  It was a wonderful and moving evening.  Since then we have been showered with congratulations from Tibetans around the world.  I've added a photo album with a few pictures from the event.

This award represents a victory of sorts for all Tibetans, and Geshe la has gone out of his way in interviews with the Voice of Tibet, the Voice of America, and other venues to stress this fact.  Now, Tibetans have a model, an example of how education results in recognition and the kind of attention that might someday lead to a full redress of the wrongs that have been dealt the Tibetans.  At the very least, Geshe la's education has allowed him to make a credible case, not only for Tibetan culture in general, but for a reasoned approach to the necessity of non-violence in all of our lives, and it is this approach that garnered the award for him.  As he says continually:  "This is about education."

Most importantly, we recently received a letter of congratulations from Tashi Wangdi, the North  American representative of the Dalai Lama.  This is wonderful news for Geshe la, and we hope that it bodes well for our future involvement with Mr. Wangdi's office.  If you'd like to download the letter and read, click on the following link:

Download LetterWangdi.jpg (811.5K)

Geshe la and Rinzin la's presence here in Fayetteville has served as a catalyst for a range of positive developments, extending from the classroom to the meditation room, and we will be calling a meeting soon for all of those interested in helping us plot the future of the Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas. 

Until then, many congratulations to Geshe la and to Rinzin la.  They are doing important work here, and we are fortunate to have them in Fayetteville.

VIDEO THANK-YOU FROM RINZIN LA & GESHE LA

Geshe la and Rinzin la send their thanks to all of you who participated, either here in Fayetteville or from afar, in the house-warming . . . it was a great success because so many of you helped out.

DOCUMENTARY: WHEEL OF TIME, WEDNESDAY, 20 FEBRUARY, 7:00 PM, GIFFELS AUDITORIUM

For those of you in the Fayetteville area:  On Wednesday, February 20 at 7:00 pm in Giffels Auditorium, Old Main, on the campus of the University of Arkansas, the Tibetan Film Series will present Wheel of Time, the third of its four-film series.  A documentary by internationally renowned director, Werner Herzog (Aguirre:  Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, and Grizzly Man), Wheel of Time chronicles the 2002 Kalachakra Initiation in Bodh Gaya India.  Attended by over a half-million pilgrims from all over Asia and Tibet, this particular Kalachakra initiation held special significance because it took place in Bodh Gaya, where the Buddha found enlightenment, and because, of course, it was presided over by the Dalai Lama.  For those of you who know Geshe Dorjee, there is an added incentive for viewing the film:  Geshe la was invited by the Dalai Lama to a debate concerning tantric Buddhist philosophy at Bodh Gaya, and so, under the Bodhi tree, we see Geshe Dorjee making a brief cameo appearance, defending his conclusions against all comers!  You don't want to miss this extraordinary scene.

Even without Geshe la's appearance, Wheel of Time is an extraordinary film, and in my opinion, the best film in our series, and perhaps my favorite Tibetan documentary . . . it's easily the one I'd take to the deserted island.  Herzog's eye is unfailing:  we see and feel the hustle and bustle of Tibetan pilgrimage, the potent texture of their spiritual lives, the immense charisma of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the vast and sprawling spirituality that is India's legacy to the world.