Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a blessed New Year. May kindness and compassion guide our hearts, bringing well-being and care for everyone.
Sometime at the beginning of 2025, we aspire to publish a summary of Acharya’s commentary on our website. After a break for one week, you are also welcome to join us again for Meditation for All: The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, starting on Sunday, January 5.
As Acharya Lhakpa expressed at the end of last Sunday’s Meditation for All session, may you all have happy holidays and a happy New Year!
It is with heartfelt sorrow that we received the news of the passing into parinirvāṇa of the great Kagyü master, His Eminence Chöje Ayang Rinpoche. His absence will be deeply felt by many within our community and beyond.
In this time of mourning, our resident Lamas at Karmapa Center 16 are offering butter lamps and prayers to support everyone affected by this loss. We invite all to join us in honoring Rinpoche’s memory and legacy.
Do you wish to get closer to the meaning and feel of the Buddha’s teachings, and/or the compositions and commentaries by the great Tibetan Buddhist masters? One way to do so is to read the original texts in their source language.
This November 17, Karmapa Center 16’s resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, will begin teaching on The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva during our Sunday Meditation for All. We will also start studying this precious text, written by the great master Ngülchu Thogme Zangpo, in KC16’s Tibetan Language Class, in the original Tibetan. We will study literary Tibetan, grammar, and also the art of translating during this online class.
Why read the Thirty-Seven Practices in Tibetan?
Translating the text into our own mother tongue, or other languages, not only enriches and deepens our understanding and practice of the dharma, it also allows us to share the teachings and offer perspectives to others who do not know Tibetan but wish to get closer to the author’s intent.
If you are interested in reading The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva in Tibetan and learning (literary or classical) Tibetan in general, then please join us and register below. This is a continuation of our current class, so some knowledge of Tibetan, or the willingness to study the basics (especially the alphabet and pronunciation), is needed to make the class meaningful for all participants.
Online Class
The class is online from 7 to 8.30 pm (Central Time, Chicago, US) on Sundays. Recordings are made available to all participants to review or catch up on when you can’t join live. If you have any questions about this class, please write an email to communications@karmapacenter16.org.
Thirty-seven points for working with our mind
We look forward to studying Tibetan and this root text that, as Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche points out, “contains thirty-seven key points for working with our mind, first through taming—finding a way to bring the mind home, to a state of calmness and clarity—and then through cultivating the heart of kindness and compassion. It is, in fact, a practical guide on how to follow the path of the bodhisattvas, verse by verse.”
Let’s travel together on this path of compassion.
Karmapa Khyenno!
Registration
Making an offering or donation is optional and is not required to register for our Tibetan Language Class: 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. You can join for free by selecting a ‘free ticket’. If you would like, you can make a donation to support our Stūpa Project. After selecting a ‘free ticket’ or making an offering (of any amount) below, the Zoom link and other practical information will be delivered in a confirmation email.
Please join KC16 on Sundays for a new Meditation for All series on The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva.
Beginning November 17, our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, will start teaching on The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva during our Sunday Meditation for All program.
The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva presents an alternative way of thinking, of relating to the outer and inner worlds of everyday living. It is a refreshing, revolutionary, and radical approach to a life that is worth exploring. — Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, foreword
Practices for everyday life
As usual, everyone is welcome, and no prior experience is needed. Acharya Lhakpa will start each session with a guided meditation, and then offer commentary on this precious text and how to put the teachings into practice in our daily lives.
For online access, please register here for the Zoom link. From November 17 onwards, our sessions will begin at 10:30 am and finish around 11:30 am Central Standard Time (Chicago, US). Can’t join us live or would like to review a session? Please know that we’ll share recordings that you can view or review for 21 days on a dedicated resource page.
We are looking forward to practicing and traveling the path of compassion together under the guidance of Acharya Lhakpa-la and the blessings of the lineage of the Karmapas.
Karmapa Khyenno!
Registration
Making an offering or donation is optional and is not required to register for our Meditation for All: 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva. You can join for free by selecting a ‘free ticket’. If you would like, you can make a donation to support our Stūpa Project or make a teaching offering for Acharya Lhakpa, KC16’s resident teacher, of any amount. After selecting a ‘free ticket’ or making an offering below, the Zoom link and other practical information will be delivered in a confirmation email.
Reading 37 Practices in Tibetan: KC16’s Tibetan Language Class
While Acharya Lhakpa starts teaching on The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva during our Sunday Meditation for All, we will also start studying this precious text, written by the great master Ngülchu Thogme Zangpo, in KC16’s Tibetan Language Class, in the original Tibetan. We will study literary Tibetan, grammar, and also the art of translating during this online class.
Karmapa Center 16 commemorates His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s parinirvāṇa every year on November 5th, the day of his passing at the clinic which is now called City of Hope Cancer Treatment Center, in Zion, Illinois. Under the guidance of our resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering, and Lama Tashi Gawa, we will be hosting a full day of pujas and practice in Tibetan. Please register below to receive the Zoom link. If you’d like to join onsite, please make sure you indicate this on the registration form.
We are also deeply honored that our friends in Taiwan will be hosting a 16th Karmapa Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat with a special teaching by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, as well as practices and teachings by our advisor, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and our president, Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche, from November 1 to 3, and November 5. You can join online (via Zoom) or onsite. Teachings will be in English or Tibetan with translation into English and Chinese. Recordings will be made available to all registrants.
In addition to the teachings, this special retreat includes a traditional lung (oral transmission) of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa’s Guru Yoga Sadhana (from Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche), and practicing this Guru Yoga together in the presence of sacred relics of His Holiness.
Please find a tentative schedule below. Registration includes access to both the Guru Yoga Teaching Retreat and the Parinirvana commemoration. When you register, we will share the Zoom links, how to access recordings, and other practical information. For more information and registration in Chinese, please visit KC16 Taiwan’s Facebook Page.
May we always honor the radiant compassion and enlightened activities of His Holiness.
After making an offering (of any amount) below, a resource page with Zoom links and participation information for the Taiwan and KC16 Wadsworth events will be automatically emailed.
Please see the detailed schedule of pujas prior to the 43rd Parinirvāṇa Anniversary program. The Zoom link will be delivered in a confirmation email. Thank you for being part of this year’s Parinirvāṇa Activities and kind support.
Offering prayers, making aspirations, and many supplications to Tārā, KC16 joined Nalandabodhi’s ninth Annual Tārā Drupchen from our shrine room together with friends onsite and online from all around the world.
Tārā is not only one of the most popular deities in the Buddhist world and part of the Vajrayana tradition. Tārā was also one of the main practices of His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, Ranjung Rigpe Dorje, and is taught to be a very powerful practice, with vast blessings, and immeasurable kindness.
We would like to express our gratitude to Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Nalandabodhi for organizing this Tārā Drupchen, and a special thanks to our dear resident teacher, Acharya Lhakpa Tshering for his presence, practice, and guidance at KC16.
We concluded this year by chanting the Aspiration for the World, composed by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.
In the spirit of this song, which is like a poem or doha, may we transform the world into a pure realm, a world that is equal for all, loving, warm, and where all creatures can experience peace, joy, and freedom. And, as the final words of this poem read, “filled with the many sweet scents of freedom. May we fulfill our countless and boundless wishes.”
We feel extremely fortunate to announce there will be a Ullambana Festival Puja this year with our precious Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche on August 16 and 17 (Chicago Time).
The origins of this festival can be found in the Ullambana Sutra and is traditionally celebrated throughout the centuries in Asia during the 7th month of the lunar calendar. It relates to the story of Buddha’s disciple Maudgalyāyana wanting to repay his mother’s kindness. Therefore, this month focus on generosity to accumulate merit in general and the dedication of our practice for the benefit of our parents and ancestors.
Please find the schedule of teachings and practices below, how you can join us online, and make auspicious offerings during this special puja.
Schedule
Starts Live at 8PM (Chicago Time, CT) DAY 1 (August 16) – Oral teachings & Essential teachings; Namchö, The Sky Dharma Maha Sukhavati Sadhana (Tibetan/Chinese)
DAY 2 (August 17) – Namchö, The Sky Dharma Maha Sukhavati Sadhana (Tibetan/Chinese), Tsok Offering
On the occasion of this special Ullambana Festival Puja, you can make auspicious offerings. Find below the various options for donations and fill in the form to donate.
Learn more here about the auspicious offering options.
Sage Millennium Buddha Offering. Supporting the Relic Hall – For 1,550 USD, you can permanently sponsor a Buddha statue in the Nirvana Holy Land Relic Hall
(All donations will be used for the construction of the Relic Hall; installment payments are available; donation receipts can be issued for tax deduction).
Tsatsa Offering. Supporting the Relic Hall – For 2,062 USD, you can connect with a Tsa Tsa stupa prayer shrine.
Deceased – Option 1. Friends and relatives can place the most meaningful items of the deceased, such as clothes, jewelry, photos, rosaries, etc., in the Nirvana Holy Land. The sangha lamas will make a Tsa Tsa clay stupa and enshrine it together with the memorial items of the deceased as a source of blessings.
Deceased – Option 2. Regardless of how long the deceased has passed away, a portion of their ashes can be handed over to the Nirvana Holy Land, where the lamas will make a Tsa Tsa clay stupa to be permanently enshrined in the Nirvana Holy Land.
Pre-Reservation. It is also possible to pre-reserve a Tsa Tsa clay stupa shrine during one’s lifetime.
(All donations will be used for the construction of the Relic Hall; installment payments are available; the Karmapa 16th Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States; donations to the Karmapa 16th Center are tax-deductible according to U.S. law; the names of donors will be permanently kept in the Relic Hall of His Holiness and will be blessed and prayed for eternally).
Karmapa Center 16 offers its heartfelt condolences to all the nunneries, students, and all who are mourning the passing into parinirvāṇa of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche on June 22, 2024.
I remember the great kindness of Khenpo Rinpoche for teaching us the buddhadharma in general, and in particular, instructing us in the Kagyü tradition. Practicing in accordance with Rinpoche’s wishes and instructions, I offer my prayers and devotion – may all of them be accomplished.
On the occasion of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s birthday, resident monastics and lay visitors made special offerings and prayers at Karmapa Center 16, presided over by our dear Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche.
ཀརྨ་པ་གསུམ་པ་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེའི་གསུངས་འཛམ་གླིང་སྤྱི་བསང་དང་། ཀརྨ་པ་ཨོ་རྒྱན་ཕྲིན་ལས་རྡོ་རྗེའི་གསུངས་གསེར་ལྡན་རྔ་སྒྲའི་བསང་མཆོད། The universal smoke offering for the world as taught by the great third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, and the purifying offerings with fire and the sound of the drum, as taught by the precious 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje.
His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa’s father, Honorable Karma Dhondup, passed away on Buddha Purnima Day, the 15th day of the Vesak month (May 23, 2024).
According to the Tibetan calendar, Buddha Purnima is called “Düchen Sumdzom,” meeting three special occasions: the day when Buddha Sakyamuni was born, attained enlightenment and passed away into parinivana.
The resident lamas and members of Karmapa Center 16 in Wadsworth, Illinois, will be holding daily prayers and butter lamp offerings through the 49th day