Welcome to The Rime Buddhist Center’s summer curriculum. This semester Geshe Tsewang Thinley will continue to lead classes on Shantideva’s Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra. We will be offering several one night classes as well as book club discussions. We are very exited to offer a new class of Skillful Means as well. Look for details below on these opportunities to deepen your practice with the support of fellow practitioners.
Class and text fees are listed with each class. Use the links in the titles of the class to register for the various classes online. Otherwise print out the registration form and bring it with you to the class. If you have questions about a specific class, please contact Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) by email at spiritual.director@rimecenter.org.
The Way of the Bodhisattva CC309 – Thursdays
Treasured by Buddhists of all traditions, The Way of the Bodhisattva is a guide to cultivating the mind of enlightenment, and to generating the qualities of love, compassion, generosity, and patience. This text has been studied, practiced, and expounded upon in an unbroken tradition for centuries, first in India, and later in Tibet. Presented in the form of a personal meditation in verse, it outlines the path of the Bodhisattvas—those who renounce the peace of individual enlightenment and vow to work for the liberation of all beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake. This class will look at how we how we incorporate wisdom with Bodhichitta.
Instructor: Geshe Lharampa Tsewang Thinley
Dates: Twelve sessions on Thursdays, beginning on May 2, 2019
Times: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Class Fee: $30
Text: The Way of the Bodhisattva – $16.95
Prerequisite: Basics of Buddhism
Images of Enlightenment – Fridays at the Rime Center
Lama Matthew Palden Gocha and Ven. Geshe Thinley will explore the art and common symbolism of some of the most important images formally known as “Thangkas” and Mandalas in Buddhism. Explore the bold colors, strange creatures, and exquisitely beautiful images. The tradition of spiritual self-transformation embodied by these icons of Tibetan Buddhism will add to your understanding of the importance of these images of enlightenment.
Instructor: Lama Matthew Palden Gocha and Geshe Lharampa Tsewang Thinley
Date: One Session beginning May 3, 2019
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Class Fee: $30
Class size: limited to 25 people
Summer Series Book Club – Cave in the Snow
The Rime Center will holding a book club on the first Wednesday of the month from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. and is open to anyone who would like to participate. The book to study is: “Cave in the Snow: A Western Woman’s Quest for Enlightenment.” Copies of this text will be available in Rime Gift Shop.
Date: One Session beginning June 5, 2019
Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Setting Up a Buddhist Shrine – Fridays at the Rime Center
Have you wondered about how to set up a shrine or what is the proper etiquette for the shrine room and visiting teachers. Lama Matthew Palden Gocha will provide guidance and give examples of shrines both for public and private spaces. The student will also be given rules of etiquette to follow while in the shrine room.
Instructor: Lama Matthew Palden Gocha
Date: One Session beginning June 7, 2019
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Class Fee: Open to the Public
Summer Series Book Club – Dakini Power
The Rime Center will holding a book club on the first Wednesday of the month from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. and is open to anyone who would like to participate. The book to study is: “Dakini Power: Twelve Extraordinary Women Shaping the Transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in the West.” Copies of this text will be available in Rime Gift Shop.
Date: One Session beginning July 3, 2019
Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Mala Workshop – Fridays at the Rime Center
Join us for this one evening pop-up workshop where we will be designing and making your own mala. Rime’s very own Christy Markham will be showing us how making a personal mala is so meaningful. You get to choose beads to suit your intention and needs, and by putting your own energy into the making of it, this mala will be one-of-a-kind!
Instructor: Christy Markham
Dates: One session beginning on Wednesday July 5th, 2019
Times: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Class Fee: $30
Class size: limited to 25 people
Skillful Means in Daily Life & Work
This class will focus on learning how to use skillful means in all that we do in our daily life and work. Each week, there will be an exercises from the book to practice throughout the week. Weekly topics include Caring about Work, Concentration, Resistance & Resentment, and Communication & Cooperation. The text by Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche, founder of the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center is straightforward and easily accessible to any level of student.
Instructor: Andrea Duloc (Dekyong Wangmo)
Dates: Four sessions beginning on Wednesday July 10, 2019
Times: 7:45 – 9:00 pm
Class Fee: $30
Text: Skillful Means – $18.00
Tibetan Cooking Class – First Fridays at the Rime Center
The Drepung Gomang monastery will be leading a Tibetan cooking class on Friday August 2nd at 7:00 pm. He will be teaching participants how to cook Tibetan momos (steamed dumplings).
Instructor: Monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastery
Date: One Session beginning August 2, 2019
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Class fee: $30 (This includes the cost for materials)
Class size: limited to 25 people
Summer Series Book Club – Buddhism Beyond Gender
The Rime Center will holding a book club on the first Wednesday of the month from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. and is open to anyone who would like to participate. The book to study is: “Buddhism beyond Gender: Liberation from Attachment to Identity.” Copies of this text will be available in Rime Gift Shop.
Date: One Session beginning August 7, 2019
Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Torma Workshop – First Fridays at the Rime Center
Join Ven. Geshe Thinley as he teaches how to make a torma. A torma is a a ritual cake, usually hand-molded from butter and tsampa (roasted barley flour) and colored with dyes. The torma can symbolize a deity or a mandala, and can be used as an offering. Geshe la will demonstrate how to make a small offering torma that can be used on your home shrine. Please register in advance so that we can have enough supplies for everyone.
Class fee: $30 (This includes the cost for materials)
Class size: limited to 25 people
The Four Immeasurables are the sublime expressions of love, compassion, equanimity, and joy. The Buddha said that it is wholesome to channel your awareness in one of these four ways. No matter what your mind state, you can always turn to one of these four.
Lama Matthew will be giving Lay Pratimoksha vows Sunday September 15th during the Sunday Service. The pratimoksha vows or vows of ‘individual liberation’ mainly emphasize disciplining one’s physical behavior and not harming others. Pratimoksha discipline is called the foundation of Buddhism because for ordinary people physical discipline is the beginning of spiritual training and the basis of spiritual progress. 