Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’.
In this chapter of the Sūtra, it introduces the householder-bodhisattva Vimalakīrti of Vaiśālī: his background, his profound wisdom, his mastery of skillful means (liberative art), his living in the world yet free of worldly defilement. The chapter sets the stage for his role and capacity.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Teaching of Vimalakīrti” Chapter 2
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’.
In this chapter of the Sūtra, the scene opens with the Buddha in the garden of Āmrapālī outside Vaiśālī, attending a large assembly. The Buddha receives offerings and then answers the question of what it means for a bodhisattva’s buddhafield (buddhakṣetra) to be purified: showing that the purification is rooted in the mind, in the activities of the bodhisattva (generosity, morality, meditation, wisdom, the four immeasurables, etc.).
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Teaching of Vimalakīrti” Chapter 1
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this Sūtra, Prince Siṃha asks the Buddha about bodhisattva conduct. The Buddha responds with verses on the karmic causes of their qualities. When Siṃha and his followers vow to train, the Buddha smiles, foretelling their future buddhahood.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Siṃha’s Questions
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this Sūtra, it teaches the concept of Tathagatagarbha—the inherent Buddha-nature within all beings—and its connection to the Noble Truths. The text explains that there are two levels of these truths: a limited, intellectual understanding and a deeper, self-realized one that is only fully attained by a Buddha. We will be studying Chapter 3, Section 7 The Tathagatagarbha.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Sutra on The Lion’s Roar of Queen Srimala: The Tathagatagarbha
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this Sūtra, the Buddha explains that the true path to “companionship with Brahmā” is not through Vedic rituals or knowledge of ancient scriptures, but through the practice of mental cultivation and the four Brahma-vihāras (loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity). We will be focusing on the forth section on Teaching the Path to the Divinity.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Experts in the Three Vedas: Teaching the Path to the Divinity
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this Sūtra, the Buddha explains four factors to Maitreya for overcoming negative deeds: repentance, antidotal action, restraint, and support. Buddha advises regular sūtra recitation.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this Sūtra, the Buddha explains that we become attached when we view things — sights, sounds, thoughts — as permanent, pleasurable, and “self.” But when we see them for what they truly are — impermanent, suffering, non-self, and dangerous — we let go of craving and become free from suffering.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Self-Examination
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this Sūtra the Buddha is approached by the young merchant Śrīvasu, who asks how to live as a novice bodhisattva. Pleased, the Buddha offers essential guidance: take refuge in the Three Jewels, practice the six perfections, and dedicate all merit to awakening for the benefit of all beings.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Questions of Śrīvasu”
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this poem it teaches that true understanding and peace come from letting go of preferences, attachments, and dualistic thinking. It emphasizes that the Great Way (the Dharma path) is accessible when the mind is free of judgment, discrimination, and clinging.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Śūraṅgama Sūtra: Faith Mind Poem
Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this sūtra the Buddha uses the metaphor of six knots tied in a cloth to represent the obstacles to enlightenment. These knots represent the six senses and their entry points into the mind. Both delusion (tying) and liberation (untying) stem from the mind. Disengaging the senses and untying the knots reveals the voidness of all things.
Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Śūraṅgama Sūtra: The Six Knots
