Gaden Choling Mahayana Buddhist Meditation Centre

With Miya's teaching schedule at GC having drawn to a close, attention turns again to the ongoing meditation groups:

The Sunday group (10:30-11:30 AM), is recommencing this coming Sunday, August 29th. See here for information.
The Tuesday group (7:00-8:00 PM) will NOT resume immediately, but will resume on Tuesday, September 7th. See here for information.

This is a quick announcement to let you know that all those with any highest yoga tantra initiation are invited to join us on Thursday evening at Gaden Choling for an Intro to Chöd / Chöd Tsog night, starting at 7pm. This is part of the excellent Foundations, Chöd and Vajrayogini classes being given this week by Miya Shimada, but Thursday evening's class is a great choice even if you can't make any other night. Please note that the original schedule sent out had reversed the Thursday and Friday evening events.

Also, we'd like to remind everyone that the Chöd Healing Ceremony on Saturday evening at 7pm is open to all, and we hope you can attend this special event.

Please note that while we are hosting Miya Shimada's special classes on Foundations, Vajrayogini and Chöd, our regular Sunday and Tuesday meditation groups will be on hold. The Tuesday evening Shamata and LamRim group will next meet on August 24th. The next Sunday morning Shamata meditation group will next meet on August 29th.

The upcoming teachings on Foundation Practices, Chod, and Vajrayogini to be given by Miya Shimada have now been scheduled. In addition, a special Chöd Healing Ceremony has been added for Saturday evening, August 21st. It will be open to everyone.

Also, our Puja schedule page has been updated to show August dates. We'll be doing Lama Chopa, Setrapchen Puja, and Praises to 21 Taras this month, as well as the weekly Chod Club.

We would like to give you a few weeks of notice so you can plan to attend some wonderful teachings by Miya Shimada at Gaden Choling in August. Miya is travelling to Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Seattle to offer special teachings on Foundation Practices, Chod, and Vajrayogini. Rinpoche requested that she teach at Gaden Choling, and we are fortunate that she will be with us from Friday, August 13 to Sunday, August 22. A copy of her tentative schedule is included below along with a short description of each of her teachings. A final schedule for her teachings (including times) will be circulated closer to her arrival.

Please note that our weekly classes are (mostly) back again, after the short break while Rinpoche was in town. Sunday Shamata meditation starts at 10:30am, and Tuesday Shamata and Lamrim Meditation starts at 7:00pm. Both are held at the Gaden Choling centre. The Thursday Dharma Study Program classes are still on hold while a new series is being prepared.

Hi everyone,

Please be aware that both of the weekly meditation groups, on Tuesdays and Sundays, are now on hold during Rinpoche's visit (see Rinpoche's schedule here). They will resume in early July.

For the Tuesday group, sessions will begin again on Tuesday, July 6 (times and details here). The Sunday group will resume on Sunday, July 11 (times and details here). We look forward to practising together again in a few weeks.

On behalf of the board at Gaden Choling, we are very pleased to let you know that our kind Spiritual Director Zasep Jamseng Rinpoche Bagsh-aa has will be visiting Toronto and offering some wonderful teachings and initiations while he is here. The complete schedule is below (including times and suggested donations). Please visit this website frequently for the centre's location, schedule updates, changes etc. Also, please feel free to write to us here if you have any questions regarding Rinpoche's visit, or about activities at Gaden Choling more generally.

As you may well already be aware, this Thursday, May 27 is the Buddhist celebration of Saka Dawa. To quote the website of FPMT, "the full moon day of Saka Dawa commemorates Lord Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana. As cited by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the Vinaya text, Treasure of Quotations and Logic, virtuous actions done on this day are multiplied one hundred million times."

We will be marking this occasion at Gaden Choling on Thursday, from 7:00-8:00 PM with a Shakyamuni Buddha Puja and meditation. Please feel welcome to join us in generating immeasurable merit for the benefit of all sentient beings!

This is just a short note to make people aware that Gaden Relief, a Canadian charity founded by our teacher Zasep Rinpoche, has been raising funds for aid and rebuilding in the Tibetan and Eastern China regions affected by the recent Yushu earthquake. Those who are subscribed to the Gaden Relief email mailing list received ongoing reports during the aftermath of the earthquake as well as information about how to help. You might wish to subscribe to hear more about ongoing Gaden Relief projects.

Also, Rinpoche's long-time student Matt King from Toronto was in the earthquake zone when it hit, and has written a brief personal report of his experience. You can read it at the website for the Buddhist Studies group at the University of Toronto, where he is a graduate student.