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Guru Yoga Study Series - beginning October 2010

We are very happy to announce that we will be starting our new Thursday night study group on October 7th at 7pm. Rinpoche had suggested we do a study group on Six-Session Guru Yoga at Gaden Choling. In order to provide the foundation for this, we will really spend time on the different elements that make up Guru devotion generally, before then looking at the Six-Session Guru Yoga.

Specifically, we will doing a three-part study program over the next few months (which will include a weekend retreat at some point). The three sections are:

  1. The 50 Verses of Guru Devotion by Aśvaghoṣa (beginning October 7, 2010)
  2. Vows and Commitments (Refuge Commitments, Lay-Person Vows, 8 Mahayana Precepts, Bodhisattva Vows, Tantric Vows) (DATE TBA)
  3. Six-Session Guru Yoga (based upon commentary by Zasep Rinpoche and HH Zong Rinpoche, as well as Sermey Khensur Lobsang Tharchin's commentary, which we will purchase as a group). (DATE TBA)

This first section of our new study group is open to anyone who has received any sort of tantric initiation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. When we eventually get into tantric vows during the second section of the course, and then with the third section on Six-Session Guru Yoga, the class will be restricted to those with a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions. I hope you will be able to join us in delving deeply into one of the most complex and, perhaps, foreign Buddhist practices for the Western practitioner: relying upon the Spiritual Guide.

 

 

Part I: 50 Verses of Guru Devotion Schedule

First class: October 7, 2010. This is the current section of the course.

In this initial part of the course, we will be doing group study of Aśvaghoṣa's text 50 Verses of Guru Devotion, which is a detailed guide to relying upon a tantric Guru in thought and action (online here or you can request a PDF document copy). This first section of our new study group is open to anyone who has received any sort of tantric initiation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. We will likely be doing this more open, initial section for the next few months.

  1. Meditation — combination of breathing meditation and Reliance on Spiritual guide from Geshe Kelsang's Meditation Handbook. The analytical meditation will change after a few weeks depending on discussion and the points brought up in section six of the class - 15minutes.
  2. Sadhana — Six-Session Sadhana - I have to time this but I think it will take about 20-30mins.
  3. Recitation — of the Root Text up to and including the section that will be studied for that class 5-10 mins.
  4. Recollection — of the important points discussed during the last class.
  5. Study — Going through the new material verse by verse examining the text and commentary as a group.
  6. Questions — also discussion of points to deepen meditation like connections to other Lam-rim topics, related activities for Meditation Break and discussion of practical application of the material.