2022 Event Gallery
GREAT LIBERATION BY HEARING BARDO TEACHINGS
Great Liberation By Hearing Bardo Teachings
by Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche
03 – 04 Dec, 10 – 11 Dec, 17 – 18 Dec, 24 – 25 Dec, 31 Dec 2022 – 01 Jan 2023, Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST
On-Line ZOOM
Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche will continue teaching from the profound book, Bardo Thödol, or Natural Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate State (also popularly called the Tibetan Book of the Dead).
Click here for the text in English
Click the links below for the Bardo Thodol text in Chinese:
Bardo Thodol Part 1
Bardo Thodol Part 2
“When my life’s course is ended, and I roam alone in the intermediate states, the loved ones of this world can no longer help me. So [at this critical time] may the Conquerors, the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities, [quickly] release the power of their compassion, and may the deep darkness of my ignorance be dispelled.” Aspirational Prayer which Protects from Fear of the Intermediate States
6TH ANNUAL MEDICINE BUDDHA RETREAT
In-person at DRIKUNG DHARMA SURYA CENTER
Medicine Buddha Sand Mandala – Initiation – Sadhana Practices & Teachings – Healing & Purification Rituals – Dissolution / Distribution of Sand Mandala
Led by XIV Siling Tongkhor Rinpoche with Monastics of Sera Mey Monastery, India
Organized by Drikung Dharma Surya Center (DDSC) & Partners for Tibetan Education (PTE)
6-DAY SCHEDULE: 08 to 13 November 2022, Tuesday – Sunday, EDT Time
OPEN FREE to PUBLIC for ALL EVENTS @ DDSC TEMPLE and On-Line ZOOM
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Tuesday thru Friday, November 8 to 11 (at DDSC)
10 AM to 4 PM EST: Public Viewing of the Construction of the Medicine Buddha Sand Mandala
Friday, November 11 (at DDSC & Live via Zoom)
7:00 PM EST: Blessing Prayers for Medicine Buddha Retreat
7:15 PM EST: Public Talk “Improve Physical Health Through Mind Training”
Saturday, November 12 (at DDSC & Live via Zoom)
10 AM EST: Opening Ceremony and Remarks
10:30 AM EST: Medicine Buddha Initiation to be bestowed by the XIV Siling Tongkhor Rinpoche accompanied by the freshly constructed Medicine Buddha Sand Mandala (In-Person Only @ DDSC Temple, NO on-line Zoom)
Noon: Group Photo & Lunch Provided
2:00 PM EST: Chanting of the condensed Medicine Buddha Rituals
3:30 PM EST: Tea Break
4:00 PM EST: The XIV Siling Tongkhor Rinpoche leads Discourse on the Medicine Buddha Sadhana and other Daily Practices
5:00 PM EST: Dedication Prayers
Sunday, November 13 (at DDSC & Live via Zoom)
10 AM EST: Chanting of the condensed Medicine Buddha Rituals in the Unique Sera Mey Monastery Tradition
Noon – Lunch Provided
1:30 PM EST: Introduction to the Medicine Buddha Mandala and Interactive Talk with Sunday School students and Mandala Circumambulation
2:00 PM EST: The Noble Sangha performs Medicine Buddha Purification Rituals for the Deceased (Jang-wa), while General Public Recite Medicine Buddha Mantra
3:30 PM EST: Tea Break
4:00 PM EST: Acknowledgement Remarks, Dissolution of the Medicine Buddha Sand Mandala, followed by Dedication, Closing Prayers, Khata Offering, and Distribution of Mandala Sand to Attendees.
5th ANNUAL GURU RINPOCHE BHUM TSOK
100,000 Accumulation Merit Offering Ceremony for World Peace
Organized by Drikung Dharma Surya Center and Capital Area Tibetan Association
4-DAY SCHEDULE – 03 to 06 November 2022
Thursday, 03 Nov 2022: 6:30PM – 8:30PM EDT
Friday, 04 Nov 2022: 10AM – 12PM; 6:30PM – 8:30PM EDT
Saturday & Sunday, 05 – 06 Nov 2022: 10AM – 12PM; 2PM – 5PM EDT
Led by Venerable Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche, Shingza Rinpoche, Ado Lama, Geshe Lobsang Cholphal, and Lama Rigzin.
4-Day Bhum Tsok Ganachakra Puja
- Offering of 100,000 compassionate recitations to invoke the blessings of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava.
- Great benefits of vast merit, wisdom, and bodhicitta realization to remove outer, inner, and secret obstacles.
- Dedicated to the long-life of H.H. Dalai Lama and all other holy masters, as well as all loved ones and beings, and for the benefit of World Peace.
- Everyone is welcome to join the pujas, and items of fruit, flowers, and small finger foods will be placed on the altar and offered to all beings at the conclusion of the 4-day puja.
FLIGHT OF THE GARUDA
by Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche via on-line ZOOM
* Vietnamese & Mandarin language translation will be available
Saturdays & Sundays 29 – 30 Oct, 19 – 20 Nov & 27 Nov, 2022
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche continues with these profound Dzogchen teachings, highlighting the essence of the teachings with pith instructions that he received from the great Nyingma master, His Holiness Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok. This is a rare opportunity to study this Dzogchen text.
Here is a summation of the essential points of extensive explanations: In the pinnacle of vehicles, Great Completion, all of samsara and nirvana are free of ground and root; Primordially Buddhahood, they are one taste in the dharmakaya.” ~ Tshogdrug Rangrol, Flight of the Garuda
GONG CHIG – The Single Intent, the Sacred Dharma
– of Drikung Kyobpa Jigten Sumgön, to be bestowed by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche at DDSC temple and on-line ZOOM attendance
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October 6 – 9, 2022, Thursday thru Sunday
DOWNLOAD TEXTS HERE:
* Gong Chig root text (English pages 13-23)
* Gong Chig root text (Chinese)
* Gong Chig (Vietnamese & English) full text
* Nagarjuna’s Commentary on the Awakening Mind (Chinese)
* Nagarjuna’s Commentary on the Awakening Mind (English)
* Giang Ve Bo De Tam Nagarjuna’s Commentary on the Awakening Mind (Vietnamese)
* Dedication Prayer by Lord Jigten Sumgön (English)
* Dedication Prayer by Lord Jigten Sumgön (English, Vietnamese, Spanish)
* Lord Jigten Sumgön’s Concise Guru Yoga
* In Praise of Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche
* Long Life Prayers for Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche
* Long Life Prayer for Khenchen La – Treasure of Glorious Endless Life & 8 Verses of Mind Training
About Gongchig
The Gongchig of Lord Jigten Sumgon conveys clearly the essence of the Buddha’s teachings. It delineates the causal law of the universe, Nagarjuna’s philosophy of interdependence, and opens one’s mind to principles of ethics that help to guard oneself against confusion and deceit. Thus, the Gongchig is a guide for every Dharma practitioner – for both study and application in daily life. This edition comprises translations of the Gongchig root text by Jigten Sumgon and of the commentary by Rigdzin Chokyi Dragpa, as well as the original Tibetan texts.
The Gongchig teachings precisely describe the boundary between Samsara and Nirvana. This teaching series will provide all of us, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, a profound insight into the essential teachings of the Buddha, and we will experience from an authentic teacher how we may implement them in our contemporary daily lives. This series of Gongchig teachings will begin at Drikung Dharma Surya Center (DDSC) in this Fall 2022 during Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche ‘s stay, and will be continued to be bestowed by Rinpoche thru end of 2022 if needed.
About Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche
Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche came to the West in the early 1980’s and founded several major Buddhist centers worldwide. Rinpoche is respected and beloved as an accomplished scholar, meditation master, teacher, translator and author. In 2001 he received the high honor of being enthroned as Khenchen (Great Abbot). Khenchen Rinpoche is a wonderful author and translator who has translated for many years important Dharma texts and has written profound commentaries on them, to allow his students and those seriously interested in the Dharma, to come into contact with authentic Dharma knowledge.
His Holiness the 37th Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang has kindly invited Khenchen Konchok Gyaltsen Rinpoche to give teachings on the Gongchig, which contains the heart essence of the complete Drikung Kagyu Lineage composed by Kyobpa Jigten Sumgön. Starting November 11, 2012, Khenchen Rinpoche provided detailed teachings on this particular subject for two and a half months at the Drikung Kagyu College in Dehradun, India.
Aside from the Gongchig (The Single Intent), the most important philosophical legacy of Kyobpa Jigten Sumgön, Khenchen Rinpoche teaches with passion and with great enthusiasm the Heart Essence of Mahāyāna Teachings.
Concise Offering of the Body
From the Root Text of the Heart Accomplishment of the Guru Tukdrup, the Essential Manual of Oral Instructions
Led by Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche
Saturday, August 27, 2022
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
This special teaching is offered at DDSC & ONLINE via Zoom
Vietnamese & Chinese translation provided on Zoom.
* Please join Zoom 15 minutes early.
Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche will give the commentary for transforming self grasping, allowing the wisdom of natural luminosity to effortlessly arise.
Saturday, August 20 – Sunday, August 21, 2022
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT
IN PERSON at DDSC & ONLINE via Zoom
Vietnamese & Chinese translation provided on Zoom.
* Please join Zoom 15 minutes prior to each session.
* Chinese translation will be available Sat & Sun from 10 AM – 12 PM EDT.
This program is well-suited for the general public from all walks of life as well as Buddhist practitioners of all levels.
Please download text here:
Shamatha Meditation Instructions, Stages of Meditation
“Shamatha is the method of meditation where we develop single-pointed concentration so the mind does not follow our discursive conceptual thoughts, but just relaxes in a state of stillness and ease…When we develop shamatha, we develop inner peace and happiness. The mind becomes happy and relaxed…”
~ Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche, Learning Buddhism
All meditation must begin with arousing deep compassion. Whatever one does must emerge from an attitude of love and benefiting others.
~ Milarepa
2nd ANNUAL KANGYUR RECITATION
Led by Venerable Khenpo Thupsang
July 18, 2022 to August 14, 2022
Weekdays, Monday – Friday
8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EDT
1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT
Weekends, Saturday – Sunday
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT
Join us in person at Drikung Dharma Surya Center, or from your location around the world via Zoom, to participate in this very special Kangyur recitation led by Venerable Khenpo Thupsang.
Konchok Thupsang was born in Tibet and had his early training at the Gar Monastery in eastern Tibet. He later had nine years of Dharma education at Dzongsar Khyentse Chokyi Lodro Institute in Chauntra, India. Khenpo Thupsang entered the Kagyu Monastery in Tibet at the age of 15 and he further studied sutra and tantra in the Dzongsar Buddhist College.
Since then, Khenpo has been abbot and teacher at the Lhagon Jangchub Choling Buddhist Cultural Society in India for several years.
Since coming to the USA to teach Dharma in H.E. Garchen Rinpoche’s sanghas, Khenpo Thupsang has so kindly recited prayers and the Kangyur texts while at Drikung Dharma Surya Center, benefiting so many beings.
Kangyur, or “translated words,” consists of works in about 100 volumes, said to have been spoken by the Buddha himself. Khenpo Konchok Thupsang will lead the recitation of the sacred Kangyur text in the DDSC shrine room, where everyone is welcome to participate by reciting, listening, and/or contemplating.
Per Garchen Rinpoche’s guidance, DDSC continues to organize the 2nd Annual Kangyur Recitation for the dedication of:
- Good health and long life of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
- Good health and long life of all the Lineage Holders and all the Gurus of All Traditions.
- Well-being, peace and happiness in the world.
By contributing to the recitation of the Kangyur, you create a vast amount of merit and there is an immense purification of negative karma, especially to overcome many obstacles such as war, disease, and natural calamities as well as to offer dedications for those who have passed away.
When carrying out this effort with sincere motivation, unfavorable circumstances that bring problems can be changed. It is said that recitation prayers performed by ordained ones are particularly powerful and effective as they are done on the basis of pure morality.
HEART SUTRA THE PERFECTION OF WISDOM BESTOWED BY H.E. GARCHEN RINPOCHE FROM ARIZONA
Hosted by Drikung Dharma Surya Center
Saturday, July 16th, 2022
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT
We offer language translation in Vietnamese, Chinese, and Spanish, all available on DDSC’s Zoom Webinar.
Join us in person at Drikung Dharma Surya Center, or from your location around the world, to receive this very special and profound teaching streamed live as H.E. Garchen Rinpoche bestows the Heart Sutra from Arizona.
Drikung Kagyu Prayer Book, The Sutra of the Heart of the Glorious Lady Prajñāpāramitā (p. 36)
“Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness. In the same way feeling, discrimination, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Śāriputra, all phenomena are emptiness, without characteristics, without arising, without ceasing, without stain, not without stain, without decrease, and without increase…”
~ Noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, to venerable Śāriputra (Heart Sutra)
Three Long-Life Buddha Practices in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama’s 87th Birthday
Led by Khenpo Choephel Rinpoche
Sunday, July 03 – Sunday, July 10, 2022
In person at Drikung Dharma Surya Center and
Online with the global Sangha via Zoom.
PLEASE NOTE
The Buddha Amitayus Empowerment will be bestowed only in person at Drikung Dharma Surya Center. This session will Not be streamed via Zoom.
Everyone at Drikung Dharma Surya Center welcomes you to join this special event!
Khenpo Choephel Rinpoche is the Abbot of Drikung Kagyu Rinchen Ling Monastery and the Spiritual Director of Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center.
Khenpo Choephel Rinpoche is originally from Drigung Thil Monastery, the head-monastery of the Drikung Kagyu lineage. While at Drikung Thil, he received many teachings and instructions, first from Pachung Rinpoche and later from Pachung Rinpoche’s successor, Gelong Rinpoche, Vajradhara Tenzin Nyima.
Aside from having received extensive teachings in Mahamudra from these two great masters, he is also a master in the ritual-traditions of Drikung Thil Monastery and has received training in debate and philosophy at Drepung Monastery in Tibet. Before he left Drikung Thil for Nepal, Khenpo Choephel served as the chant master of the monastery. In 2007, he was appointed “Khenpo” by Drikung Thil Monastery.
Khenpo Choephel Rinpoche served as one of the three spiritual directors at the Tibetan Meditation Center in Frederick, Maryland until 2011, and now is the Spiritual Director of the Three Rivers Tibetan Cultural Center in Pittsburgh, PA. In 2018, he was invited back to Drikung Kagyu Rinchen Ling in Nepal to serve as the abbot and teacher there.
Event Schedule:
Sunday July 3, 2022
10 AM – 12 PM EDT
2 PM – 4 PM EDT
Essence of Mahayana
Wednesday July 6, 2022
10 AM – 12 PM EDT
White Tara Practice & Achi Chokyi Drolma Puja
Friday July 8, 2022 (In person at DDSC only)
7 PM – 9 PM EDT
Buddha Amitayus Empowerment
The empowerment will be bestowed in person at Drikung Dharma Surya Center. This session will not be streamed via Zoom.
Saturday July 9, 2022
10 AM – 12 PM EDT
3 Long-Life Buddhas Mantra Accumulation,
Puja & Practice in honor of
H.H. Dalai Lama’s 87th Birthday
2 PM – 4 PM EDT
Essence of Mahayana
Sunday July 10, 2022
10 AM – 12 PM EDT
2 PM – 4 PM EDT
35 Confession Buddhas Teaching & Practices
Event Texts:
~ Essence of the Mahayana Teachings, Lord Jigten Sumgon’s Root Text Excerpt
This excerpt was extracted from, Essence of the Mahayana Teachings: A commentary on Jigten Sumgön’s Lam Rim Text by Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche.
To order this book from the bookstore, please email DDSC at [email protected].
The Kindle edition is found at this link:
Essence of the Mahayana Teachings: A commentary on Jigten Sumgön’s Lam Rim Text by Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche
Event Details
- A $25 donation is respectfully suggested to help with the costs of this program. We are able to offer these Dharma programs due to the generosity of the Sangha. Please know that this is only a suggestion and donations of any size are gratefully accepted. Your donations are deeply and gratefully appreciated, as they help us to operate and sustain the Center for the benefit of all beings and they benefit the Sangha as a whole. Anyone with a wish to participate is welcome to attend, and no one is turned away due to a lack of funds.
- We kindly remind you that all on-site attendants must be vaccinated and are encouraged to wear masks for the safety of all others. Also, if you have had contact with someone who was sick or you are not feeling well, please rest at home and consult with your doctor immediately.
“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others. I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
~ H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama
Full Moon Saga Dawa Celebration
led by Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche
and co-organized with the Capital Area Tibetan Association
Tuesday, June 14th
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. EDT
Meditation, Prayers, and Deity Practice
11:00 a.m. EDT
Buddha Shakyamuni Empowerment
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. EDT
Saga Dawa Prayers and Puja
In person at Drikung Dharma Surya Center and Online with the global Sangha via Zoom.
With great joy, we welcome you to join this year’s Buddha Shakyamuni Empowerment and Saga Dawa Prayers and Puja!
The Saga Dawa Duchen commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni.
Saga Dawa is the month of merits multiplied by a hundred thousand times. We say prayers and do pujas in order to accumulate greater virtuous merits and to purify our negative karmas, to pray for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all of the Holy Gurus of all traditions, and to pray for the well-being, peace, happiness, and enlightenment of all sentient beings.
“Namo Guru Shakyamuniye!
Supreme teacher, bhagavan, tathagata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha, glorious conqueror, Shakyamuni Buddha, to you I pay homage! To you I make offerings! In you I take refuge!”
Texts
- Daily Prayers and Practices
- Deity Yoga Sadhana Practice Book
- Prayers for Special Days, Chötrul Düchen, and Saka Dawa text
- The Essence of Accomplishment: An Extremely Concise Feast-Offering to Noble Tara
Event Details
- We kindly remind you that all on-site attendants must be vaccinated and are encouraged to wear masks for the safety of all others. Also, if you have had contact with someone who was sick or you are not feeling well, please rest at home and consult with your doctor immediately.
- Your Donations are deeply and gratefully appreciated, as they will be used to help operate and sustain the Center for the benefit of all beings. Anyone with a wish to participate is welcome to attend, and no one is turned away due to a lack of funds.
MANI RETREAT AND AVALOKITESHVARA EMPOWERMENT
Led by Drupon Tsering Rinpoche
Thursday May 12 – Sunday May 15, 2022
9am – 6pm EDT
Avalokiteshvara Empowerment – May 12 at 7pm EDT
The retreat will be held in person at Drikung Dharma Surya Center as well as virtually via Zoom. Everyone at Drikung Dharma Surya Center welcomes you to join this special event!
Venerable Drupon Tsering Rinpoche is the resident Lama of the Drikung Garchen Institute of the Drikung Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism located in Munich, Germany. His life has been devoted to the Dharma from a very young age. His profound and inspiring biography is found at the Drikung Garchen Institut e.V. Center for Buddhist Studies and Meditation webpage.
The Mani Retreat is centered on the boundless love, compassion, and wisdom of Avalokiteshvara, whose mantra is OM MANI PADME HUNG HRI.
When we recite OM MANI PADME HUNG with the mind to benefit all beings, we are engaging in a profound method that transforms our impure body, speech, and mind to a pure state of body, speech, and mind. Reciting each syllable of the Mani mantra with a mind of bodhicitta closes the doors to the six realms of samsara and frees sentient beings from suffering.
“The more Mani mantras we recite, the more love will increase in the minds of sentient beings, the more hatred will decrease. The minds of beings will become peaceful and happy, which will also help one’s country. If the minds of humans become peaceful and happy, then also the minds of spirits will become peaceful and happy. The Mani mantra practice is supreme in order to bring about peace and happiness.”
~ H.E. Garchen Rinpoche
Event Details
- The Mani Retreat will start each day at 9 AM and end at 6 PM EDT, with daily teachings and practices at the DDSC Shrine Hall.
- Practice books and lunches will be provided.
- You are welcome to attend the retreat as your schedule allows.
- Your Donations are deeply and gratefully appreciated, as they will be used to help operate and sustain the Center for the benefit of all beings. Anyone with a wish to participate is welcome to attend, and no one is turned away due to a lack of funds.
Practice Texts
- Opening and Closing Prayers: Deity Yoga Sadhana Practice Book
- Mani Practice of Our Vast Noble Heart Chenrezig
- Chenrezig Drupon Tsering book 2
Approximate Schedule for Practice Sessions:
9:00am – 10:30am
Tea break
11:00am – 12:00pm
Lunch break
2:00pm – 3:30pm
Tea break
4:00pm – 5:30pm
We kindly remind you that all on-site attendants must be vaccinated and are encouraged to wear masks for the safety of all others. Also, if you have had contact with someone who was sick or you are not feeling well, please rest at home and consult with your doctor immediately.
CELEBRATING LOSAR 2022, YEAR OF THE TIGER WITH DRIKUNG DHARMA SURYA, WITH
HIS HOLINESS THE 37TH DRIKUNG KYABGON CHETSANG and KHENPO SAMDUP RINPOCHE
- 03 – 04 March 2022: Buddha Sakyamuni – Medicine Buddha Puja & Smoke Offerings with Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche
9:30 AM – 11:30AM EDT - 05 March 2022: Medicine Buddha Blessings – Prayer Flags Raising – Prayer for World Peace with His Holiness the 37th Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang
9:30 AM – 11:30AM EDT - ON-SITE @ DDSC TEMPLE: Due to on-going COVID-19 Pandemic, WEARING MASKS WITH SOCIAL DISTANCE OF 6 FEET is REQUIRED
Event Photos
Celebrating Lunar New Year 2022, Year of the Tiger with Drikung Dharma Surya and Khenpo Samdup Rinpoche
- Buddha Sakyamuni – Medicine Buddha Puja & Smoke Offerings: 01 February, 9:30 AM – 12 PM EDT
- New Year Blessings: 01- 03 February, 10AM – 2PM EDT
