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A hybrid event both Online via Zoom and Onsite at Nalanda West
We joyfully announce Nalandabodhi’s Ninth Annual Tara Drupchen. This weekend practice intensive will include sadhana, or ritual practice, and teachings from one of Nalandabodhi’s senior teachers. All are welcome to attend online, make prayer requests, and offer positive aspirations by registering. Nalandabodhi members and Nalanda West close friends are also welcome to attend onsite at Nalanda West.
Those who are planning to attend all or part of the Drupchen onsite at Nalanda West MUST register before September 16th to reserve their place. You can register for online participation until the last session on Sunday, September 22nd. Please note that NO onsite registration will be accepted after September 16th, so that we can plan on-site services appropriately.
Nalandabodhi’s sanghas in Asia will be offering Chinese-language practices during Tara Drupchen. To learn more or register, use this link
Link to webpage: https://nbtaichung.org/v2/form/tara2024
迴向登記+直播報名連結
(Registration + Live Streaming Link)
Note that, if you have not already received it, a lung will be required for participation in the Drupchen practices. The lung will be offered on September 19th at 4:30 pm PDT (time subject to change). It will be followed by a teaching about Tara. Both the lung and the talk will be recorded and the link posted on the Tara Drupchen resource page for those unable to attend live on the 19th.
This is a free event, but monetary offerings and donations of any amount are appreciated - they help us make these and other events accessible to all and they are one form of generosity practice.
Thank you for your interest to join us online for Tara Drupchen 2024.
Thank you for your interest to join us onsite at Nalanda West (Seattle, WA) for Tara Drupchen 2024.
Drupchen (Tibetan: སྒྲུབ་ཆེན་ ; literally, “great practice [gathering]” or “great accomplishment [gathering]”) is a traditional format for a practice-intensive retreat in the Vajrayana tradition. The practice of Drupchen is said to bring great benefit to its participants and the communities around them. In this way it is a strong generator of merit, purification, and blessings. It is a powerful method for dispelling obstacles and hindrances for ourselves and our sangha’s dharma activities.
The liturgy used during this Drupchen practice is the Heart of the Two Accumulations (ཟབ་ཏིག་སྒྲོལ་མ།), which will be screen shared for both the Tibetan and English practice sessions.
In addition to being a symbol of our fearless nature of mind, Tara is also a historical figure. She was a devout practitioner and princess who vowed to attain full awakening in a female body, demonstrating that gender is not a barrier to enlightenment. Therefore, Tara is considered both a symbolic representation of our inner qualities and a historical, female bodhisattva.
The purpose of this practice is to dispel fear and cultivate compassion. In all wisdom traditions, including Buddhism, it is said that the antidote to fear is loving-kindness. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the figure of Tara symbolizes loving-kindness and compassion — and a strong resolve to dispel the fears of all beings.
In Tara practice we connect with this fearless and compassionate nature of our own mind, as symbolized by Tara, through a combination of methods—visualization, making offerings, chanting, and meditation—in order to embody and manifest those qualities more fully in our daily life.
All times are Pacific Time (UTC-7).
| Time | Event | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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4:30 - 4:55 pm |
Online: Reading Transmission (Lung) by Lama Rabten |
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5:00 - 6:00 pm |
Online: Talk by Mitra Lee Worley |
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| Time | Event | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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6:30 - 8:30 am |
Practice Session (Tibetan) |
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10:00 am - 12:00 pm |
Practice Session (English) |
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1:30 - 3:30 pm |
Practice Session (English) |
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4:30 - 6:00 pm |
Teaching |
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| Time | Event | ||
|---|---|---|---|
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6:30 - 8:30 am |
Practice Session (Tibetan) |
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10:00 am - 12:00 pm |
Practice Session (English) |
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1:30 - 4:00 pm |
Practice Session (English) with Feast |
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Aspirations and prayer requests are an integral part of the Tara Drupchen practice. All are encouraged to make as many aspirations and prayer requests as you wish. These will be displayed at Nalanda West as well as on a slide show during the Drupchen. Follow this link for submitting aspirations and prayer requests.
Sessions and teachings will be recorded and become available for viewing on the Tara Drupchen Resource page 24-48 hours after recording. The recordings will be available for 2 weeks after the event until October 8th. We ask for your patience as our volunteers work to make these available to all participants. While recordings will be available, it is recommended that participants who are able to attend live, do so.
Questions? Please send us a message: help@nalandabodhi.org
There are a number of very specific ways you can help create the material conditions that support this event–for example by sponsoring fruit offerings, flowers, tea breaks, or teacher and principal’s meals. To learn more about participating in sponsorship follow this link.
Nalandabodhi Seattle will host teachings on Green Tara (Khadiravaṇītārā) and how Arya Tara can help dispel inner and outer manifestations of the Eight Great Fears.
This program is being offered as an introduction to some of Arya Tara’s enlightened qualities in preparation for the annual Tara Drupchen at Nalanda West, September 19–22, 2024.
Nalandabodhi is an international Buddhist community whose mission is “Offering the timeless wisdom and boundless compassion of the Buddha to inspire individuals and create kind communities in today’s world.” Using tools the Buddha offered, we provide a genuine path to a more open, kind, and full life.
Under the direction of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, our centers provide open and supportive spaces for engaging in study, meditation, and mindful activity on the journey to discover the full potential of our own mind. To learn more visit nalandabodhi.org
