The hosting center will be Gaden Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling, a Los Angeles based Tibetan Buddhist meditation and educational organization. They will be hosting His Holiness the Dalai Lama on May 1, 2011.

During the teachings His Holiness has decided to confer a Yamantaka Initiation on the morning of May 1, 2011. His Holiness is requiring several commitments from those who attend the initiation. Please see the notes below regarding these commitments under “Highest Yoga Tantra.”

Because it is so rare that His Holiness would confer an initiation from the Highest Yoga Tantra class of initiations, especially in the United States, we feel something very special and significant will be taking place. Gaden Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling would like to make the event even more special by allowing everyone to attend free of charge. But whether we can do that depends upon generous people like you.

Contact the Gaden Center about becoming an event sponsor by donating $1,000 per individual or $1,500 per couple. This helps to support the tremendous financial costs of setting up such an auspicious event. Gaden Center leader have reserved special sponsor seating in the front of the theater for both the initiation in the morning and the afternoon public talk. We will gratefully accept larger donations.

All of the teachings and Yamataka empowerment will take place at the intimate 2,938-seat Terrace Theater in the Long Beach Convention Center, where they also hope to be able to arrange for the sponsors to receive a personal blessing from His Holiness.

Because this is the Highest Yoga Tantra, there are practice commitments the Dalai Lama has requested from those who take this most precious empowerment.

Here is a summary of the commitments that you must follow:

“Before receiving any Highest Yoga Tantra initiation one must take the bodhisattva vows and the tantric vows. In the case of the May 2011 Yamantaka initiation, His Holiness is requiring us to make three pledges in addition to our promise to keep the two sets of vow.

“The first pledge is to recite once a day, every day, a text known as a sadhana. These texts can be as short as a few pages, or very much longer. Usually the daily recitation commitment can be kept by the short form of the sadhana. It is a practice by which we come to identify with the deity, also known as Deity Yoga practice. One may not practice a sadhana without receiving the initiation related to that deity or Buddha.

“The second pledge is that you must promise to recite every day, three times during daytime hours and three times during evening hours, another text called the Six Session Guru Yoga. This commitment is can usually be met by reciting a form of the text that is about one page long.

“Finally, His Holiness is requiring us to pledge to complete a retreat during which we will become familiar with the practice of Yamantaka. Such a retreat may take as long as a week or ten days, or perhaps longer, and should be done under the guidance of a qualified teacher. We recommend consulting the Ganden Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling website www.gstdl.org for advice regarding the nature of the retreat, the length of time it will take, and when it will be given under the guidance of the venerable geshes at the GSTDL Dharma Center.

For those living in the Phoenix, Arizona area, you can practice the Yamantaka meditation at the Emaho Foundation Tibetan Meditation Center after receiving the empowerment from His Holiness. Monthly Yamantaka practice is held there on a regular basis. Other Tibetan Buddhist centers, such as the Garchen Institute, hold Yamantaka retreats and practice sessions as well.

For persons who accept the Highest Yoga Tantric commitments, it is general practice that one also commits to the twice-a-month gatherings for recitations of ‘The Guru Puja – Offerings to the Spiritual Masters.’

If you are a practitioner of Shugden please do not apply to come to this initiation.

Please contact the center immediately if you are interested in attending, or sponsoring the event. Event sponsor seats will be reserved in order of receipt of your commitment and a deposit of $250 per person. We hope you will be able to send the rest of your donation by February 1, 2011. Gaden Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Donations are tax deductible as permissible by law.

Please consider becoming a sponsor even if you will be unable to participate in the May 1 events to help us offer the initiation free of charge to those serious practitioners who would like to participate. We will acknowledge your contribution in our printed materials, and you may join in on any other activities.

Please check their website www.gstdl.org over the next few months as the program develops for this extraordinary day with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

All calls and emails regarding the visit of His Holiness, sponsorship opportunities, ticketing etc., should be directed to (657) 229 4435 and e-mail inquiries should be directed to: HHDL2011@gstdl.org.

Checks may be mailed to the following address (write HHDL 2011 Sponsorship in the memo field of the check). Also could you send us an email with your contact information – name, mailing address, email, phone number etc?

Gaden Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling
P. O. Box 90665
Long Beach, CA 90809-0665

Attendance and Practice requirement: Khenchen Lama Rinpoche asks new students who will attend any part or all of his teachings to commit to practice of 10,000 short mantras of Vajrasattva (OM VAJRA SATO HUNG). Khenchen Lama Rinpoche’s old students who attended his previous teachings and are completing practice requests for those teachings do not need to take on this requirement.

Yamantaka Empowerment

The most profound long lineage of Yamanthaka practices in Tibetan Buddhism started with Nubchen Sangye Yeshe. These practices were again discovered in the cycle of hidden treasure teachings by Padma Dagnag Lingpa who was an incarnation of Nubchen Sangye Yeshe. They are considered the short lineage of Sangye Yeshes Yamantaka teachings. Khenchen Lama Rinpoche will give empowerment from this tradition.

It is said that the wrathful practice of Yamantaka is most suitable during times of confusion and obstacles, like current era. This particular practice is distinct for being part of a Dzogchen cycle. It is a short practice emphasizing insight into pristine awareness or rigpa and includes rigpa yidam yoga.

Time and Date: Friday, February 12, 2010 9:00AM to 6:00PM

Location: Shambhala Center, 3250 N Tucson Blvd, Tucson, Arizona.

online directions Medicine Buddha

Medicine Buddha is a specific practice to help during time of illness. The Medicine Buddha meditation Khenchen Rinpoche will be teaching encompasses both sutra and hidden treasure teachings. This meditation includes practice of eight Buddhas representing eight different aspects of well-being.

Time and Date: Saturday, February 13, 2010, 9:00AM to Noon

Amitayus, Amitabha Buddha practice

Those who have short life are not able to bring their spiritual aspirations to fruition. That is why it is important to engage in the long life practice of Amitayus. This particular form of the practice comes from hidden treasure teachings by Padma Dagnag Lingpa. It combines the practice of Amitayus with the practice of the Buddha Amitabha.

Time and Date: Saturday, February 13, 2010, 2:00PM to 6:00PM

Tibetan Yoga

There are many different kinds of yoga and in the Western culture yoga is mainly associated with bodily movement. Yoga in Tibetan Buddhism combines body yoga, speech yoga and mind yoga. It is practiced to facilitate fast progress in one’s spiritual development. This includes energy practices of winds, channels and drops. The yoga Khenchen Rinpoche will introduce his students to, comes from Longchenpa and Padma Dagnag Lingpa. It contains gentle postures that target specific obstacles to the practice such as attachment or anger

Time and Date: Sunday, February 14, 2010, 9:00AM to 6:00PM

Location for Medicine Buddha, Amitayus and Tibetan Yoga
Ada Peirce McCormick Library
1401 East First Street at Highland Ave.
Tucson, AZ

Directions from Speedway and Cherry:

Speedway and Cherry, go South on Cherry, then West on 1st St (one way)

Look for sign Ada Peirce McCormick Building on right side of street. Pull into Parking Lot just before First St. & Highland intersection (marked by Stop Sign).

Requested donation is a reasonable $30/day, or $75 for entire Losar teaching cycle.

To learn more, go to the Dharmakirti website, and sign up for the teachings.

If you cannot attend these teachings and trainings, then we offer Tibetan Yoga DVD’s and Vajrasattva, Chenrezig, and other meditation chant CD’s of the mantra practices on the www.FourGates.com website.