CALIFORNIA DHARMA CELEBRATION 2023 – MARCH 10-12

Kadampa Meditation Center Los Angeles

The Empowerment of White Tara
with Teachings from The New Eight Steps to Happiness

Register – In Person
Register – Online*

* Online registration closed on March 11.

Join Gen Kelsang Rigpa, Western US National Spiritual Director and Resident Teacher @ KMC Los Angeles and hundreds of practitioners from around state and online for the California Dharma Celebration!

The 2023 California Dharma Celebration will feature the empowerment of Buddha White Tara, and mind training teachings from the practical text on Buddhist psychology and meditation, The New Eight Steps to Happiness by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche.

During this very special weekend, Gen Rigpa will grant the blessing empowerment of White Tara, an enlightened being who bestows long life, good fortune and wisdom. We need a long life to complete our spiritual practice, we need wisdom to free ourselves and others from our daily pain and problems, and we need good fortune or positive energy to achieve a long-lasting experience of inner peace and happiness.

Gen Rigpa will then give “Lojong” or “mind-training” teachings from The New Eight Steps to Happiness. This text reveals step-by-step the attitudes, views and intentions that lead us along the spiritual path. It is a practical manual for how to embody the Kadampa teachings in the modern world.

Everyone is welcome to this special weekend event!

Full Schedule

What is an Empowerment?

An empowerment is a blissful guided meditation through which we connect to a Buddha’s enlightened mind, in this case Buddha White Tara’s enlightened mind. By receiving these inspiring blessings, our own potential for healing increases and we draw closer to the special blessings and care of White Tara. Doing this, we can definitely realize the greatest meaning of this precious human life.

Prayer Booklets

The following prayer booklets will be used during the Celerbation: Prayers for Meditation, Request to the Holy Spiritual Guide Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, Wishfulfilling Jewel, The Yoga of White Tara.

If you would like to purchase any of these in advance, please visit Tharpa.com/us. These sadhanas are available both as booklets and as e-booklets.

Register

California Dharma Celebration
March 10-12, 2023  Kadampa Meditation Center LA

Every year the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU) organizes regional Dharma Celebrations of modern Kadampa Buddhism taught by senior Teachers. This year’s California Dharma Celebration is held at KMC LA! Everyone is welcome. All attendance is in-person.

Online Registration closed March 11.

California Dharma Celebration – Online
March 17-24, 2023

Online Attendance Requirement

The California Dharma Celebration will be offered online to those who live within California, who are unable to attend in person at KMC Los Angeles due to medical disability and/or the inability to travel. Anyone who meets either of these criteria is welcome to register for the delayed replay of the California Dharma Celebration. Registration for online attendance must be completed by March 11.

Register – Online

The replays will be available for streaming online Friday, March 17. The Empowerment replay will be available for one day ONLY, on Saturday, March 18. All other teachings and meditations will be available for streaming for one full week — Friday, March 17 through Friday, March 24.

Our Teachers

Empowerment & Teachings

Gen Kelsang Rigpa is the Western US National Spiritual Director of the NKT-IKBU. He is also the Resident Teacher at Kadampa Meditation Center LA. He will grant the empowerment and give teachings during the Celebration.

Gen Rigpa’s heartfelt and practical teachings are presented with warmth and humor, making them accessible to everyone. Through his clear presentation, he is able to help students discover for themselves how to integrate these timeless teachings into our modern world, making everyday life joyful and meaningful.

Intro Teaching

Gen Kelsang Choma is a senior Teacher and Buddhist nun with the New Kadampa Tradition of Modern Buddhism. She has studied extensively on the Teacher Training Program for over 30 years and is qualified to teach both Sutra and Tantra.

She is the Resident Teacher at Kadampa Meditation Center San Francisco and is invited to teach nationally. People enjoy her teachings for their clarity and warmth.

Guided Meditations

Gen Kelsang Tsoglam is a close disciple of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and has been practicing and teaching under his guidance for nearly 20 years. Her teachings are heartfelt, practical, and presented with warmth and humor.

Prior to her arrival in the South Bay, Gen Tsoglam was the resident teacher at Atisha Kadampa Buddhist Center in Providence, RI, Kadampa Meditation Center Bloomington, IN, Tushita Kadampa Buddhist Center in Olympia, WA, and taught extensively throughout the NY/NJ area. She also spent time at our LA center under the guidance of Gen-la Dekyong, our General Spiritual Director.

Our Founder

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
Spiritual Guide & Founder of Modern Kadampa Buddhism

He has dedicated his life to laying the foundation for modern Kadampa Buddhism to flourish in this and future generations so that anyone regardless of nationality, culture, gender or age can easily understand the meaning of Buddha’s teachings and apply them to their daily life – and in this way find true, lasting inner peace.

Venerable Geshe-la is a truly international Teacher whose wish is to benefit everyone without exception. To this end, among his many extraordinary actions, Venerable Geshe-la has founded the three International Kadampa Festivals – the Spring Festival, Summer Festival and Fall Festival, which are organised every year and enjoyed by thousands of people from all over the world.