Join a One-Week Online Vajrasattva Retreat with Yangsi Rinpoche and Geshe Tenzin Loden

Vajrasattva, www.melodiousdharma.wordpress.com.

A Dharma center in France, Institut Vajra Yogini, is holding a one-week Vajrasattva Retreat with teachings by Yangsi Rinpoche and Geshe Tenzin Loden.

Vajrasattva Retreat

The retreat is being held online and has already begun. Sorry for not posting it sooner.

The Event

The Institut Vajra Yogini website says, "Yangsi Rinpoche is currently Director of Maitripa College, a Buddhist university affiliated with the FPMT, in Portland, USA. For nearly 20 years, he has given us the great joy of coming to teach at the Institute every summer.

"Because of restrictions on flights from the United States, there is little chance that Rinpoche will be able to attend the Institute this year. For his part, he hopes to return as soon as possible, but for the moment we are obliged to adapt the usual programme in order to maintain this important practice time of the summer.

"In consultation with Rinpoche and Geshe Tenzin Loden, we have decided to continue the retreat."

Vajrasattva Retreat, Institut Vajra Yogini Facebook.

Schedule

August 1 - August 8, 2020

Yangsi Rinpoche is leading one session per day via Zoom. Rinpoche's session will be translated into English.

Session times:
6:30 AM CET - led by Geshe Tenzin Loden (Tibetan to French translation only)
10:00 AM CET - led by Geshe Tenzin Loden (Tibetan to French translation only)
4:30 PM CET - free time (Tibetan to French translation only)
8:00 PM CET - led by Yangsi Rinpoche (Tibetan to French and English translation)

(Yangsi Rinpoche's session is 11:00 AM PT)

Sessions led by Yangsi Rinpoche available with English translation:
Aug 3, 2020 11:00 AM PT
Aug 4, 2020 11:00 AM PT
Aug 5, 2020 11:00 AM PT
Aug 6, 2020 11:00 AM PT
Aug 7, 2020 11:00 AM PT

Aug 8, 2020 11:00 AM PT

Join the Retreat

The retreat is livestreaming in French only on the Institut Vajra Yogini YouTube channel and Institut Vajra Yogini Facebook page. The recordings posted are also only in French.

Register through Maitripa College to watch Yangi Rinpoche's sessions with Tibetan to English translation. These sessions are being held on Zoom.

Texts to download for the retreat in English:
Long long life prayer - Yangsi Rinpoche
Short long life prayer
Solitary Vajrasattva
Vajrasattva Retreat 2020
Wheel of Sharp Weapons Translation

The retreat is being offered by Institute Vajra Yogini to all of us by donation only. Please offer what you can via their website.

Vajrasattva

"Vajrasatva (Sanskrit: वज्रसत्त्, Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས་དཔའ། Dorje Sempa, short form is རྡོར་སེམས། Dorsem, Монгол: Доржсэмбэ)[1] is a bodhisattva in the Mahayana, Mantrayana/Vajrayana Buddhist traditions. In the Japanese Vajrayana school of Buddhism, Shingon, Vajrasatva is the esoteric aspect of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra and is commonly associated with the student practitioner who through the master's teachings, attains an ever-enriching subtle and rarefied grounding in their esoteric practice. In Tibetan Buddhism Vajrasatva is associated with the sambhogakāya and purification practice."

Continue reading on www.wikipedia.org.

Yangsi Rinpoche, www.institutvajrayogini.fr.

Yangsi Rinpoche

"Yangsi Rinpoche (President) was recognized as the reincarnation of Geshe Ngawang Gendun, a renowned scholar and practitioner from Western Tibet, at the age of six. Rinpoche trained in the traditional monastic system for over 25 years, and practiced as a monk until the age of 35.

"In 1995 he graduated with the highest degree of Geshe Lharampa from Sera Je Monastery in South India. He then completed his studies at Gyume Tantric College, and, in 1998, having the particular wish to benefit Western students of the Buddhadharma, Rinpoche came to the West to teach and travel extensively throughout America and Europe.

"Rinpoche served as a resident teacher at Deer Park Buddhist Center (Madison, Wisconsin) for five years, and is currently the Spiritual Director of Ganden Shedrup Ling Buddhist Center (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Dharma Friendship Foundation (Seattle, Washington), and Tara Buddhist Center (Nashville, Tennessee).

"He founded Maitripa College in 2005 in Portland, Oregon. Rinpoche is the author of Practicing the Path: A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo, published in 2003 by Wisdom Publications."

Continue reading Yangsi Rinpoche's biography on www.maitripa.org.

Geshe Tenzin Loden, www.institutvajrayogini.fr.

Geshe Tenzin Loden

The Institut Vajra Yogini website says, "Geshe Tenzin Loden, the new resident teacher at the Institute, was born in Bylakuppe, in southern India in 1961. He entered Sera Je Monastery at the age of nine and continued his studies until he obtained the title of Geshe in 1994. He then spent six years in strict retreat.

"From 2003 to 2006, he occupied the post of chant master (omze), still in Sera Je, which he left at the end of 2007, at the request of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, to succeed Geshe Tenzin Dorje."

Join Vajrasattva and Medicine Buddha Pujas During Covid-19

The deity Vajrasattva, lywa.org

Maitripa College president Yangsi Rinpoche is helping people be of benefit during the Covid-19 pandemic by leading Vajrasattva and Medicine Buddha pujas for purification and healing the world.

Vajrasattva and Medicine Buddha Practice Group

Watch Yangsi Rinpoche do the Vajrasattva and Medicine Buddha pujas on YouTube livestream each week and follow along from home.

Maitripa College's website notes that these livestreamed practice sessions are open to all.

Download the free Vajrasattva and Medicine Buddha puja materials.

Subscribe to the Maitripa College YouTube channel and request notifications to be reminded when Yangsi Rinpoche goes live. Here's how to do that if you need some help.

Practice Schedule

Thursdays at 5:00 PM PT—Vajrasattva puja

Sundays at 11:00 AM PT—Medicine Buddha puja

Afterwards the videos are archived on the Maitripa College YouTube channel.

Q&A With Yangsi Rinpoche

Q: Is it disrespectful to listen to sutras or mantras while I am in the kitchen or going for a walk?

A: Yangsi Rinpoche said:

"In the sutras sometimes just touching the sutras also lots of merit. So it's totally fine [to listen to sutras and mantras in the kitchen.] Of course if you can sit down and practice that's great but it's not necessary. You can hear the teaching, you can hear the practice it's also OK.

"Basically, the mind, if you keep your intention 'I'd really like to hear the Medicine Buddha prayer' the intention 'I really want to hear' ... I'm pretty much sure the intention is the very Dharma. Otherwise just put for distraction and entertainment, there are a million things online.

"So intention is quite obviously clear, so 'action' it has flexibility. It's not necessary that you have to stay still, and the Buddha Vairocana posture is not necessary. Fundamentally obviously you have the intention for the devotion, for the practice, and so I feel it's OK. If you feel it's not OK then you can sit down and do it. (Laughter.)

Vajrasattva: Purifying our Past Mistakes

Yangsi Rinpoche explained the purpose of the Vajrasattva practice:

"Thank you very much for joining Vajrasattva practice this Thursday night. You know, this Vajrasattva practice is how to keep karmic hygiene. These days we have to keep doing hand washing and cleaning. The Vajrasattva practice is something like that: karmic hygiene to keep karma clean, pure, and healed.

"All of the challenges in our individual lives and the things that we are facing right now, there is a surface condition and of course a deeper level in karmic connection. So this Vajrasattva practice will really be intended to do deeper karmic purification and ... merit accumulation."

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explained the purpose of the practice:

" ... Vajrasattva practice is so important generally, and especially nowadays in the world, when there is not only global warming, but many other problems. There are so many other dangers—of war and sicknesses, cancer, and so many people whom you know are dying. There are so many sicknesses and other conditions for dying. This Vajrasattva practice and other purification practices are the ultimate answer ..."

Medicine Buddha: Dedicating our Merit to Others and Healing the World

Yangsi Rinpoche explained the purpose of the Medicine Buddha practice:

"Basically with the Medicine Buddha practice, one thing we should learn is that we have so many elements (the prayer and the dedication) so I feel like the eight Medicine Buddhas are like an eight Lama Zopa Rinpoche kind of personality. Just imagine you have eight Lama Zopa Rinpoche personalities, all of the time doing dedication, prayer, and inspirational.

"So basically in this difficult time, what we're facing right now, we of course need to make the best of things, but also at a deep level in our heart we need to be making some prayers and dedications. And not get caught with the impatient thinking 'Oh when is this going to end?' I would say with this practice, particularly, make a strong prayer and dedication. That's the main thing." 

"... Vajrasattva is karmic purification and Medicine Buddha is pretty much strong prayer and dedication. Directing whatever merit we accumulated becomes very important."

The deity Medicine Buddha, Spit-Fire, CC BY 2.0.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explained the purpose of the practice:

"Medicine Buddha puja is excellent to prevent and help with natural disasters involving fire, wind, water, and air, including tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. It also helps with world peace, stopping war and famine, disease and torture, poverty and sickness. It increases happiness in the area of the center [where the practice is done], also peace in the United States, and the rest of the world."

Prayer Requests

Names given for prayers are read out loud at the end of each practice session. Anyone can submit name(s) for the prayer list by completing the Maitripa College online prayer request form. 

Yangsi Rinpoche

Yangsi Rinpoche is the president of Maitripa College, a Buddhist college in Portland, OR, that awards Masters of Arts degrees in Buddhist Studies and Master of Divinity degrees. Born in Nepal, he was recognized as the reincarnation of Geshe Ngawang Gendun and enthroned at Kopan Monastery in January 1975. Yangsi Rinpoche received his Geshe Lharampa degree from Sera Jey Monastery and then completed his studies at Gyume Tantric College.

Additional Medicine Buddha Practice Groups

Jamyang Buddhist Centre London 

Tuesdays at 8:00-9:30 AM PT—Tara puja

Tuesdays at 9:45-10:45 AM PT—Medicine Buddha puja

Livestreaming on the Jamyang Buddhist Centre London Facebook page

The Guhyasamaja Center

Tuesdays at 4:30-5:30 PM PT - Medicine Buddha Puja

Livestreaming on Zoom. Check the calendar for details and prayer list submission details.

Land of Medicine Buddha

Sundays at 2:30-3:30PM PT - Medicine Buddha Puja

Livestreaming on the Land of Medicine Buddha Facebook page