Mojo Tchudi

Dear Friends,
It was a privilege and a pleasure to join so many of you on Saturday for Diamond Light’s re-opening celebration. 

Before the party, Geshe Tsultrim performed a wonderful traditional Tibetan Buddhist blessing ceremony of the beautiful Gompa (meditation hall) we’ve created together in Room 14 with only a few people in attendance. As he was chanting, reciting mantras, and making offerings to all of the Buddha images, I was struck by the shimmering, iridescent sacred beauty of the center. And I felt the strong presence of all you who’ve come through the doors, who’ve shared your wise hearts and minds, inspiring each other and creating a beloved community.

Diamond Light was founded on this understanding of the power of spiritual community, or sangha. So it was powerful and joyous to celebrate together in person — and more of you showed up than expected, how wonderful! We caught up with friends and made new ones – all in a COVID safe way. I gave a short talk on Buddha’s saying to Ananda: “Spiritual friendship, spiritual companionship, spiritual camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life.” We entered dyads to share what is alive for us now in our hearts. And, filled with the joy of being together again, we lingered for a couple of hours past the allotted time. 
 
A special thank-you to Lauren and Heather who worked so hard to make this dharma party happen, joined by Cheryl. And for keeping us connected over zoom during the pandemic, with help from Mojo and David and probably many more of you whom I don’t know about. Countless!
 
Indeed, thank you to you all. I deeply value our sangha. Through getting to know our friends who delight in the Buddha’s teaching, we create ever-deepening connections and establish valuable support systems. It is spiritual community, spiritual friendship, that truly holds our spiritual life together. Whether you’ve been part of Diamond Light for years, or simply for a single course, your presence and commitment to spiritual values have brought something beautiful, encouraging, and significant into the world. What a great blessing in the midst of this painful social, environmental and political turmoil… like a soothing drink of cool, sweet water from a pure, deep well.
 
Diamond Light began offering hybrid courses last month, so you can now participate at the center and/or on Zoom. Check out our schedule for upcoming classes.

With Big Love,
Amie Diller, Spiritual Director

Programming Committee Update

2020, the year of COVID 19, forced many of us to stop and take stock of our lives.

Those of us on the programing committee used this “pause” to look more deeply at Diamond Light Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Group’s offerings. In conversation, we reconfirmed that Diamond Light is offering the path to awakening as rooted in Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhism while welcoming the enrichment of teachings from all Buddhist traditions. Additionally, we embrace contemporary innovations on cultivating a peaceful and happy mind from the intersection of Buddhism and psychology. 

Diamond Light has also emphasized from its inception the importance of taking our Bodhisattva practice off the meditation cushion and into the world. Core to Diamond Light is nourishing a close-knit supportive spiritual community (sangha). We put this work into practice by serving the extended community and engaging in group and individual awareness-based social activism.   

We’re now turning our attention to developing a new curriculum of dharma teachings and Buddhist study. Diamond Light Spiritual Director Amie Diller and dharma teacher Mojo Tchudi are designing a series of events that will weave together all of the above into a comprehensive program. This will serve both beginners and advanced students as they enter the path, through the arc of their spiritual development.

If you’d like to offer input, please feel free to contact them through the Diamond Light website. And keep a lookout for updates on the project!  

My dear Diamond Light friends,

The last year-and-a-half has been tough on us all. During it, your whole-hearted presence and participation in Zoom classes gave these many months together a beautiful sense of community. I heard from so many of you that Dharma Practice and Community were a refuge and great blessing in the midst of so much turmoil, change and loss—like a cool nourishing drink from a deep forest spring.   

Now many of us are relieved and overjoyed to be experiencing a positive turn in relationship to the COVID-19 pandemic. And Diamond Light is thrilled to be opening its doors again at Sierra 2 Center, Room 14, while simultaneously continuing to offer our courses via Zoom!  

That said, Diamond Light is moving very carefully and conscientiously into this next phase in order to protect the health of all. The Center will be following the California Public Health guidelines for those who choose to attend classes in person. Please read the Diamond Light Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center COVID policies.

The transition to a new “hybrid model” of in-person classes and online zoom is both exciting and extraordinarily challenging. Thus, I humbly request that if you are able to donate—or to give again—it would help us to purchase the new technology we’ll need, along with paying a consultant to help us set up a seamless interface between live and streaming classes that can be easily accessed at any time from any device. We’re eager to offer this, and appreciate your support.

Even while we were closed, we continued to pay rent for the center. In the spirit of great generosity, many of you continued your donations and I thank you with all of my heart. I’m sure you know that your generosity is what makes it possible for Diamond Light to exist and offer its flavor of Dharma to the world.

Please keep yourselves and each other safe. I hope you will join us for our many wonderful upcoming offerings. And again, my heartfelt thanks to you all for your presence in this growing community of practitioners. 

With Big Love,  

Amie Diller, Spiritual Director

COVID-19 Protocols

Diamond Light is excited about resuming in person teachings and gathering together again! We take the health of everyone seriously. The following guidelines have been updated based on the recommendations of Sacramento County Public Health Department, and Buddhist values of doing no harm and protecting the health of all. We prefer to be on the side of caution and recommend wearing masks for those comfortable doing so. We will continue to monitor safety guidelines and make changes based on the most current recommendations. 

Diamond Light will continue hosting classes on Zoom so you can participate from home if you are not ready for in person gatherings. 

At this time we ask that you:

• If have COVID-19 or flu-like symptoms, please stay home and join class online. 
• If you have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19, please stay home and join class online. 
• If you show symptoms within 2 days of attending in person and later test positive for COVID-19, please let us know so we can inform others about a possible exposure. We will protect your privacy. 
• We strongly encourage and prefer you to be vaccinated if you attend in person. 
• Please maintain social spaciousness as much as possible. 

To keep everyone safe, Diamond Light will:

• Have hand sanitizer available, and sanitize the room and high touch surfaces before and after class.
• Have a supply of disposable masks available if you forget a mask. 
• Special events may have a capacity limit, depending on teacher preferences, and require RSVP. 
• Gather attendee contact information in case of possible exposure. Your privacy will be protected. 

We will continue monitoring the latest safety protocols and will update you as things change. 

Your safety and the health of our community is our top priority! If you are not comfortable with attending classes in person, or we have reached our capacity limit for the class, please join us online through Zoom for the teachings!

For more information regarding COVID-19 safety protocols: https://covid19.ca.gov/