Diamond Light Tibetan Buddhist Group

Online: Grounding and Connection with Sunil Joseph
2020-09-12 09:00 - 11:00, 2020-09-19 09:00 - 11:00, 2020-09-26 09:00 - 11:00, 2020-10-03 09:00 - 11:00, 2020-10-10 09:00 - 11:00, 2020-10-17 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Denver) | Online event
Since PD (Physical Distancing), I find it nourishing to pause, ground and connect with others online. The sense of dropping in with ourselves, others and feeling our shared humanity can feel soothing and restorative. I would like to think we are engaging our Social Nervous System through these practices.http://www.boazfeldman.com/EN/Links_files/PORGES%20Polyvagal_Theory.pdf
In the first hour of this event, I will be offering a 30 – 45 minute guided meditation for grounding and arriving in the present. I am in a Mindfulness Meditation teacher training program with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. I will be sharing primarily from that stream. We will have some time after the meditation to hear from each other.In the second hour of the event, I will offer a 30-minute session on connecting with our feelings and needs based on Marshall Rosenberg’s NVC process. It is a chance to connect with our hearts to find what would really nourish us right now.
We will use these documents for the NVC exercise.https://www.cnvc.org/training/resource/feelings-inventoryhttps://www.cnvc.org/training/resource/needs-inventory
I will be closing the Zoom room 5 minutes after the event starts to avoid disruptions to the group. Feel free to drop after the meditation. If something I offer does not work for you, you are encouraged to adapt/modify it to fit what you need. Thank you for being a part of this experiment!
If you can make a donation ($5 – $20) with ease and joy, please contribute to my favorite sangha –
https://www.diamondlightsac.org/donate/
They are a volunteer-run sangha with a big heart.

Online: Dharma Class Review Group
2020-09-13 10:00 - 11:30, 2020-09-20 10:00 - 11:30, 2020-09-27 10:00 - 11:30, 2020-10-04 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Denver) | Online event
Whether or not you are attending the Tuesday night dharma classes, this review group provides a space to connect with others and discuss the teachings. This is an opportunity to join your fellow dharma students in a review of Geshe Tsultrim’s class the previous Tuesday. Deepen your understanding of the Lam Rim topics by exploring the ideas presented, and participating in discussion with your dharma friends. All are welcome.
Sundays, 10:00am-11:30amClick the link to join our virtual classroom: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
Suggested donation: $10-$20 per class, no one turned away for lack of funds: http://www.diamondlightsac.org/donate or search for “Diamond Light” on Venmo
The discussion will be led by David Drabble, a long time meditator and Buddhist practitioner. David leads our Monday night class on Community Meditation in the Tibetan Tradition.

Online: Community Meditation in the Tibetan Tradition
2020-09-14 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Denver), 2020-09-21 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Denver), 2020-11-30 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online event
Evidence shows that even 5 minutes of meditation a day can go a long way to reduce stress, increase happiness, and sharpen focus. Sometimes it seems just getting to the cushion is the biggest obstacle!
Enjoy community, support and inspiration. Join long time meditator and Tibetan Buddhist practitioner David Drabble as he shows us what it takes to set up and keep a daily practice! Each class will have instruction, discussion and meditation.
Drop-ins encouraged!
Mondays 6:30pm-7:30pmClick the link to join our virtual classroom: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
suggested donation: $10-$20 per class, no one turned away for lack of funds
http://www.diamondlightsac.org

Online: Introduction to Karma with Geshe Tsultrim
2020-09-15 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Denver) | Online event
Karma focuses on the laws of cause and effect, and is one of the foundational philosophies and principles of Buddhism. Karma can also be misunderstood, and challenging to understand. Join Geshe Tsultrim as he guides us through karma and gives an overview of the topic.
To register for this event: https://bookwhen.com/diamondlightsac#focus=ev-so5r-20200804183000
Tuesdays August 4-September 29 6:30pm-8:30pm
Click on the Zoom link to join: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
Cost: Suggested donation of $10-$20 to cover the cost of the class and support the teacher. No one turned away for lack of funds. You can give online: https://www.diamondlightsac.org/donate/ or through Venmo: search “Diamond Light”
For more info: http://www.diamondlightsac.org
Geshe Lobsang Tsultrim is part of the Gaden Shartse Monastery in south India. “Geshe” is a degree that is earned after several years of intensive study and passing the highest-level exams. It is the monastic equivalent of a western “Ph.D.” degree. Having successfully passed these exams, Geshe Tsultrim is an expert on Buddhist philosophy. He is also a skilled artist, specializing in traditional Tibetan art. Geshe Tsultrim has been teaching in the United States since 2001.

Eight Verses For Training The Mind with Geshe Lobsang Tsultrim
2020-09-22 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-09-29 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-10-06 18:30 - 20:30, 2020-10-13 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Denver) | Online event
Eight Verses for Training the Mind offer essential practices for cultivating the awakening mind of compassion, wisdom, and love. This eight-verse lojong enshrines the very heart of Dharma, revealing the true essence of the Mahayana path to liberation. Join Geshe Tsultrim as he guides us through the eight verses and explains why these ancient practices are so critical for dealing with the challenges we are facing today. English Translation document for this class: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_QbVf9Ed05p9s2pZ79ibmC-HSDMH6ZSR/view?usp=sharing
Tuesdays September 22-October 13 6:30pm-8:30pm
Click on the Zoom link to join: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
Cost: Suggested donation of $10-$20 to cover the cost of the class and support the teacher.http://www.diamondlightsac.org/donate“Diamond Light” on Venmo orhttp://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=NMYP6MK36UBCSNo one turned away for lack of funds.
For more info: http://www.diamondlightsac.org
Geshe Lobsang Tsultrim is part of the Gaden Shartse Monastery in south India. “Geshe” is a degree that is earned after several years of intensive study and passing the highest-level exams. It is the monastic equivalent of a western “Ph.D.” degree. Having successfully passed these exams, Geshe Tsultrim is an expert on Buddhist philosophy. He is also a skilled artist, specializing in traditional Tibetan art. Geshe Tsultrim has been teaching in the United States since 2001.

Online: Dharma Class Review Group
2020-10-11 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Denver), 2020-10-18 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Denver), 2020-10-25 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Denver), 2020-11-01 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles), 2020-11-08 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles), 2020-11-15 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online event
Whether or not you are attending the Tuesday night dharma classes, this review group provides a space to connect with others and discuss the teachings. This is an opportunity to join your fellow dharma students in a review of Geshe Tsultrim’s class the previous Tuesday. Deepen your understanding of the Lam Rim topics by exploring the ideas presented, and participating in discussion with your dharma friends. All are welcome.
Sundays, 10:00am-11:30amClick the link to join our virtual classroom: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
Suggested donation: $10-$20 per class, no one turned away for lack of funds: http://www.diamondlightsac.org/donate or search for “Diamond Light” on Venmo orhttp://www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=NMYP6MK36UBCS
The discussion will be led by David Drabble, a long time meditator and Buddhist practitioner. David leads our Monday night class on Community Meditation in the Tibetan Tradition.

Mindfulness for Dark Times with Sunil Joseph
2020-12-01 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Onlie via Zoom, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95818, United States
Tuesdays September 22-October 13 6:30pm-8:30pm
We are entering winter with multiple challenges at play including a pandemic, isolation, fatigue, loss of loved ones, work, political uncertainty, social justice reckoning, seasonal affective disorder, etc. How do we hold our hearts with care as we travel through this winter? How do we find connection and belonging when we need to be physically distant? In this course, we will use Mindfulness practices to ground and nourish ourselves. We will create a space of respectful listening wherein each of our hearts can show up exactly as they are.
Each event will be a combination of a guided meditation to deepen our presence and mindful listening to connect with each other. In the words of Rachel Naomi Remen – “The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention..A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.”
This event is offered for free. Many of us are going through financial difficulties right now. Any donation you can make without hardship ($10-$20 ) will help us cover ongoing rent for our Center, fees to provide online services, and supporting our teachers. Thank you.
www.diamondlightsac.org/donate
–OR–
Venmo “Diamond Light”
–OR–
www.paypal.com/biz/fund?id=NMYP6MK36UBCS
Click on the Zoom link to join: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
About Sunil Joseph: Sunil has been a student of Compassionate Communication since 2004. He graduated from BayNVC’s Leadership Training in 2008 and has been sharing this approach with others. Sunil is currently completing a 2-year Mindfulness Teacher Training program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.

Exploring the Path to Awakening: Meditation and the Lam Rim with Amie Diller and Heather Breault
2021-01-05 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Onlie via Zoom, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95818, United States
Exploring the Path to Awakening: Meditation and the Lam Rim
with Amie Diller and Heather Breault
Tuesdays, December 29, 2020 and January 5, 2020
Have you been curious about Buddhist practice, but don’t know where to begin? Have you attended Buddhist teachings, but don’t know how to meditate on the subjects you’ve studied? In an age where people look outward for direction and inspiration, the Buddhist path of Lam Rim Meditations provides time-honored template for looking inward and going deep for the answers we seek.
This class will be based on the “Stages of the Path” (lamrim) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and teach you the fundamentals of Buddhist meditation, and give you the tools you need both to begin a daily meditation practice and to deal with problems and difficulties once you have started to meditate.
Beginners are welcome and encouraged, as well as more advanced students wanting to review the “steps on the path” in an experiential format.
Amie Diller is a Buddhist teacher in both the Tibetan and Zen traditions. A mother and midwife, she has also had a longtime interest in Jungian Psychology and the mythic perspective.
Heather Breault started practicing yoga in 2001, which lead her to find Buddhism, with her first class taught by Lama Marut in 2008. She has studied with many amazing teachers over the years, her closest teacher being Amie Diller.
Tuesdays, December 29, 2020 and Tuesday, January 5, 2020.
6:30pm-8:30pm PDT
Online ; Donation-based
Zoom Meeting ID: 224-735-8115
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
www.diamondlightsac.org/donate or “Diamond Light” on Venmo
Suggested donation: $10-:$20 to cover expenses, which include ongoing rent for our Center, fees to provide online services and supporting our teachers
No one turned away due to lack of funds.

Introduction to Buddhist Meditation with Marc Ross
2021-01-19 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Onlie via Zoom, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95818, United States
Introduction to Buddhist Meditation
Tuesdays, January 19 to February 23
6:30pm-8:30pm PDT
The benefits of meditation are vast. It calms the mind and is the foundation for every spiritual realization. Meditating 5 minutes a day and more can change our brains, our minds and our view of the world we live in.
Buddhist meditation is part of a tradition of techniques that go back at least 5,000 years. Like any other skill, proper technique makes meditation easier, more productive and saves you a lot of time. This class is perfect for those who are new to meditating and would like an introduction to the fundamental practices: posture, types of meditation, progressive stages of meditation and how to develop a meditation practice. Each class will have teaching, discussions, and practice.
Class materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13UMpXdecyTVanhtJkzfASZARQaG0fP0h?usp=sharing
Marc Bio:
I was born in 1955 and raised as a Roman Catholic. For most of my young adult life did not follow a spiritual path. I fell in love with yoga in the early 1990’s and was certified as a yoga instructor in the Iyengar tradition. Through yoga I found Buddhism, and had a deep attraction to the lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. I have been a practicing Buddhist since that time. My root teacher is Alan Wallace, who I have had an easy, natural connection with since meeting him in 2013. I have been blessed with the opportunity to teach meditation both in the US and in Europe.
Professionally I have practiced as a chiropractor and body worker for over 40 years, and am blessed with work that is a spiritual path.
Online ; Donation-based
Zoom Meeting ID: 224-735-8115
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
Suggested donation: $10-:$20 to cover expenses, which include ongoing rent for our Center, fees to provide online services and supporting our teachers
No one turned away due to lack of funds.
To donate: www.diamondlightsac.org/donate or search “Diamond Light” on Venmo or Paypal

Cancelled this Week: Sunday Study Group
2021-02-21 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95818, United States
Cancelled this week! Will resume next Sunday!
Listen, contemplate, meditate
Lama Tsongkhapa describes the stages of studying Dharma: first is hearing the teachings, (or reading the texts and commentaries). The second is contemplation, where the student reflects on what they have learned, examines the felt meaning, and how it relates to one’s own life. The third is meditation, placing focused concentration on the subject, deepening our understanding, and achieving realizations on the truth and nature of the dharma.
Whether or not you are attending the Tuesday night Dharma classes, this study group provides a space to connect with others and discuss the teachings. Deepen your understanding of the Lam Rim topics by exploring the ideas presented, and participating in discussion with your dharma friends.
All are welcome.
The discussion will be led by David Drabble, a long-time meditator and Buddhist practitioner. David leads our Monday night Meditation in the Tibetan Tradition.
The discussion group is being held on Zoom. Click the link to join the group: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115 or type in the Meeting ID: 224 735 8115

Meditation’s Journey: Step-by-Step with Elaine Jackson
2021-03-02 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Onlie via Zoom, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95818, United States
5 Tuesdays March 2 – March 30, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Online via Zoom
Zoom Meeting ID: 224-735-8115
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/2247358115
All Yogis/Yoginis of the past agree. Mind is the seed of everything we experience. By sincerely investigating the nature of our own mind, we can escape a vicious cycle of being perpetually confused while powerlessly losing control when overtaken by thoughts and emotions.
It’s important to become clear about what mind, thoughts and perceptions actually are, not in a theoretical way, but in actuality. Perhaps we haven’t paid much attention to our mind’s way of being when unoccupied with thoughts or perceptions. When there are thoughts, mental images or perceptions, the usual habit is to identify with them and be caught up in the show.
Instead, we can train in clearly recognizing the nature of mind itself. This is our true nature.
When we stop concretizing our self and our world, we are not swept down the river of misery when we don’t get what we want, or when we get what we don’t want, or when we lose what we love, nor are we dragged through life by unchecked desires until we crash and burn.
By recognizing our true nature repeatedly, our helpless involvement in emotions lessens. As a result, our attachment to emotions begins to lose intensity and fade away. We are free to create a world of joy.
How do we recognize our true nature?
We will explore just that. By practicing, step-by-step, we can progress along the Buddha’s path from our first attempt at watching the breath, through realizations…all the way to enlightenment.
About Elaine: Elaine Jackson is a founding member of Vajrapani Institute and has been a student of Tibetan Buddhism since 1977, studying with many of the greatest Buddhist teachers of our time. Every year for 12 years she engaged in a month-long solitary meditation retreat to deepen her practice.
She served as Executive Director of Vajrapani Institute for over five years just prior to entering a three-year meditation retreat completed in April, 2014. She lives a contemplative life off-the-grid in the Santa Cruz mountains while offering Dharma teachings and meditation support.
Suggested donation: $10-:$20 to cover expenses, which include ongoing rent for our Center, fees to provide online services and supporting our teachers
No one turned away due to lack of funds.
To donate: www.diamondlightsac.org/donate or search “Diamond Light” on Venmo or Paypal

The Awakening Warrior with Rob Preece
2021-03-05 08:00 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Onlie via Zoom, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95818, United States
Co-sponsored by Diamond Light Tibetan Buddhist Group and Vajrapani Institue
4-Day Online Retreat
Friday March 5, 2021-Monday March 8, 2021
8am-4:30pm PST
Please plan to attend all days, no partial retreat available, Space is limited so register now!
Register Here: https://bookwhen.com/diamondlightsac/e/ev-swfa-20210305000000
Sliding scale $200-$300
Scholarships available, please email diamondlight.sac@gmail.com to request a scholarship.
This retreat will be open to anyone who has a background in the Tibetan tradition and who is interested in deepening their relationship to Arya Tara and the practice of Mahamudra. No specific empowerment is required to attend.
The term Bodhisattva is sometimes translated as The Awakening Warrior. At this time the qualities of the warrior are needed perhaps more than ever as we find ourselves in a world that is in such turmoil. We need to find the courage, the heartfulness, to transform adversity into the path of awakening. To maintain an open, compassionate heart when there is so much insecurity and fear in the world around requires that we find an inner resource of stillness and clarity that is grounded and unshaken.
The Awakening Warrior discovers a deep relationship to Source, our Buddha-nature, and embodies this in the world to serve the welfare of others. Arya Tara in her various manifestations embodies the awakening warrior in a female aspect that is so significant for these times. She is most familiar in her green aspect as an embodiment of All Accomplishing Wisdom, but she also has manifestations that express the enlightened activities of Peace, Increase, Power and Wrath. If we are to begin to embody our potential Bodhisattva qualities in order to support those suffering at this time, Arya Tara can be our guide and inspiration if we open to her presence.
During this retreat we will begin to explore our relationship to the qualities of the Bodhisattva Tara and her different aspects. Meditation deepening our relationship to Green Tara will be combined with Mahamudra and the embodied practice of Kum Nye.
This retreat will be open to anyone who has a background in the Tibetan tradition and who is interested in deepening their relationship to Arya Tara and the practice of Mahamudra. No specific empowerment is required to attend.

About Rob Preece:
Rob has been a practicing Tibetan Buddhist since 1973. In 1980 he went to India and was in retreat for around five years exploring in depth the practice of tantra, meditating under the guidance of his teachers Lama Thubten Yeshe, Gen Jhampa Wangdu and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Returning to the West, in 1985 he began a Jungian based psychotherapy training, gradually developing a synthesis of Jungian and Buddhist understanding. He worked as a psychotherapist for around 28 years and then began to focus upon spiritual mentoring. Since 1985 he has been leading meditation retreats, following the influence of Lama Yeshe who particularly encouraged his integration of a more Western approach to tantric practice. He is an experienced Tangkha painter as well as the author of The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra; The Wisdom of Imperfection; and most recently Tasting the Essence of Tantra. Today he teaches retreats in the UK with his wife Anna and also in Europe and the US.
