Milarepa Guru Yoga with Feast Offering and Songs of Realization
March 22, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Teacher: Lama Eric Triebelhorn
Guru yoga is a key part of Vajrayana Buddhist practice that helps us connect to the living lineage. Through this type of ritual, we tap into the unbroken stream of blessings and inspiration that have been passed down from Buddha Shakyamuni to present masters.
This particular practice is often done on the full moon of the first lunar month as this day marks the passing of Marpa the Translator and also is one day after the anniversary of Jetsun Milarepa. Many nunneries and monasteries in our tradition chant Milarepa’s guru yoga and the entirety of the The Rain of Wisdom, a collection of songs of the lineage on this date. (This year we are observing it a bit later than usual.)
The chanting and practice of the guru yoga will be in English with some guidance. Towards the end of the text, we will chant a selection of songs of realization (spontaneous expressions of awakening) from Milarepa and other practitioners of the Karma and Shangpa Kagyu lineages. We will then return to the guru yoga text for the ganachakra, a ritual feast. This type of practice enhances our accumulation of merit, purifies harmful actions and obscurations, and can repair our sacred connections within a community of dharma siblings and teachers.
The texts will be projected on both the KCC and Zoom screens. The ganachakra feast provisions will be provided so please register so we know how many to prepare for. If you would like to contribute to the ganachakra, contact Lama Eric directly, two weeks beforehand.
Please bring a vegetarian/vegan dish to contribute to the potluck affair to follow!
