Check out our offerings for August 2025 at The Buddhist Center! We have in person & zoom classes as well as retreats, pujas, and workshops. Open door, open heart – drop in anytime in person or via Zoom. Donations are always optional.
Tara Puja
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1
5–6:30PM | VENERABLE KATY COLE
ZOOM ONLY
Once a month, on the eighth of the Tibetan month, we perform The Four Mandala Offerings to Cittamani Tara. She is known as the liberator from the fears of samsara and is an embodiment of enlightened action, one of the three essential qualities of a buddha (the others being wisdom and compassion).
The Mindful Path: Meditations for Everyday Wisdom and Wellbeing
SATURDAYS, EVERY OTHER WEEK, AUG 2–FEB 28
10–11:30 AM | VENERABLE DONDRUB
IN PERSON & ZOOM
This course offers a practical path to developing the inner strength to stay calm during conflict, find genuine contentment with what you have, and discover the joy that comes from truly caring for others. Through guided meditation and shared reflection, you’ll cultivate these essential human qualities.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2
11:30AM-12:30PM
IN PERSON
Join fellow practitioners for a relaxed one-hour gathering in our peaceful cafe space! Bring your lunch and connect with your dharma community in a warm, informal setting. Whether you’re new to the center or have been practicing with us for years, this social hour offers a wonderful opportunity to deepen friendships and share in the joy of community.
Bring your lunch, bring your questions, bring your open heart: all sangha members and friends are warmly welcomed!
Dharma for Difficult Times: Applying the Buddhadharma in Daily Life
SUNDAYS, AUGUST 3-31
7-8:30PM | VEN. TENZIN NAMJONG
ZOOM ONLY
In a world increasingly marked by anxiety, division, and uncertainty, the timeless teachings of the Buddhadharma offer profound tools for inner transformation and compassionate action. This course, Dharma for Difficult Times, explores how the mind-training (Lojong) teachings of Tibetan Buddhism can help us meet today’s challenges with courage, clarity, and heart.
This course is rooted in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Lojong—the mind-training teachings that guide us to transform life’s challenges into the path of awakening. Through meditation, reflection, and discussion, we will explore how these teachings can help us respond to personal and societal difficulties not with fear or anger, but with resilience, kindness, and inner strength.
MONDAY, AUGUST 4
5-6PM | MARY M.
ZOOM ONLY
This short practice, composed by the co-founder of the FPMT, Lama Thubten Yeshe, consists of a series of requesting verses combined with the recitation of the hundred-syllable mantra of Vajrasattva.
DB7: Refuge in the Three Jewels
MONDAYS, AUGUST 4 & 11
7–8:30PM | VEN. ANGIE MUIR
ZOOM ONLY
ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION AUG. 18
RETREAT DAY, AUGUST 23
The formal entry point for becoming a Buddhist is to participate in a ceremony in which one takes refuge in – commits to rely upon – the Three Jewels or, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, the Three Rare Sublime Ones: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
Students will learn about absolute Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – the enlightened mind, the experiential knowledge in that mind, and the superior beings who’ve realized emptiness; and relative Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – the buddha of our time, Shakyamuni, the texts that present his teachings, and the ordained monks and nuns.
Students also learn about the power of living in vows. Of the three levels of vows – those of individual liberation, the bodhisattva, and tantra – the first are taken after having taken refuge.
The Timeless Relevance of the Lamrim: Knowing Where We’re Going and How to Get There
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6
7–8:30PM | GEN DON HANDRICK
IN PERSON & ZOOM
“The lamrim is the main road, the direct highway to enlightenment.” – Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Rooted in the teachings of the Buddha given 2,500 years ago, set out initially in a text by Lama Atisha composed 1,000 years ago, and extensively explained by Lama Tsongkhapa in his great commentaries written 600 years ago, the lamrim is a complete step-by-step presentation of the teachings that must be practiced and realized in order to attain buddhahood. As such, they are the most precious instructions for anyone seeking the state of enlightenment to be able to benefit all beings.
In this session, we’ll explore the significance and importance of the lamrim teachings, particularly as they’re presented in the “The Middle-Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment,” one of the final works of Lama Tsongkhapa and a core text in the FPMT Basic Program curriculum which will be taught at The Buddhist Center beginning later this year.
THURSDAYS, AUGUST 7–28
7–8:30PM | CHAROK LAMA
ZOOM ONLY
This course takes you beyond collecting teachings to integrating them into your life through the practice of the three wisdoms: hearing, contemplation, and meditation.
Whether you’re drowning in spiritual information or struggling to make teachings stick, you’ll discover practical tools that work with your natural learning process. No meditation experience required—just curiosity and commitment to growth.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 9
5-6PM | MARY M.
ZOOM ONLY
The practice of Medicine Buddha not only helps the sick and the dying but also helps remove obstacles in our lives.
Sundays with Geshe-la: The Essence of Refined Gold
SUNDAYS, AUGUST 10-31
10–11:30AM
IN PERSON & ZOOM
Join us as Geshe-la continues teaching this course centered on The Essence of Refined Gold, a foundational text by the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso. This revered work provides a clear and structured guide to the stages of the path (Lamrim), distilling the essence of Buddhist teachings into an accessible and practical framework. Through in-depth study and reflection, participants will uncover the wisdom of this text and explore its impact on spiritual practice and personal growth.
MONDAY, AUGUST 18
7–8:30PM | GESHE SHERAB
IN PERSON & ZOOM
A tsog offering, typically held on the tenth and twenty-fifth of the Tibetan lunar calendar, is done in conjunction with the practice of Guru Puja, in Tibetan, Lama Chopa (or the buddha Vajrasattva). It is a series of offerings and requests to the spiritual teacher in the form of Lama Losang Thubwang Dorje Chang.
Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows Ceremony
SUNDAY, AUGUST 24
10-11AM | GESHE SHERAB
IN PERSON & ZOOM
Join us for a special opportunity to receive the Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows from Geshe Thubten Sherab. These profound commitments mark the heart of the Buddhist path—taking refuge in the Three Jewels and embracing the bodhisattva’s vow to work for the awakening of all beings.
Those wishing to take either set of vows for the first time should email Ven. Dondrub by August 22nd.
ONGOING EVENTS: EVERY WEEKDAY
JOIN US MONDAY-FRIDAY
ZOOM ONLY
MORNING EXPRESS MEDITATION
7:30-8AM
EVENING EXPRESS MEDITATION
9-9:30PM
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