KIBI Public meditation course-2013 has started from the 24th of December. There are more than 140 participants from all over the world. The course is going on smoothly. People have shown their satisfaction and enjoyed the soothing experience of the meditation.
In 2012, Karmapa International Buddhist Institute started shamatha meditation course in order to benefit many people and welcome a large community of international Dharma practitioners. The course is designed so that you can try out meditations of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and gain some experience with them. Even though the course is confined to a limited time-span, we hope that you can acquire proficiency in these methods that allows you to properly apply them on your own.
Meditation course has been led by HH the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa and Ven. Dupsing Rinpoche. It will further be supported by guest teachers like H.E. Jamgong Kongtrul Rinpoche. We are really fortunate to have such a course with so many great learned and precious spiritual masters. The course is based upon the Three Trainings of Buddhist practice, i.e. morality, concentration and wisdom. The practice of Mahayana Sojong or Upavasatha will establish us in a conducive condition which prepares the ground for perfect enlightenment. The remaining practices consist of calm-abiding meditation (shine/shamatha) and insight meditation (lhakthong /vipashyana). Moreover, the practice of loving kindness and compassion which distinguishes a Mahayana practitioner, has been added to the course in order to foster our bodhicitta through the practice of Avalokiteshvara (the deity of compassion).
This time (2013) guided meditation sessions has been focused on four of the preliminary practices of the Karma Kagyu lineage. They are methods that will help us to develop detachment or renunciation so that our meditation will be directed beyond samsara. Since this is the general foundation that all practices within the Theravada, Mahayana and Vajravana traditions build upon, they are known as the “four common preliminary practices”. In the coming year, the course will then continue with the so-called uncommon preliminary practices, starting from the practice of taking refuge and developing bodhicitta. Unless unforeseeable circumstances will occur, next year’s PMC is expected to take place around the same time then this year’s. We will keep you up to date about the exact timing.
Participants are requested to participate in all of the four daily sessions as far as possible. While it will be possible to take the one-day vows of the Upavasatha every day, it is not compulsory.
We really hope that you will enjoy this event and will really gain something out of it which will be beneficial for the rest of your life.