Dharma Advice of the Week “Not causing harm requires staying awake. Part of being awake is slowing down enough to notice what we say or do. The more we witness our emotional chain reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain [from harm]. It becomes a way of life to stay awake, slow down, and notice.” -Pema Chodron Coming Up This Week Wednesday, August 6th 10:30 - 11:30am EST Mindfulness Meditation Zoom Only Heather Cronin, a student at Guhyasamaja Center, is offering a Zoom only weekly Mindfulness Meditation class on Wednesday mornings from 10:30 to 11:30am. The session will begin with a brief guidance which will be followed by a 20-minute sitting meditation ending with a dedication of merit. After the meditation, there will be time for a deeper discussion. If you need to leave prior to the discussion, please feel free to do so. Heather is a mindfulness meditation teacher certified by Dharma Moon and the Tibet House. Please contact her at hrcroninstudio@gmail.com with questions. She is interested in finding other times to schedule these meditation gatherings that will benefit those who cannot take time during the workday. Please email your requests. Leader: Heather Cronin Dates and Times: Wednesdays, 10:30 - 11:30am Location: Online Contact spc@guhyasamaja.org if you have any questions. Please check the calendar to confirm. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88028354250?pwd=Hxaj6YBGG6HHjPss842dkNsAwr8Wdt.1 Sunday, August 10th 10 - 11:30am Discovering Buddhism 9: Samsara and Nirvana In-person This course will present how our dissatisfaction entraps us into a cycle of unwanted experiences and what we can do to overcome this predicament. Students will learn how grasping and craving lead to various disturbing emotions, such as anger, pride, attachment, deluded doubt, ignorance, and jealousy. We will then learn how to apply specific antidotes to these negative states of mind. Students will also learn how to utilize particular meditations to work with these disturbing emotions and, in so doing, experience some inner peace. We will also explore how this cycle, called Samsara, is presented in the Wheel of Life, a famous Buddhist Painting, that demonstrates through images how we enter this predicament and how we escape it. Please note this is not a drop-in or an introductory class. To receive the most benefit, it is best to attend the entire series. We ask that students show up 10-15 minutes before the class begins at 10 AM with prayers and meditation. This will ensure that others are not disturbed. Teacher: Venerable Lobsang Damchoe Location: Guhyasamaja Buddhist Center 10875 Main St. #108, Fairfax, VA 22030 Dates: August 3,10,17,24 & 31 Contact: SPC@guhyasamaja.org for any questions or to receive the text for this series. Suggested Donations are $15/class for non-members and $10/class for members. No one is turned away due to a lack of funds. One can donate online. Please check the calendar to confirm. www.guhyasamaja.org New Classes and Retreats 1. Unique Buddhist Event Dedicated to World Peace & Environmental Healing in DC When: Saturday, September 13, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (Rain Date: Same time but on Saturday, September 20) Where: Meet on the Steps of the Lincoln Memorial at 1:00 pm Throughout the history of Buddhism in Central and East Asia, Buddhists have done prayers, recitations and the sharing of holy images as part of communal efforts towards peace and environmental healing. On this day, interested members and friends of the Guhyasamaja Center community will gather again to participate in such practices. Lorne Ladner, PhD has received a number of sacred, "Black Diamond Engraved images of Guru Rinpoche" who was also known as Padmasambhava. (Padmasambhava was a Buddhist master from Oddiyana who helped initially bring Buddhism to Tibet). These images were made by a Tibetan lama based on an ancient prophecy for promoting healing and peace in the world. In addition to the image of Padmasambhava, they also have engraved prayers and were intended to be placed in rivers, mountains and lakes all around the world. At this gathering, we will begin by reciting portions of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has been famous for over a millennium in Central Asia for promoting peace and wise leadership. Then we will do prayers and mantras specifically to Padmasambhava himself. After that, those present who wish to do so will be given time to share their own personal prayers and compassionate aspirations. After that, we will take a short walk to the Arlington Bridge from which we will offer the sacred image of Guru Rinpoche to the Potomac River, thereby joining Buddhist all around the globe who are offering such images to important places in nature to promote compassion, healing and peace. August Schedule at a Glance August 6, 13, 20, and 27th Mindfulness Meditation August 10, 17, 24, and 31st DB 9 August 12th and 26th Tara Prayers August 16th and 23rd Ornament (fb)

Dharma Advice of the Week: "Subhuti said, “World-Honored One, I understand your teaching. One should not use the thirty-two marks to visualize the Tathagata.” Then the World-Honored One spoke this verse: “Someone who looks for me in form or seeks me in sound is on a mistaken path and cannot see the Tathagata.” “Subhuti, if you think that the Tathagata realizes the highest, most fulfilled, awakened mind and does not need to use all the signs, you are wrong. Subhuti, do not think in that way. Do not think that when one gives rise to the highest, most fulfilled, awakened mind, one needs to see all objects of mind as nonexistent, cut off from life. Do not think in that way. One who gives rise to the highest, most fulfilled, awakened mind does not say that all objects of mind are nonexistent and cut off from life.” After they heard the Lord Buddha deliver this discourse, the Venerable Subhuti, the bhikshus and bhikshunis, laymen and laywomen, and gods and asuras, filled with joy and confidence, began to put these teachings into practice." ~The Diamond Sutra Coming Up This Week Wednesday, July 30th 10:30 - 11:30am EST Mindfulness Meditation Zoom Only Heather Cronin, a student at Guhyasamaja Center, is offering a Zoom only weekly Mindfulness Meditation class on Wednesday mornings from 10:30 to 11:30am. The session will begin with a brief guidance which will be followed by a 20-minute sitting meditation ending with a dedication of merit. After the meditation, there will be time for a deeper discussion. If you need to leave prior to the discussion, please feel free to do so. Heather is a mindfulness meditation teacher certified by Dharma Moon and the Tibet House. Please contact her at hrcroninstudio@gmail.com with questions. She is interested in finding other times to schedule these meditation gatherings that will benefit those who cannot take time during the workday. Please email your requests. Leader: Heather Cronin Dates and Times: Wednesdays, 10:30 - 11:30am Location: Online Contact spc@guhyasamaja.org if you have any questions. Please check the calendar to confirm. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88028354250?pwd=Hxaj6YBGG6HHjPss842dkNsAwr8Wdt.1 Sunday, August 3rd 10 - 11:30am Discovering Buddhism 9: Samsara and Nirvana In-person This course will present how our dissatisfaction entraps us into a cycle of unwanted experiences and what we can do to overcome this predicament. Students will learn how grasping and craving lead to various disturbing emotions, such as anger, pride, attachment, deluded doubt, ignorance, and jealousy. We will then learn how to apply specific antidotes to these negative states of mind. Students will also learn how to utilize particular meditations to work with these disturbing emotions and, in so doing, experience some inner peace. We will also explore how this cycle, called Samsara, is presented in the Wheel of Life, a famous Buddhist Painting, that demonstrates through images how we enter this predicament and how we escape it. Please note this is not a drop-in or an introductory class. To receive the most benefit, it is best to attend the entire series. We ask that students show up 10-15 minutes before the class begins at 10 AM with prayers and meditation. This will ensure that others are not disturbed. Teacher: Venerable Lobsang Damchoe Location: Guhyasamaja Buddhist Center 10875 Main St. #108, Fairfax, VA 22030 Dates: August 3,10,17,24 & 31 Contact: SPC@guhyasamaja.org for any questions or to receive the text for this series. Suggested Donations are $15/class for non-members and $10/class for members. No one is turned away due to a lack of funds. One can donate online. Please check the calendar to confirm. www.guhyasamaja.org August Schedule at a Glance July 30th, August 6, 13, 20, and 27th Mindfulness Meditation August 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31st DB 9 (fb)