Special Offering to the Spiritual Guide

Celebrating the 90th Birthday of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche

Friday, June 4 | 6-8:30pm

You’re invited to celebrate!

This June 4th we celebrate the 90th birthday of our Spiritual Guide and Founder Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche. June 4th is also Turning the Wheel of Dharma Day, marking the special day Buddha arose from meditation, 49 days after he attained enlightenment, and taught the first Wheel of Dharma.

Schedule

6pm - Short Talk with Trina Gunther

6:20pm - 8pm - Offering to the Spiritual Guide prayers

CLICK HERE FOR THE LIVE-STREAM PAGE

Prayers

You are welcome to listen to the chanted prayers or follow along using your own prayer booklet. If you don't have a copy of the prayers, you can download them through the below links:

Download e-booklet of Offering to the Spiritual Guide from Tharpa Publications

Download e-booklet of the Long Life Prayers for Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche (FREE)

Download e-booklet of the Request to the Holy Spiritual Guide prayers (FREE)

Order of the Prayers

OFFERING TO THE SPIRITUAL GUIDE BOOKLET (BLUE) - all page numbers refer to this booklet unless otherwise noted

PAGES 2-12 Liberating Prayer → Inner Offering (& Offering the tea)

<short break with readings>

PAGES 32-35 Tsog Offering: Blessing the offering substances →The Master’s reply

RED BOOKLET – 1^st Long Life Prayer (Spontaneous Accomplishment of Wishes)

PAGES 35-37 Song of the Spring Queen

PAGES 12-15 Secret Offering → Requesting the turning of the Wheel of Dharma

PAGES 44-45 Mandala Offering Requesting the Guru to Remain

RED BOOKLET – Both Long Life Prayers

PAGE 15 Requesting the Spiritual Guide not to pass away (3 times) → Dedication

PAGE 46 The Nine-line Migtsema Prayer (3 times)

YELLOW BOOKLET – Request to the Holy Spiritual Guide… & Mantra Recitation

PAGES 16-23 Requesting by remembering his good qualities → How to take the vows of aspiring and engaging Bodhichitta

PAGES 37-39 Spirit Offering: Blessing the remaining tsog offering → Giving the remaining tsog offering to the spirits

PAGES 23-30 How to practice the perfection of giving → Nine-line Migtsema prayer (3 times)

About Turning the Wheel of Dharma Day

It is because of the great kindness of Buddha in turning the Wheel of Dharma that the people of this world have the opportunity to follow a spiritual path to the permanent inner peace of enlightenment. Without these teachings there would be no path to liberation and enlightenment for us to follow and so no possibility of bringing our suffering to an end.

On this special occasion we also celebrate the great kindness of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso on his birthday, our Spiritual Guide and founder of modern Kadampa Buddhism and Heruka Kadampa Buddhist Center.

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is a world-renowned meditation master who holds the very essence of Buddha’s teachings in his heart. He transmits this profound wisdom and compassion to the people of the modern world in very practical ways through the extremely accessible methods of modern Kadampa Buddhism, which he has introduced into contemporary society.

Venerable Geshe-la firmly believes that modern people can transform their lives and therefore their world through applying Buddha’s teachings on controlling the mind. Accordingly he has dedicated his life to laying the foundation for modern Kadampa Buddhism to flourish in this and future generations, so that anyone, regardless of nationality, culture, gender or age, can easily understand the meaning of Buddha’s teachings and apply them to their daily life and in this way find true inner peace.

To guide modern people along the spiritual path Venerable Geshe-la has written twenty-three authentic Dharma books on Sutra and Tantra that reveal the entire path to enlightenment. Through contemplating and meditating on the teachings in these books people can make authentic spiritual progress, even in this modern age.

With Resident Teacher Trina Gunther

Trina Gunther is a long-time practitioner of Modern Kadampa Buddhism. She has studied and practiced in Dharma centers under Gen-la Dekyong and Gen Rigpa, and she has worked as Education Program Coordinator at centers in Los Angeles and the UK. She is an inspiring example of a lay practitioner of Kadampa Buddhism, and brings with her a wealth of practical experience of putting Buddha's teachings into practice amidst a busy daily life.