Midwest Dharma

Dalai Lama to visit Pope

Posted today on Catholic World News-

Pope Benedict XVI will meet with the Dalai Lama in a private audience on October 13.   

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will be in Rome to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Rome. At this meeting with the Holy Father he will be accompanied by several aides. Cardinal Paul Poupard, the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, will also participate in the meeting.

The Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile since 1959, has been outspoken in his support for human rights and religious freedom, particularly in territory controlled by China-- causes that are also strongly supported by the Holy See.   

Ari Goldfield in Chicago

Good News - Ari Goldfield will be in Chicago in November to teach from Moon of Wisdom.  Following is the email that I was forwarded:

Greetings friends,  we are so delighted to announce that Ari
Goldfield - primary translator for Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche - will
teach a weekend program on Friday, November 10 - Sunday, November 12 at the
Chicago Shambhala Meditation Center.

As many of you know, Ari brings a remarkable teaching style that combines
insight, clarity and warmth.  He will teach from his new book, "The Moon of
Wisdom" and program participants are encouraged  - but not required - to
begin reading it.

The "view" he will present that weekend is as follows:

"Since all things are by nature perfectly pure, then disturbing emotions,
contradiction, difficulty and suffering do not truly exist.  Since the
appearances of all these things are mere appearances arisen in dependence
upon causes and
conditions, those causes and conditions can be transformed so that
the purity inherent within them can actually manifest."

More details will follow, but participants are asked to RSVP as soon as
possible.

Visiting Tibetan Rinpoche offers teachings at Shambhala

The dharma is alive and well and flourishing in the Midwest! This blog is dedicated to the wide variety of thriving dharma centers located in and around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Although I am a regular member of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Minneapolis, I visit and blog on all manner of dharma centers. Since I travel a lot, I get to check out centers outside the Twin Cites as well. Please see my bio for more info about me...here's the scoop on local dharma-

Shambhala Meditation Center of Minneapolis is kicking into high gear for the fall. We are offering 2 Shambhala School of Buddhist Studies Classes in the fall (Life of the Buddha and Sadhana Mahamudra) as well as Shambhala Training Level 2 in October. October is also the month that we welcome Shambhala President Richard Reoch on his (ambitious) mandala wide meet & greet. For those of use who completed Leve 5 (whew!), we will embark on the Sacred Path with Great Eastern Sun in November.

Rime Foundation is hosting a Tibetan teacher - Khen Rinpoche Sherab Sangpo. Rinpoche will be teaching at the Shambhala Center of Minneapolis every Wednesday night through September. Rinpoche starts a 6 week class on August 23rd entitled Mipham's Wheel of Analytic Meditation. Details are available on the Shambhala website or you can email me for a flyer.

The newly named Windhorse Retreat Center is offering a great variety of programs this fall. Their website is updated through the end of the year. I attended a weekend retreat in June featuring talks and practice with Ashe Acharya John Rockwell. It's a great space and it sits on beautiful property. It's located north of Milwaukee, just east of Sheboygan, about 5-6 hours from Minneapolis. Defintely worth the drive....they have beds! and good food! Those of you that have gone on retreat can appreciate that...

The Twin-Cities is home to many Tibetan Americans and offers great shopping - Tibet Store on Hennepin in Minneapolis and Tibet Art on Grand in St. Paul - as well as great restaurants - Tibet's Corner on Hennepin in Minneapolis and Everest on Grand (actually Nepali cuisine.)

In addition, there is a Tibetan American Foundation in St. Paul that supports the local community. Minneapolis recently hosted the Maitreya Project Relic Tour for the second year. His Holiness Dalia Lama visited area Tibetans in the spring while he was in Rochester, MN at the Mayo Clinic for a check up.

If you are in the area, be sure to stop in and sit down at any of the centers on the list at left to enjoy a bit of Midwest dharma....Stay tuned for more postings about upcoming programs and events at local dharma centers...