Art Prize runs between September 22, and October 10, 2010. Exhibits are located throughout the city of Grand Rapids.

Artist Bio:
Venerable Gyudmed Ngarampa Thupten Tsondu (Tashi) was born in Tibet but fled to India in 1959 to seek political asylum along with his parents and the Dalai Lama. At age 13 he entered Gyudmed Tantric University to become a monk according to his wishes. In 1995 he was given a dialectic exam in front of 400 monks which resulted in the Geshe Ngarampa degree, a Ph.D. in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.

He has visited the USA, Canada, Switzerland, England, Mongolia, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal and India and has taught ritual chanting, sand mandala construction and dialectic debate to monks at the Gyudmed Tantric, Gaden Jangtse and Drepung Gomang Monasteries of India and the Pethub Stengeyling and Gyud Monasteries of Mongolia. Tashi also served as chief administrator of Gyudmed Tantric University and wrote a book on tantric ritual.

Venerable Gyudmed Ngarampa Thupten Tsondu (Tashi) is currently a Buddhist spiritual teacher in Florida.

About the work
Title: The Sacred Art of Sand Mandala
Art form: 3-D, Performance
Medium: colored sand on wood
Year created: Work not created yet
Description of work: ‘Mandala’ means ‘cosmogram’ in sanskrit and the painting of mandalas with sand is a Tibetan Buddhist art thought to have originated in India during the middle ages. In Tibetan ‘dul-tson-kyil-khor’ means ‘mandala of colored powders’. The most common substance used is colored sand, ground from stone.

Sand mandalas are created whenever a need for healing of the environment and living beings is felt and there are different types, each with different lessons to teach and blessings to confer. Most mandalas contain a host of deities; symbolic archetypes of the landscape of the mind. In Tibetan Buddhism mandalas are imaginary palaces contemplated during meditation.

When finished, to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists, the colored sands are swept up and poured into a nearby river or stream where the waters carry the healing energies throughout the world.

Following the Saturday, October 2nd lecture will be
Tibetan Tantric Chanting for Peace (approx. 7:00 p.m.)

Donation based series – suggested $12 per or $65 for the series.

About Ven. Thupten Tsondu (Tashi):
Venerable Gyudmed Ngarampa Thupten Tsondu (Tashi) was born in Tibet but fled to India in 1959 to seek political asylum along with his parents and the Dalai Lama. At age 13 he entered Gyudmed Tantric University to become a monk according to his wishes. In 1995 he was given a dialectic exam in front of 400 monks which resulted in the Geshe Ngarampa degree, a Ph.D. in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.

He has visited the USA, Canada, Switzerland, England, Mongolia, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal and India and has taught ritual chanting, sand mandala construction and dialectic debate to monks at the Gyudmed Tantric, Gaden Jangtse and Drepung Gomang Monasteries of India and the Pethub Stengeyling and Gyud Monasteries of Mongolia. Tashi also served as chief administrator of Gyudmed Tantric University and wrote a book on tantric ritual.

Venerable Gyudmed Ngarampa Thupten Tsondu (Tashi) is currently a Buddhist spiritual teacher in Florida.

Ven. Tashi is in the Grand Rapids area for the creation of a Sand Mandala as part of the Art Prize 2010 exhibition.

Sister will give a public talk from 2 -4 p.m. on Saturday September 11, 2010; lead a day of mindfulness on Sunday September 12;  and then continue with a full seven day retreat for more advanced practitioners.  The public is invited to any and all events.   All events are  at Amitabha Village Retreat Center near Williamston (15 min. east from Lansing, 50  min. west from Ann Arbor).   There is no retreat fee.  Free will donations are welcome.   To register or for more information please contact Lansingbuddhist@gmail.com or call 1-517-292-3110.

All are welcome!

About Sayalay Sister Susila:

Born and educated in Malaysia, Sayalay Susila ordained as a Theravada Buddhist nun in 1991 at the age of 28, and has trained with two renowned Burmese meditation masters – the Venerable Sayadaw U Pandita and the Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw, under whose guidance she continues to practice today.

Sister mastered the Burmese Vipassana meditation systems from these two venerable Sayadaws.  She is well known especially for her teaching of the Theravada Buddhist Abhidhamma, which she taught initially in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore, as well as in Buddhist centers across Canada, the United States, and Australia.

Sister has two books in print: The Nine Attributes of the Buddha (in
Chinese) and Unravelling the Mysteries of Mind and Body Through
Abhidhamma (in English).  She speaks fluent English, Mandarin Chinese, and Burmese, and has translated widely from English to Chinese for Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw in Malaysia and Taiwan.  When not traveling and teaching Sister lives at Sayadaw’s meditation center in Burma (Myanmar).

For this retreat, Sister Susila will guide students in the practice of
Samatha and Vipassana (Concentration and Insight) as taught at
Pa Auk Tawya Meditation Center. Meditation instruction to the group will  be given in English, however, interviews can be in Chinese or English.

About Amitabha Village Retreat Center:

Amitabha Village, the Retreat Center of the Lansing Buddhist
Association, is located in peaceful Michigan countryside amid meadows, woods, and farmland. The retreat will take place in a newly finished, comfortable, energy efficient meditation hall (The Great Hall) built with donations and much volunteer labor. The indoor sleeping accommodations for the retreat are rustic dormitory style, camping is available in a pine forest or on meadows, and food is Chinese vegetarian.

Come join us for five days of mindfulness practice
in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh.

Michigan Mindfulness Retreat
September 15,16,17,18,19 Wednesday to Sunday
Song of the Morning Yoga Retreat Center
Vanderbilt, Michigan

Mindfulness practice in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh

We will enjoy sitting and walking meditation, the Five and the Fourteen
Mindfulness trainings, some silent meals, early morning walks to greet
the sunrise, yoga, dharma discussions and other activities.

* Vegetarian meals

* Clean and modern accommodations

* Only forty-five dollars a night plus tax for
a bed in the dormitory domes

* 15% discount for more than a three night stay

A few private rooms are available. Please see the Song of the Morning
website for more information about the accommodations:

http://www.goldenlotus.org

Students receive a 25% discount and there is plenty of room for tents
and campers. Camping is encouraged and is only thirty dollars a night
per person plus tax. Two or three “loaner” tents are available.

Song of the Morning is located nine miles east of I-75 in Vanderbilt,
Michigan, about a four hour drive from Detroit or Grand Rapids.

Please register for the retreat by emailing the office at the Song of
the Morning office: office@goldenlotus.org, or you can telephone
them at 989-983-4107. The office is closed on Tuesdays.

Sponsored by the Bluewater Community of Mindful Living
Port Huron, Michigan http://www.bluewaterbuddhist.org

Enjoy two days of mindfulness practice in the tradition of Zen Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, led by Dharma Teacher Cheri Maples, of Madison, WI.

This retreat is an opportunity to rediscover the resiliency of the human spirit. For many, feeling overwhelmed and stressed has become all too common. Balance of heart and mind are key to sustaining ourselves, especially in the face of daily challenges. Through the practice of meditation, three essential skills that cultivate balance are developed – concentration, mindfulness and compassion. This retreat will emphasize these skills and move us towards deeper care, both for ourselves and for others. It is suitable for both beginning and more experienced meditators and practitioners.

The weekend will include sitting and walking meditation, talks on mindfulness practice, discussion of meditation and mindfulness practice, silent meals, formal transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, and other activities. Instructions on how to meditate will be provided. Please bring a meditation bench or cushion and a blanket and/or mat if desired. Folding chairs will be available.

The Five Mindfulness Trainings are central to the practice of Zen and are recommended for all practitioners, whether or not one participates in the formal transmission ceremony. A list of the trainings follows: 1.) Reverence for Life, 2.) True Happiness, 3.) True Love, 4.) Loving Speech and Deep Listening, and 5.) Nourishment and Healing. The full text of the trainings can be found at this link: The Five Mindfulness Trainings

Cheri Maples is an ordained Dharma Teacher by Zen master & peace activist. She is also a private consultant, trainer, spiritual life coach, and founder of the Center for Mindfulness & Justice. Cheri worked in the criminal justice profession for 25 years as a police officer, the Head of Probation & Parole, and an Assistant Attorney General in Wisconsin. She also has extensive experience as a community organizer and a social justice advocate. Cheri has incorporated all of these experiences into her understanding and teaching of the Dharma, and her practice of engaged Buddhism.

Retreat activities will run from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday 4/24 and from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday 4/25. Participants are welcome to attend for all or part of the retreat. Overnight accommodations are available in a large dormitory-style space for participants who bring their own sleeping bags and pillows. Some accommodations are available in the homes of Detroit Lotus Sangha members, and there are accessible local hotels in the area. Fruit, snacks, tea, and bottled water will be provided both Saturday and Sunday mornings. Saturday participants are asked to bring a dish for a potluck lunch, and a catered dinner will be served Saturday evening. Lunch will be provided on Sunday. Meals will be vegetarian.

Costs are as follows:
$50 for the entire retreat, including a catered dinner on Sat. 4/24
$30 for Saturday only, including dinner
$20 for Saturday, without dinner
$20 for Sunday only

Come and enjoy meditation with us and deepen your mindfulness practice at an accessible location in metro Detroit. Information on location, parking, and other logistics will be emailed once registration is processed.

Please register by April 18, 2010 by emailing info@detroitlotussangha.org
Checks can be mailed to:

Detroit Lotus Sangha
247 West 9 Mile Road
Ferndale, MI 48220

If you need to cancel, please do so by April 10, 2010. Payments will be refunded until that date.

Sponsored by :

Detroit Lotus Sangha
Ferndale, MI
www.detroitlotussangha.org

Thai Tue will lead a two day retreat at the Center May 15-16. This is a great chance to deepen your practice by putting aside daily activities. The retreat will run roughly from Saturday morning through early Sunday evening and will include vegetarian meals.

All are welcome. Call 616-877-4075 or email us if you would like an application or have questions.

greatwisdommeditation@yahoo.com

http://www.greatwisdommeditationcenter.org/

Click the link to play (or right click to download it to your own computer):
Mindfulness of breathing, 20 minutes, bell every 5 minutes

The Wildmind Buddhist Meditation site has several more examples, ranging in length from 20 minutes to an hour.