Rachel Parrish
Teaching the weekend of Apr 12 - 13
Saturday, April 12, 10am-1pm (with a break)
Sunday, April 13, 10am-Noon and 2pm-4pm

Rachel Parrish, six year retreatant and student of the late Mahamudra master Lama Gendun Rinpoche, will be visiting with us the weekend of April 12 - 13 to teach on the Karma creating results of our actions as explained by our lineage founder, Gampopa.

Buddhism teaches that all suffering is caused by negative karma and all positive results are caused by virtuous karma.   Rachel will discuss the actions of body, speech and mind and how Karma is set in motion by our virtuous and non-virtuous actions. Her presentaion will be in accordance with the teachings of Gampopa, the founder of the Bodhipath lineage, the Kagyu school of Tibetian Buddhism.

Rachel Parrish Background:  Ms. Parrish grew up in the Midwestern part of the U.S. After graduating from university with a degree in English, Chemistry, and Art History, she traveled in Europe awhile until discovering Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, in France. After living there for three years to prepare the retreat, Ms. Parrish then completed two traditional three- year retreats in Kundreul Ling, which was established by Gendun Rinpoche, a very highly realized Tibetan meditation master. After this period, she completed a one year solitary retreat in Dhagpo, and is now based in Dhagpo, occasionally teaching in the U.S. and being part of a translation team with Shamar Rinpoche.

Lama Delha
2008 Residency beginning February 7 through May 4, 2008

Lama Delha returns to our Center February 7, 2008 to lead meditation sessions as well as give regular teachings on such topics as the Tibetan Buddhist system of developing compassion and wisdom through mind-training and working with the emotions, the meaning of the bodhisattva Chenrezig as a representation of universal compassion, the Six Paramitas (Generosity, Patience, Ethics, Joyous Effort, Meditation and wisdom), the meaning and benefit of mantras, and how to integrate these teachings and practices into daily life.  Personal talks with Lama Delha will be available upon request.

Announcing Two Special Saturday Teachings:

Saturday March 1; 9:00-11:00am:  The Lama gives instruction on the Chenresig practice. Please make arrangements with Lama Delha if your are interested in attending.

Saturday March 15; 9:00-11:00am:  Overview on the Prayer Book. Lama Delha will discuss the meaning of the Refuge, Four Immeasurables, Four Dharmas of Gampopa, The Lineage Prayer, Heart Sutra and Dedication prayers. Please make arrangements with Lama Delha if your are interested in attending.

Lama Delha Background:  A Buddhist nun for more than 15 years having completed two 3-year traditional retreats under Gendun Rinpoche, a highly realized Tibetan master of the Karma Kagyu Lineage. Lama Delha currently divides her time between Maryland and a monastic community at Le Bost in France.

Pamela Gayle White Teaching the weekend of January 5 and 6.
Saturday January 5, 9:00 AM-2:00 PM: Meditation Intensive & after-lunch Discussion
The session will begin at 9am with Meditation instruction, practice and Q&A. Lunch at Noon; pack a sandwich. Beginning at 1pm Pamela will lead an informal discussion about how to clarify the teacher-student relationship, a particularly pithy theme for practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.

Sunday January 6, 9:00 AM-Noon: A three-part session focusing on Chenrezi
The session will begin with Group Chenrezi Practice (9am) followed by Silent Meditation (10am) and ending with a Teaching on Chenrezi (11am-Noon). Suggested reading: White’s article "The Form of Compassion" in the Winter ‘07 Tricycle Magazine. The article is available on-line at Tricycle.com with a one-year subscription.
(Donation; $35 Sat, $15 Sun, $40 Both Days)

Pamela White Background:  A lay practitioner who completed two 3-year retreats in France under the guidance of the late Gendun Rinpoché. Born in Pennsylvania, her home base is in Auvergne, France, near Kundröl Ling. One of the Bodhi Path and Dhagpo mandala translators (Tibetan - French - English), she splits her time between France, the US and Nepal/India. She also teaches in France and California and belongs to the US Bodhi Path teacher team. Pamela helped ShaMar Rinpoché prepare the 35 Buddhas practice booklet and is working with Rinpoché on several other translation projects. Her articles have been featured in Tricycle; "On Retreat: Have Your Brioche And Eat It Too" and in Buddhadharma; "The Complete Practice".

Lama Choepel
Visiting Teacher Nov. 13 - Nov. 25, 2007
Public Talk: (No charge but donations are welcome)
   Friday Nov 16th, 7:30pm-9:30pm; Cedar Lane Unitarian, Bethesda
BodhiPath Center:
   Sat. Nov 17, 9am-2pm: Meditation Intensive;
   Sun. Nov 18, 10am-Noon: The 35 Buddhas Practice
   (Donation; $35 Sat, $50 Sun, $80 Both Days)


On Saturday Nov 17 Lama Choepel will lead a 5 hour session of meditation, guided meditation, and walking meditation. The program will involve extended periods of meditation and is suggested for all levels, including beginners and more advanced students. In between meditation sessions, Lama Choepel will provide short teachings on shamatha meditation practice, including Tonglen, meditating on the nature of mind, and other relevant topics.

On Sunday Nov 18 he will teach the 35 Buddhas practice which is a method to purify negative karmas, and to accumulate meritorious karma. By purifying the bad karmas, your mind will be free from their influences. This means your mind will be clearer. When the negative karmas are diminishing, your wisdom will strengthen. Through the practice of visualization, recitation, offerings, prayer and prostrations your mind will accumulate merit, a necessary condition for enlightenment.
   Link to 35 Buddhas Practice Resources       More on the 35 Buddhas Practice;

Lama Choepel Background:  He was born and grew up in Austria and went on to study drama and economics there. In 1994 Choepel became a student of the Mahamudra master Lama Gendun Rinpoche, one of the last great masters of the old generation of Tibetan Lamas.

Choepel has completed two 3-year meditation retreats at Dhagpo Kundreul Ling, a monastic center in France. Today his activities include translating classical Tibetan texts and teaching dharma throughout Europe and the United States.
Today his activity includes translating classical Tibetan texts and teaching dharma throughout Europe and the United States.

Lama Tondrup
Visiting Teacher August 2-5, 2007
Meditation and Dharma Talk, BodhiPath Center:
Thr. August 2, 7:30pm - 9pm and
Sun. August 5, 10am - Noon

Lama Tondrup Background:  Born in Germany, Lama Tondrup came to meet wit the Buddha's teaching at the age of 20 on an extended travel in India. Upon return to Europe he met Lama Gendun Rinpoché and partook in two successive three-year retreats following the inspiration given by this exceptional master. Nowadays he divides his time between further buddhist studies and teaching in centers of the Karma Kagyu lineage.

His Holiness the 14th ShaMar Rinpoche
Head of the Kagyu Lineage, June 17

Refuge Vow: Gateway to Profound Practice, BodhiPath Center: June 17, 10am - 12noon

SharMar Rinpoche is the head of the Kagyu Lineage and this is a rare and wonderful opportunity to receive a teaching from SharMar Rinpoche with possible follow on session on Sunday June 24th and July 1st. (to be confirmed).

The present-day 14th Shamarpa Mipham Chokyi Lodro was born in 1952 in Derge, Tibet as the nephew of the16th Karmapa and was formally recognized by him at age four. In 1959, the Shamarpa and the Karmapa were forced to flee their homeland due to the impending invasion by the Chinese and took refuge in Sikkim. In the years following at Rumtek Monastery, the Shamarpa received the entire transmission of the Kagyu lineage's teachings from the Karmapa and other renowned Tibetan masters.

Lobpon (Teacher) Tsering
Visiting Teacher June 24 - July 1

Refuge and Bodhisattva Vow, BodhiPath Center: 10am - 12noon & 2 - 4pm on Sunday June 24 and July 1

Meditation and Dharma Talk, BodhiPath Center: 7:30pm - 9pm on Tues. June 26 and Thr. June 28

Lobpon Tsering Background:  Lobpon Tsering began his Buddhist studies at the Shri Karma Nalanda Institute at Rumtek in Sikkim, a college of higher Buddhist studies founded by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. After 9 years of study he received the degree of Acharya (Master of Philosophy) in 1990. Lobpon Tsering was sent by ShaMar Rinpoche to teach at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi for 6 years. In 2002, ShaMar Rinpoche appointed him Headmaster of Shri Diwakar Vihara Buddhist Institute in Kalimpong and where he teaches today.

Lama Tsony
Visiting Lama from June 7 - June 10, 2007

Public Talk:
The Synergy of Body, Speech and Mind from a Buddhist Perspective, Thursday June 7th, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, Rockville Unitarian Church, 100 Welsh Park Drive, Rockville, MD 20850 (Davie Fellowship Hall, Bld. 1)   

The preliminaries to the Tibetan Yogis are taught with particular emphasis on the mind and how it is linked to the body through the breath. Our breath or prana, the most fundamental expression of "speech" accomplishes the literal mixing of the physical and mental aspects of our being. Lama Tsony will elucidate the nature of the relationship between mind, body and breath and the importance of this interaction from a Buddhist perspective.

No charge but donations are always welcome.

When Mahamudra and Mind Training Merge
BodhiPath Center: June 9 - 10, 2007 - 10am - 12 noon & 2pm - 4pm

To be free from the suffering of conditioned existence and to develop capacity to help others realize this state, it is essential to free the mind from the basic mistake of grasping the illusory manifestation of dualistic mind as real. Meditation on the nature of mind and the cleansing of stains accumulated from beginningless time are the keys to freedom which Lama Tsony will develop from a Tibetan Buddhist view.

A suggested donation of $50 a day or $100 for the weekend. A separate offering for Lama Tsony is encouraged.

Lama Tsony Background:  A Buddhist monk for over 25 years, Lama Tsony completed two traditional 3-year retreats under the great meditation master Lama Gendun Rinpoche. Lama Tsony serves as Abbot of Kundrel Ling Monastery in the Auvergne region of France, where hundreds of Westerners have also completed long-term retreats. For the past 15 years, Lama Tsony has taught Buddhism and meditation practices throughout Europe and the US.

Bodhi Path Centers, directed by HH the 14th ShaMar Rimpoche, provide meditation and Tibetan Buddhist teaching by monastic Lamas to learn the Dharma and practice the great compassion of the Mahayana in the tradition of the Karma Kagyü school of Buddhism.

The Potomac Center, located in Montgomery County Maryland (directions), is local to Northwest Washington DC, Potomac, Rockville, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Gaithersburg and Germantown.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE (check schedule)
Meditation & discussion: Sundays 11am & Tuesdays 7:30pm
Learn to Meditate: Thursdays 7:30pm

All are welcome.