The following is dedicated to the wonderful neighbor, an angel, who brought our Brenna back home to us:
Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagria at Vulture Peak Mountain, together with a great gathering of the sangha of monks and a great gathering of the sangha of bodhisattvas. At that time, the Blessed One entered the samadhi that expresses the dharma called “profound illumination,” and at the same time noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, while practicing the profound prajnaparamita, saw in this way: he saw the five skandhas to be empty of nature.
Then, through the power of the Buddha, venerable Shariputra said to noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, “How should a son or daughter of noble family train, who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita?”
Addressed in this way, noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, said to venerable Shariputra, “O Shariputra, a son or daughter of noble family who wishes to practice the profound prajnaparamita should see in this way: seeing the five skandhas to be empty of nature. Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other than form; form is no other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Shariputra, all dharmas are emptiness.
“There are no characteristics. There is no birth and no cessation. There is no impurity and no purity. There is no decrease and no increase. Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no formation, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no appearance, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no dharmas; no eye dhatu up to no mind dhatu; no dhatu of dharmas, no mind consciousness dhatu; no ignorance, no end of ignorance up to no old age and death, no end of old age and death; no suffering, no origin of suffering, no cessation of suffering, no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no non-attainment. Therefore, Shariputra, since the bodhisattvas have no attainment, they abide by means of prajnaparamita.
“Since there is no obscuration of mind, there is no fear. They transcend falsity and attain complete nirvana. All the buddhas of the three times, by means of prajnaparamita, fully awaken to unsurpassable, true, complete enlightenment. Therefore, the great mantra of prajnaparamita, the mantra of great insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequaled mantra, the mantra that calms all suffering should be known as truth, since there is no deception. The prajnaparmita mantra is said in this way:
TADYATA OM GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA
Thus, Shariputra, the bodhisattva mahasattva should train in the profound prajnaparamita.”
Then the Blessed One arose from that samadhi and praised noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, saying, “Good, good. O son of notble family; thus it is, O son of noble family; thus it is. One should practice the profound prajnaparamita just as you have taught and all the tathagatas will rejoice.”
When the Blessed One had said this, venerable Shariputra and noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva mahasattva, that whole assembly and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.
Lotsawa bhikshu Rinchen De translated this text into Tibetan with the Indian pandita Vimalamitra. It was edited by the great editor-lotsawas Gelo, Namkha, and others. This Tibetan text was copied from fresco in Gegye Chemaling at the glorious Samye vihara. It has been translated into English by the Nalanda Translation Committee, with reference to several Sanskrit editions.
Today is DoMore24 Day–a one-day fundraising campaign for nonprofits based in the Washington DC area. Local DC organizations in our area (almost 1,000!) are competing for funds awarded by DoMore24 Day, $75,000 $99,000 worth!
What a win-win situation this is for everyone. For those nonprofits who do not win the additional awards, they are still raising needed funds for their organization. Either situation results in a tax-deductible donation for the donor.
We are excited to participate in DoMore24 as part of our ongoing fundraising efforts at KPC. You can learn more about our efforts atwww.tara.org
Be part of this fun event! You can support our efforts here. With your help, we have a chance at winning our share of the rewards. Not located in DC? No problem! The only requirement is for the non-profit to be in the DC area.
*** UPDATE *** ***UPDATE*** ***UPDATE***
Today during the DoMore24 Day campaign, the servers were unable to keep up with the outpouring of generosity! The result? See below:
“The United Way of the National Capital Area Gives 24 more! You will have 24 more hours to raise funds. Now, the campaign will end tomorrow, June 7 at 11:59 pm. And, we are giving you the opportunity to earn $24,000 in more awards.
We are awarding today’s ½ day award winner. Congratulations to Homeward Trails Animal Rescue Inc. who mobilized 306 donors by 12:00 pm on 6/6.
We are extending the following overall awards to be named at midnight on 6/7 (tomorrow). And, we have increased the above awards by $24,000.
Most donors $15,000
Most donors by sector (8 sectors) $4,000 each (INCREASED $1,500 each)
Most dollars $5,000
Most dollars by sector (8 sectors) $2,000 each (INCREASED $1,000 each)
ADDED – $4,000 for most donors at noon on 6/7 (tomorrow)”
We hope you enjoy being part of this fun-raiser!
Thank you for being part of our compassionate activities in the world.
Wanted to take a moment to publicly offer thanks to one of my students, Claire.
She doesn’t talk about it much, but she never stops moving, working to bring benefit in whatever way she can.
She’s been a team leader for the Garuda Aviary for years now. Her passion for the birds, as well as her accessible style, have helped grow an active, involved team committed to keeping the Aviary afloat despite challenging economic times.
She not only keeps the team informed and inspired, but takes calls and reads emails from people all over the country who have problem birds. She conscientiously answers them all, building a network of relationships sharing a mission to end the parrot trade and care for these precious beings.
When our team in Sedona was fumbling on how to secure the Amitabha Stupa, Claire was willing to step into the hot seat and has gotten the team motivated and engaged, they’re working hard at raising the funds we need to keep the Stupa safe! Truly, if it weren’t for Claire that Stupa would have been lost by now.
She’s been willing to travel back and forth to Sedona on her own in order to keep the team going and coordinate their efforts with those here.
Not only does she manage these two teams, which, by the way, have had some great fundraising success lately, she also endures the thankless job of managing their finances.
Claire wasn’t always so responsible, but she’s really grown up on this path.
May she continue to grow and deepen as she learns to bring increasing benefit to beings.