Daily Chanted Meditations
Pujas - Buddhist daily meditation practice
The centre holds regular sessions of chanted prayers, or pujas, which are often combined with meditation, visualization, and mantra recitation (see the monthly calendar) for details. A usual weekly practice schedule at AKBC is as follows:
Heart Jewel, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
The Heart Jewel practice is the heart essence of Kadampa Buddhism. In the first part of this practice, we visualize Je Tsongkhapa and make prayers and requests to purify negativity, and accumulate merit. This prepares our mind for a 20-minute silent meditation on the Lamrim, or stages of the path. All our prayers and meditation practices are recited in English with beautiful, easy-to-learn melodies and CD accompaniment. (Listen to an audio sample.) We recommend that you arrive a few minutes early to be seated and relaxed at the start of the session.
Wishfulfilling Jewel, Fridays, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Wishfulfilling Jewel is a more extensive version of Heart Jewel, in which we make prayers and requests to Je Tsongkhapa and our Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugden. During this practice, we make a special food offering known as a tsog offering, which refers to the assembly of Buddhas, to create a vast amount of positive energy for ourselves and others. Please bring a vegetarian offering to share.
Please download our Monthly Calendar for the most updated days/times.