June 23, 2009  

Milarepa
Center

1344 U.S. Route 5 South
Barnet, Vermont  05821
(802) 633-4136

www.milarepacenter.org
milarepa@milarepacenter.org

Affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT)

   
  Greetings from Milarepa Center!
    
   We hope you are all well and that you enjoyed a lovely summer solstice
   weekend.
 
   Please see below for information on the following activities:
 

     :: Meditation Daylong this Saturday, June 27;

     :: July 4th Emptiness Weekend program changes;

     :: Gold leafing Bakula Arhat statue;

     :: Classes with Amy Miller: Tuesday evenings at Milarepa and
                                                     Thursday evenings in Montpelier;
     :: Thank You!
 

 
   There is a lot of activity currently going on
   at Milarepa Center this summer.   We are in
   the midst of our residential work study
   program and have been getting a lot
   of wonderful things organized at the center
   including our garden (see photo below),
   bookstore, kitchen,  barn and gompa.
   
   So the Center is looking BEAUTIFUL! 
 
  We invite you to enhance your summer by joining our programs.
  If you would like to come, please give us a call in advance at (802) 633-4136
  so we can plan accordingly. We look forward to seeing you!
 
  Best wishes,
  Amy Miller, Director



The garden at Milarepa Center.

 
Meditation Daylong
(this Saturday, June 27, 9:30am-4:30pm)

"Move Your Mind to the Positive" by joining this daylong meditation
 focused on the nature of the mind while lending some insight into
the nature of reality. If you have been curious about meditation and
 would like to begin or if you have been meditating for some time,
 but would like to fine tune your practice, please join this practice day.
 
This program affords you the opportunity to get to know your mind
while exploring some relevant discussion.
 
Please register in advance by calling (802) 633-4136 or
e-mail us at milarepa@milarepacenter.org so we can prepare for
your lunch and other arrangements.  We had originally mentioned
to bring your own brown bag lunch, however, we now have
Rosanne Hebert cooking for us this season. She is a wonderful cook
and we would be happy to prepare lunch for you if you let us know
in advance that you are coming.  Please see the schedule below:
 
Meditation Practice Day with Ven. Amy Miller
Saturday, June 27;  9:30am-4:30pm

Program
9:30am:   Introduction
9:45-10:15am:   Calm Abiding (Shiné)
10:15-10:45am:   Clarity of Mind
10:45-11:15am:   Break
11:15-12noon:   Walking Meditation
12noon-12:30pm:   Rejoicing
12:30-1:30pm:   Lunch
1:30-2:00pm:   Questions and Answers
2:00-2:30pm:   Calm Abiding (Shiné)
2:30-3:00pm:   Continuity of Consciousness
3:00-3:30pm:   Break
3:30-4:15pm:   Emptiness
4:15-4:30pm:   Conclusion

July 4th Emptiness Weekend
(Program Changes)

Due to a family emergency, Georges Dreyfus has had to cancel joining us for the July 4th weekend program. However, Amy Miller will be substituting for Georges leading a weekend retreat on "Waking Up to Emptiness," July 3-5.

The mistaken view with which we normally experience reality obscures us from truly being happy. If we can begin to penetrate the meaning of emptiness and develop an understanding of this profound topic, we can start to uproot the very core of our suffering.
 

This weekend course also fulfills the classroom requirements for the Discovering Buddhism module on Emptiness for those wishing to complete these courses.

So come celebrate your "interdependence" and His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 74th birthday at Milarepa Center during this insightful weekend, July 3-5.  Please register in advance for this weekend by calling (802) 633-4136 or send us an e-mail.  Partial attendance welcome.

Waking Up to Emptiness
with Ven. Amy Miller; July 3-5

Friday:
6:30pm         Arrival, Dinner
7:15pm         Orientation
7:30-9:00pm    Introduction

Saturday:
8:00am         Breakfast
9:30-11:00am   Session
11:00-11:30am  Break
11:30-12:30pm  Session
12:30-2:00pm   Lunch and Break
2:00-2:45pm    Q&A and Discussion
3:00-4:00pm    Session
4:00-4:30pm    Break
4:30-5:30pm    Meditation
5:30-6:00pm    Discussion
6:00-7:00pm    Dinner
7:00-8:30pm    Short Video and Meditation

Sunday:
8:00am         Breakfast
9:30-11:00am   Session
11:00-11:30am  Break
11:30-12:30pm  Concluding Session
12:30pm        Lunch

Gold leafing Bakula Arhat statue

 
Our spiritual director, Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche has been urging us to gold leaf the large statue of Bakula Arhat located in the offering room at Milarepa Center. Although we are all facing great financial challenges at this time, we have been told that in taking care of statues in this way and offering gold to the Buddhas by gold leafing precious statues, we will greatly lend to the flourishing of the Center and the success in all of our activities.

Nearly two years ago, we received $2,500 for this wonderful project. However, in getting quotes now to do this work, it is clear the total cost will be $5,000 (which includes labor).
 
Therefore, we are urgently trying to raise money to cover the remaining $2,500 in the next two months.

Please consider making a generous contribution at this time. All donations are tax-deductible. Checks are made payable to Milarepa Center and can be mailed to us at PO Box 51, Barnet, VT 05821. Please designate on your check that it is a donation toward the gold leafing of the Bakula statue. You can also donate to this worthwhile cause via PayPal on our website at www.milarepacenter.org.
 
We greatly appreciate your help. Thank you.
 

 

Classes with Amy Miller: Tuesday evenings at Milarepa and Thursday evenings in Montpelier

Please feel free to drop in for "Exploring the Path to Enlightenment" Tuesday evenings, 6:30-8pm at Milarepa Center, a relaxed forum for all
levels of students or join classes on "Living Well: Karma and Spiritual
Practice on the Path to Happiness"  Thursday evenings, 6-8pm at the
Kellogg-Hubbard Library in downtown Montpelier.

 
 Thank you!
 
    To all our members and to recent donors (we could not do it without you!):
    :: Ven. Desal
    :: Wendy Kan
    :: Dolores Devellis
 
    And to:
    :: Chayil Timmermann for fantastic solar lights;
    :: Maureen Lynch for making beautiful mandala house curtains;
    :: Dick Herbert for superb flyer printing;
    :: All work study participants for their joyous effort;
    :: Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project for e-letter production;
    :: Ross Lasley for brilliant website updating.

Please forgive us if we mistakenly omitted your name.

www.milarepacenter.org

(802) 633-4136