879 Somerset Street West, Ottawa

We encounter all kinds of obstacles in our desire to improve ourselves, to overcome our negativities, and to make progress on the path to pure happiness. We therefore need to develop great confidence in our practice and in our ability to deal with adversity throughout our spiritual development.  Dorje Shugden is a Wisdom Buddha, a Dharma Protector, who destroys all our obstacles and gathers all the conditions we need to practice Dharma and transform life’s difficulties into stepping stones to enlightenment.

A Dharma Protector is a spiritual friend who is a fully enlightened being; his primary function is to pacify obstacles and to provide favorable conditions for the development of love, compassion and wisdom. Thus, it is important to create a link with him to make progress on our path.

Dorje Shugden is the principal protector of Kadampa practitioners. By creating a connection with him, day after day, we will come to feel his positive influence in our practice. We will gradually be able to transform all our daily experiences into the path to liberation and enlightenment with great confidence and assurance. In this way, we ourselves will become a protector for all living beings.

"A Dharma Protector is an emanation of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice ... These Protectors have great power to protect Buddhadharma and its practitioners, but the extent to which we receive help from them depends upon our faith and conviction in them ... If we rely upon Dorje Shugden with unwavering faith he will care for us just like a father caring for his children."

- Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Heart Jewel

Schedule

Saturday, March 28th

10am-12.30pm ~ Blessing Empowerment of Dorje Shugden
2-3.30pm ~ Commentary to the practice
4-5pm ~ Guided meditation and prayers

 Sunday, March 29th

11-12.15pm  ~  Introduction to Melodious Drum - Extensive prayers and offerings to Dorje Shugden
2-5.30pm ~ Melodious Drum Practice

This Blessing Empowerment weekend event will be led by our Resident Teacher Gen Kelsang Thekchen, who is a Kadampa Buddhist monk & senior Teacher in the New Kadampa Tradition. He has been a Teacher under the guidance of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche for more than 30 years. Gen Thekchen has taught widely in Canada and in the UK, and is now the Resident Teacher at Kadampa Meditation Centre Ottawa. He is well known for his ability to present Buddha's teachings in a practical, profound and often humorous way, making them very accessible and easy to practise in everyday life.

To listen to a great sample teaching by Gen Thekchen, click on the arrow below.