Olmo Ling Bon Center Weekly Schedule

MORE INFORMATION BELOW FOR ALL WEEKLY EVENTS

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dzogchen Practice Group: Will Resume January 5th, 2025!


Location and Directions

Olmo Ling Bon Center & Institute
1101 Greenfield Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217

Please arrive 5 minutes early for the meditation and weekly teachings. Our meditation sessions are open to all. Please note that some events are also offered online via Zoom.



Free Tuesday Evening Talk

Tuesdays at 7:00 PM EST | Offered via Zoom & In-Person with Tempa Dukte Lama

Offered via Zoom or In-Person

This is a great opportunity to meet Tempa Dukte Lama and to hear and experience the Bon teachings and meditation. Everyone is welcome. Some Tuesday evening talks are given by guest speakers, please see our front page for more information.



Chod Practice

Thursdays at 6:30 PM EST | Offered via Zoom & In-Person

with Senior Students Jim DelBianco & Andrew Kaiser

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
  • Dec. 5th – No Class
  • Dec. 12th – No Class
  • Dec. 18th – Class
  • Dec. 26th – No Class
  • January 2nd – Class, and schedule continues weekly as normal

“The Laughter of the Dakinis: the Practice of Generously Offering One’s Body from the Boundless Treasury of Spaciousness”

Each week we will practice elements of the drumming and chanting, followed by performing the Chod ritual as a group. Jim and Andrew are both senior students of Tempa Dukte Lama.

Join us In-Person or Zoom HERE
Meeting ID: 970 0641 9095
In-Person is recommended, however, we know that is not possible for everyone!

Chod is a very melodic and profound practice. It is widely practiced by monastic and lay practitioners in Tibet and the Tran-Himalayan region. Recently, Chod has taken root in the West.

This particular Chod practice, “The Laugher of the Dakinis”, was composed by the Bon Dzogchen master Shardza Tasha Gyaltsen. Chod means to cut off. What is cut off in this practice is the grasping of the ego, our habits, and the attachment to the ego’s continuation. Our grasping onto the Self feeds the fourfold Maras or demons and imprisons us in the cyclic continuum of suffering.

Freedom from the Four demons is the ultimate attainment of the Chod practice. This freedom is gained through practicing the unified essence of the Perfection of Wisdom and the Perfection of Generosity.

Jim DelBianco & Andrew Kaiser are senior students of Tempa Dukte Lama at Olmo Ling. If you have questions about Chod Practice, please contact Andrew Kaiser



Calm Abiding Meditation with Instruction

Saturdays at 8:30 AM EST | Offered via Zoom & In-Person with Senior Student Andrew Kaiser

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
  • Dec. 7 – Meditation session
  • Dec. 14 – Meditation session
  • Dec. 28 – No meditation session
  • Dec. 21 – No meditation session
  • Jan. 4 – Meditation session – class continues weekly as normal

Class Schedule:
5 minutes Daily Prayers
15 minutes Talk
10 minutes Meditation
30 minutes Questions

Join us In-Person or Zoom HERE
Meeting ID: 967 9436 8181

This class will provide instruction in the first phase of meditation, known as Zhine or Calm Abiding. It is important to be able to understand the full succession of meditation phases so that we know what we will learn – and just as important, what we will not be practicing.

First Phase: Calm Abiding Meditation helps us to free ourselves from the distractions that disturb us. In this class, we will work towards stability of pose and equanimity of mind.

Second Phase: Insight Meditation means to see clearly the way the mind works and to free the mind from grasping at the duality.

Third Phase: Abiding in the nature of mind, the union of emptiness and clarity. These are the Dzogchen teachings.

We are given instruction in many different practices. Zen, Theravada, and other Tibetan traditions all begin with the stability of the mind. Mindfulness is also taught in a lot of different places in today’s world. Understanding Zhine (Calm Abiding) is essential.

Andrew Kaiser is a senior student with Tempa Lama at Olmo Ling. If you have questions about Calm Abiding Meditation, please contact Andrew Kaiser


Dzogchen Practice Group

RESUMES JANUARY 5TH, 2025!

Sundays at 4:00 PM EST | Offered via Zoom & In-Person with Senior Student Bob Marin

  • Meditation Practice Group (IN-PERSON & ZOOM): 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month
  • Reading and Discussion Group (ZOOM ONLY): 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month

Dzogchen is a path of spiritual realization that guides us to directly recognize our Buddha nature, the qualities, and capacities present in all of us that are realized by enlightened beings. Dzogchen Olmo Ling meets weekly to study and practice Dzogchen according to the Bon Akhrid Dzogchen tradition taught by Tempa Lama.

Dzogchen Olmo Ling holds a Meditation Practice sitting and a Reading and Discussion group on alternate weeks. Weekly announcements provide brief readings and indicate whether the meeting will be online or in-person. In-person meetings permit online participation as well.

The sittings are open to all. Practitioners are welcome to attend, regardless of Dzogchen background. Sittings are convened by Bob Marin, a senior student of Tempa Lama and a longtime Dzogchen student of the American-born Tibetan Lama Surya Das. Dzogchen Olmo Ling offers welcoming, informal gatherings that foster collective learning through openness, authenticity, and curiosity. Regular participants are asked to consider membership in Olmo Ling. However, there is no fee for participation in Dzogchen Olmo Ling. If you wish to participate or if you have questions about Dzogchen Olmo Ling, please contact Bob Marin



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Family Sangha

Friday, December 13th, 2024 | Nature Mandalas

One Friday a Month 7-8:00PM | Offered In-Person with Olmo Ling Community Members

Upcoming Dates:
  • December 13th, 2024
  • January 10th, 2025
  • February 7th, 2025
  • March 14th, 2025
  • April 19th, 2025
  • May 9th, 2025

Family Sangha Schedule:
15 minutes Gathering Time & Sharing of Snacks
5 minutes Wisdom Mantra & Silent Meditation
30 minutes Main Lesson
5 minutes Clean Up
5 minutes Dedication of Merit

The program is designed for children to experience personal familiarity with Bon teachings and for families to deepen their connections with Bon and with each other. Each Family Sangha meeting will include a snack (families are welcome to contribute to the snack table), meditation, a story/lesson, and a related craft/activity.

The main lesson for December will be about the impermanence of all things. We will read a folk tale called “Mr Lucky Straw” that demonstrates the peace that comes from knowing things will change of their own accord. We will then watch a brief video of monastics making a sand mandala. Our art activity will be a collaborative construction of a seasonal nature mandala. After savoring the completed project for a few minutes, we will lean into impermanence and non-attachment by disassembling it.

The sessions will be facilitated by mothers and educators in our community in collaboration with Tempa Dukte Lama. Educator and mother of two Bonnie Weiss – who previously led our youth program – will facilitate the Friday evening gatherings. Bonnie is the owner of The School of Mindful Arts for children ages 3-18. She is trained as a Waldorf and Montessori teacher and holds several mindfulness certificates, including the Mindful Schools curriculum. Tempa Lama will join some of the sessions and is advising the program content.

We would like to offer Family Sangha as a sharing time for the entire family. However, we understand and support children’s growing desire for autonomy as they enter middle school. Please feel free to drop off your child in grade six or above – however, we ask that you please walk them in to sign a release form on your first visit.



Current Events on Hold

Meditation instruction and introduction to the Bon tradition with Tempa Dukte Lama

Note: Event is currently on hold.

Offered every 1st Thursday of the month by appointment. If you are new to meditation or to the Bon tradition, we invite you to join us for the Meditation Instruction and Introduction to Bon. While there is no charge for the meditation instruction, please plan to offer a donation (in the temple donation bowl). Registration by email at bon@olmoling.org is required.

The Healing Practice of Sidpa Gyalmo

Note: Event is currently on hold.

Offered every first Wednesday of the month. Tempa Dukte Lama leads the healing meditation practice of Sidpa Gyalmo, the chief protector of the Bon tradition. This healing practice ritual helps us to connect with the innate potential of healing within each one of us.

Ngondro Practice

Note: Event is currently on hold.

The Ngondro practice, called preliminary or foundational practices, is for practitioners who have received the Ngondro dzogchen teachings and transmission. Guided by senior student Jim DelBianco, it is held every Tuesday evening prior to the weekly dharma talk by Tempa Dukte Lama.


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