Olmo Ling Bon Center Weekly Schedule

MORE INFORMATION BELOW FOR ALL WEEKLY EVENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Chod Sessions have been changed from every Thursday to once a month on Saturday.
More information below.

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 and 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.

Ngondro and Silent Meditation

Wednesdays at 6:00 PM EST | Offered In-Person Senior Student Gary Terner

Participants are welcome to join both the Ngondro (6:00 PM EST) and Silent Meditation (6:30 PM EST) or either of the two sessions

Meeting Schedule:
6:00 PM Ngondro Practice
6:30 PM First Bell: Opening words on 5-fold posture & Meditation
6:35 PM Chant Invocation of Nyamed Sherab Gyaltsen, Guru Yoga, Refuge & Generating the Mind of Awakening
6:40 PM Second Bell: 20-minute silent meditation
7:00 PM Third Bell: Walking meditation & bathroom break
7:10 PM Fourth Bell: 20 minute silent meditation
7:30 PM Fifth Bell: Dedication of merit

The Wednesday evening practice at Olmo Ling Temple is free and open to all. This practice will offer the experience of meditating in a group. Group meditation is helpful in establishing a regular, stable meditation practice.

Silence will be observed throughout (from the second ringing of the bell following the opening chant). There will be two 20-minute sitting sessions separated by a 10 minute walking meditation. We will attempt to start on time so that we will not finish too late.

Ngondro practice is offered at 6:00 PM ET for those who have previously received Ngondro instructions and would like to practice in a group.

Gary Terner is a senior student of Tempa Dukte Lama at Olmo Ling. Gary has studied with Tempa Lama at Olmo Ling since 2008. His first meditation practice began with experiments with sitting Zazen in 1970. Subsequently, Gary spent five years living and practicing kundalini yoga in the Sri Gurudev Rudrananda yoga ashram in the Catskill Mountains. Currently, Gary practices Dzogchen Trekchod meditation under the guidance of Tempa Lama.

Attending is Free, but donations to Olmo Ling Temple are always welcome.

Calm Abiding Meditation with Instruction

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

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

Chod Practice

One Saturday a Month at 10:00 AM EST | Offered via Zoom & In-Person

with Senior Students Jim DelBianco & Andrew Kaiser

NEW SCHEDULE UPDATE AND CHANGE!

Saturday, January 25th, 2025
Saturday, February 15th, 2025
Saturday, March 15th, 2025

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

We have now changed our meeting from every week on Thursday to once a month on Saturday.

Once a month, we will practice elements of the drumming and chanting, followed by performing the Chod ritual as a group. The longer practice session will benefit us all as we learn the fundamentals of the drumming and have more time for practice. 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

Dzogchen Practice Group

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

We are pleased to announce that Dzogchen Olmo Ling will resume weekly sittings on Sunday, January 5. The sitting group meets on Sundays at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. The first and third Sunday of each month the meeting is in person at Olmo Ling, as well as online by Zoom. The 2nd and 4th Sundays it is online. There is no meeting when it’s the 5th Sunday of the 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.

Bob Marin, the convener of Dzogchen Olmo Ling, sends weekly email announcements to confirm sessions, distribute a Zoom link, and offer a brief reading.

This offering is free of charge; everyone is welcome. If you have questions or wish to be included in the announcements, please write to Bob Marin via email, dr.bob.marin@gmail.com. Previous participants in Dzogchen Olmo Ling will be included in the weekly announcements unless they ask to be removed.

If you wish to participate or if you have questions about Dzogchen Olmo Ling, please contact Bob Marin

Family Sangha

Friday, January 10th | Thrul Khor Yoga with Tempa Dukte Lama

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

Upcoming Dates:

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 January will be Thrul Khor, led by Tempa Dukte Lama One of the most unique practices in Bon is Thrul Khor yoga and Tempa-la is an expert and the author of the first comprehensive English-language guide book on the topic: Thrul Khor: Ancient Tibetan Bon Yoga by Tempa Dukte Lama.

Thrul Khor is an ancient Tibetan practice that employs breathing, physical movement, visualization, and deep meditative awareness as a path of harmonizing the body, mind, and energy, and ultimately attaining awakening. Tempa Lama will guide our families in simple versions of this transformative moving meditation. We will also share snack, and read a children’s book about the founder of Bon, Tonpa Shenrab.

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.