SPECIAL EVENTS

We are accepting food donations for our eastside neighbors at the Neighborhood House (77 America St) who will appreciate wholesome soups/stews, whole grain pasta, rice, canned fruits & vegetables. Offerings can be placed in foyer at Dharma Center. Sincere thanks to those who have contributed to the 643 pounds of food donated in 2023. Geshe-la’s short stanza on giving:

The real value of wealth lies within the act of giving.

The value of wealth is ruined in miserliness when one fails to act generously.

~> SAT May 11 at 12 noon: Annual Membership Meeting

~> Thur May 23 FULL MOON @ 6pm: SAGA DAWA CEREMONY

~> Sat JULY 6: His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 89th Birthday Celebration

FEBRUARY 10, 2024 ~ Tibetan Losar celebration: The Tibetan New Year of the wood dragon 2151 where Members, students, benefactors, friends, & supporters sharing Losar dinner & enjoying great time together. Many local Kalmyk/Mongolian devotees also shared in Losar celebration. Thanks for their participation and sharing their Mongolian cuisine with us.

DECEMBER 7, 2023 ~ LAMA TSONGKHAPA DAY & MONGOLIAN NEW YEAR: Geshe la shared prayers & blessings with local mongolians for their new year as well as the anniversary of the passing of Lama Tsongkhapa, the found of the Gelug tradition.

BRUNCH on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28 @ 11am Healthy brunch among friends of idli, a savory rice cake originating from South India with chick pea hummus & Sambar, a vegetable soup, with sides of hard boiled egg, apples & banana as well as Geshe-la’s soothing chai on back deck of the dharma center.

july 8th, 2023 ~ His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s 88th Birthday celebratory ceremony:

HOLY MONTH OF SAGA DAWA: FRIDAY, MAY 19 thru SUNDAY, JUNE 18

Buddha Shakyamuni

HOLY MONTH of SAGA DAWA

Friday, May 19  - Sunday, June 18, 2023

Culminating on Full Moon Saturday, June 3rd

Saga Dawa is a holy month for millions of Buddhists around the world. It is the month in which Shakyamuni Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and passed into Nirvana.  These 3 sacred events occurred on the full moon of the same month and are considered to be the 3 most sacred events of the historical Buddha's life on Mother Earth. 

Saga Dawa will start from the new moon Friday, May 19, culminating on the full moon on Saturday, June 3 then waning back to the new moon on Sunday, June 18.  The entire month of Saga Dawa is a great opportunity to accumulate merit due to the sacredness of the month and the magnification of the karma created, and so it is a special time to expand your compassion and generosity.  A great way is to save sentient beings that would otherwise be killed thru purchasing and then releasing them in a safe and conducive habitat.  Fiddler crabs and worms can be purchased at your local fishing tackle store and then released conducive habitats. Fiddler crabs should be released into tidal salt marshes and worms into your yard where you regularly see worms as not all soils are conducive as well as gardens where digging is likely to occur. Mantras to be recited when releasing can be found below.

Some examples of practices and meritorious deeds that you can do are: 1. Prostrations 2. Mandala Offering 3. Making attractive & colorful material offerings of fresh flowers, candle lights, fragrant incense, fresh and scented water offering before the enlightened beings 4. Giving material help of food, drink, clothing, and medicine to the poor & needing ones 5. Releasing lives 6. Abstaining from eating meat and alcohol 7. Observing celibacy 8. Meditating and putting effort to do intensive spiritual practices of Love, Compassion, meditation, purification and Tong-Len (Giving & taking) Practice

Another great way to accumulate merit is by supporting the Dharma to flourish by donating to: 1) the Operational Fund facilitating the functioning Dharma Center so Buddha's teachings can flourish, 2) the Radiant Mind Retreat Center or 3) Tibetan Refugee Camp Nursery in Mundgod, India.   With compassionate consideration, we will not be having a Ceremony this year at the Dharma Center. So we encourage you to make the most of this precious opportunity to enhance your practice by giving your best effort, turning better into best, especially on the full moon on Saturday, June 3. Below is a Short Introduction to the Sacred Month of Saga Dawa including a list written by our Spiritual Director & Resident Teacher, Geshe Dakpa Topgyal, of the Exceptional Things One Should DO & NOT do during the Holy Saga Dawa.

 WHAT EXCEPTIONAL THINGS SHOULD ONE DO DURING THE HOLY SAGA-DAWA

• Stay away from eating meat.

• Stay away from mowing the grass, since it may kill many insects.

• Stay away from digging the earth, since it may kill many insects.

• Stay away from anger and other negative thoughts.

• Stay away from doing harm to others, even very minor things.

• Do less agitation to things in nature, such as to the earth, plants, trees, etc.

• Limit your idle chitchat.

• Give yourself more time to do practice, such as reading Dharma books, reciting mantras and prayers, meditation, contemplation, reflection of the true nature of life, and listening to the Dharma teachings, etc.

• Make material offerings before the inspiring images of enlightened beings out of devotion, respect, humility, and admiration.

• Do generosity out of love and compassion.

• Save the lives of creatures by releasing them from the hands of fishermen and butchers.

• Pay deep and fresh respect to the Buddha and motivate yourself to become like him.

• Make merit through performing good deeds.

• Do virtue in all your thoughts and actions.

• Dedicate all of your virtue and merits solely for the cause of enlightenment.

• Do reflection on emptiness and the law of dependent origination with a deep wish for yourself to gain quick realization of emptiness.

The following mantras should be recited when releasing : 

A) LONGEVITY MANTRA FOR FREEING LIFE: 

OM DRUM SO HA ! OM AH MEE TA AH YU DHA DEY SO HA !   ( recite 7 times ) 

OM AH MA RATNA ZEY WEN TAY YEH SO HA !    ( recite 7 times)

OM TA REY TUTA REY TU REY MA MA AH YU PU NEY JNANA PU TRIN DU RU YES SO HA!  ( recite 7 times ) 

B) MANTRA OF BUDDHA MEE-TRUG PA:

OM NAMO RATNA TRA YA YA !  OM KUNG KANA KUNG KANA ! 

RO TSA NA RO TSA NA !  TRO TRA NA TRO TRA NA ! 

TRA TI HA NA !  TRA TI HA NA ! SAWA KAMA PARI PARA ! 

NEY NEY SAWA SITI !  NEY TSA YEH SO HA !    ( recite 3 times )  

C) DEDICATION: One must recite the dedication prayers while deeply reflecting on its meaning. 

SEM CHEN NEY PA JEE NYIH PA 

NYUR DU NEY LEH THAR GYUR CHIK 

DRO WEY NEY NEE MA LU PA 

TAK DU JUNG WA MEY PUR SHOK ! 

May all who are sick and ill

Quickly be freed from their ailments. 

Whatever diseases there are in the world

May they never occur again

YANG PEY GYAM KAM KUN TU SA CHOK DIR

NEY MUK TRUK TSO LA SOK MI JUNG SHING

DRO NAM CHO JOR DEY KYID TSO WA DANG

PUN TSOK PEL JOR LEH TSOK GEY GYUR CHIK !

May there be no illness, dispute, or war

At all existing levels, from home to the Universe

May everyone experience joy, peace and spiritual splendors 

May the glory and riches of goodness ever increase

RANG DON DRUB LA NAM YANG MEY REY SHING

SHEN DON BHA SHIK DRUB LA SHOL WA DANG

CHEN DANG NYON SHEY MA KAY ZOPA SOK

SHEN DON JEY PAY KEN NAM TSANG VAR SHOK !!

May I never dwell on the desire to fulfill my own interest, 

May I solely strive for the benefit of others,

May all necessary ways to benefit others such as wisdom eyes, clairvoyance, skillful ways to speak, patience and so forth,

May I possess all of these benefiting qualities quickly.

A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE SACRED MONTH OF SAGA-DAWA

 Saga-Dawa is a holy month for millions of Buddhist devotees around the world. It is the month in which Shakyamuni Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and passed into Nirvana. These three events occurred on the same month of the same day of a full moon. They are considered to be the three most sacred and greatest events of the historical Buddha’s life on mother earth.

Shakyamuni Buddha was born in India at Lumbini Park at Kapilavatthu 2,600 years ago into the royal family of the Shakya clan. On the fifth day after the prince’s birth, he was named Prince Siddhartha, or Shonue Dhondup in Tibetan, which means “wish-fulled”.

His father’s name was King Suddhodana, which means “pure generosity”. His mother’s name was Queen Mayadevi, which means “magical goddess”. Buddha’s beloved mother died seven days after giving birth. However, her younger sister, Prajapati married the king in the best interests of the infant Prince Siddhartha. She adopted the child, entrusting him as her own son and nursed him by all means with love and affection.

In accordance with the ancient Indian custom, eight highly learned Brahmins were invited to the palace for the naming ceremony. After carefully examining the characteristic marks and signs of the prince, seven of them raised two fingers each, indicative of two alternative possibilities. They said that the prince would either become a universal monarch or a supreme spiritual teacher. One among the eight yogis doubtlessly declared that the prince would definitely renounce the world and would become a Buddha, a fully enlightened or awakened spiritual teacher.

After examining the marks on the prince, the royal family was really frightened by the yogi’s declaration, thinking that their son would not succeed in taking the lineage of the Shakya clan royal family. His father used all possible means to shield the prince from catching sight of any of the miseries of the world. The father built three lotus ponds: one blue, one white, and one red for his son’s enjoyment. Three palaces were also built for him by his father, one for the cold season, one for the hot season, and one for the rainy season.

His father gathered 500 hundred beautiful young girls (similar to cheerleader girls) in order to please the prince. The young girls’ jobs were to dance, sing, tell stories, read poetry, give massages, give baths, take walks around the palace compound, and make constant eye contact with gentle smiles and winks to the prince. The king did this in an effort to shield the prince from going out from the palace compound, where he could catch sight of the miseries of the world.  His father worried that this could cause him to renounce the world and seek the truth of what really leads to pain and suffering among mankind. 

Prince Siddhartha was educated at home in the palace. He studied inner science, Hindu philosophy, various rituals, arts, music, and the art of warfare. At the young age of 16, he married Princess Yashodhara, who was the same age. For nearly 13 years of a happy marriage, he led a luxurious life. The couple had a son, named Rahula, the name given by his grandfather. Day and night, a white parasol was held over Prince Siddhartha’s head so that heat, cold, dust, leaves, or dew might not touch him. However, Prince Siddhartha never found any satisfaction in his father’s luxurious great palaces. He was very drawn to compassion and curiosity about the conditions of the world outside the gates of his palaces.

His deep contemplative and boundless compassionate nature did not permit him to spend his time in the mere personal enjoyment of the fleeting pleasures of the royal palace life. He knew no personal grief, but he felt a deep compassion for the suffering of humanity. Amidst comfort and prosperity, he realized the universality of sorrow. 

After going out of the gates of his palaces, he witnessed that all beings are subject to karmic birth, sickness, aging, sorrow, imperfections, and death. Birth has no room for happiness, but only torment. Birth is painful. Life is fragile. Because of karma, death is unavoidable, and rebirth is necessary in the subsequent moment of death.  Prince Siddhartha came in direct contact with the stark realities of life.

On his way home, he saw a homeless man who seemed relatively happy, content, serene, and abiding in equanimity. It inspired him and he became hopeful and optimistic that there should be a remedy for the sufferings of humanity. This increased the urge in him to loathe and renounce the world. Finally, Siddhartha decided to leave the palace in search of truth and eternal peace.

Siddhartha left the palace on one dark midnight while his wife and son were in a deep sleep. He gave his last loving kiss on the cheek to his wife and infant son, thinking that they would never be lacking of anything in their lives. They would have all the needed support from his parents. He was not worried about the future worldly happiness and comfort of the mother and child, as they had everything in abundance and were well protected. He was 100% sure that he could play a more important and beneficial role than a dutiful husband and father, or even as a king of kings. It was not that he loved them less, but that he loved humanity more.

He ordered his loyal charioteer, Channa, to saddle the horse and went to the suite of apartments occupied by the princess. Opening the door of the chamber, he stood on the threshold and cast his dispassionate glance on his wife and child who were in a deep sleep. Great was his love for the two dear ones at this parting moment. Greatest was his compassion for the suffering of humanity. He left everything behind. Alone and penniless, he set out in search of the truth.

Siddhartha renounced the world. But in was not the type of renunciation of an old man who has had his fill of the worldly life. It was not the renunciation of a poor man who has nothing to leave behind. It was the renunciation of a prince in full bloom of youth, with plentiful wealth and prosperity – a renunciation unparalleled in history. It was in his 29th year that Prince Siddhartha made this historic journey.

He journeyed far and, crossing the river Anoma, rested on its banks. There he cut his hair and shaved his beard, and handed over his garments and ornaments to Channa, with instructions for Channa to return to the palace. Siddhartha assumed the simple yellow garb of an ascetic, and led a life of voluntary poverty.

The ascetic Prince Siddhartha, who once lived in the lap of luxury, became a penniless wanderer, with no permanent abode. A shady tree or a lonely forest sheltered him by day and by night. Bare-footed and bare-headed, he walked in the scorching sun and in the piercing cold. With no possessions to call his own, except for a bowl to collect food and robes just sufficient to cover his body, he concentrated all of his energy on the quest for the truth. 

Ascetic Prince Siddhartha met five other Hindu ascetics in that lonely forest and joined them. After some time living together, Siddhartha was not happy with the practice and discipline that he was doing with the other five ascetics. He found out that the practice was none other than self-mortification. Weakening the body only weakens the mind and its natural clarity. So, he made a decision to leave the practice and discipline with them and he moved to another place of solitude where he remained in deep meditation. His body was already very weak and fragile owing to the practice of self-mortification with the five ascetic friends.

One day, a young village girl saw him sitting in deep meditation and discovered that he was extremely weak and fragile. The girl then offered him a bowl of rice and some milk. The ascetic Prince Siddhartha ate the rice and drank the milk. As a result, he regained his physical strength and his mental energy and clarity of mind. In subsequent time, he found the Middle Path, which was neither extreme indulgence nor total rejection.

His five ascetic friends saw that Siddhartha ate the rice and drank the milk. They were very upset, thinking that he had behaved sinfully and had broken his vows, which made him unworthy of the ascetic practice.

After regaining his mental and physical strength, he made a firm determination to remain in deep meditation underneath the Bodhi tree in Bodh-Gaya. He promised that he would not remove himself from his lotus seating position until he attained full enlightenment. After six years of sitting in intense and deep meditation, at the age of 35, Prince Siddhartha finally attained enlightenment – on the 4th Lunar month on the full-moon day – the day he was also born. He attained enlightenment on that day at dawn by defeating the five Maras simultaneously, with the two subtlest obstructions – the obstruction to liberation and the obstruction to omniscience.

 Since then he was referred to as a Buddha or an awakened one. The historical Shakyamuni Buddha was no longer referred to as Prince Siddhartha. He became a supreme spiritual teacher while remaining a human and not a God or Divine being. However, he did not give a teaching for 45 days after attaining enlightenment, thinking that others may not be able to understand what he had to teach them. He remained in silence for 45 days. However, on the 46th day, his compassion allowed him to come out into the world in order to teach the way to virtue and the path to ultimate happiness.

 The historical Shakyamuni Buddha gave teachings for 46 years for the best interest of humanity. His teachings are not dogma, and they have no room for blind faith or blind practice. His teachings are called Dharma, which means “one that brings inner transformation”.

 He gave two levels of teachings, Sutrayana and Tantrayana. Sutrayana is exoteric teaching and Tantrayana is more esoteric teaching. The entire teachings of the Buddha come under three categories: morality, meditation, and wisdom. Morality is a necessary spiritual foundation. Meditation is a necessary tool for realization. Wisdom is a necessary eye to see the truth of reality in order to cut the root of samsara and go to the other side of the shore to enlightenment.

 Shakyamuni Buddha gave his first teaching in Deer Park, Varanasi to his five former ascetic friends, on the theme of the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths actually form a strong foundation of Buddha’s teachings.

 Before opening his formal teachings to the public, he made very sure to explain that he is not a God, but a human teacher. Buddha said: “Do not see a divine being in me. I am not a God. I am here only to teach about the path that I Myself have travelled to attain enlightenment. I teach only what I know. I teach only what you need. I teach only through my personal experience and knowing. I do not teach things that I do not know and things that you do not need though you may want me to”.  

 Similarly, the Buddha wanted to make sure that his teachings do not require faith and do not need to be accepted in order to find the truth of his teachings. The Buddha openly discouraged his followers to not place blind faith or acceptance out of reverence in the Buddha.  

 The Buddha said:  “Oh…monks, nuns, scholars, and other followers. Do not accept my teachings out of faith or mere reverence to me. Rather, one should examine my teachings thoroughly like a goldsmith examines the purity of his gold through rubbing it, cutting it, and burning it. Once you have found the truth in my teachings, then only should one accept them and put them into real practice”. At the end, the Buddha said: “I am not a savior. I am not a punisher. I am not a rewarder. But I am just a teacher and I am here to teach. One should know that the enlightenment is within your own hand”.

 After giving extremely broad and extensive teachings for 46 years during his lifetime, Shakyamuni Buddha chose, at the age of 81, to dissolve his physical body from the eyes of the world on the same full moon day and in the same month as his birth and attainment of enlightenment. The whole purpose of his physical dissolution was to demonstrate that life is impermanent.  He also wanted to motivate the world to extract the essence of life through practicing the Dharma.    

 Shakyamuni Buddha predicted that his teachings would last for 5,000 years and remain effective for humanity. 2,600 years have already passed, with 2,400 years remaining for his teachings to be alive and remain as effective as they were before.

 Prior to Buddha’s passing away into Parinirvana, his students requested him to give clear instructions on who should succeed him or should be appointed in his place. The Buddha replied: “No one should be appointed in my place and there is no need of it. My teachings on Vinaya or morality should be treated as your teacher”.  These words were the last words of the Buddha. The Buddha utterly went into silence for a few days and finally passed away by dissolving his gross physical body from the world’s eye

PAST EVENTS:

APRIL 25, 2023: We stand strongly with His Holiness the Dalai Lama! LONG LIVE the DALAI LAMA!

Statement from the Charleston Tibetan Society about the naive media’s reaction & misinterpretation to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s meeting with Indian students on February 28th, 2023

DECEMBER 18, 2022 LOSAR: Charleston area locals with Mongolian homelands celebrate their New Year as well as the 603rd anniversary of the founder of the Geluk tradition's passing, Lama Tsongkhapa (1357-1409). Geshe-la shared compassionate blessings and touches a statue of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion on all.

DECEMBER 15, 2022: Visiting students from The university school of the lowcountry: It was with great pleasure to share a talk on Tibetan Buddhism with ~80 inquisitive students & staff from the University School of the Lowcountry today. May they all continue to learn benefits of doing good in society in hopes to lead happy & fruitful lives filled with inner peace & joy!

HOLY MONTH of SAGA DAWA

May 30  - June 28, 2022

Culminating on Full Moon Tuesday, June 14th

Saga Dawa is a holy month for millions of Buddhists around the world. It is the month in which Shakyamuni Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and passed into Nirvana.  These 3 sacred events occurred on the full moon of the same month and are considered to be the 3 most sacred events of the historical Buddha's life on Mother Earth. 

Saga Dawa will start from the new moon Monday, May 30, culminating on the full moon on Tuesday, June 14 then waning back to the new moon on Thursday, June 28.  The entire month of Saga Dawa is a great opportunity to accumulate merit due to the sacredness of the month and the magnification of the karma created, and so it is a special time to expand your compassion and generosity.  A great way is to save sentient beings that would otherwise be killed thru purchasing and then releasing them in a safe and conducive habitat.  Fiddler crabs and worms can be purchased at your local fishing tackle store and then released conducive habitats. Fiddler crabs should be released into tidal salt marshes and worms into your yard where you regularly see worms as not all soils are conducive as well as gardens where digging is likely to occur. Mantras to be recited when releasing can be found below.

Saturday, February 12, 2022: A Celebration in honor of & gratitude to John Valentine-Castillo who is the following and so much more:

• a dedicated student of Geshe Dakpa Topgyal

• a founding member of the South Carolina Dharma Group

• an engaged participant in dharma teachings from 1998 to 2022

• Treasurer of SCDG from 2006 - 2021

• Indefatigable worker on SCDG fundraising projects

• Regular participant in SCDG retreats

• Retreat student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Pennsylvania & Ladakh, India

• Constant student of Tibetan texts and of Sanskrit and Pali vocabulary

• qualified to answer questions about Tibetan Buddhism

• qualified to be a Dharma instructor

He will be moving from South Carolina, so members of the SCDG & CTS enjoyed each others company, a potluck lunch including delicious mo-mo’s & a smoke puja ceremony at the Radiant Mind Retreat Center.

On Tuesday, July 6, 2021 will be His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 86th birthday and as a gift he kindly asks us to mindfully recite at least 1,000 Mantra recitations of The Buddha of Compassion: Chenrezig in Tibetan or Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit:

OM MANI PADME HUNG

He asks us, all his Brothers & Sisters, to cultivate a more compassionate mind, and to establish a genuine concern for others well-being. If possible, to serve other sentient beings including animals, and if no opportunity to serve others, to at least refraign from harming them. The best present for his birthday will be to saturate our mind with these virtuous states.

Long Life Prayers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama

In the land encircled by snow mountains,

You are the source of all happiness and good;

All-powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso,

Please remain until samsara ends.

LONG LIVE HIS HOLINESS the DALAI LAMA!!!

saga dawa 2021 on wednesday, May 26, 2021: This morning on the most Auspicious Day of Saga Dawa ~250 worms were released on behalf of the CTS Spiritual Director, Sangha Members including CTS’ Sister organization The South Carolina Dharma Group, as well as Friends throughout the world for the benefit of ALL sentient beings, and previously ~75 fiddler crabs under rising moon. May each of us achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings and make the most of this precious human form endowed with many freedoms & endowments on this most sacred day of Saga Dawa!!! On this Auspicious Day, remain mindful of our precious opportunities as we can accumulate much merit though even small virtuous acts of body, speech and mind, as well as dedicating such any merit for the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

Geshe-la shares the following wishes with us: May we ALL have many good lives, strong health, long life and strong confidence in many next life times as well as all sentient beings since we included them as recipients of the merits and virtues (we received thru this releasing of beings).

Some examples of practices and meritorious deeds that you can do are: 1. Prostrations 2. Mandala Offering 3. Making attractive & colorful material offerings of fresh flowers, candle lights, fragrant incense, fresh and scented water offering before the enlightened beings 4. Giving material help of food, drink, clothing, and medicine to the poor & needing ones 5. Releasing lives 6. Abstaining from eating meat and alcohol 7. Observing celibacy 8. Meditating and putting effort to do intensive spiritual practices of Love, Compassion, meditation, purification and Tong-Len (Giving & taking) Practice

HOLY MONTH of SAGA DAWA: May 11  - June 10, 2021 ~> Culminating on Full Moon Wed, May 26th

Saga Dawa is a holy month for millions of Buddhists around the world. It is the month in which Shakyamuni Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and passed into Nirvana.  These 3 sacred events occurred on the full moon of the same month and are considered to be the 3 most sacred events of the historical Buddha's life on Mother Earth. 

Saga Dawa will start from the new moon Tuesday, May 11, culminating on the full moon on Wednesday, May 26 then waning back to the new moon on Thursday, June 10.  The entire month of Saga Dawa is a great opportunity to accumulate merit due to the sacredness of the month and the magnification of the karma created, and so it is a special time to expand your compassion and generosity.  A great way is to save sentient beings that would otherwise be killed such as by fishermen or by butchers, and released in a safe and conducive habitat.