Taming the Drunken Monkey with H.E. Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche

Dear friends, One of our great Karma Kagyu Teachers, H.E. Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche will give a lecture:"Taming the Drunken Monkey" on Sat. Jan 10th at 2PM at: San Francisco State University 1600 Holloway Avenue Hensill Hall, Room 543 This lecture will introduce the techniques practiced in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, on the theme "Taming the Drunken Elephant." What is the drunken elephant? Who can tame it and how? The lecture will answer these questions, drawn from an important historical series of teachings by the 8th century Buddhist Pandita Kamalashila. This historic three-volume work, "Stages of Meditation" has widely influenced all Tibetan Buddhist traditions and contains crucial points on the special qualities of Buddhist meditation. Methodical meditation is an indispensable tool for one's well-being and spiritual success. Increasingly, evidence from scientific studies and medical practitioners demonstrates that meditation can contribute greatly to one's health and well being. Meditation is also a core practice for spiritual seekers. It has been used throughout history as a way to transcend suffering - whether it be physical, psychological or spiritual. Within the Buddhist tradition, meditation is practiced to attain the highest state of spiritual awakening - enlightenment, the realization of perfect freedom and compassionate wisdom. Born in 1968 to a Nepalese Sherpa family, H.E. Trungram Gyaltrul Rinpoche is one of the most prominent incarnate lamas of Tibetan Buddhist Traditions. A renowned teacher and lineage holder of many Buddhist teachings and practices, Rinpoche is the fourth in a line of incarnations considered emanations of the great yogi Milarepa. Rinpoche has a traditional monastic degree of Acharya and a Harvard PhD, and is the founder and spiritual director of the United Trungram Buddhist Fellowship (UTBF) and Dharmakaya. Besides teaching in various parts of the world, Rinpoche is currently working on projects including the Mahamudra Hermitage - a would-be traditional retreat center, and Lumbini Udyana Mahachaitya – a monastery at Buddha's birthplace, as part of the Lumbini Development Project under the auspices of the UN. www.dharmakaya.org