Lama Kathy’s Dharma Blog: Blossoming Above the Mud of the Modern World

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As I’ve been talking with dharma friends in recent weeks, I’ve heard from a lot of folks who tell me they’re feeling overwhelmed by what one friend calls “the news flow from samsara.”

Perhaps you’ve seen it:  the coarseness of the back-and-forth name-calling and vitriolic arguing in political circles; the cruel culture of people who judge one another for their personal or political views and then throw clever insults at one another through letters, emails and social media posts.

In this climate, the art of debate, where people listen to one another and reason together, has given way to a name-and-blame game where people objectify one another and then feel empowered to punish one another with pointed words.

As you can see, perhaps I’m counting myself as one of the walking wounded – one of those folks who is feeling beat up by the casual cruelty of the modern world.  What makes me even sadder is that of late, I’ve seen even religious people engage in punishing behaviors toward one another, becoming the spiritual equivalent of vigilantes.

Now that might sound like a harsh term, and perhaps it is a bit extreme. But when I see or hear about people in the same family of faith calling each other names and sitting in judgment of one another, it makes me wish from the depths of my heart that we could find a better way.

People’s passion for their faith is understandable.  Many of us searched for a long time before we found a faith – in our case, the Buddhist faith – that spoke to our hearts and made us feel like we’d come “home.”  

The Buddha’s teachings that “we are what we think; all that we are arises with our thoughts; and with our thoughts we make the world” ring so true for us.  

The Four Noble Truths – about suffering and its causes, and how those causes can be unmade by letting go of the three poisons of anger, attachment and ignorance – give us a meaningful way to live our lives.  The Eightfold Noble Path of right view, intention, speech, action, word, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration gives us guidelines for our cultivation of virtue and ways to release ourselves and others from samsara’s web of suffering.

And today’s “Engaged Buddhism” movement provides even more exercise for our passion for the dharma.

For the followers of this movement, the Eightfold Noble Path can also be applied to the cause of social justice and civil rights, and even how we treat the Earth and its environment.  For its followers, Engaged Buddhism may well be the Earth’s best hope for survival in a world under threat of human-made inequality and disaster.

But there are risks to our discovery of this great goodness that is dharma. There is a risk that our passions might get the better of our dharma and push us into the extreme of wanting to “correct” anything that we feel falls short of perfection.  

And for some of us, this could be a tipping point, where our dharma becomes co-opted by samsara. By falling into the error of thinking ourselves superior to others – and therefore worthy of passing judgment upon them – our mistaken egotism can unwittingly take us over and turn us away from the path.

And this requires our discernment. In the endnotes of ‘The Ninth Karmapa’s Ocean of Definitive Meaning’ by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche offers this advice:

“Perhaps the most fundamental distinction that must be made at the beginning of the spiritual path is the distinction between secondary causes (Tib. kyen) and primary causes (Tib. gyu). Our mental afflictions arise from both primary causes and secondary causes, but we tend to only notice the secondary causes. These are the external events and appearances that set off our kleshas of anger or desire, jealousy or pride.

What we fail to notice is that those external provocations are themselves the products of primary causes, and those primary causes are our own actions in the past, and even in past lives. The secondary causes are legion and not entirely under our control, but the primary causes are our own creations, manifesting within our own minds, and ultimately our own responsibility.”

Of course, as people who hold the Buddhist principle of non-harming, we must call attention to abusive behavior by others.  But when we use abusive language to call attention to this behavior, are we not guilty of that very fault we are trying to correct?

So much injustice has been visited by human beings on one another when this sort of thinking proceeds unexamined and unrestrained.  First, we criticize; then we ostracize; then we marginalize; then we demonize. And then something unthinkable – inflicting harming others in the name of dharma – actually becomes possible.

What saves us from this error is the Buddha’s teaching on bodhicitta.  Whereas in the early teachings of the Buddha, a person’s behavior is most important, in the Buddha’s later teachings one’s intentions reign supreme.  

Bodhicitta teaches us to always look at our intentions.  Any intention that’s flavored by ego-fixation – such as wanting to show ourself as superior to others – should be viewed as suspect, and a possible downfall to the bodhisattva’s way of trying to hold and cherish the benefit of others as supreme.

Perhaps this is why in the sutras, when the Buddha is asked how to deliver criticism of others, he advises:

Someone who is about to admonish another must realize within himself five qualities before doing so [that he may be able to say], thus:

“In due season will I speak, not out of season. In truth I will speak, not
in falsehood. Gently will I speak, not harshly. To [the other person’s] profit will I speak,
not to [their] loss. With kindly intent will I speak, not in anger.”*

*”Vinaya Pitaka,” translated by F.S. Woodward

Last May in New York City, His Holiness 17th Karmapa, himself a champion of the environment and Engaged Buddhism, warned his students against treating each other badly.  Instead of casting blame on one another for our perceived faults and seeing one another as enemies, he said, we should Instead “team up” together against our *common* enemy, our habitual negative emotions and reactions.

So, in the end, if we want to deeply hold this great good thing we have discovered, this life-giving and life affirming dharma, our greater question should be: how will we share this great good dharma? How can we make it available to others not just through our words, but also through our inner motivations, thoughts and actions?  

Bodhicitta gives us a method and a guideline for this sharing.  Let’s all commit to having a deeper conversation among ourselves this year for what this sharing can look like in our own family of faith.

Looking forward to speaking with your more about this in the coming months.  As our new temple, our new home, begins to take shape, let’s talk deeply with one another about what kind of family we want to be when we move into it.  We’re walking together, and I’m looking forward to many constructive conversations along the road.

May all have peace and happiness, and may all beings come to Buddhahood!

 

Picking Out Furniture – Dharma Style!

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It might seem strange for a Dharma Center that is still trying to raise enough money to raise its new walls, but the KTC is already picking out its furniture.

The arson fire that destroyed our meditation center in January 2016 also destroyed all of our thangka (scroll) paintings, all of our meditation cushions and all of our shrine and puja furniture.

Through a successful GoFundMe campaign in 2016, we raised $100,000 to pay for the unexpected $75,000 demolition costs associated with tearing down and removing what was left of our old center, and to buy new meditation cushions, prayer books, portable folding prayer text tables and other needed materials.

But when The Idea Foundry, a maker’s space in our Franklinton neighborhood, offered to help us out after the fire, the first thing we thought of was, “Hey, could they build us some furniture???”

Don’t get us wrong; we LOVE the portable prayer text tables we got from Costco; they’re made of high-impact plastic and steel and while they were originally intended to be portable picnic table benches, we found them perfect for holding our puja (prayer) texts. AND they fold up and have built-in carrying handles – perfect for those times when we, well, have to “go nomad” and take our programs outside our temporary home at Congregation Tifereth Israel.

But to be honest, we wanted wood. Lots of beautiful, polished, wonderful wood. Having new wooden puja tables was a psychological step toward re-establishing our sangha. It gave us a sense that, yes, there *would* be a new center someday, because, well, we were buying furniture for it.

So we asked The Idea Foundry to make us some puja tables. Using dimensions from the fire and smoke-damaged tables from the old KTC, we drew pictures, approved schematics, and so forth, and the woodworking elves at TIF delivered us six brand-new beautiful wood tables. Our new center, in our minds at least, was on its way.

After moving into Tifereth Israel, we got the furniture-building bug again. We needed temporary shrine shelves to display the statues rescued from the burned building.

Our teacher, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, had encouraged us to keep the fire and smoke-damaged statues as a reminder of what we lost and a continuity toward our future. And when KTC friend Don Fortner offered to make us shrine shelves – and later to work with Bill Miracle to create canvas-covered standing screen panels to evoke the lovely yellow walls of our former center – we felt we were getting closer to our future home.

New Furnishings from the Woodworker Lama, Tsultrim Yeshe

That was almost three years ago, and we think we’re ready to buy our next pieces of furniture now.

Specifically, we’re looking at a set of handmade walnut “teaching tables” made by our friend and benefactor, Lama Tsultrim Yeshe of Hay River KTC in Wisconsin.  Lama Yeshe is a retired prison chaplain, but before entering three-year-retreat Lama Yeshe also was a bit of a farmer and woodworker, and owned his own woodworking and upholstery business.

These tables are super-special – they are not just handmade; they are handmade from lumber cut from venerable walnut trees harvested from Lama Yeshe’s own farmland and milled in his own sawmill. It’s the furniture equivalent – quite literally – of the “farm-to-table” movement.

Lama Tsultrim had offered us two teaching tables as a fundraiser for the center, saying we could sell them and raise money for rebuilding. But … well, we fell in love with the tables, and our shrine-keeping staff just doesn’t want to part with them. It’s a dilemma, if you know what we mean.

So, could you folks help us buy our first pieces of fine wood furniture?

Lama Yeshe said we should ask $700 apiece for the tables. So we are hoping that over the next few weeks – from now through the January 31, 2019 anniversary of our fire – our dharma friends on GoFundMe could donate $1,400 to help us fund these tables.

This would honor Lama Tsultrim Yeshe’s donation by using the tables to raise money for our campaign, and allow our dharma friends to help us purchase the tables for our very own center, so the tables will get to remain with us.

That way, we would be “feeding two birds with one scone,” so to speak.

And if we raise more than $1,400 during that period, the excess funds will go toward our next big furniture purchase – a fine wood shrine table for the new shrine room.

But Wait! There’s More. How About a Drawing for a Blessed Mala?

To celebrate this “new furniture fundraising” period, everyone who donates any amount from today through 12 midnight EST on Jan. 31, 2019 will be entered in a drawing for a dark rosewood mala (made of 8 mm beads) blessed by our founder, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche himself.  All you have to do is donate through this GoFundMe page. You will be automatically entered in the drawing.

If your name is drawn on Jan. 31, we will notify you by email and obtain your postal address, so we can mail you your gift.

Thanks for joining us in our day-dream imagining – that buying new shrine room furniture will help us realize a new center sooner. May your gift bring you joy – and may all beings benefit!

Completing the Vision: A New Home for Columbus KTC

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What began as a tragic loss has now developed into an inspiring vision, as the Columbus Karma Thegsum Chöling begins the next phase of fundraising for its new home in the heart of the capital city.

When an arson fire destroyed our small wooden church in January 2016, our founding teacher, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, started the project by encouraging us: “Don’t be sad – rebuild!”

So, our little 50-family congregation dug deep, and manifested an emergency fundraising campaign raising $100,000, and amassed resources that helped us design a 10,000-square-foot temple that would satisfy our center’s needs for the next decade and beyond. 

The “little congregation that could” made friends along the way – local business owners, government representatives and townspeople admired our 40-year commitment to Columbus and our 30-year history of offering free weekly meditation instruction to the public. 

Donors supported our work in Ohio’s prisons, including teaching meditation to inmates on Death Row, and helped us expand our Free Meditation Instruction to a second weekly meeting – at an Episcopal church located downtown in the shadow of the Ohio Statehouse.

Meanwhile, friends overseas heard about our plight, and sent donations to help us rebuild our shrine hall better than ever, with traditional shrine furnishings and plenty of cushions and prayer book tables for retreats and regular practices. On top of $600,000 in insurance proceeds, the center collected $700,000 from donors around the corner and around the world.

After raising $1.3 million and making arrangements for a $200,000 loan, the KTC rejoiced at having funded its initial construction estimate. 

But then, in early 2018, the final construction budget – including some items required by city code but unexpected by the construction team – came in at $2.3 million. A quick review cut some costs, but the revised budget was still $2.1 million. This figure is much higher than the $1.5 million KTC had on hand for the project.

After consulting with friends and advisors, the KTC Board and Capital Campaign Committee met and decided to move forward with the project, setting a fundraising goal of $800,000, which covers both the shortfall and an expected increase in construction costs due to a delayed construction start date. 

To rally our friends and supporters for this last part of our project, we have organized a “last push” campaign with a goal of $800,000. This will allow us to start construction and complete our vision for a new home in the coming year.

Our teacher, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, who turns 95 this year, believes in the project so much that he already has purchased our Buddha statue – a stunning 10-foot-tall masterpiece of bronze depicting the primordial Buddha Vajradhara, a powerful reminder of the awakened potential that exists within all of us.

Khenpo Rinpoche also has donated the last of his personal practice items to a charity auction that raised $43,000, and says he is ready to come to Columbus in the company of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley Dorje, to oversee our dedication, when it occurs. 

This is where you come in. 

If you believe in the power of meditation; if you believe that a beautiful meditation hall can help transform a bustling city; if you believe that donating to create spiritual environments accumulates positive virtuous merit and decreases ignorance in the world, we ask you to donate to the Columbus KTC Rebuilding Fund and fulfill the vision of the congregation and its founder, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche.

All donations will be acknowledged. Donors of $1,000 or more will qualify for special gifts and donors of $10,000 or more will qualify for naming opportunities at the new center.

Donate today, and help us re-create our center of love and compassion in the center of the city.

Donate Today

Lama Kathy’s Dharma Blog: Words from Our Founder

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On a long road, a mile-marking sign can be a welcome friend. It reminds us that our destination is indeed ahead – and assures us that we eventually will arrive there.

So it was this past month, when our Columbus Karma Thegsum Chöling Founder, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, found himself receiving a blessed sign from none other than His Holiness Karmapa himself. 

Although the occasion was a birthday observance for His Holiness Karmapa, the head of our Buddhist tradition chose instead to honor the 95-year-old Columbus KTC founder and abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery.

This remarkable event occurred in the ornate and beautiful shrine room of KTD Monastery in Woodstock, NY, on the final day of a Longevity chant retreat conducted by His Holiness, Khenpo Rinpoche and a host of others. 

On that final morning of the Longevity retreat, His Holiness entered the shrine room to the sound of majestic gyaling horns, which traditionally are played to signal the comings and goings of great masters.

Then, after ascending his throne, and after spending a short time there, His Holiness stood up and the Tibetan horns sounded again.

Into the shrine room came Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, in full monastic dress, in the company of his nephew and attendant, Lama Karma Drodhul. As His Holiness and the rest of the assembled monks and laypeople stood in honor, Rinpoche was seated in front of His Holiness, who then descended his throne to offer a long-life blessing to Rinpoche.

In the audience for this sacred event were Lama Tom Broadwater, Cathy Lhamo Jackson and Sue Ellen Steinmetz of Columbus KTC. They had taken time out of their daily lives to go and honor His Holiness Karmapa and Khenpo Rinpoche and attend the special pujas.

After descending from his throne, the Karmapa offered blessings to Rinpoche with sacred substances related to the life of the Buddha, praying that the blessings would give him a long and healthy life. Those in attendance say Khenpo Rinpoche was visibly moved by the generosity of His Holiness in bestowing the longevity blessing.

As the morning session ended, Lama Tom and Cathy and Sue Ellen were getting ready to leave for Ohio when Lama Karma Drodhul came running to collect them.

Khenpo Rinpoche wanted to see them, Lama Karma said. There was only a 30-minute break for lunch and then the afternoon pujas were going to start, so everyone had to hurry.

Up in Khenpo Rinpoche’s private room in the monastery, Rinpoche’s other attendant, Lama Karuna Tara, was preparing a quick lunch. While stir-fry sizzled in the pan, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche asked Cathy to get out her cellphone and record a short talk for the Columbus KTC.

Rinpoche had heard that the center had experienced a setback in its quest for a new home, and that the projected construction budget for the new building was more expensive than the money the center had on hand – a lot more expensive. He knew everyone was working hard to find cost savings for the project, and that some folks were feeling discouraged. 

Having heard this, Khenpo Rinpoche had offered for sale that week – with the help of San Francisco Dharma Friend Amy Wu his personal practice items, such as hand drums (damarus) along with his bells and other ritual implements. These were the last of the personal possessions he had to give, and he gave them to benefit the Columbus KTC. 

He also handed Lama Tom and Cathy and Sue Ellen a packet containing an offering that had just been given to him by His Holiness Karmapa. 

After recording his remarks – punctuated by him folding his hands in supplication to all KTC friends to help him in his quest – Rinpoche asked that his recording be played for “everyone in the Ohio Center,” which is what calls his beloved Columbus KTC. 

So Lama Tom and Cathy and Sue Ellen returned to Columbus with the precious recording from Khenpo Rinpoche, which was presented – skillet noise and all -for the KTC Board and Sangha this past Sunday (July 15) at Columbus KTC.

To help carry out Khenpo Rinpoche’s wish that “everyone in the Ohio center” hear his message, I’m devoting my blog this week to presenting his remarks here, through audio (see the link below) and a transcript prepared by Cathy Jackson. 

If you have 15 minutes to spare, the audio is endearing – you can hear the emotion in Khenpo Rinpoche’s voice, and his tenderness for the KTC, as well as his bodhisattva commitment, is evident in what he says and does.

But even if you aren’t in a position to listen to the recording, please read the transcript, which is also presented here.

May Rinpoche’s words bring all of us joy and comfort, and be a mile-marking sign to us that our destination is indeed ahead, and will eventually, with the help of every single one of us, be reached.

May all beings benefit from the light that is our great masters, and the dharma homes they help us create for the benefit of generations yet to come!

Post-script: The “Khenpo Rinpoche’s Treasures” fundraiser by Amy Wu brought in $53,000 for the KTC; the packet from His Holiness was another $10,000 for KTC. Added to the $25,000 donated during the Riverside Church event in New York City and $15,000 in surprise local donations, KTC received $103,000 in the last six weeks!

Listen to Khenpo Rinpoche’s Message

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Transcript Follows:

KHENPO KARTHAR RINPOCHE – Message for Columbus KTC community

June 24, 2018 * Translator: Lama Karma Drodhul

Audience: Lama Tom Broadwater, Sue Ellen Steinmetz, Cathy Jackson

“So first of all, he {Rinpoche] is happy to see three Ohio students able to come and join puja. And Rinpoche said that the Ohio {KTC] Center for him is extremely important. And he told this many, many times, that he wants to finish the Center before he leaves. Therefore he [is] constantly working for Ohio Center and collecting thangkas and the big drum, brocades and all kinds of shrine implements. And he is working very hard on that.

“And [he is] not only supporting for shrine part but financial {as well].  He asked personally Ani Drolkar to raise money and she raised quite [a lot] of money as well. And also Amy, the one who put the items [on sale at KTD] for Ohio KTC. And also personally he contributed whatever he could get offerings. And he’s not only supporting [the] shrine part, but also financially.

“And our purpose [is] to build the Ohio Center much better than before. It’s not like a temporary camp. It’s not temporary or something. 

“Therefore Rinpoche [is] requesting all the students of Ohio [to] have courage or inspiration to build the center as soon as you could.

“American people they are quite educated and capable of doing so many things. Not only [in regard to] other things, but just generally, [if] people don’t really support each other, even the country of America can go down. Likewise it is related to the Center as well. Everybody has to be supportive.

“In Tibet we all know that everything was destroyed and everything went down. However, you can see the people [came] together and built. And [now] everything is developed and everything is flourishing. It is because of people coming together.

“Therefore this message actually is not just for the three of you [Lama Tom, Cathy, and Sue Ellen] but for the Ohio Center, everybody to listen, especially the Board. So he said, ‘Please everybody be supportive, listen to each other, and think about the Center.’

“[If] you have five fingers, it’s not just the thumb alone can help, but you have to have the rest of [the] four fingers. So [it’s] not only [to] have Board or someone [else] do it, but everyone has to come together. 

“So Rinpoche gave most of his items to Amy and [she is] doing auction, and seems like she is doing quite good and he is quite happy about that. He is not just using his normal items but he is just giving his own damaru, his own bell, his own empowerment implements on behalf of KTC. 

“He doesn’t have much left because he put most of his items in Stupas and other places. 

“One thing is that everyone must keep [in mind], is … what His Holiness did today – giving special Long Life Empowerment to Rinpoche. He said you all as his students [must] have gratitude to His Holiness Karmapa. 

“[His Holiness] is not doing this [empowerment] just for Khenpo Rinpoche, but it is something to benefit students and for everybody.

“[His Holiness] personally gave this money to Khenpo Rinpoche [indicating packet]. It is opened but not counted yet. So three of you together, whoever, you can count [the bundle of money] and give it to the Ohio Center. 

“And if we are able to build the Center, Rinpoche plans to come to the opening ceremony. Not only Rinpoche, but he believes His Holiness will come as well. Rinpoche himself requested His Holiness and [His Holiness] said ‘Yes,’ but there is no place to come now. We have to build Center as soon as possible.

“[Rinpoche] is requesting to please build the center as soon as possible. Everybody [be] supportive. He is requesting with [his] hands joined together. [Rinpoche joined his palms together vigorously, in supplication.]

“The architecture or the drawing that we have [for the new KTC] is something Rinpoche wants to build. [We], have to build something solid and something for long time benefit. Therefore everybody listen and [build it] according to the plan, which is the architecture or drawing that they have.

 “Don’t think about putting something up and it last a few years. It’s not like that.  If you think about what Nagarjuna [did when he] built some temples in India, and [they are] still working. 

“So you have to build something, not only think about your generation, but future generations, centuries, centuries. 

“[Rinpoche] saw that some centers build by Hindu temples wanted to be contemporary. The teacher died and all students [fought] each another, all went away and disappeared. It was a fragile temple. So building [your] building, Rinpoche said, you have to think about the whole country and everybody, not just only temporary, not just a few people. That show[s] you have good motivation.

 “So if people [are] just so fragile [that if they] have to go through some difficulties, like have to think about, have to face the burden, or have to face the financial [burden], [if] you are afraid of that, that truly shows you are not courageous for helping other beings. 

“Rinpoche said maybe you can check him as an example. When he left Tibet he barely had shoes or like a cup to drink but he never lost courage to help other beings. And so he worked hard. So, why are we able to have His Holiness come here? And [have] such [a] beautiful ceremony, and everything? He’s not saying that he built everything himself, but he never lost his courage. He never gave up. That is how it happened.

“So he won’t talk too much. Just remember, most of you are students of Khenpo Rinpoche who are traveling that path, and [who] never give up. Just think about that again and again.  

“So once you are ready to go … Amy is helping; and [Rinpoche] will try his best to help, but just don’t rely only on him, because financially he does not have much; he always just give, give, give. But at the same time, he will be very supportive.”

-End-

Transcribed by Cathy Lhamo Jackson; light editing by Cathy Jackson and Lama Kathy Wesley

Lama Kathy’s Dharma Blog: What a Difference Two Years Makes …

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Dear Dharma Friends:

While busily pouring over diagrams and floorplans and samples of tile and brick the other day, someone sent me a message online and reminded me – that day, Jan. 31, was the 2nd anniversary of the fire that destroyed Columbus KTC.

There was a moment, a catch in the throat, an instant of sadness, as the past became the present in a sudden shattering of the linear timeline that we sometimes use to circumscribe our lives. For a moment, there was a pang of sadness. And then the image of the warm red bricks, the soft golden stone, and an inexpressible feeling of the future being at hand.

That’s how it’s been these last few months, as folks send me photos of our happy lives in the “old” KTC and architects and builders show us the future “new life” of the KTC in drawings and photographs. After two years, we are still processing the grief of losing our home so suddenly, but at the same time, there is the tug of the future, a time and place where we will be comfortably “home again.”

Buddhism encourages us to not live in the future or the past, but to always live in the “now” of freshness, where the nature of our mind – free from being a material thing, free from habitual tendencies and clinging – is glowing and empty and present. It’s a reminder that clinging to feelings and emotions needs to give way to a comfortable rest in mind as it is, in the beauty of our unestablished nature – the nature that we all share and that makes us all “children of the Buddha” under the skin.

Accompanying this understanding is love and compassion – for ourselves, still stuck in the grinding mill of our habits, and for others, wincing in samsaric bondage beside us. Remembering to generate love and compassion for ourselves and others helps us to realize the appearance of awakening, even if we haven’t yet manifested that awakening in our minds.

So we work to build a container for our practice, for our human failings and yet also for our human aspirations to be more than we are, to be better, to be uplifted and to see ourselves as children of the Buddha, no matter how things might look to the outside world.

And building a new KTC is creating that container, and brings that blessing into every moment – including moments of indecision about tile and wood and stone.

The KTC Board has worked tirelessly and continuously for two straight years to bring this new building to fruition – the vision that Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche said when he asked us to “not be sad … (but to) rebuild,” and to “make it bigger” and better than before.

So if you see a Board member – Director Kim, or Assistant Directors Tanya and Michelle and Stacey (our glorious tag-team of dharma), or Treasurer Steve and Secretary Justin and Member-at-Large Eric – please give them a hug and a bit of thanks for all they are doing to bring us home again.

Two years is a long time to be without a home, but we have grown so much in those two years – learned about ourselves and each other, about what’s important in community (hint: it’s love, compassion, patience, cooperation, assistance, coffee and donuts, among other things), and about how always looking forward with a core of solid Bodhicitta (the mind of awakening that has compassion at its center) can make miraculous things happen.

Thanks to all of you, dharma friends, for carrying us and seeing us through. We have a little ways to go yet, and not everyone will like the choices of colors and tiles, but we’re working to create a space for practice that will shelter us as we seek our future in this amazing city of Columbus.

May the blessings of your intentions spread throughout the universe!

The Journey Home: Short Notes

  • KTC in Tricycle Magazine: You might have seen that Columbus KTC was featured in the “Meet a Sangha” feature of the online edition of Tricycle Buddhist Magazine. Well, another article is in the works, and if you’re at the KTC this coming weekend for our annual Tibetan New Year (Losar) events, you may meet writer Mary Talbot, who is coming to Columbus KTC from New York to profile us for an upcoming issue of the print edition. She will be attending our Friday Feb. 16 morning events and the Shabbat dinner in the evening, as well as our “Losar Sunday” events and sangha luncheon on Feb. 18. If you see her (or the photographer who will accompany her) please say “hello” and “Happy Losar!”
  • Lama Kathy Birthday Fundraiser – for fun this past week, I signed up for a Facebook fundraiser to raise some of the $7,000 needed for a KTC audio/video/internet system. We raised $2,600! Thanks for all who participated.
  • Also, don’t forget that even if you are short on cash, you can join the “Prayer Team” that is praying for the KTC Rebuilding Project to be a success. Decide on a prayer or mantra you will say for us, and write to me at kmwesley@me.com to let me know what you’re doing for us. Thanks in advance for your help!
  • KTC plans – the latest version of our rebuilding plans are being reviewed now by the Board, and Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche already is picking out decorations for the shrine room. We will share more pictures when they are available.
  • East Franklinton Review Board: The architects and builders working for KTC are almost ready to present the next-generation design for the building to the East Franklinton Review Board for approval. This zoning commission’s approval is the next critical step in the rebuilding process. The group meets March 22; please mark your calendars and keep us in prayers on that day.
  • LOSAR – thanks to all who attended the “three-lama” Mahakala protector puja on Sunday Feb. 11. Lama Wangdu, Lama Tom and myself gathered with our stalwart crew of Mahakala practitioners to thank the awkened protectors for their help in the “old year” and their assistance in the New Year.

Also, please try to remember the old adage that “what you do on Losar is what you will do all year,” and try to do some practice on the Sacred Day of Losar – this Friday Feb. 16. We will be at the KTC from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. that day, chanting the Green Tara sadhana (for the first hour) to clear obstacles for the new year, and will have open practice from 9 to 10 to start the new year off right. If you can join us, that would be wonderful, but even if you can’t join us in person, you can join us in spirit by doing some dharma practice or prayers right where you are. You are always our “Dharma Family” in spirit!

We are sending our beautiful golden “prayer flag” T-shirts to our teacher Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche and all the lamas at KTD Monastery; we’re also sending a card and gift to Khenpo Rinpoche (our founder) to thank him for all he’s given to us ever since founding our center in September 1977. May he have a long life, good health, and ever-expanding dharma activity!

The Journey Home: “Next Generation” Building Designs on View Dec. 12; “Sprint to the Finish Line” Rebuilding Campaign (with Donor Gifts!) through Dec. 31

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From left, Director Kim and Lama Kathy introduce the KTC to Franklinton Community leaders on Oct. 24 at The Idea Foundry

I. Building Community Interest in A Little Meditation Center

As autumn leaves fall, we approach the two-year anniversary of the fire that changed our lives at Columbus KTC.

January 31, 2016 will live in memory – first, as the date when our beloved shrine building was lost; but second, as the date Columbus KTC spilled out of its four walls and flooded Central Ohio with meditation and everyday blessings.

Before the fire, we were a bit shy but working our way out of our shell – our 10 a.m. Sunday meditation drew 5-30 visitors a week, and our Y Family Center dinners for the homeless, our prison project and our booth at the Community Festival let folks know we existed and were open to serve the public with meditation and Buddhist-style love and compassion.

After the fire, we were moved to make new friends outside our usual sphere.

The Sunday of the fire, a local church reached out and offered us a place to conduct our usual Tuesday night Chenrezig sadhana practice. Four days after the fire, we started making friends with local churches and religious groups at a prayer gathering given in our honor by the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio, and within a few weeks we were welcomed by Congregation Tifereth Israel, where we remain today.

Five months later, we expanded our offerings and partnered with Trinity Episcopal Church downtown to offer meditation instruction and practice every Wednesday at 12:15 p.m.; Midday Meditation Wednesdays is still on our calendar – stop by an see us sometime!

We also started reaching out to the local business community, meeting business people in Franklinton and Downtown Columbus to let them know our little meditation center could use their investment and support.

Our Franklinton neighborhood is changing, and it’s exciting for our center to be a part of this revitalization. It’s also great that more and more business people and young professionals are embracing meditation and mindfulness as part of their wellness discipline. So, reaching out to our friends in business seemed like a pretty good idea.

Our founder Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche actually gave us this advice early on: “find and meet friends who own businesses, and ask them to help you,” he said.

Those early contacts gave rise to more contacts, and the effort blossomed last month, when we sponsored a “meet and greet” for two dozen business friends at The Idea Foundry, a maker’s space and business incubator on West State Street in Franklinton.

We showed our new friends the plans for our new building, spoke about our service to the community, and encouraged them to invest in us. Over the next few weeks, we will be following up with them to see if they can donate to our vision of a new meditation center in Franklinton.

With the blessing of His Holiness Karmapa and with the blessing and prayers of Khenpo Rinpoche and the generosity of our own KTC members, we are getting closer to making our center a reality.

What’s next???

From Left: Bill Jones of Centerpoint; Lama Kathy; Director Kim; Treasurer Steve; and Architect Pete Macrae.

II. Our Building Plans: Updates, Upgrades and a Return to City for Review

This summer, our rebuilding project moved closer to reality when Centerpoint Construction of Columbus, led by principal engineer Bill Jones, came on board to help us.

Our beautiful initial plans (created by Wisconsin architect Keith Spruce with input and encouragement from the entire sangha) were then handed to a new team of architects, Pete Macrae and Peter Lenz.

“Peter and Pete” then began studying our vacant land at the corner of Rich and Grubb streets and made an in-depth analysis of City of Columbus Zoning and Building Codes to refine our plans and meet all local code requirements.

You’ll see the results of their work very soon, as we’re inviting the entire sangha to “Meet the Team” at a Sangha Meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday Dec. 12 at the KTC meditation space at Tifereth Israel.

Some highlights of their report include plans to provide more storage space and light in the main shrine room, an elevator and ramp to help make the center more accessible, a larger kitchen, and more downstairs storage space.

Once the designs are finished, we need to re-submit them to the East Franklinton Review Board for final approval. The EFRB already approved our initial plans, so we have a bit of a head start on the approval process.

Then, it’s on to the final planning phase – creation of construction documents. If all goes well, we will have a formal land blessing and consecration in the spring, and shovels will go into the ground soon after that. If all goes well, we could be in our new home at this time next year!

And should you ask, “how can we help?” Well…

III. A Sprint toward the Finish Line: KTC Fundraising Enters a New Phase!

The KTC Rebuilding project continues to excite and inspire people, both in our local sangha and in dharma centers around the world.

Ever since His Holiness the 17 th Gyalwang Karmapa personally gave our project his prayers and blessings when we met him in June and July, we’ve made good progress on our $1.4 million initial construction goal.

By the time we opened our Sangha Pledge Drive on July 31, we’d received almost $900,000 in insurance and fundraising proceeds, leaving about $513,000 to raise.

Then, the Hummingbird Fund of Christina and Jim Grote blessed us with a $100,000 challenge grant. If we could raise $100,000 they would match the cash and pledges dollar for dollar up to a total of $100,000!

Filled with the wish to benefit beings, and inspired by the Hummingbird Fund challenge grant, our KTC sangha members answered the call and generously pledged more than $20,000 in just a few weeks!

Since then, more than half of our community has pledged, and many will be receiving Donor Gifts (see below!) for pledging $700 or more. The generosity of our little group has warmed our hearts!

We’ve also been amazed by the folks who have pitched in to help our little sangha reach its goal: our founder Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche; his many Asian students, the Ocean of Merit donor group; KTC centers; grant writers; and now local business people and community leaders.

We’re building quite a team, and that team is going to help us meet our goal.

Now that we have a team, we’re going to encourage all of them to help us make A Sprint Toward the Finish Line between now and Dec. 31, 2017.

As our teachers have told us, helping build a dharma center provides immense merit, as thousands of people see, interact and are inspired by the dharma represented by our new center. The benefit of this virtue accrues both to those who give as well as those who rejoice in the giving. So, no matter how you participate, you have a chance to benefit all sentient beings.

But if you’d like to help out with our “Sprint Toward the Finish Line,” here are some great reasons for you (and perhaps your family, or your friends) to give between now and Dec. 31.

This Is a Great Time to Give, Part 1: Matching Grant Doubles Your Gift!
As mentioned above, Christina and Jim Grote have confidence in Khenpo Rinpoche’s vision and KTC’s plans, and have offered to match any pledge or gift made up to $100,000. Giving between now and Dec. 31 helps us meet the match, and can give some folks an end-of-the-year tax advantage, too.

This Is a Great Time to Give, Part 2: Donor Gifts ONLY from Now to Dec. 31!
Our friends at the Ocean of Merit donor group in Asia and the United States have been incredibly generous during our initial construction fundraiser, giving us more than $170,000 in donations.

But they also are offering DONOR GIFTS to anyone who donates (or pledges and makes their first pledge payment) by Dec. 31, 2017.

  • $700 donation receives a 108-bead green sandalwood mala blessed by His Holiness Karmapa
  • $1,000 donation receives a 4-inch Guru Rinpoche statue
  • $1,500 donation receives a 4-inch statue of Guru Rinpoche AND a pendant prayer wheel
  • $2,000 donation receives a fine wood hand-held prayer wheel
  • $2,500 donation receives a 12-inch Guru Rinpoche statue

Donations and pledges (along with first pledge payment) MUST be received by 12 midnight on Dec. 31, 2017 to qualify for Donor Gifts. As gifts are being shipped from Asia, allow up to three months for delivery.

This Is a Great Time to Give, Part 3: Three-Year Payment Plan Makes It Easy!
If you pledge by Dec. 31, you will have three years (until Dec. 31, 2020) to make your payments. Giving becomes easy when your gift-giving comes in small monthly payments.

All gifts are tax-deductible, and will be acknowledged with a thank-you card and/or receipt.

To donate, please click here, and/or contact treasurer Steve Phallen at treasurer@columbusktc.org.

Short on Funds, but Want to Participate? Join the Prayer Team!

We’re also looking for people to join our Prayer Team. If you would like to join, write to me at kmwesley@me.com and I’ll send you a lovely 8 ½ by 11 copy of the Tashi Prayer.

Also known as the Prayer of the Eight Noble Auspicious Ones, the Tashi Prayer – in which the names of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are chanted as a means of invoking their presence, inspiration and support – helps bring auspiciousness to any endeavor.

If you can chant the Tashi Prayer for us daily, you can help clear away obstacles to the rebuilding and help our transition to our new home becomes smoother and more full of blessing. It takes about 3 minutes to recite (either in Tibetan or English) and will be

However you choose to help, know that we are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers and are holding you with gratitude!!! May this project bring long lives to our spiritual teachers and benefit to all the sangha and sentient beings, far and wide!

Donor Gifts:

Lama Kathy’s Dharma Blog: Walking Each Other Home

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A friend of mine has a photograph of herself on a wall at her home marking her completion of her first-ever marathon race.

You’d think the image would be triumphant: a photo her smiling as she crossed the finish line; a photo in which she is cheered on by friends and supporters; or being doused with champagne to celebrate a race well-run.

But no; the image is of her lying sprawled out flat on the ground in her T-shirt and jogging shorts, in the shadow of a concerned onlooker worried for her safety.

At first I didn’t know what to make of this image; why did she feel such an affinity for it? Why did she display it so proudly? One would think embarrassment over having collapsed after crossing the finish line – even after accomplishing a 26.3-mile run – would overcome any sense of triumph she might have felt.

But it wasn’t the appearance that was being celebrated: it was the accomplishment itself, pure and unadulterated by ideas of what it was “supposed” to look like.

We can feel that way sometimes when we’ve undertaken any large task; we can hang back, worried about looking ragged and imperfect, fearful of mistakes or even failure. A giant task may seem too difficult for one person to handle, and it may make us feel alone and overwhelmed.

But this is where sangha, or community comes in. We can help each other forward, just by being mindful and aware – and willing to reach out, even if we don’t exactly know what to do.

The Columbus KTC is roughly half-way through its journey to find a new home. We’ve gotten through the basic building design, received provisional city permission and raised about $1 million, but now we have to complete our designs, permission and raise another $500,000.

This might feel a bit discouraging, especially since there’s so far yet to go. But what an amazing journey it has been, and what amazing friendships we have made along the way.

This past week about 25-30 local business people gathered at The Idea Foundry in Franklinton to look at KTC’s plans and hear our request for them to consider investing in our project – to help us create “a sanctuary of kindness in the center of the city.”

We spoke about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation, and encouraged them to think of us as a partner for wellness in the community. We told them about the $100,000 challenge grant from the Hummingbird Fund of Jim and Christina Grote, and asked them to consider helping us meet that match. We fed them and thanked them for their interest. We promised to call them back soon to check on their availability to help us.

In the usual insular world of local spiritual life, this might not have been possible – but these were unusual times, and KTC founder Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche encouraged us to reach out. “Find people with means and ask them to help you,” he said. So we invited 180 community leaders to a reception and asked them to assist.

This is how communities can grow and connect. We were so excited to meet them, and they were so excited to meet us. The dharma works in mysterious ways, and we hope to learn more about this soon.

But even if they cannot help us in tangible ways, they can help us with love and encouragement – and by introducing us to others who can help.

Meanwhile, at the KTC, we are heading into the winter season and will be hosting Lama Lodro Lhamo from KTD Monastery the second weekend in November. If you can help with the program – transporting cushions to First Community Church for our Friday night/Saturday sojourn there (Nov. 10 and 11) or helping set up and clean up at Tifereth on Nov. 12 – please contact KTC Director Kim Miracle at director@columbusktc.org.

And if you are visiting the KTC any given Sunday, and see people struggling to carry cushions and folding puja tables to and from the 10 a.m. Sunday pujas in the Nursery (off the atrium , where our Welcome Desk is located), please help them carry cushions and tables. And if you see lost folks with KTC badges on, greet them and help them get where they are going. And if you see a person looking down and forlorn, say a gentle hello and make them feel welcome.

As Ram Dass, the American Hindu teacher once said, “We’re all just walking each other home.” When we use the mindfulness we gain from meditation to notice the needs of other people and reach out to help them – or when we look up from our own struggle to take on a task all by ourselves and see others in the vicinity, and reach out and ask them to help us – we get a little closer to each other, and get a little closer to the “family feeling” that helps make Columbus KTC the most welcoming and warm Buddhist sangha in the city.

Our leadership team – Director Kim, Assistant Director Michelle, Treasurer Steve, Secretary Justin, and At-Large Member Eric – have been nothing short of remarkable, taking on so many tasks to keep the center open and flourishing while planning all the technical details of our new building. They are my heroes, and I ask that you continue saying the Tashi Prayer for them and the great work they are doing to bring us home again. They have taken on this work without pay and sometimes without a lot of sleep – along with taking care of their families and working full-time jobs – and are deserving of hugs and whatever good vibes that we can send their way.

It’s been a long road, and we have another year or more to go. When we finally trudge into our new dharma center in 2018, carrying a heavy load of cushions or books or furniture, we may be tired, and we may feel like collapsing in a heap in the center of the shrine room – but the accomplishment, the happiness of being home again – will certainly be worth it.

May all beings benefit from your work in the dharma, and your practice of meditation!

Tashi Prayer

Lama Kathy’s Dharma Blog: Refuge Names

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Seeing It Makes You Smile: Setting Folks on the Dharma Path

It’s one of the most enjoyable parts of my job: sitting in my easy chair, light coming through the front window, writing in ballpoint pen on little booklets the names for an upcoming Refuge Vow Ceremony.

The curls and squiggles of Tibetan script still challenge me; I’m sure I write with the same American accent I use when I try to say a few words of my adopted liturgical language. There’s a secret fear in the bottom of my stomach, that a Tibetan lama someday will see my scribbling and “tsk” and chuckle quietly to herself about my atrocious penmanship.

Folks ask how I choose Refuge Names – those combinations of words, preceded by the name “Karma” to indicate the recipients as part of the spiritual family of Karmapa – that are given out near the conclusion of a Refuge Vow-Taking Ceremony.

Great lamas can size up the spiritual qualities of disciples and name them perfectly on the spot; folks like me rely on the beauty of synchronicity, choosing names from a list and letting karma guide my hand in choosing the name as the candidate approaches my seat.

The ceremony of taking the Refuge Vow is 2,500 years old, and the lineage of the vow is unbroken since that time. Since the historical Buddha Shakyamuni began accepting those who wish to “take refuge” from the sufferings of samsara by placing their reliance on the Buddha as teacher, the dharma as path and the sangha as community, the vow has been handed down, generation after generation – across the lines of country, nation, gender, species, time and space.

Each generation has held the vow close to their hearts and then passed it along, in a living lineage that carries with it the same power and blessing as it did when the first Founder of our faith, the Buddha, gave it to his disciples.

So when we receive the Vow of Refuge, we receive a core of inner strength, a core of remembrance of our powerful, hidden, beginningless and endless Buddha nature, that can reassure us in difficult times and propel us down the path toward letting go of the causes of suffering and embracing the causes of happiness.

At the end of the road – the fulfillment of the goal set by the vow – is the complete liberation from suffering called Buddhahood, enlightenment, or awakening. The vow is the entry to that path, a beginning without an end, a mystery of intention that crosses lifetimes and leads us to benefit others endlessly.

All of that is contained in these little names, these “Tenzins” and “Sangyes” and “Lhamos” (“Holders of the Teachings,” “Awakened One,” and “Goddess”) and dozens more like them. The names are a shorthand for what has always been within us, the Buddha Nature, the mind that has the potential to see its own inner nature and awaken to perfect wisdom and joy.

And the hope is that those receiving those names will take the inspiration held within them and ride it like a breath of fresh wind, moving ever closer to ultimate peace.

So, even though I chuckle to myself sometimes, and fear that I’m jumbling the names rather than making them clear, I know that at some level they will take hold of the people who receive them, and those names will travel with them into the future – when they will use them to the ultimate benefit of all.


The Journey Home

This week’s episode of The Journey Home: Columbus KTC Rebuilds Its Temple, involves lights, cameras, and action at the home of KTC Member at Large, Eric Weinberg.

In the coming months, Eric and the other members of our hard-working Columbus KTC Board – Director Kim Miracle, Assistant Director Michelle Evans, Treasurer Steve Phallen, Secretary Justin Fitch – will be unveiling a new Rebuilding Campaign goal and the latest copies of the plans for our new building.

Those drawings you see on display in the basement of Congregation Tifereth Israel are the “first drafts” of our new temple; Columbus-based architects Peter Lenz and Pete Macrae are working on “KTC Rebuilding 2.0” and will have something for us to see in a couple of months.

Until then, it’s all fundraising, all the time. Our first online auction netted $13,000 in donations, and recently, we had fundraisers with martial arts luminary Stephen K. Hayes and a booth at the 10th Annual Independents’ Day arts festival on Washington Boulevard in Franklinton.

Along with that, we’re working on a short film (just a few minutes long) that will introduce the project to a wider general audience. And for that, you need someone with a camera, lights, and experience.

As luck would have it, Ryan Sweeney, Eric Weinberg’s neighbor, has all of these, and this past week a group of us met to be interviewed on camera for the film.

You won’t see the results until late October, but we’re confident that it will help you and your friends learn more about KTC and what we do to make Columbus a great and mindful place.

May all beings benefit!

Lama Kathy’s Dharma Blog: Family Around the Table

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Looking around the social hall at Tifereth Israel, seeing all the smiling faces gathered at the big tables, I felt as though I were at a family reunion, a family dinner.

More than 80 people were enjoying lunch and talking about old times – how they came to Columbus Karma Thegsum Chöling, what benefits they gained from coming there, why they stayed – or why they came back.

I was reminded of another gathering, many years before, in the living room shrine hall at the home of Jerry and Kay Adams in suburban Linworth, just north of Columbus, where a group of about 15 dharma students crammed into the shrine room to bid farewell to the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa.

Sitting on the throne (covered in cloths sewn by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche – the same ones we had in our old building on Grubb Street), His Holiness looked out over the tiny crowd, and made a prediction.

“It’s funny,” he said. “In most places I go, [other dharma centers] are much bigger than the KTC centers,” he said. “But here, the KTC is bigger. This is good. In the future, the KTC here will be a really large center.”

That was 1980. Now, many years later, we are celebrating our 40th Anniversary, and, looking over that room full of people who love KTC and its mission, I feel as though His Holiness’ words are coming true.

The 40th Anniversary Celebration commemorated the founding of Columbus KTC in September 1977 by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. We invited friends past and present to have lunch and share their stories about the KTC and what it’s meant to them.

During the lunch, we showed a beautiful slide show prepared by KTC Director Kim Miracle, and heard from several early KTC members – Art Chambers and Winie Wirth, among them – and from Eric Weinberg, a more recent member and KTC Board volunteer.

Art shared his feeling of “being home” when he attended a Chenrezig chant back in the late 1970s, and Winie spoke about how KTC was instrumental in the creation of a network of Columbus Buddhist centers. Eric shared how he met KTC through the visit of His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche (the guru of His Holiness the 17th Karmapa) at Columbus KTC in 1994, and how he returned years later to receive teachings and connect deeply with the dharma.

All spoke about how the KTC’s warmth and friendliness made them feel welcome, and how our education and practice programs “brought them up” in Buddhism.

We also heard about the amazing work being done since an arson fire destroyed the KTC building on Grubb Street in January 2016 and how the KTC is getting ready to rebuild a new center on the site of the old one at Grubb and Rich streets in Columbus’ Franklinton Neighborhood on the Near West Side.

Director Kim explained the process of surveying the sangha for ideas about the new building, conversations with our first architect, Keith Spruce of Wisconsin, and how we got permission from the City of Columbus’ East Franklinton Review Board to rebuild on our old site.

We also discussed the hiring of our contractors, Centerpoint Construction, and our new architects, Peter Lenz and Pete Macrae, and the timeline for both fundraising and completion of the project.

We will see the first drawings from our new architects later this fall, and start getting more information about the materials and methods that will be used to give us a brand-new center.

Meanwhile, we’re working with a goal of $1.4 million for the building, architecture, and basic furnishings (tables, chairs, etc.). Of that, we have raised $887,000, which includes our insurance settlement. That leaves $513,000 to raise.

We reviewed ongoing fundraising efforts, and announced a “challenge matching grant” from the Hummingbird Fund of the Columbus Foundation.

Hummingbird Fund representative Christina Grote then spoke, talking about her connections with KTC going back into the center’s earliest days, and about how she and her husband Jim Grote believe in the mission of the center and want to inspire others to give to help us rebuild.

Their foundation will match gifts given to KTC up to a total of $100,000. What an amazing start to our campaign!

During the 40th Anniversary lunch, folks had an opportunity to pledge funds toward the matching grant. By the end of the event, those in attendance had given (or pledged!) $31,416 for the campaign. They received gold Karmapa pins and entries in a drawing; Rose Spencer won the top prize, a beautiful cast metal statue of the Buddha.

Even after the event, people lingered behind to share stories and fellowship; the dharma family filled that hall with love, and the love is giving us all the strength we need for this amazing Journey Home.

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche on His Wish for Columbus KTC [archiveorg CKTCKhenpoFinal2 width=640 height=480 frameborder=0 webkitallowfullscreen=true mozallowfullscreen=true]

Columbus KTC 40th Anniversary Luncheon Program Presentation

So Many Ways to Give!

Not everyone was able to attend our 40th Anniversary Celebration. If you’d like to participate in the project, there are lots of ways to help.

Lama Kathy Dharma Blog: Face to Face with Stunning Beauty

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The look on her face was nothing short of enchanting; she seemed to chase away all cares with that look of confidence and grace. Holding the vajra in her hand, she seemed to be indicating the nearness of compassion and truth; once one began looking at her, it was hard to look away.

But then I had to hand her over to the photographer, and our moment together was at an end.

It felt like that over and over again some weeks back, when a crew of merry volunteers from Columbus KTC crawled all over the home of Kim and Bill Miracle on the Far East Side, cataloguing, photographing and carefully weighing and measuring dozens of beautiful statues, paintings and art pieces donated to the center.

The fruits of their labors can be seen this week on the auction site eBay, where Columbus KTC has been holding its first-ever Charity Auction to benefit the Columbus KTC Rebuilding Fund.

The Charity Action ends late Thursday evening/early Friday morning (see eBay listings for exact time), and can be found here.

Here is how we came to have this wonderful event.

After our home in an old church building on Grubb Street in Franklinton was destroyed by fire in January 2016, gifts of all sorts flooded into Kim’s home. As the Director of the KTC, she heads up the effort to rebuild, and the gifts were seen as tokens of hope by people who knew we’d lost not quite half or our statues and virtually all of our sacred paintings in the fire. (In fact, just one little thangka scroll painting survived, because it had been taken off display and was stored rolled-up in the library. Auspiciously, it was a painting of Green Tara, the compassionate feminine bodhisattva who removes obstacles.)

As we looked at the bounty, we were touched, but unsure how to honor the gifts we had been given. Should we keep them? If so, where would we keep them? Should we display them? What was the best way to make use of the beautiful gifts?

As we were mulling over these questions, our spiritual guide Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche sent us a message: we didn’t need to worry about getting new statues for the shrine in our new building – he himself was going to provide us with all new statues and paintings for our shrine. It was such exciting news; we were overcome with joy.

This also gave us an answer as to what we could do with our gifts; we could turn them into steel frames and wallboard for our new building!

So we saved aside some pieces to use in our future library shrine, and prepared the rest for listing on eBay.

You can see the beautiful thangka of the wisdom Bodhisattva Prajnaparamita I described in my first paragraph (it’s Item 64 in the auction) as well as door curtains, malas, and other wonderful items that can beautify your shrine room and home. Some are blessed and consecrated, and will bring great blessing wherever they are displayed. And through purchasing them you will be supporting the floorboards and library shelves and kitchen appliances in a brand-new KTC.

Some items are just $5; others go much higher. But what is most important is that the circle of love started by the donors will be completed when the purchasers when they install them in their shrine rooms and homes.

The love being directed toward Columbus KTC since our tragedy has been astonishing; it has filled the halls of our temporary meeting space at Congregation Tifereth Israel and filled our hearts, as well. Because we believe in the power of karma and the power of our donors’ pure intentions, we know that all will be filled with merit and virtue in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. You are our family in the dharma, and we treasure you all!

HELP the KTC – join in and share the auction with interested family and friends this week by clicking here. Thank you and may all beings benefit.