Columbus Karma Thegsum Chöling

Mala-making Workshop: Create Buddhist Prayer Beads!
2026-03-28 10:00 - 13:00 (America/Detroit) | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
Using natural materials and the blessing of mantra, we will make a traditional Tibetan rosary (mala) to take home for our mantra practice, or to donate to KTC’s bookstore.
Lama Kathy will explain the history and traditions behind mala-making, while mala maker Matthew McKittrick, assisted by Kate Hawthorne, teaches basic bead-threading and knotting techniques to keep your mala together and useful!
This three-hour experience will bring you closer to the practice of mantra and your spiritual center, while making a mala you can take with you and use at home.
Have a mala that needs restringing ? Bring your mala with you, or contact Lama Kathy at lamakathy@columbusktc.org for instructions on how to convey your mala to KTC for restringing.
Already have a mala? Help out Columbus KTC by making a Mala for us to offer in our bookstore.
The donation requested for the class will help us with material purchases. Mala stringing kits available for a $5 donation. Donations over the cost of materials will benefit KTC’s Operations Fund.
Attendance is limited to 35, so we have enough mala-making kits for everyone. Thanks in advance for your understanding!
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE FINANCIAL MEANS to attend, please contact the organizer at kmwesley@me.com and you will be registered at no cost.
Can’t attend but want to help KTC’s Operations Fund? Hop over to our KTC donations page at this link: https://www.columbusktc.org/donate/

Register here

Midday Meditation
2026-03-25 12:15 - 13:30, 2026-03-18 12:15 - 13:30, 2026-03-11 12:15 - 13:30, 2026-03-04 12:15 - 13:30, 2026-02-25 12:15 - 13:30, 2026-02-18 12:15 - 13:30 | Zoom Meeting
Virtual Midday Meditation occurs each Wednesday afternoon from 12:15-1:30.
See the Virtual Shrine Room for the most recent Zoom link.

Chenrezig Chant
2026-03-24 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-03-17 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-03-10 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-03-03 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-02-24 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-02-17 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Meeting
Virtual Chenrezig Chant occurs weekly on Tuesday evenings.
See the Virtual Shrine Room for the most recent Zoom link.

Sunday Dharma Programs (Hybrid)
2026-03-22 08:00 - 12:30, 2026-03-15 08:00 - 12:30, 2026-03-08 08:00 - 12:30, 2026-03-01 08:00 - 12:30, 2026-02-22 08:00 - 12:30 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
After six years of waiting – after an arson fire moved us into borrowed spaces for four years, and a pandemic kept us from meeting in person for two years more – Columbus KTC opened its new location on Sunday March 20, 2022!
Although we’re returning to in-person programs, we will still be serving our Zoom and livestream audiences. So you might see signs in the Classroom and Shrine Room reminding you that by entering the room, you agree to be seen on camera for the folks watching from home.
You can find the full schedule for the current week and instructions to join our online sessions in our virtual shrine room.

To help support these virtual programs and other activities sponsored by Columbus KTC, please consider making a donation.

KTC Kids Class
2026-03-15 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-03-01 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-02-15 11:30 - 12:30 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
Thanks to the work of a dedicated core of volunteers, the KTC Children’s Class started with smiles and applause in October 2023.

Meeting in the Children’s Room on the lower level of the KTC from 11:30 to 12:30 on the First and Third Sundays of the month, youths ages 5-10 practice meditation together, hear stories told by the Buddha about virtuous actions (called Jataka Tales), do yoga poses, make crafts, play games and light candles on the special Youth Shrine and pray for those in need.

Activities are aimed at younger children, but those up to age 12 are welcome to attend.

Please register your child ahead of time through our Eventbrite link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/…/ktc-childrens-program…

Questions or interested in volunteering? Please email kids@columbusktc.org.

Shamatha Retreat
2026-03-14 09:30 - 14:30 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
Mindfulness Meditation is our foundation as practicing Buddhists. By practicing basic quiet sitting meditation (called Shamatha in Sanskrit), we develop more awareness of our thoughts and motivations. As a result, an innate gentleness toward ourselves and others emerges.
Extended periods of shamatha meditation help us deepen our practice by giving us a chance to work with thoughts, distractions, and resistance that may not come up in shorter meditation sessions.
Lama Tom Broadwater will present brief talks prior to the morning and afternoon portions of this event. During the retreat, Lama Tom will also be available for interviews with participants who would like to discuss their practice.
Chuck Drake will act as umdze.
The program will be offered in-person only at KTC. Those attending should bring a vegetarian sack lunch. Water, coffee, and tea will be provided.
To promote a mindful atmosphere, Functional Talking (i.e., only for essential quick communication) will be strongly encouraged.
If you’d like to attend only part of this retreat, you are welcome to do so. When you arrive, quietly join the retreatants in the shrine room.
ABOUT LAMA TOM
Lama Tom Broadwater became a student of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche in1999. He completed a 3 year retreat in 2012. He currently serves as an Associate Lama at Columbus Karma Thegsum Chöling Buddhist Meditation Center in Columbus OH. Coal miner 4 years. Social worker and social administrator 35 years. Married 45 years. Father of two daughters and 3 grandchildren.
ABOUT CHUCK DRAKE
Chuck Drake is a meditation instructor for Columbus KTC though he now spends most of his time serving as KTC’s administrative Director. Chuck took refuge with Khenpo Karthar in 1981 and, in 1988, he attended a summer-long Buddhist seminary at Rocky Mountain Dharma Center in Colorado. Chuck started attending Columbus KTC regularly in 2012. He has also served as Treasurer and Assistant Director. Chuck is married to Mylynda Drake. Except for his KTC duties, he is now retired.

Register here

Chötrul Duchen Sacred Day Prayer Service
2026-03-03 09:30 - 10:30 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
The two-week observance of “The Waxing Moon of Miracles,” which begins with Losar (the day after the New Moon), concludes with Chötrul Duchen (the Great Occasion of the Buddha’s Miracles) on March 3- the Full Moon in the First Month of the Lunar Year. Virtuous acts done during this time are multiplied many thousand-fold because of its connection with events in the life of the historical Buddha.
At KTC, we will celebrate Chötrul Duchen with a morning session of prayer.
It is said that the positive effects of dharma practice on the Great Occasions are multiplied many hundreds of times, so this is an ideal time to be with your Dharma family for practice.
As aspirations made on this day are said to be more powerful because of the blessing of the holiday, our prayer session will include recitations of English-language prayers connecting our aspirations with those of great masters of the past.
One of the prayers we will recite will be the Lamp Offering Prayers; if you are participating from home, feel welcome to bring an electric candle or regular candle with you to the Zoom session.
Prayers will include:

Tashi Prayer
Refuge and Bodhicitta prayers
Lamp Offering Prayers
Praise of the 12 Deeds of the Buddha
Aspiration of Maitreya
Dedications

Compassion at the Time of Death: A Workshop
2026-02-28 10:00 - 15:00 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
Our mind is central to our experience of life and death, so it makes sense to nurture our minds to experience more wakefulness and love.
In his book, “The Great Path of Awakening” Jargon Kontrul teaches that facing death with courage, compassion, and wisdom transforms the dying experience.
By embracing impermanence, practicing kindness, and nurturing awareness, we approach death not as an end but as part of the ongoing journey of the mind.
Jamgon Kongtrul’s teachings help us move beyond fear and sorrow, inviting us to live and die with grace, presence, and compassion.
Thoughts of death can encourage a grateful attitude toward the preciousness of life and ignite a desire for a nurturing practice of mindfulness.
In the morning of retreat, we will discuss Jamgon Kongtrul’s teachings on the “5 powers” (five strategies for cultivating a successful spiritual practice) and show how they can also be important preparatory tools for facing the end of life.
In the afternoon, we will use these same teachings to guide us on an imaginary journey through our own dying process.
We will also hear inspiring and practical advice from Chaplain Cathy Lhamo Jackson, who has prayed at the bedsides of the dying for more than a decade. Her experiences will help us see another side of illness and change.
We will end the retreat with a discussion and debriefing, with an eye toward applying these teachings in our daily lives.
Please bring a vegetarian sack lunch.
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About Lama Tom
Lama Tom Broadwater became a student of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche in1999. He completed a 3 year retreat in 2012. He currently serves as an Associate Lama at Columbus Karma Thegsum Chöling Buddhist Meditation Center in Columbus OH. Coal miner 4 years. Social worker and social administrator 35 years. Married 45 years. Father of two daughters and 3 grandchildren.
About Chaplain Cathy Jackson
Chaplain Cathy Lhamo has been a student of dharma and Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche since the 1980s. She currently serves the KTC community as a senior meditation instructor. She works as a Buddhist hospital chaplain at a Columbus medical center.
Register here

Losar Sunday Program
2026-02-22 11:30 - 12:30 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
KTC Welcomes the Year of the Horse
After celebrating the Gregorian calendar New Year on Jan. 1, Columbus KTC is observing the Tibetan New Year (Losar) on Wednesday Feb. 18..
As the “old year” comes to a close, it is a Tibetan cultural tradition to clean one’s shrine and home in preparation for the “new year.”
In that same way, it is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition to purify one’s thoughts and mindstream in the days before Losar (New Year) to bless and release the old year and prepare for the new year ahead.
At Columbus KTC, we will gather as a community for three special pujas before Losar to bless and purify the old year and make offerings toward goodness and auspiciousness in the new year.
Then, on Losar morning, we will offer lamps and recite prayers to bless ourselves and the community and start the new year with auspicious energy and blessings.
The first two weeks of Losar coincide each year with the Great Occasion of the Buddha’s Performance of Miracles (Chötrul Duchen, in Tibetan), one of four Sacred Days on the Karma Kagyu tradition’s yearly calendar. This means that the benefit and blessing of any practice we do during this “Waxing Moon of Miracles” (sometimes called “The Month of Miracles”) is multiplied millions of times.
We hope you can join us for these programs, some of which will be webcast on Zoom.
Pre-registration is not needed for these events. Hope to see you there!
As our Tibetan friends say, “Losar Tashi Delek!” (Auspicious New Year!)

Saturday Sadhana Class: Chenrezig
2026-02-21 09:00 - 12:00 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
Mantra meditation is one of the easiest and most accessible practices of Tibetan Buddhism.
Visualizing oneself as a Buddha or bodhisattva while reciting a mantra and making aspirations for the benefit of beings is a powerful way to connect to our own inner goodness and send love, compassion and wisdom to other beings.
This workshop will cover the Chenrezig (Bodhisattva of Compassion) mantra practice. It will be led by KTC Senior Meditation Instructor Cathy Lhamo Jackson
Topics covered will include the history of the sadhana, the principles of mantra meditation, and step-by-step instructions on how to learn and benefit from Tibetan Buddhist visualization meditation.
Practitioners of all experience levels are welcome to attend. There are no special prerequisites for this class. Students will receive links to download a PDF of a short Chenrezig chant practice and a PDF of a teaching outline for the class.
ABOUT TICKETS: Attendance is by donation. You can donate any amount you wish – even as little as $1. It is all appreciated!
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE financial means, or have difficulty registering online, please write lamakathy@columbusktc.org and she will register you at no cost.
Students must have an internet connection, email capability, and download the Zoom application in order to attend. Zoom software is available here: https://zoom.us
Can’t attend but want to help KTC’s Operations Fund?
Hop over to our KTC donations page at this link: https://columbusktc.org/donate/
Link to download the Short Chenrezig sadhana
http://www.lamakathy.net/resources/pdf/chenrezik_short.pdf
Link to download the Long Chenrezig sadhana:
https://columbusktc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/KTD-chenrezik-amitabha.pdf
Outline for the class:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ocl74fxg0nw4ba/ChenrezigOutline.edited.pdf?dl=0

Register here

Stupa Offering Ceremony
2026-02-18 11:45 - 12:05 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States

Losar Morning Chants
2026-02-18 09:30 - 11:30 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States

Pre-Losar Smoke/Incense Offering, Chenrezig Puja and Chod Puja
2026-02-17 18:30 - 20:45 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States

Pre-Losar Mahakala Protector Puja
2026-02-15 13:15 - 14:30 | Columbus KTC, 645 W. Rich St., Columbus, OH, 43215, United States
