About the Aurora Sangha
Located in the southern suburbs of Aurora Colorado. Bill & Kelly
O'Brien have hosted weekly meditation sessions and have hosted several
important lineage masters from the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages for the
past 6 years.
Khenchen Gyaltsen
Rinpoche endorsed and encouraged Bill and Kelly to open their home a a
place of practice from the lineage of the Drikung Kagyu in 2001. Bill and Kelly have been practicing Buddhism
combined nearly 20 years. The Aurora meditation group is a small group
made up of people from all walks of life and ages. We regularly invite
lama's to the Aurora to teach in our home. This provides a very unique
opportunity for persons to meet, share a meal and have a casual
conversation with some of today's most recognized teachers of the
Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In the past 4 years we've invited the
following teachers: Minam RInpoche,
H.H. Dorje Lopen, Khachab Rinpoche, Loppon Rechungpa, Anyen Rinpoche and
Lama Sonam.
Our focus to create an educational environment
suitable for the common householder and lay practitioner. A couple
times a year we host an introduction to Buddhism program. The
programs are suitable to for people with no experience and perhaps
have only read about Buddhism and those wishing to deepen their
practice.
The Boulder and Aurora sangha work as a family and
we coordinate and host teachers with each others help. The Boulder
sangha offers weekly mediation sessions and those wishing to become
familiar with practices and practice with others on regular basis
are encouraged to visit the Boulder community hosted by Mark
Steiner.
Anyen Rinpoche, Choying and Tsomo
Tradition and Lineage of Practice
The Aurora sangha practices out of the Vajrayana tradition commonly
practiced within Tibet. There are 3 main turnings of the wheel of
dharma and Vajrayana is the third and sometimes known and mantrayana
or Tantra. From the Tibet there rose 4 main schools or
lineages. First was the Nyingma, then the Kagyu, then the Sakya and
finally the Gelug. Bill and Kelly have received teachings and
transmissions from teachers of all 4 schools. We focus our
practices from the first two lineages, Nyingma and Kagyu. Both these
traditions have a rich history of passing an authentic unbroken
lineage from teacher to student, dating back to Shakyamuni Buddha.
The Aurora sangha is part of the Colorado Ratnashri
Sangha which is a collection of small meditation groups based out of
peoples homes. One of the most important scholars and teachers
within the Drikung Kagyu lineage acts as the Spiritual Director for
all the meditation groups, Venerable Khenchen Gyaltsen Rinpoche.
Everyone is welcome, with or without experience. We try to provide a relaxed atmosphere
suitable for meditation and those interested in expanding their knowledge and experience of Buddhism and meditation.
There is never any commitment or fees for the regular practice sessions.
The Colorado sangha hosts various Drikung Kagyu lamas and teachers from other
lineages throughout the year, this site will have the latest on
scheduled events.
Two great rime scholars and yogi's,
Yonge
Khachab Rinpoche &
Anyen
Rinpoche often teach here focusing on loving-compassion, Tantra & Dzogchen.
Practice Director
Bill O'Brien is the director of the Aurora Community or Sangha. Mr. O'Brien
works as an engineer for major
telecommunications company in Denver. Bill has been practicing Buddhism for
more than 15 years and has been meditating for more than 20 years.
He has received teachings from scholars and yogis in all 4 major Tibetan
traditions, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug as well as Zen. His root lama is H.E.
Garchen Rinpoche and has received many transmission and practices
from both the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions from the Drikung
& Karma Kagyu, Nyingma school. He is also the Co-founder of
Dharma-Media.org a Buddhist archive dedicated to the digital
preservation of the oral and graphic traditions of all Buddhist
traditions.
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Thus, by gaining power over the becoming very skilled in the dependant origination of the collections of causes for the entirety of cyclic existence and nirvana, compassion for the assembly of sentient beings who do not realize this in the same way wells up unbearably. [However] at this point there is nothing to be observed as either oneself or sentient beings. To the same extent that great compassion increases, also this very [realization] that, primordially, nothing can be observed as sentient beings, what is not sentient beings, suffering, happiness, and so on grows and increases. This is the ultimate seeing that is like the orb of the sun. When it becomes stable and increases in such a way, great compassion - which is like the light rays of the sun - will grow even more than before. [Beings with such realization] do not behold sentient beings, but great compassion still flowers in them. They do no behold themselves either, but they will lend their support to all sentient beings. They do not behold anything to be attained whatsoever, but they still establish beings in a great enlightenment. Just as there is no place whatsoever to go to beyond space, they do not behold anybody who would go somewhere beyond, but they will display [the activity of] liberating sentient beings from cyclic existence.....
Hence, just as skillful physicians exert themselves for the sake of the diseased, one makes one-pointed efforts for the sake of those who are ignorant since beginingless time because of various [ways of] having reference points. [Ignorant beings] only exert themselves for the causes of suffering and then angrily look at the results [of this]. They burden themselves with their own sufferings by plunging into a swamp that they stir up themselves, and then they have no clue what to do. Just as [people outside the swamp] know that this swamp is which these naive beings are drowning is shallow and small, one fully comprehends the nature of cyclic existence through knowing true reality. Thus, one is released from both the extremes of attachment to and fear of swamp-like cyclic existence. Through knowing that one moreover has the ability to pull sentient beings out [of this swamp], one will manage to remain in cyclic existence for the sake of others as long as space exists. This is the direct result of having meditated on emptiness.
-- Pawo Rinpoche
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News
The Aurora sangha
is resuming
meditation sessions starting July 2nd and we'll meet the 1st and 3rd
Monday of every month at 7PM.
Ontul Rinpoche - Sept 26-30
Directions
Click
here
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