Celebration Diaries
Preparing the event
Discover the photos and testimonials of all the volunteers who helped prepare the Celebration!
What do you like about preparing the Dharma Celebration?
“It makes me feel like we're planning a big family party, and we're already full of energy. I think it's so beautiful that people from all corners of Quebec and beyond are coming together to share our appreciation of the Dharma.” - Guylaine
“I love the experience of giving to others what I am so lucky to receive. I like to contribute so that as many people as possible can benefit from the precious teachings and receive profound blessings. It's an opportunity to help others find deeper meaning in their lives, to show the value of a life as a Kadampa practitioner.” - Pascal
“I love the opportunity to help. We help to offer the dharma, to welcome together extraordinary teachers and many inspiring practitioners.” - Christine
“It's a way of cherishing people in action, deepening our love and compassion and going against our self-cherishing mind. I work in registration and see people on a list first, then see them appear at the entrance in person. It's a beautiful family reunion and an opportunity to create and renew spiritual friendships with others who share the same common goal of improving their states of mind." - Claire
DAY 1
The Québec 2023 Celebration kicks off!
Joy and excitement were the order of the day on this evening introduction, as friends from communities across Quebec and even Ontario gathered at Kadampa Meditation Centre Montreal.
What a wonderful introduction to this Celebration we received from Gen Kelsang Chögyan, who reminded us of the great rarity and value of our precious human life.
We have an extraordinary opportunity right now, to possess the most precious possession: our fully endowed human life. By using the favorable circumstances that this human life gives us, we can achieve goals beyond the ordinary!
It's incredible to think that this human life comes from causes created in our previous lives, causes that are extremely difficult to muster, whether they be immaculate prayers, pure moral discipline, having practiced generosity, having helped and protected the lives of others, and many others. This human life is no accident.
It is possible to be human without being able to recognize its great rarity and value. Our daily challenge is to remind ourselves of the great rarity and value of our human life, and to keep in mind its goal, which is to reach full enlightenment: the state in which we have freed ourselves from all suffering and pain and will be able to help others to do the same.
We can achieve this by practicing Dharma sincerely and purely. In this way, we can fulfill all our wishes and those of others.
Meditation on our precious human life is the best antidote to discouragement, depression and boredom. As long as we have our human life, anything is possible!
Gen Chögyan concluded the evening by reminding us that since we don't know when our human life will end, and that when we die, our precious opportunity to attain enlightenment will be destroyed, it's important to protect ourselves from an untimely death. This weekend, we're fortunate to receive the empowerment of Buddha White Tara, whose function is to increase our wisdom, good fortune and lifespan.
See you tomorrow for a guided meditation in the morning and the empowerment in the afternoon!
DAY 2
A good fortune out of the ordinary
We began this second day of celebration by being guided by Kelsang Zhiné in a beautiful meditation on our precious human life.
We then had the incredible good fortune to receive the empowerment of Venerable White Tara with Gen Kelsang Chodor. He introduced us to this fully awakened feminine being, compassionate mother of all living beings, who bestows wisdom, merit and long life so that we can fulfill all our spiritual wishes. The highest wish we can develop is to attain full enlightenment to help others. The two main obstacles to this achievement are untimely death and ignorance. By relying upon Buddha White Tara and receiving her blessings, it is possible to overcome these obstacles.Gen Chodor has given an enlightening explanation of the root cause of our suffering, our self-grasping ignorance.
Dharmakirti said that we need wisdom to overcome ignorance, especially the ignorance of self-grasping. In this moment, we grasp ourselves as inherently existent, and by the same token, we also grasp others as inherently existent. We therefore conceive ourselves and others as inherently different. We then develop self-cherishing, considering ourselves more important than others. This gives rise to our desirous attachment, our anger and other delusions, to preserve this "I" we're preoccupied with, we care about. We feel we're disconnected, isolated from other people. We are in a constant battle to preserve and protect the "I" we care about, in vain, since this "I" that seems to exist from its own side doesn't exist. We perpetuate in this way the causes of our endless suffering.
The remedy to cure our ignorance and suffering is the wisdom realizing emptiness. If we are liberated from the conception of ignorance of self-grasping, we are liberated from all suffering. This realization depends on receiving the blessings of Venerable White Tara. Meditation on emptiness in itself, without blessings, has no power to lead us to enlightenment. Hence the importance of receiving the empowerment of White Tara Buddha, and to practice White Tara Yoga, on which Gen Chodor gave commentary in the afternoon.
The day ended beautifully with the practice of Offering to the Spiritual Guide with abundant offerings of food to holy beings to accumulate all the virtuous energy needed to progress along the spiritual path taught by Buddha.
Throughout the day, the Sangha from Quebec and elsewhere in Canada spent meaningful moments at the World Peace Café, between breaks in the peaceful and joyful setting of KMC Montreal, and over lunch served at the school opposite the center. All the conditions were right for us to grow our appreciation of the gift offered to us by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche,these extraordinary spiritual gatherings, which are the method for maintaining the international union of Kadampa Buddhism.
May all beings experience good fortune as great as ours. 🙏✨
DAY 3
What a wonderful day we had to conclude the Dharma Celebration in Quebec 2023!
In the morning, we were guided in a very inspiring meditation by Kelsang Zhiné to familiarize ourselves with Venerable White Tara’s self-generation practice, The Yoga of Buddha White Tara. Zhiné helped us feel the presence of the Buddhas and welcome their blessings without resistance.
Then Gen Chodor touched our hearts with very practical teachings on the seven wisdoms.
Wisdom is a virtuous and intelligent mind that realize meaningful objects, that is objects that give much meaning to our lives. Being able to recognize delusions, understanding karma and emptiness are examples of wisdom. Wisdom is our inner teacher, leading us along the path to permanent liberation from all our problems. With this definition, it's easy to recognize that we are in great need of wisdom. How fortunate we have been to come into contact with these teachings!
Using analogies, Gen Chodor gave skillful and concrete explanations of, among other things, the clear wisdom, that enables us to understand the subtle impermanence of phenomena, and how it is possible to reduce our delusions in our daily lives, right now, thanks to this understanding.
In connection with quick wisdom, he made us think about the most beneficial views we can carry in our minds about the nature of objects, and stop maintaining ordinary views. For example, our own intention to believe that all living beings show us kindness is a view that is always beneficial, regardless of the intentions of others.
Even if we are not yet Dharma teachers, it is possible for us to develop the wisdom of expounding Dharma to become positive examples for those around us, and to become skilled for sharing appropriate advice on how to keep a peaceful mind even in difficult situations. We know from our own experience how much we can be touched by our Dharma teachers. We too can become significant examples for our family, friends and colleagues.
Gen Chodor concluded with teachings on deep wisdom, which enables us to fully understand the most profound subjects, such as emptiness. He then encouraged us to recognize the importance of International Festivals and our local Dharma Celebrations, unique and special events that enable us to create actual Dharma jewels in our hearts.
We are so grateful to have been able to come together and create the causes to realize the seven wisdoms. We come away energized and encouraged to practice them in our daily lives. May we quickly become Buddha White Tara to achieve the welfare of all living beings.
We thank Gen Chodor, Gen Chögyan and Kelsang Zhiné from the bottom of our hearts for their precious teachings. We are deeply grateful for the kindness of our most precious Spiritual Guide, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, who enables kadam dharma to flourish in our modern world.
An upcoming Dharma Celebration will be held next week in Toronto, in person or online! More information here.
A few testimonies
"This is my first experience of a Dharma Celebration and a first time at CMK Montreal. I really enjoyed my experience!" - Pierre, KMC Trois-Rivières
“I really enjoyed the Celebration because I felt we had time to place everything, whether during the guided meditations or the teachings. You feel the peaceful rhythm of the sessions, which allows you to integrate the teachings. You have time to create intentions, motivations, relax and soak up the teachings, placing them in your heart. I also felt the involvement and kindness of others, from the cooks at the World Peace Cafe to all the volunteers who prepared the Celebration. We were also delighted to see KMC Trois-Rivières and KMC Québec leave with boxes of Dharma books for their Centres!" - Lyne, KMC Montréal
"A magnificent, transformative experience!" - Eric, KMC Trois-Rivières
“There are extraordinary logistics, everything is done in harmony, everything is fluid, what an atmosphere!" - Michelle, KMC Trois-Rivières
"It's a joy to get together. To be able to exchange with others between teachings to improve our Dharma practice. It's also a great joy to discover and connect with Gen Chodor's teachings, to receive Buddha White Tara’s empowerment and teachings on the seven wisdoms. It's invaluable and transformative for dealing with our daily difficulties." - Lamshe, KMC Montreal
"One teaching that touched me was realizing that we all have the nature of a Buddha inside us, always have. It's so inspiring! The teachings on the seven wisdoms are extraordinary." - Line, KMC Montreal
"It's very inspiring! We meet new people or talk with people we already know, it's stimulating to get together and be able to discuss our spiritual practices. This was the first time I'd received teachings from Gen Chodor, and I found him to be a very peaceful example, with a great facility for transmitting teachings. It touched me so much personally that I want to get hold of the recordings, so I can listen to them again. The teachings have had a big impact on my mind, they've created movement, and that's going to push me to go deeper into the Dharma." - David, KMC Quebec
"It was very inspiring to receive teachings on Buddha White Tara, who is a female deity. It's very rare to receive an oral commentary on the seven wisdoms. It will be very helpful in practice. Gen Chodor gave very practical examples and analogies and taught us to have the most beneficial views. It's interesting to learn about personal experiences too, even a teacher may have had doubts, it's encouraging to see that we can overcome them too." - Aline, CMK Montreal