Diamond Way Buddhist Group

Location

717 7th Street (near the Davis Food Co-op)

Meditation hours

Thursdays 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM or later if we talk a lot!

Phone

(530) 756-4521

Email

mailto:davis-sacramento@diamondway.org

Website

http://www.diamondway.org/davis-sacramento

We are a small group that meets to meditate and to discuss various Buddhist teachings. For February, we are discussing stanzas from The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas by Geshe Sonam Rinchen. (Copies of this are often available at the Tibet Nepal store on Third and G) We are using two texts; these are stanzas from the 17th Karmapa, and differ slightly from the book:

Verse 21:
Worldly achievements are like salt water, desire increases the more we take. It is the bodhisattva's practice to immediately abandon all objects that give rise to attachment.

Verse 22:
All appearances are one's own mind. Likewise, since beginningless time the mind itself is beyond creative extremes. It is the bodhisattva's practice to know that, rather than thinking about the concepts of subject and object.

Verse 23:
Favorable objects that I meet exist like a beautiful summer's rainbow. Not seeing them as real and abandoning attachment is the bodhisattva's practice.

Verse 24:
The various types of suffering are like the death of a child in a dream. Mistaking illusory appearance for reality is exhausting. Therefore, it is the bodhisattva's practice to see unfavorable conditions as illusions.

From the Diamond Way website:

Diamond Way Buddhist Groups Davis-Sacramento and Nevada City are part of an international network of over 400 meditation centers in the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The centers were founded and are directed by Lama Ole Nydahl according to the wishes of H.H. the 16th Karmapa. They are now under the spiritual guidance of H.H. the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, Thaye Dorje.

There is a relaxed social atmosphere in the centers, refreshments are provided, and questions are encouraged. Other activities include group readings, teachings and dharma video viewing. These weekly meditation evenings are open to the public and are free of charge.

For other Buddhist groups in Davis see Spiritual Organizations.