Kalpa Bhadra Kadampa Buddhist Meditation Center

Kalpa-Bhadra-Kadampa-Buddhist-Center-Harrisburg-PA Kalpa Bhadra Kadampa Buddhist Center is a non-profit organization and a part of the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU) founded by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, and is dedicated to the promotion of inner peace through the study and practice of Buddha’s teachings, known as Dharma, in Southern Pennsylvania. Buddha taught that, of all the problems that arise in life, internal problems, such as anger, attachment, and ignorance, are the most important ones to solve because they directly destroy inner peace and happiness. Through training in meditation everyone can learn to recognize, reduce, and finally abandon all of these negative minds and maintain a peaceful mind all the time. Therefore, our mission is to give as many people as possible the opportunity to learn about and gain experience with meditation and Buddhism. Kalpa Bhadra Kadampa Buddhist Center offers the study and meditation programs of Kadampa Buddhism, under the guidance of our Resident Teacher, Julie Francisco. Our General Program (GP) classes are open to everyone on a drop-in basis, and give a broad introduction to Buddhist meditation, ideas, and practice. Our Foundation Program (FP) classes provide a structure for a more detailed study of Kadampa Buddhist texts. Our Teacher Training Program (TTP) is specially designed for those who want to learn to become qualified Teachers of Kadampa Buddhism. All three programs include guidance from an experienced Teacher with an emphasis on learning to integrate Buddha’s teachings into daily life, and use a modern approach to presenting these teachings so that they are as easy to understand and practice today as they were when they were first given 2600 years ago. If you are new to meditation, or new to our Center, the best place to start is by dropping into one of the General Program classes. Please head over to our class schedule to find out more about the current class topic, times, and locations. You can also take a look at our calendar to see when the next special events are coming up. Learn to Meditate Meditation For Everyone What is Meditation? Meditation is a method for acquainting our mind with virtue. The more familiar our mind is with virtue, the calmer and more peaceful it becomes. When our mind is peaceful we are free from worries and mental discomfort, and we experience true happiness. The Benefits of Meditation Everyone wants to be happy all the time, but our lives are often filled with frustration and dissatisfaction. This is because normally we rely completely upon external situations to cause the happiness that we desire. As long as things go well, and we get what we want, we feel happy. But whenever the situation changes and things go wrong, without any choice our mind quickly becomes unhappy. Depending on what happens, our mood can swing from feeling elated to disappointed and back many times over the course of a single day. In an analogy, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso says that our mind is like a balloon in the wind, continually blown here and there with no ability to control its own direction. It is impossible to control external events, but through practicing meditation we can gradually learn to control our mind. Then, rather than depending upon external situations for happiness, we rely upon virtuous minds, which are inner sources of happiness. Happiness is a part of the mind, so its real causes must come from within the mind. Gaining control over our mind gives us the freedom to respond to any situation without disturbing our inner peace, and the power to maintain a happy mind regardless of what is happening in our life. Just as the real causes of happiness are created within our mind, many of our daily problems also come from within the mind. Every day many of us suffer from the problems of anger, attachment, anxiety, jealousy, depression, disappointment, dissatisfaction, and other painful feelings. All of these problems are a part of our mind. Therefore, through meditation we can also learn to recognize, reduce, and finally abandon inner causes of mental pain.