It's supposed to be a great party, and it has become an emblem of the passage from one year to the next. At midnight on December 31 (Eastern Standard Time in the USA), thousands of people will see in the New Year once again in the aptly named Times Square in New York City. This year happens to mark the one hundredth anniversary of a cherished tradition, dropping the crystal ball at the stroke of midnight.
The crystal ball--what a lovely symbol of the immanence of the future in the present moment!
But if we really look at the present moment, it might seem pretty grim. This past week has seen murder, rioting, killing--it's like . . . many of the previous weeks.
 In fact, over the last century the crystal ball has ushered in some years that we now look back on with horror, and even amazement that the world could have survived. We can think back on world wars, mass extermination of peoples, natural disasters, and assassinations. And as individuals, we may have fared no better. On a personal level, we have experienced countless cycles of anticipation, disappointment, and loss--just in the last year.
So, what kind of party is this? Just what is it that we celebrate about the New Year? Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, KPC Spiritual Director, reminds us, "Most people are simply revolving in cyclic death and rebirth, not knowing what creates birth, what creates death, what creates happiness, what creates sadness, just kind of doing their best . . . ." That is to say, unfortunately, what we know how to do is party on.
 But all that confetti! All those bottles! Did you ever wake up the morning after a big party a little bit sick of the whole thing? Jetsunma uses the analogy of the day after the party: "You realize that you put so much effort into this, beating yourself up and getting the right connections and going to the party . . . ."
And it didn't turn out to be such a good time after all. Jetsunma says, "You look at yourself go through cycle after cycle of unfulfilling or sometimes negative relationships and you just wonder when you're going to wise up. And it suddenly seems like your own lust and your own neediness are . . . a little sickening."
What we see in ourselves, we see in the world as well. "There's a feeling, once you study the suffering of sentient beings and the horror of cyclic existence: suddenly it becomes . . . nauseating, sickening in your mouth. You've been eating it your whole life--sickening!"
"That first inkling is precious. It's like the first taste of pure water in your mouth." It is the genuine crystal moment.
We have to make this passage in every lifetime. We have to decide we've had enough and leave the party. "You look at the way you are conducting yourself and the way your life is set up and the cause and effect relationships you've got going here, and you realize it's just dumb, fruitless, pointless. There is no future in this. It's a dead end. At that point the mind turns."
You see how rough this party is. "You come to realize that it's like you're in a burning room. One door is an exit from that room, and that door is wide open."
 That door is refuge in the lama, whom we learn to regard "as the embodiment of the qualities, intentions, compassion and activity of the Buddha in the world." The lama provides access to the Dharma, the Buddha's teachings about the method for liberation. The lama also gathers the Sangha who support our refuge. In the lama are crystallized these Three Precious Jewels, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, which shine with the light of the Great Compassion, the accomplishment of the Bodhisattva.
At midnight on New Year's Eve, Jetsunma's students have the custom of taking the Refuge and Bodhisattva Vows as our first speech of the New Year. Not just for ourselves.  Liberation is in realizing the emptiness of phenomena, and that realization is inseparable from compassion for all beings, who will suffer until they reach the same attainment. So please join us in taking or renewing these vows: because the potential for the future is in the present moment. And it's crystal clear.
 The New Year is a time to celebrate transitions. The biggest one of all, of course, is the transition between lives. For a free download of Jetsunma's setting to Prayer to be Reborn in Dewachen, click here.
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Sunday, December 31 
Mandala Practice Is for Merit! We have a lot to accomplish in this next year, and in this lifetime. Mandala Practice, a practice of offering, helps us to generate the merit for accomplishment. If you are a Ngondro practitioner and would like to review the Mandala Practice, please join the teens this Sunday morning at 10:00 as Ani Samten gives instruction. Bring your own Ngondro book and Mandala set. 
KPC staff in Australia would particularly like to hear from from anyone who can help with Konchog's visit to Sydney--or who would simply like to make contact with Konchog while he is there. 
