Dear Sangha and Friends,

We live in a world defined by profound fragmentation, unpredictable change, and the constant friction of internal distraction. In the face of this pervasive uncertainty, the Buddhadharma offers more than just temporary relief—it provides a direct, supreme remedy to transcend suffering and realize our innate clarity. What Buddha Shakyamuni realized and taught is a timeless medicine for the mind, showing us that even in the darkest of times, freedom from suffering is absolutely possible.

This Sunday offers an extraordinary opportunity to connect with this truth. This day marks Saga Dawa Düchen, the sacred 15th day of the fourth Tibetan lunar month, celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni. It is a “10-Million Multiplier Day,” a rare cosmic window where the karmic merit of every virtuous action, prayer, and offering is amplified ten million times.

There is no more powerful method to alleviate the struggles of our world than by gathering to honor the Buddha and practice the methods he revealed with the vast intention of benefiting all beings. We invite you to join us at the temple this weekend. Come walk the Peace Park, circumambulate the stupas, make offerings at the majestic Guru Rinpoche statue, or rest your mind by the serene waters of the koi ponds. However you choose to engage these sacred grounds, the opportunity to accumulate merit right now is monumental.

Join Our Weekend Practice: Vajrasattva Purification Retreat

This weekend, our community is gathered in person at the Maryland temple for a powerful Ngöndro Vajrasattva Retreat, dedicating our collective practice to the long life and holy aspirations of Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo, and to the vibrant future of KPC.

As Jetsunma has continually urged us, gathering and practicing together in person as a unified body is profoundly transformative for the mind—anchoring our attention span, deepening our mutual concern, and amplifying our practice through the support of each other’s presence. To step onto these grounds is to step away from our tendency to isolate and to remember the real power of collective contribution.

We are reminded of the profound broom analogy taught by Kyabje His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, who once held up a single bristle and showed how easily it could be snapped, and how it lacked the strength to move even a small pile of dust. But when thousands of those same fragile bristles are bound tightly together by a single cord around a central handle, they become a broom. Bound by a single purpose, they cannot be broken; they gain the power to sweep a great hall clean and clear away the thickest dirt and debris because they act as one body.

How to Participate

Join Our Practices:

• Vajrasattva Purification Retreat (In-Person Only): Come to the Maryland temple for any of the retreat sessions listed in the schedule below. Hard copies of the Ngöndro texts are available at the Mani Jewel gift shop.
• Medicine Buddha (Online Only): Connect with us online at 6:15 PM on Saturday and Sunday evening for our daily practice.
• Drum Circle for Rain (In-Person Only): Join the Sangha on Sunday at 6:30 PM at the Guru Rinpoche statue in the Peace Park. We will sing sacred mantras to improvised melodies and rhythms, offering our music to the Buddhas and calling forth rain to quench the drought.

Support from Afar:

• Sponsor the Retreat & Tsog: If you cannot attend in person, you can fully participate by cultivating collective merit through a traditional offering. Submit your retreat sponsorships and prayer dedications HERE (please note “Vajrasattva Retreat” with your offering).
• Make a Saga Dawa Offering: Help ensure the continuous presence of the Three Jewels by making a general financial offering to sustain our temple, the 24-hour prayer vigil, and our sacred stupa parks. Make a Saga Dawa Offering HERE.

Retreat & Celebration Schedule

Saturday, May 30 

• 9:00–10:30 AM – Teaching & Open Practice
• 11:00 AM–12:30 PM – Mantra Accumulation
• 12:30–2:30 PM – Lunch Break (On Your Own)
• 2:30–4:00 PM – Mantra Accumulation
• 4:30–6:00 PM – Mantra Accumulation & Tsog
• 6:15–6:30 PM – Medicine Buddha Practice (Online Only)

Sunday, May 31 (Saga Dawa Düchen — 10-Million Multiplier Day)

• 9:00–10:30 AM – Teaching & Open Practice
• 11:00 AM–12:30 PM – Mantra Accumulation
• 12:30–2:30 PM – Lunch Break (On Your Own)
• 2:30–4:00 PM – Mantra Accumulation
• 4:30–6:00 PM – Mantra Accumulation & Tsog
• 6:15–6:30 PM – Medicine Buddha Practice (Online Only)
• 6:30–7:15 PM – Drum Circle for Rain (In-Person Only — Meet at the Guru Rinpoche Statue in the Peace Park)

As we gather this weekend, let us bind our intentions together and act as one body under the guidance of our lamas. Through our collective practice, our presence, and our shared devotion during this holy multiplier window, may we sweep away the obstacles of samsara for the ultimate liberation and benefit of all sentient beings.

Yours in the Dharma,

Kunzang Palyul Choling

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