Karma Thegsum Choling Minneapolis

Buddhism is one of the great world religions. Buddhism is non-theistic. It is not about God. It is about the Tibetan word which points at the “ground of all being.” We translate that Tibetan word into English as “mind,” but the Tibetan word does not mean what that Enlish word mind means - not even close.

Our English word “mind” frequently means something as small as an epi-phenomenon of brain - not even close. Not even in the ball park.

We often use the word consciousness in place of the Tibetan word for what Buddhism is about. “Consciousness” comes closer, but the real issue is fundamental to the summit Buddhists wish to attain - words don’t go there.

The “ground of all being” can be looked at directly - but words, with their extraordinary limitedness, can not be used to label it; especially in the West where we have no experiential cultural habits. We value the intellectual. We value the material. We imagine ourselves to be separate. We believe our shadow belongs to what it’s projected on… everything is out there… This whole package is a long, long, non linear ways from looking directly at the ground of all being.

But still, we can use the word consciousness to talk about what Tibetan Buddhism… all Buddhism… is about.

It is with regret that we announce Bardor Tulku Rinpoche’s Midwest Tour has been cancelled. He will not be at KTC over Labor Day weekend due to his translator, Lama Yeshe Gyamtso’s health problems.

The Field
The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe
By Lynne McTaggart

Ms McTaggart has molded a creative synthesis of explorations by scientists that point to the existence of an ocean of microscopic vibrations called the Zero Point Field (”ZPF”) which exists in the space between things. The scientific findings include:

These are just a few of the conclusions and hypotheses embedded in Ms McTaggart’s skillful narrative that describes results of the search by a number of scientists for the existence and implications of the Field.

This is a stimulating read — one that opens the mind to new ways of looking at our universe. Ways that fit very well with Buddhist teachings.

Stu Webb

(How about if) All sangha members agree to roll over your current auto to one that gets a minimum 32-35 mpg in the city at next new / new-used car opportunity.

There are autos out there now available in every income level that do this.

Library Additions - We are just adding the books and materials in this list to the KTC Sangha Library. New books and materials will be added to this list as we get them until they can be found in our online library that you can now access from the KTC Minneapolis home page at www.ktcminneapolis.org

We get quite a few requests - especially from students during the school year - for recommendations for books on meditation and Buddhism to study. We also want our sangha to be able to look through their library from wherever they are. So we are very happy that after much discussion, research, planning, testing, scanning of barcodes, editing of entries, etc, our KTC sangha library is now online. To look at it, go to the KTC home page and click on “KTC Library Online— Beta Testing.” Be sure to read the note about internet connections and the age of your computer. The library may take a minute to download but will stay cached on your computer, and therefore be fast to use, after that. We will let you know each time we update it so you can download the new version.

As you look at the library you’ll see there are 2 columns. When you click on a book in the left column you will see details about that book in the right column. Depending upon the way your computer is set up, the left column may have a scroll bar along the bottom of its window as well as on the side. If your machine is set up that way you will miss a lot of books if you do not notice and use the scroll bar on the bottom.

Some books have nice covers and some have plain brown covers. That has to do with the lookup function in the library software, not the content of the book! (PS This is a dharma joke)

See the “Library Additions” page nested under this one for a list of items that will be added to the library soon.

Enjoy your visit to our virtual library!!

We get quite a few requests - especially from students during the school year - for recommendations for books on meditation and Buddhism to study. We also want our sangha to be able to look through their library from wherever they are. So we are very happy that after much discussion, research, planning, testing, scanning of barcodes, editing of entries, etc, our KTC sangha library is now online. To look at it, go to the KTC home page and click on “KTC Library Online— Beta Testing.” Be sure to read the note about internet connections and the age of your computer. The library may take a minute to download but will stay cached on your computer, and therefore be fast to use, after that. We will let you know each time we update it so you can download the new version.

As you look at the library you’ll see there are 2 columns. When you click on a book in the left column you will see details about that book in the right column. Depending upon the way your computer is set up, the left column may have a scroll bar along the bottom of its window as well as on the side. If your machine is set up that way you will miss a lot of books if you do not notice and use the scroll bar on the bottom.

Some books have nice covers and some have plain brown covers. That has to do with the lookup function in the library software, not the content of the book! (PS This is a dharma joke)

See the posting after this one for a list of items that will be added to the library soon.

Enjoy your visit to our virtual library!!

Library Additions - We are just adding the books and materials in this list to the KTC Sangha Library. New books and materials will be added to this list as we get them until they can be found in our online library that you can now access from the KTC Minneapolis home page at www.ktcminneapolis.org

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The URL for the KTC Minneapolis Blog site is http://www.ktcminneapolis.org/ktcblog/.