Mahamudra Meditation Center (MMC) was established at the encouragement
of one of the leading Tibetan Buddhist teachers, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche,
to facilitate the study and practice of Mahamudra. At the request of the Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa and based on his own judgement,
Rinpoche actively teaches the view and practice of this profound, and yet simple and direct "path of
liberation." He is a recognized master of Mahamudra, serving as the personal tutor to the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage.
"In my experience and judgement Mahamudra is especially appropriate and beneficial in this modern age, in particular for
people in the West who are very busy. It is a path that is extremely simple, meaning that it does not require a lot
of preparation or devices, so it can be practiced at any time or in any situation, provided one possesses mindfulness and alertness."
Mahamudra Study and Practice Resources
During our first twenty years, we had to opportunity to introduce thousands of individuals to the practice of Mahamudra through our instructional programs, meditation retreats, and publications. In the first half of 2009, we discovered that we had become a leading online resource for
Mahamudra study and practice, averaging more than 1250 unique website visitors from all corners of the world each month. Given this trend, recently we elected to focus on becoming a web resource and discontinued the relatively costly efforts of operating
as a non-profit corporation.
We hope to continue to offer our website as a resource for anyone interested in this path of awareness and kindness.
We would like to encourage its use by those interested in forming independent Mahamudra study and practice groups (i.e. facilitated by a fellow student, as described in our Meditation Manual) and/or
pursuing study and practice of Mahamudra on their own or under the guidance of a genuine Mahamudra teacher. Finally, we hope to continue to provide information on teachers
certified by Mahamudra Meditation Center and some of their independent offerings. (Please contact us at khale@hannacenter.org if you are interested in the next Mahamudra Nine-Month program offered by a teacher on our list.)
To support those interested in Mahamudra, MMC's Meditation Manual is available at:
An Online Guide to Mahamudra Meditation
.
For a list of teachers certified by MMC during the years in which we provided a teacher training program, please see List of Teachers.
For a teaching by one of our teachers for students who have completed practices of both the tranquility and insight meditations of Mahamudra, please see
A Teaching on Maintaining Mahamudra Practice. ( NEW )
Finally, serious students of Mahamudra are referred to Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado for appropriate teachers and an excellent retreat location.
As a reference note, our program framework has been organized into five series:
- Jewel Ornament of Liberation - The Teachings of Gampopa
- Moonbeams of Mahamudra - The Mahamudra Teachings of Dakpo Tashi Namgyal
- Eliminating the Darkness of Ignorance - The Mahamudra Teachings of Wangchug Dorje
- Treasury of Basic Space - The Dzogchen Teachings of Longchen Rabjam
- Songs of the Mahasiddhas - Heart Instructions from the Lineage
For more detail regarding our recommended apporach to studying Mahamudra, please click on the following link:
Historical Perspective
The Senior Spiritual Advisors of Mahamudra Meditation Center are:
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche is the founding Senior Spiritual Advisor of Mahamudra Meditation Center and provides the primary guidance for our activities. For access to his official website, please click here.
For Namo Buddha Publications, please click here. Since the start, we have also been strongly supported by Khenchen Könchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche, who has provided us with a wide
range of Dharma teachings and served as a continual source of inspiration. Many of his texts and translated
works are available through Vajra Publications. We are extremely fortunate in that we have had the continual guidance of these two leading
abbots of the Karma and Drikung Dakpo Kagyu lineages from 1990 up until the present day.
Our founding director, Lama Thapkhay, met Thrangu Rinpoche in 1989 at the first Karma Mahasiddha Ling retreat on Moonbeams of
Mahamudra. This classic text had been called "the most important sacred text" by his former teacher Kyabje Thuksey Rinpoche, tutor to the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, and had been published under the title Mahamudra: The Quintessence of Mind and Meditation in 1986.
Over a period of several years, Thrangu Rinpoche gave extensive teachings and transmissions on this classic and a number of related texts.
One evening, on a porch overlooking Lake Big Bear, he shared his thoughts. "Now that it had been translated into English, per His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa's (16th) request,
and the corresponding oral instructions have been given, as I have been doing in fulfillment of his wishes, the most important thing is to put it into practice." It was with this in mind that Mahamudra Meditation Center was established in
California in 1991 as a non-profit religious corporation and was operated as such until 2009. Our mission has been to facilitate the instruction, study, and practice of this path of awareness and kindness.
Since its inception, we have conducted annual nine-month mahamudra study and
practice programs. In addition, we have held a variety of retreats ranging anywhere
from one-to-ten days long. Texts which have frequently served as the basis for nine-month programs include:
- Jewel Ornament of Liberation -
Gampopa (1074-1153)
- Moonbeams of Mahamudra - Dakpo Tashi
Namgyal (1512-1587)
- Clarifying the Natural State -
Dakpo Tashi Namgyal
- Pointing-out the Dharmakaya -
Ninth Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje (1556-1603)
- Eliminating the Darkness of
Ignorance - Ninth Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje
- Aspiration of Mahamudra - Third
Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339)
Over the years, Rinpoche has repeatedly expressed his appreciation to us for cultivating Mahamudra
practice. In 2004, we felt fortunate to help host Rinpoche's visit to San Francisco including his empowerments
and teachings on Mahamudra and Chakrasamvara. In 2005, we
held the first group Mahamudra retreat at
Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado.
In 2006, at the encouragement of Rinpoche, a new Dharma study and practice center was formed,
The Mahamudra Center. It is located
on a private property on top of a scenic Northern California coastal ridgeline.
This affiliated center hosts regular Mahamudra study and practice programs.
Affiliated Teachings were sometimes included in our program schedules. These typically
consisted of select programs from our spiritual advisors. In addition, students of Nyingma lineage practices of our center have been referred to teachings by
Loppön Jigme Rinpoche. Loppön Rinpoche received the complete Tersar tradition
from H. H. Dudjom Rinpoche, the complete Kama tradition from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the complete Longchen Nyingthig tradition from Chatral Rinpoche. Since 2005, he has most generously been available to support our members
in their Dharma studies and practice and has also provided a wide range of teachings to Dharma students in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In June, 2009, the 19th annual mahamudra program was completed. Also in 2009, MMC ceased to operate as a formal organization; however, the individual Dharma activities of its teachers and its "virtual" offerings are
expected to continue. In effect, "MMC" now refers to no more than (a) a loosely formed group of fellow practitioners, a "circle of yogis", and (b) an online resource for the growing worldwide community of Mahamudra and Dzogchen practitioners.
Please contact us as indicated below if you are interested in being notified regarding future programs offered by individual MMC teachers or
if you would just like to let us know about your utilization of our resources.
Finally, our group is registered with H.H. Gyalwa Karmapa Ogyen Trinley at The Official Website of H.H. Gyalwa Karmapa.
In addition, we are listed by The Office of Tibet, New York, The Official Agency of H.H. the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Government in Exile to the Americas at Office of Tibet, New York and
by Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, The North American Seat of H.H. the Gyalwa Karmapa, on the Practice Center List.
For Further Information
Note that we do not have residential facilities or a residential program.
Please contact Keith (Keith Hale) at
khale@hannacenter.org if
you have any further questions or comments. Due to our limited resources, we may not be able to respond to all enquiries.
Go to www.rinpoche.com:
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