Tag archives: Buddhist

Temple Lion
By Elizabeth Stewart   |   December 5, 2023

Apologies: the photo is not so good, but FK, an older resident of Montecito, sent me a Kodak photo of her Temple Lion in the U.S. Post, asking me if her Chinese ceramic was in fact late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as told by relatives, and, what is a temple lion, and why a lion? I […]

Passover & Easter: Rebirth, Renewal, Release A multi religious time for transformation
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   April 15, 2021

Deepak Chopra, my dear friend for more than 25 years, and a Fellow of the World Business Academy for all that time, is a very wise man with an eclectic view of religions. While a Hindu himself, like Aldous Huxley in his watershed book The Perennial Wisdom, Deepak has spent his adult life looking at […]

Local Buddhist Communities Continue Offerings
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 23, 2020

The Santa Barbara Institute for Conscious Studies’ most recent newsletter includes more updates, meditation sessions and other materials from founder Alan Wallace along with another gem: a prayer and practice involving Tārā the Curer of Infectious Disease. H. E. Dagyum Chenmo Kusho Sakya has advised, translated and offered the practice at this time of global […]

Virtual Meditating with Mahakankala
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 9, 2020

The downtown Santa Barbara center has finally also migrated over to online offerings, with resident teacher Kadam Keli Vaughan teaching and guiding meditations via Zoom several times each week. Featured are “Search for the Self: Buddhist Meditations on Emptiness” from 6-7 pm on Wednesdays, “Learning to Love” from 6:30-7:30 on Thursdays, and “Meditation for World […]

More Streaming Buddhism: BodhiPath Beckons
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 9, 2020

Resident teacher Dawa Tarchin Phillips launches a new three-week course over Zoom on Thursday evenings, offering “What the Buddha Taught” as a way to explore your own life’s journey in light of the Buddha’s wisdom from the perspectives of personal maturation, liberation, awakening and service. The 7-9 pm sessions April 9-23, accessed via Zoom at […]

Thai Meditation for Trying Times
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 9, 2020

As recently as early March, Courtney Purcell’s Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup had a full slate of events on its calendar, with gatherings all over town, from the American Buddhist Meditation Temple on Orchid Drive near More Mesa to the foothills and beaches of Montecito, a leap year forest retreat in the expanse at La […]

Buddhism Online Breakdown
By Tim Buckley   |   March 26, 2020

All of Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation’s in-person gatherings are on hiatus during the crisis with COVID-19, but at least the Tuesday Night Mindfulness Group has moved online. The evenings, that usually took place at Purnamaya Ayurveda & Sound Healing Center in Ventura and included a Dharma talk, sitting meditation and the opportunity to practice other […]

Back on the Path
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 12, 2020

Santa Barbara Bodhi Path Center resident teacher Dawa Tarchin Phillips will be leading a two-part class over successive Thursdays this month, as “Awakening Bodhicitta – How to Open Your Heart and Develop Love and Compassion” takes place 7-9 pm on March 12 and 19. The course addresses how we may be familiar with the benefits […]

We are Sorry
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 5, 2020

The Montecito Vedanta Temple was not asked or notified about a planned event scheduled for last weekend by the Santa Barbara-Buddhist-Meditation Meetup, which was canceled before taking place. We were asked to run a clarifying statement about the temple’s policies to avoid any future issues. The Vedanta Temple welcomes people from all religions and denominations […]

More Montecito Meetups
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 27, 2020

Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation, which holds regular meditation and other gatherings at the American Buddhist Temple in Goleta as well as various Montecito locations and elsewhere, has a special offering for this Saturday night. Its Once-in-a-Leap-Year Forest Retreat is a three-hour excursion at La Cumbre Peak designed to briefly isolate participants from the “busyness,” noise […]

‘Going for Refuge’ at Bodhi Path
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 20, 2020

It’s not too late to join the Mission Street Buddhist Center’s new two-year program of long weekend immersions to fully explore the path of awakening – in fact, the entire program is geared toward entering the curriculum at any time. “Going for Refuge – A Journey Toward Trust and Immutable Confidence,” which takes place 10 […]

The Practice of Inquiring Deeply
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 6, 2020

Marjorie Schuman, Ph.D., a local clinical psychologist, meditation teacher and author, settles into The Sacred Space for an experiential workshop providing an introduction to the method of “Inquiring Deeply.” The meditative practice of asking questions has been used for thousands of years to develop intuition, inspire awakening and connect us more deeply to the sources […]

Full Moon Evening Retreat at the Beach
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 6, 2020

On the evening of one of the most important holidays in Theravadan Buddhism – Magha Puja – Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup is hosting a mini mindfulness retreat outdoors by the ocean. Under the gorgeous, silvery full moon, participants will practice sitting and walking meditation, talk about the history of Magha Puja, and reflect upon […]

Soup’s on for Weekend of Workshops
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 16, 2020

Yoga, meditation and breath-work practitioner Jenn Parma’s “High Vibration Breathwork” seminar, slated for 7-9:30 pm on Friday, January 17, at Yoga Soup, is an invitation to bathe in the vibrational sounds of various medicine songs, crystal singing bowls and chimes. The class aims to activate your energy body and bring balance to your chakras through […]

Satsang with Krishna
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 16, 2020

Robin Davidson and Linda Ulvaeus’ Temple of Everflowing Grace have scheduled a Satsang with Krishna, the spiritual leader who has studied the direct and simple message expressed in the nondual Advaita teachings of Shankara, Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj, as well as in the pure Buddhist expressions of nondual realization in Zen, and Dzogchen. The […]

Buddhism Beyond Bodhi Path
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 16, 2020

The Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup, which frequently holds its events at the American Buddhist Meditation Temple on Orchid Drive near More Mesa, is branching out beyond that site to include more gathering outside and at other locations. The group will gather for a Half Moon Morning Retreat this Friday, January 17, from 8-10 am, […]

Demystifying Dharma
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 16, 2020

Bodhi Path Santa Barbara is part of an international organization of Buddhist centers and groups founded by Shamarpa (the 14th Shamar Rinpoche) with the expressed purpose of exploring the methods and wisdom of the timeless teachings of the Buddha in order to better understand and work with our mind and emotions. Shamarpa, along with the […]

Busy Times at Bodhi Path
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 4, 2018

October offers myriad opportunities for mediation at Bodhi Path Santa Barbara and beyond – including the center’s first-ever online experience – plus other Buddhist gatherings and more moving experiences. The busy times at Bodhi Path begin 7 to 9 pm Thursday, October 4, with a panel discussion on Dharma and Relationships, always a timely topic […]

Mandala, Meditation and More with Buddhist Monks
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 30, 2018

The Tibetan Buddhist monks are coming back to Summerland to work on a Medicine Buddha sand mandala, offer prayers and healing sessions, and much more, beginning this Wednesday, September 5, at The Sacred Space. Tthe Ngari Institute of Buddhist Dialectics Tour is bringing the venerable Geshe Tsewang Dorje and Geshe Thupten Tulku Rinpoche to the […]