Bodhi Path Buddhist Centers

1. Vienna (Austria): 1982 2. Menlo Park (CA): 1993 3. Santa Barbara (CA): 1997 4. Hong Kong: 2002 5. Pasadena (CA): 2004 6. Kaohsiung (Taiwan): 2005 7. Bregenz (Austria): 2005 8. Innsbruck (Austria): 2006 (Nov.) 9. Pargue (Czech Republic): 2008 (Sep.) 10. Taichung (Taiwan): 2009 11. Kuching (Malaysia): 2009 (5.25) 12. Fulda (Germany): 2009 13. Belgrade (Serbia): 2010 (Aug.) 14. Valencia (Spain): 2011 (Sep.) 15. Dortmund (Germany): 2011 (Nov.) 16. Heidelberg (Germany): 2011 17. Basel (Switzerland): 2012 (Nov.) 18. Calgary Alberta (Canada): 2012 19. Guatemala (Latin America): 2012 20. Gent (Belgium): 2013 (Sep.) 21. Kiel (Germany): 2013 22. Augsburg (Germany): 2014 (Jun.) 23. Hemer (Germany): 2014 (Jul.) 24. Friedrichshafen (Germany): 2014

According to the Bodhi Path Website, the Bodhi Path Centers around the world were originally founded by Shamarpa or the 14th Shamar Rinpoche. These philosophies are derived by the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The Karma Kagyu Lineage has a particular emphasis on mediation practice and is one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. This began with the teachings of Tilopa in Northern India and later spread into the Himalayas and Tibet. Prior to his death in 2014, Rinpoche wished "that I should be very, very helpful to many living beings." These teachings have evolved today according to the Bodhi Path website, as their "curriculum is especially suitable for the needs and conditions of modern day Dharma practitioners."

There is a transnational presence of the Bodhi Path, with locations across Asia, Europe, and North America. Currently, the largest number of Bodhi Path sites exist in Europe, where there are 21. As far as representation in Asia, there are sites in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. In terms of its relevance and presence in California, there are currently six sites. These include locations in Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Pasadena, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara. The resident teacher at the Santa Barbara Bodhi Path Buddhist Center, Dawa Tarchin Phillips, has 30 years of experience as a non-sectarian Buddhist practitioner. Phillips has an extensive background in Buddhism, as he trained as a monk under Rinpoche. He is also well-versed with Buddhism internationally, as he accomplished two 3-year meditation retreats at the Dhagpo Kundreul Ling Hermitage in France.

The 14th Shamarpa, Mipham Chokyi Lodrö, compiled a curriculum for the Bodhi Path Center to match the modern-day Buddhist lifestyle, based on the Seven Points of Mind Training, or in Tibetan, Lojong. Their primary text is The Path to Awakening: A Commentary on Ja Chekawa Yeshé Dorjé's Seven Points of Mind Training. The teachings comply with the tradition of Gampopa (1079-1153) who joined the Kadampa instructions of Atisha with Mahamudra teachings from the tradition of the great Indian Mahasiddha Saraha. It is developed with the practice of calm-abiding meditation in mind which is necessary for mental stability and peace. After achieving a calm mind, insight meditation can be practiced, which is the examination of the mind’s true nature. The goal of this meditation is to remove the illusions and ignorance of the mind that interferes with one’s ability to focus and stay calm, an ability that is said to already exist in our minds. To aid in training the mind by removing the veils of confusion and accumulating merit through positive interactions, the 14th Shamarpa assembled the practices of the 35 Buddhas, Chenrezig, Dorje Sempa, and the Practice of the Bodhisattva Wish

There are several topics that meditation in the Bodhi Path Center highlights, including 3 Preliminaries. It includes thoughts that advance enlightenment, refuge and the qualities of the Three Jewels, and training in the form of calm-abiding meditation,or shiné in Tibetan. With regards to absolute and relative bodhicitta, or the development of wisdom and compassion, the center emphasizes insight meditation and the meditation of giving and taking. To teach Buddhist conduct and ethics, the 14th Shamarpa composed a curriculum made up of several chapters of The Jewel Ornament of Liberation by Gampopa. He also emphasizes topics from the Abhidharma, based on the text The Gateway to Knowledge by Mipham Rinpoche, which discuss topics such as the four noble truths and relative and absolute truth

While attending the Zoom meditation session, I found that the overall atmosphere of the community appeared to be on the quiet side. The beginning of the Zoom started with a few announcements on events, and within 15 minutes Dawa Phillips began the session with chants, including the Refuge and The Four Immeasurables. The meditation started and went on for about half of the session. After the end of the meditation, Dawa Phillips began his teachings and homily, during which a few questions from the community were asked and answered by him, through his discourse. Dawa Phillips invited us into breakout rooms in the Zoom to converse about the topics of the day, or any questions or observations in general. We ended the session with a prayer of Dedication which was a call to action to attaining true omniscience. Although in-person teachings at the center would definitely make the experience feel more connected, the Bodhi Path Center is doing the best they can in the unconventional circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic through their accessible online instruction

The Buddha did not set out for Enlightenment; he set out to end suffering. Enlightenment was just a consequence. The 37 practices of the Bodhisattvas are quite important in Buddhist studies. The mind is used to describe the perceiver and its objects, which are used to describe the perceived. Life is focused on phenomena we want but struggle to obtain and phenomena we don’t want and struggle to avoid or get rid of. Understanding the two truths is understanding the ultimate reality of mind and phenomena and the relative reality of mind and phenomena. In other words, how things are and how things are perceived. The Bodhisattvas all understand that that which we call a self or the perceiver cannot be affirmed or established. Thus, they have a realization of genuine selflessness, which is unlike a selfless act- a selfless wisdom that through careful observation realizes that that which appears to be an independent existing permanent self is in fact empty of any kind of ground on which to build such an affirmation. Therefore, the sentient being can find reparations and can become personally liberated as a result of that insight