RigDzin Dharma Foundation
Tibetan Buddhist Center
About Us
"With bodhichitta as our motivation, to nurture and sustain RigDzin Dharma Foundation, a Vajrayana Buddhist Center,
as a place of refuge, support, and education for the spiritual needs of individuals, in particular those with an interest in Buddhist
teachings and practices of the Drikung Kagyu tradition, as taught by His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche and Venerable Traga Rinpoche,
with an openness to all Buddhist traditions."
This, the mission statement of RigDzin Dharma Foundation, puts the ideals we strive for as a sangha and a community into words.
Tibetan Buddhism offers a vast and profound body of teachings and spiritual practices. These date back more than 2,500 years
to the Shakyamuni Buddha, and remarkably, have been passed down in an unbroken lineage going back to the Buddha himself.
The teachings are aimed at accelerating the spiritual development of the practitioner for the benefit of all living beings,
recognizing their similarities to ourselves. At the core of the teachings is a deep awareness of the nature of suffering and a
consistent emphasis on compassion.
People from any and all spiritual or religious backgrounds are welcome to practice Tibetan Buddhism. There is no requirement
to leave behind the religion of one's background. It is not necessary to "become a Buddhist" in order to attend meditation
sessions or teachings at our center. Indeed, Tibetan Buddhism is nonsectarian and welcomes the participation of individuals
from all faiths and spiritual paths. His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself has said that we do not need to abandon our own
spiritual background. Rather, we need only to use the teachings and ideals we find helpful and meaningful in the context
of our own lives. Making these teachings available to everyone in a form they can use and relate to is the ultimate aim
of RigDzin Dharma Foundation.