Happy 2026!

We had a full house during our "Endings, Beginnings" New Year's event, preparing for the end of 2025 by chanting the Vajrasattva Hundred Syllable Mantra to clear and leave behind all that we do not wish to take with us into 2026. In Asian Buddhist traditions, cleaning and clearing the negatives of the year coming to a close is a more common emphasis than making new resolutions for the new year per se. Thus, every year on New Year’s Eve, Urban Dharma hosts and karmic cleansing practice under candlelight. Over 70 people packed into our temple in West Asheville while many more join from different parts of the world via Zoom.

Dorlop Rinpoché, Dr. Lye reminded everyone the Buddha’s teachings on karma, but emphasized that often karma is understood superficially as a system of “rewards and punishments” sans a personal god as administrator of this “system of natural justice.” Dr. Lye said that there is a much more basic level and profound point to the Buddha’s teachings on karmic cause and effect: reality/life and what turns up in our lives is first and foremost the embodiment in 3D of what’s in our hearts-minds. From moment-to-moment, reality/life is unfolding according to our thoughts/feelings/perceptions/projections. From an unskillful, untrained heart-mind arises unskillful, unruly speech and actions that then in turn manifest as physical reality. So karmic cause and effect isn’t really about “you deserve” or “you don’t deserve” happiness or suffering!

The second point that Dr. Lye emphasized is the power of shaping our heart-minds to align with our deepest nature, which is clear, kind, and tender. By re-habituating to this nature, we begin to reorient our world, our place in it, and begin to be good to ourselves and to others.

May 2026–the Year of the Horse–be a year of skillful and kind choices!

Swift Path to The Realm of Bliss

Amitabha Buddha Empowerment & Teachings

Dorlop Rinpoché, Dr. Lye will offer a weekend retreat at Urban Dharma in Asheville, North Carolina on the weekend of January 24 & 25 focused on Boundless Light Buddha (Amitabha) and his Realm of Bliss (Dewachen). This program will include a Boundless Light Buddha empowerment from "The Profound Intent of the Secret Essence Cycle of Dharmas" upheld in the Drikung Kagyu Lineage.

Dr. Lye is offering this program to serve as a support for the Phowa Transmission that he offered a few months ago. Furthermore, Dr. Lye intends to offer a special focus on practices of the Lotus Family of the Secret Mantra (Vajrayana) in this coming year of 2026. Stay tuned for the announcement of a few more weekend programs on various deities and practices of this buddha-family. Those who are the desirous, possessive, controlling, creative, and discerning types have an affinity with the Lotus Family and its practices can help us clear the causes of suffering and achieve the causes of happiness in the most efficient and swift manner.

NOTE: As this is a Vajrayana empowerment, please only attend if you understand that the Vajrayana path is based on training in pure perception. At the very least, initiates need to be ready to train in pure perception of the Vajrayana methods, of the teacher giving the empowerment and, of fellow initiates.

This is a Zoom and in-person program.

Registration is required here.

Join the Walk for Peace

Just a reminder to keep your calendars open Saturday, January 17th if you'd like to join members of Urban Dharma in participating on a portion of the Walk for Peace —a 2,300+ mile trek across the Southeastern United States currently being undertaken by a group of dedicated monks (and their loyal dog, Aloka) from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C.. The journey, which officially began on October 26th, is intended to “raise awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion across America and the world."

If you're interested in walking along with them for a ways, please RSVP by replying to this email and stay tuned for updates, as we will be organizing to caravan to their location and accompany them on their walk.