Puja & Practices Day:
Animal Liberation & Cittamani Tara Puja
to Generate Happiness & Its Causes
Puja & Practices Day: Sun May 24, 1:30-6pm EDT IN-PERSON
Cittamani Tara Puja: 4:30-5:30pm EDT IN-PERSON & ONLINE
Join us for a day of benefitting ourselves, others, and the planet! We will engage in animal liberation and a Cittamani Tara Puja as well as meditating, learning more about composting, and enjoying some tea together. Come for all or part of these joyous practices.
All living beings, no matter how big or small, value their lives and wish to avoid suffering. Fortunately, we can help relieve this suffering through the compassionate practice of animal liberation. Reaching out to animals in need, rescuing them from imminent death or harm, and introducing them to holy objects and Buddhist prayers provides comfort and happiness while creating the causes for them to meet the Dharma in future lives.
By doing this practice, we also create the causes for our own health and long life. According to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, “For the person who liberates animals, or whoever wants to dedicate the merit to those with life obstacles, this practice helps them to obtain long life. Even if you don’t expect it, the karma will cause you to have a long life.”
For the animal liberation practice, we’ll be saving worms that are currently sold as live mealworms in stores and will be given a new home in a safe composting bin. In addition to excelling at composting, these worms also have five hearts—that’s a lot of love to give!
No registration is required; however, if you plan to attend the Cittamani Tara Puja online, please register here. Since this is a hands-on group practice, you are encouraged to bring a holy object to be placed for circumambulating the worms.
Schedule
Note: The sentient beings to be blessed will be worms for composting. We will not be blessing pets at this time.
1:30–2:30pm: Volunteer to help create a merit-building space
30 minutes – Assist in setting up a large table for water bowls and the holy objects, preparing the water bowl offerings and holy objects, arranging cozy cushions, chairs, and small tables, and helping create an inviting tea and refreshments area for after the practice.
- 25 minutes – A brief talk by Jennifer Kim on water bowl offerings, and the sacred objects on the altar, followed by time for questions and a hands-on opportunity to make offerings.
2:30pm–4pm: Liberating Animals Practice
Just over 1 hour – A guided meditation led by George Cuesta to settle the mind and will be followed by the Liberating Animals Practice, including setting the motivation, mantra recitations (Chenrezig, Medicine Buddha, and other beneficial mantras), and dedication. The session will also include time to gently circumambulate the worms around the holy objects and water bowls, as well as an opportunity to ask questions with our knowledgeable umzes, George and Jennifer. If you would like to take a break from your phone, printouts will be available, and electronic versions will also be provided on the day of practice. We will be using Liberating Animals, parts of Liberating Animals: The Actual Practice, with permission from the FPMT Foundation Store. Copies are available for purchase through the FPMT Foundation Store.
20 minutes – Q&A on composting during a tea break. Join Linda Melisano, an active volunteer with a local composting program and at the center, for a Q&A on the cycle of composting and practical tips for composting indoors. Connect, learn, and share ideas while enjoying a relaxing tea break with treats.
4:30pm–5:30pm: Shortened Cittamani Tara Puja, available in-person & online
- Conclude this powerful practice with a shortened Cittamani Tara puja led by umze Jennifer Kim. This is an excellent opportunity to experience a puja with a well-trained umze. Sadhana and center prayers are provided for in-person attendance or screen-shared online. To register for online attendance, visit: Cittamani Tara puja
5:30–6:30pm: Closing
- Like any joyful event, at some point the glitter and balloons need to be cleared away. In the same spirit, please help us restore the gompa to its original state while enjoying conversation and finishing off the yummy treats. Any amount of time you’re able to stay and pitch in would be greatly appreciated!
About Cittamani Tara Puja
Cittamani Tara Puja is a practice invoking Cittamani Tara, a deity well-known as a source of swift assistance in all temporal and spiritual matters. Cittamani Tara is called upon to bring success—including for situations involving family, relationships, business, and career—and for protection from all negativities and fears. She is also invoked in times of emergency, personal distress and difficulty, health problems, for the quick removal of obstacles, and when rapid wisdom is needed. This event will be offering a shortened version but if you would like to attend the full puja, there will be a Cittamani Tara Puja online on Apr 24. To register for online attendance, visit: Cittamani Tara puja
About the Worms & Composting
For this event, we will be saving worms that are particularly beneficial for composting and are currently being sold as live mealworms in stores. They will then be moved to a closed composting bin, where they will live in a Brooklyn home and feed on organic scraps. During the Liberating Animals practice, participants will gently circumambulate the worms in their little safe sublet, around the holy objects and water bowls. The worms’ new home, the compost bin, will also be on site. After, Linda Melisano, a long-time composting practitioner and active volunteer at a Brooklyn composting site GrowNYC, will demonstrate how the composting bins work and share about the important role worms play in this living environment. Fun fact about these worms: In addition to being composting pros, they’ve got five hearts—so you know they’ve got plenty of love to go around!
Get to Know Us
For this event: George Cuesta will be umze, meditation facilitator, and all–around person to ask questions about the Dharma. He will also be facilitating the hybrid Buddhism in a Nutshell session from May 8 to Jun 12 and leading the Medicine Buddha Puja on May 1.
Native New Yorker, George Michael Cuesta, first came to the Dharma in this life while on a family vacation in Thailand in November 2005. At Wat Doi Su Thep in Chiang Mai, he was amazed by the giant stupa, the circumambulating pilgrims, the monks, the nuns, the incense, the water offerings, the chanting, the thangkas, and the ubiquitous statues of the Buddhas. Upon departure from the temple, he purchased “What the Buddha Taught” by Walpola Rahula and read it from cover to cover on the long plane ride home to New York City.
George then began practicing Dharma in 2006 and started practicing with Shantideva Center in October 2008 after an inspirational teaching with Venerable Robina Courtin, his kind teacher with whom he took Refuge Vows at Columbia University. George has been a licensed psychologist in the State of New York since 1996, and he has dedicated decades of his life serving Veterans and their families, to promote psychological healing and well-being.
George recently completed the Master of Arts degree in Buddhist Studies at Maitripa College, Portland, Oregon in May 2024 under the guidance of Yangsi Rinpoche. At around the same time, he also completed the Discovering Buddhism course under the guidance and direction of Geshe Namdak at the Jamyang London Buddhist Centre. He returned to New York City in September 2024 and resumed his volunteer participation with Shantideva Center.
For this event: Jennifer Kim will be umze and all–around person to ask questions about the Dharma and pujas.
Jennifer Kim first encountered Buddhism in 2007, after she taught English to Tibetan Buddhist monks in New Zealand and was struck by their joy, scholarship, and deep kindness. Since that time, she has dedicated most of her life to studying and practicing the Dharma, in addition to sharing it with others.
She has attended numerous teachings and retreats over the years with heart teachers including HH Dalai Lama, Choden Rinpoche, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Yangsi Rinpoche, and Khandro Tsering Kunga Bum-ma. She enjoys a special affinity to Tara practice.
Jennifer has been part of Shantideva Center since 2010 and has served as its director, amongst various roles. She also works for Potential Project, which integrates traditional wisdom traditions with scientific research and modern business application to help create more human-centric world of work. She enjoys both traditional Dharma practice and its application to meet the needs of people from all walks of life.
For this event: Linda Melisano will be our composting expert, making sure both you and the worms are safe throughout the session and will be one of our floaters if you have any questions or need assistance.
Linda Melisano is a retired emergency nurse. Since retiring, she has become a full-time tree hugger, master composter, and pantry worker driver. To learn more about Linda and her experience with the Dharma and volunteering at the center, visit Meet Our Volunteers.
For this event: Sheila Odessey will be one of our floaters if you have any questions or need assistance. She is also the SPC (Spiritual Program Coordinator) for Shantideva Center and can answer any questions about the center’s many programs.
Sheila is the SPC for the center and works with a team of exceptional volunteers, invites teachers and organizes programs both online and in person. She retired from the fashion industry during Covid and splits her time between volunteering at the center and being a visual artist. To learn more about Sheila and her experience with volunteering at the center, visit Meet Our Volunteers.
For this event: Joseph Doucette will be one of our floaters if you have any questions and all–around person to ask questions about the Dharma and pujas. He is the umze for Heruka Vajrasattva Tsog and wil be the puja leader on May 12.
Joseph Doucette is a seeker of higher truth. His collegiate studies focused on pre-Socratic and classical Greek philosophy. Two decades ago he began a journey into meditation with mindfulness. Then he “stumbled” upon Mahamudra meditation and ultimately Vajrayana practice. Although his teachings are predominantly from the Gelug tradition, Joseph’s comprehensive knowledge extends to all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, thanks to his diverse training and empowerments. He aims to share his knowledge and experience with others, fostering a community of practitioners at Brooklyn’s Shantideva Center.
For this event: Bonnie Costa will be our floater, here to help make this event feel like your event. This will be a hands-on gathering, and we invite participants to help with setup, creating the merit-building space, and closing. If you need a hand or guidance on where things go, just ask, we are happy to assist.
Bonnie is a long time volunteer at the center and has served various roles, currently Communications Coordinator, altar and Compassion in Action. She enjoys sharing the Dharma with others and creating a safe space for exploring Buddhist teachings. To learn more about Bonnie and her experience with volunteering at the center, visit Meet Our Volunteers.
