“Choosing Kindness: Empathy, Emptiness, and Empowerment in Challenging Times”

In our daily lives, we are often bombarded by external experiences that show cruelty and

heartlessness. We are influenced by these situations and begin to believe that in order to

be happy we need to follow a particular behavior, obtain an array of material items and/or

attain a certain status. Little by little, the natural authentic dynamic flow of who we really

are gets blocked and instead manifests as something more constrictive, negative, hostile

or fearful. So we escape, blame or numb ourselves to what is really happening. Then the

ruminating mind takes over deepening a false veil on our perceptions. This is the perfect

time for practice!

How can we use our vulnerability to generate a strong wish to emerge from our confusion and separation and spark a deep experience of compassion for others? This program explores a path of transformation by being present with our pain, fear, and aversion and incorporates mindfulness exercises to help us move through these less than comfortable states. This workshop is open to all levels.

Please join us as we welcome back the Venerable Amy Miller. This special 1/2 day workshop will be held in place of our normal monthly October meeting. Suggested donation is $40, but give what feels generous to you, no one will be turned away. All donations will be given to the workshop teacher. Please register in advance using the registration button below. If you have trouble with the button you can email info@lvbuddhistgroup.org and be sure to include your name.

Venerable Amy J. Miller (Ven. Lobsang Chodren) first encountered Tibetan Buddhism in the spring of 1987 during a course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Since then, she has spent a great deal of time engaged in meditation retreats, study, teaching, and Buddhist center management throughout the world. Prior to meeting the Dharma, Amy was a political fundraiser in Washington, DC and also worked for Mother Jones Magazine in San Francisco, California.

Amy also trained as an emotional support hospice counselor during the peak of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco and offers courses and retreats on death and dying and end-of-life care.

From 1992-1995, Amy managed Tse Chen Ling Center in San Francisco, California. She then served as Director of Vajrapani Institute, also in California, from 1995-2004. From 1998-2002, she was also the Manager of the Lawudo Retreat Fund (which supports the center in which the sacred cave of Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche is located) in the Mt. Everest region of Nepal. In 2004, after resigning as Director, Amy completed a seven-month solitary retreat at Vajrapani. For most of 2005 and 2006, she organized international teaching tours for and traveled with the esteemed Tibetan Buddhist master, Ven. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche until Rinpoche’s death in 2006. Amy then became a touring teacher for the FPMT (the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition). From 2008-2014, Amy was Director of Milarepa Center in Barnet, Vermont.

Amy has also had the good fortune to visit Tibet in 1987 and again in 2001 as a pilgrimage leader for the Institute of Noetic Science in the United States. She has also led pilgrimages to India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The next pilgrimage Amy is leading may be in the spring of 2026 (possibly late April to mid-May) to Lawudo Retreat Center in the Mount Everest region of Nepal. See Amy’s website below for more information.

Amy was ordained as a Buddhist nun in June 2000 and has been teaching extensively since 1992. Her teaching style emphasizes a practical approach to integrating Buddhist philosophy into everyday life. She is happy to help people connect with meditation and mindfulness to gain a refreshing perspective on normally stressful living. Amy’s courses and retreats focus on establishing and maintaining a meditation and mindfulness practice, death and dying, overcoming anxiety and depression, battling addiction, dealing with self-esteem issues, and cultivating compassion and loving kindness.

Amy is the co-author of Buddhism in a Nutshell - and a contributor to Living in the Path, a series of online courses produced by FPMT.

Amy currently teaches and leads retreats and pilgrimages around the world. Her teaching schedule and other information can be found at www.AmyMiller.com.

Address: Unity of Lehigh Valley 26 N 3rd St, Emmaus, PA 18049