Bodhi Path Buddhist Center founder Shamar Rinpoche, the 14th Sharmapa, will be on Martha’s Vineyard for a weekend teaching series July 24 and 25, teaching from his latest book, The Path To Awakening. Teachings will be 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 4 p.m. both days. There will be a welcoming reception and book signing on Friday, July 23, from 5 to 8 p.m.

In The Path to Awakening, Shamar Rinpoche provides an extensive commentary on Chekawa Yeshe Dorje’s Seven Points of Mind Training. Chekawa’s text was based on the Mind Training (lojong) teachings brought to Tibet by Atisha in the 11th century, and Shamar Rinpoche’s commentary elucidates the inner meaning of Chekawa’s Seven Points. It is both a guide to living a fulfilling life as a Buddhist and a comprehensive manual of meditation techniques.

Shamar Rinpoche is the 14th Shamarpa, or Red Hat Lama of Tibet. The Shamarpa lineage is the second-oldest reincarnate lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, dating to the 13th century. Born in 1952, Shamar Rinpoche spent many years studying in India with Buddhist scholars. He began to travel and teach in various Buddhist centers throughout Asia and the west starting in 1980, and in 1982 went to U.C. Berkeley to study English for 10 months. In 1996 he started to organize the Bodhi Path Buddhist Centers, a network of centers based on a nonsectarian approach to Buddhism. Shamar Rinpoche established the Martha’s Vineyard Bodhi Path in 1999.

Lama Yeshe Drolma will give teachings at The Bodhi Path from now through Sept. 19. This is Lama Yeshe’s 10th summer of teaching on the Vineyard. The topic of the two-month long teaching series is, Daily Life as the Path for Awakening. Teachings are every Sunday at 10 a.m. except Sunday, July 24.

Lama Yeshe was born on the island of Wyk auf Foehr in North Frisia in Germany in 1945. Shortly after meeting Shamar Rinpoche in Germany in 1986, she dedicated her life to Buddhist practice and study. In 1989 she entered retreat initially and in 1994 she entered the final traditional 3-year retreat guided by Gendun Rinpoche. She then continued an individual retreat until 2000, when she was sent to the United States to establish the Bodhi Path Center on Martha’s Vineyard.

Meditation practice will be lead by Lama Yeshe on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. during her stay, and will also lead two one-day meditation retreats, on Saturday, August 7 and Saturday, Sept. 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Bodhi Path is located at 21 Laurand Drive in West Tisbury. The center offers meditation sessions, instruction and teachings. For more information, call 508-696-5929 or check bodhipath.org. All are welcome.