Observe with mindfulness. If we become accustomed to this kind of observation, our vision of the world and of ourselves will change subtly, we will be freeing ourselves from the bounding chains, the clinging and we will be enjoying the events in the present moment, here and now, while they last, letting them go and allowing them to fade away until they become a simple memory.
We have the incredibly great fortune to have encountered the precious teachings of the Buddha as well as living teachers who offer us the opportunity to study those teachings and assist us in training in them. Such a situation is a source of rejoicing that fills my heart with gratitude. It doesn’t matter that the path is long and difficult; it is the journey itself that is important.
Buddhism ultimately is not about making ourselves comfortable and well adjusted in samsara. It is about getting off that wheel entirely, by ending what they call the uncontrolled rebirth that arises out of confusion. We have to be careful in caring for each other and adapting to circumstances that we don’t reify the self, and reinforce our suffering.
Lotus Animal Sanctuary, raising awareness, awakening hearts and saving lives. The sanctuary is the life mission of Lynn, a vegan animal rights activist. When I met her, she tells me she is following a Buddhist path and was inspired by her teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh to become vegan and to get off the meditation mat and put compassion into action in everyday life, and she is.
As each forest decreases, as each piece of woodland is developed upon, our collective perceptual band-width narrows just a little bit more. As Sylvania recedes outside, that sylvan drop inside our hearts, that distilled essence of forest enchantment within us, somehow seems to evaporate away too.
Chadral Rinpoche encouraged us to recognize our ‘true nature,’ because absolutely nothing else will be of any use to us in the long run. This and this alone is the chief and crucial point. In recognizing and practicing, one brings into balance all other factors in one’s life.
My darling Earth Pig I bow to your beneficent bounty Amid toils of duty and servitude To further your brood In all that need manifest As… Read More »YEAR OF THE FEMALE EARTH PIG
With life’s ceaseless hurdles, I imagine my dear fellow being banging their pity head on pillows, supposedly hitting their skull hard, wracking their brain, wondering and almost wishing that it pop out, frantically to see what is there that makes one forget.
Guru is heart, guru is luminous, substanceless mind-essence. By the virtue of his or her own training and devotion to benefit beings, the guru in human form embodies heartmind, and by embodying it brings it out in those with eyes to see and ears to hear, who also have a body alive enough to feel their own life and what is around. Like the real authentic guru himself or herself, heartmind remains ungraspable and indefinable, even as a person.
Radically Happy alternates between background explanations and instructions for guided meditations that build upon one another, moving from mastering one’s own mind to mastering one’s heart and finally mastering dignity, which is to say, finding radical happiness regardless of one’s circumstances.
Come to me in astral view
Watching me watching you
The body that I see
Is made of stars a Dakini
Away A way Away A way
This love that flows is a river, Of unknown source and destination. I could no more halt this invisible stream, this flow, Than turn the… Read More »Becoming the river´s song
Welcome to a new age of communication and implementation that deeply cares about honoring both preservation and adaptation—a very necessary and important step towards a more integrated Buddhism that strives to maintain its relevance and thus its extraordinary helpfulness and integrity to actually remain a complete path to enlightenment in the 21st century.
Homage to the sole protector, Wish-fulfilling vase of goodness. Reliable Guide who knows. Dazzling King of utter beauty. Ferocious Destroyer of all hesitation. Hear our longing cries for help.
Precious, supreme bhikkhu. Of soft words and gentle gestures. Careful steps and immediate attention. Your hands reach out for us. Every time we trip up and begin to fall again.
Recently I saw a high-quality giclée print from an original appliqué thangka created by the artist Leslie Nguyen Temple. I was entranced by the image entitled, “White Tara in New York City” and knew that Leslie and her husband Terris had collaborated on large-scale works for many years with the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa and that he took a keen interest in their personal artwork as well.
I. Widening our circle of awareness We stretch out- Expanding so far We come to embrace everything. Like a clear sky Which holds nothing: Not… Read More »THE CIRCLE OF AWARENESS
For those of us, men and women, who have experienced sexual or any kind of abuse, for that matter, the film offers insight into how we craft our stories into narratives that elude uncomfortable recognition of personal trauma and hurt by reshaping them into more tolerable story lines redefined in the abstract while denying the visceral or reacting with a lifetime of blame.
Many of us struggle to stay afloat these days. We have increasing social, financial, and work burdens that often stretch us in many different directions at once, and a meditation or spiritual practice can unfortunately easily slip into just being one more thing on the to do list.
The Potala Palace in Tibet and Puto Shan near Shanghai in China are powerspots of worldwide renown, but it is less known that they are mirrored from Mount Potalaka in South India, the sacred abode of the noble sage of transcendental compassion, Arya Avalokiteshvara. With the wish to shed more light on Mount Potalaka, Levekunst requested Mattia Salvini, an outstanding poet and Sanskrit expert, to compose a pilgrim’s guide. Enjoy his description, poetic praise of the holy place and his Sanskrit chanting.
OM Oh, glorious Vajrasattva, You shine in my admiration, natural radiance expressed as your face and all around you. Guard and protect the state of… Read More »A PLEA TO VAJRASATTVA
When people visit me in my monastery in Nepal, they sometimes ask, “Please introduce me to the nature of my mind! My plane leaves tomorrow morning, so I’m in a bit of a hurry!” It almost sounds as if they think the nature of mind is a special thing, a bit like a tourist attraction, which they have to see before they’re off to the airport. On other occasions, people talk to me as if I were a gardener and the nature of mind were a rare flower that they want to see and smell.
–Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche