Bodhi Day is a holiday that commemorates the Enlightenment of the Buddha and the start of the Buddhist tradition. It is December 8th. The story is that Siddhartha Gautama, after years of trying different things, sat under a tree and declared that he would meditate until he found the root of suffering and the way out of suffering. He entered deeper and deeper levels of meditation and he became Awakened to the truth about suffering. At this moment he had... Read more
One night while I was teaching my Dhammapada class for the Rime Center, I noticed a sore throat was manifesting. I was cautiously optimistic, believing it was just one of those 24 hour things that would go away. The next day more symptoms appeared. Runny nose, low energy, and loss of appetite. The first time I took an at home covid test it was negative. I didn’t believe the test so I stayed home sick from work and didn’t go... Read more
This is a series of talks I gave from Shantideva’s “Way of the Bodhisattva” I hope these talks give you some benefit.  Shantideva Had No Friends Benefits of Bodhichitta Offerings, Refuge, and Misdeeds Embracing Bodhichitta Carefulness Guarding Awareness    Read more
Lha Bab Duchen is one of the four great Buddhist holidays in the Tibetan tradition. This year it is November 15th. It’s a different day every year because Tibetans traditionally use a lunar calendar. The story is that the Buddha went up to heaven to teach his mother and some gods the path to Enlightenment. You see, the Buddha’s mother died when he was a child. The story is that the Buddha went to heaven for a week when he... Read more
This is a series of talks I gave based on the text “Faith in Mind”. You can listen to these in any order. I hope these teachings are helpful. Make Friends With Your Mind No Opinions The Mind's Essential Peace Vast Like Space Outer Entanglements and Inner Feelings Be Serene Denying Reality Appearances and the Root Cherishing Opinions The Old Mind Fearful and Irresolute Read more
“Though we think we want to be rid of suffering, suffering is exactly what we rush straight toward. And though we want to be happy, in our ignorance we destroy our own happiness like an enemy.” -Shantideva Buddhism has ethical teachings, just as other religions do. But there’s a subtle difference that I feel sets Buddhism apart. We work to cultivate virtue because it’s in our best interest. Buddhism teaches that doing unethical things gets in our own way. So,... Read more
This is part of a series of teachings from Jigme Lingpa’s Steps to the Great Perfection. This is a teaching from the Mind Training Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The first mind training in the Dzogchen tradition is Contemplating Impermanence. A text called The Child Scripture says, “Reflect on the fact that all conditioned phenomena are impermanent.” We tend to think we can hold onto things but we can’t. The truth is we are losing things all the time and we... Read more
This is a series of talks on “The Eight Stanzas of Mind Training” I hope these talks are helpful. Beings Are Precious Others Are Paramount All The Time Beings of Bad Character Attacks From Others Great Hopes and Harm Offering to Mothers Worldly Concerns Read more
Upcoming Class Announcement. The Dhammapada: Buddhism Unplugged. I’m teaching this class in November. Live on Zoom with the Rime Center Buddhist Community. It’s all online and it’s pay-what-you-can-afford, so if you’re interested, you should sign up. This is a classic text from the very beginning of the Buddhist tradition and it outlines what we can do to help ourselves live good, mindful, virtuous lives. It means essentially, “the way of truth”. It’s short and easy to understand, so it may... Read more
I taught a class at the Rime Center called “Boundless Heart” This was an exploration of the teaching of the Four Immeasurables. If we can learn how to cultivate Lovingkindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity then we will develop what the Buddha called “The most noble way of living in this world.” This set of virtues is called “immeasurable” because it’s said to be a list of things that you can never have too much of. They are: loving-kindness, compassion,... Read more
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