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
There is a teaching in the Dzogchen Buddhist tradition that I want to share with you. This is a form of mind training, but different from some other teachings in it’s depth. This is a preliminary teaching but it goes all the way into some difficult concepts that usually aren’t considered approachable for beginners. For this reason, this is a good teaching to study whether one has been practicing a long time or one is just starting out. This teaching... Read more
“Equanimity is understanding what it means to stand in the midst of all experience with unshakeable balance, to be responsive yet unbroken.” -Christina Feldman Equanimity is that quality of mind that helps us keep us together when things get hard, our ability to weather the storms of life and to not fall apart. It’s that quality that stops you from freaking out and falling to the floor when there are setbacks in life. We’ve all been kicked in the heart... Read more
Chokhor Duchen is being celebrated on August 1st this year. It is a holiday that celebrates what could be said to be the beginning of the Buddhism. The story is that the person we call the Buddha attained enlightenment. Following this great attainment, he didn’t teach for seven weeks. He just lived an awakened life on his own. He was concerned other people would have a really difficult time learning the same things about life that he had learned. Then... Read more
Bodhisattva Road
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In