Question: I am relatively new to Buddhism (I have been practicing for about a year) and I’ve been struggling with the balance between study and practice. How should I go about setting up a plan of study for myself? How do I decide what I should study when there is so much material out there, and are there things that I absolutely must study before going on to more advanced [...]
What to Do When Energy Runs Wild
Advanced meditation practices can cause energy imbalances that lead to serious physical and emotional problems. Ken McLeod, a veteran of two three-year retreats, explains what to do if this happens to you. A few years ago, a psychologist came to see me with concerns after attending a one-day retreat. The practice instruction she had received was to put attention on just the [...]
Nirvana Now
Nirvana, says Ajahn Sumedho, is not some far off goal that can only be attained through years of effort. It is a state of being you can realize at any moment once you let go of grasping. A difficulty with the word nibbana is that its meaning is beyond the power of words to describe. It is, essentially, undefinable. Another difficulty is that many Buddhists see nibbana [...]
Forum: You Mean I’m Going to Die Too?
Jan Chozen Bays, Ajahn Amaro, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and Frank Ostaseski explore how to face aging and death with an open and fearless mind. I grew up in a small farming community. Each year animals I had seen grazing in their pastures were slaughtered and sent off to the meat packers. One of my neighbors kept a tin cup hanging in his barn that he used to drink blood [...]
Pilgrims’ Progress
The great pilgrimage sites marking major events in the Buddha’s life have gone from ruin to renewal, but problems remain and their future is not secure. Joseph Szostak reports from India on the history of Buddhist pilgrimage and the challenges and benefits of this ancient practice. A few days into my first pilgrimage, I was traveling on an old Mazda bus, rolling on six bald [...]
A Masterful Guide to Vajrayana Practice
A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar By Thinley Norbu Shambhala Publications, 2006 336 pages; $24.95 (hardcover) Reviewed by Francesca Fremantle Thinley Norbu Rinpoche is a renowned writer and teacher in the Nyingma tradition. He is the eldest son of the late Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, who was the incarnation of the nineteenth-century terton Tragtung Dudjom [...]
