Deep Dive
Buddhist Teachings on the Nature of Mind
What is Mind? This selection of Buddhist teachings from across traditions sheds light on our mind’s everyday workings and its potential to become empty, clear, and blissful. Featuring Judy Roitman, Geshe Tenzin Wangyal, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Guo Gu, and more.
Directly Experience the Nature of Mind
Instruction on Mahamudra vipashyana meditation by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche.
Discovering the True Nature of Mind
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal teaches us a Dzogchen meditation that goes from contemplating our worst enemy to the discovery that mind is empty, clear and blissful.
“Right now, while adrift on samsara’s ocean, we are confused about what is real, about the nature of things. In this state, there are many worries and a lot of fear and uneasiness. To be free of these we need to be free of the bewilderment and confusion.”
—Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche.
Only Don’t Know
Whatever answers you think you have, says Judy Roitman, you don’t—and in that not knowing, we find the heart of Buddhist practice.
Emptiness and Existence
Roger R. Jackson explains how different Tibetan schools approach the nature of mind, and why it matters.
Mind Is Empty and Lucid, Its Nature Is Great Bliss
The Tibetan teacher Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche offers instruction on key verses from one of the Mahamudra’s seminal texts.
How Do We Create Our Reality?
According to Yogacara, or “mind-only” teachings, everything we experience is a construct of consciousness. Guo Gu explains how it all works.
59 Ways to Turn Your Mind Around
Zen teaches that we should maintain “a joyful mind, an elder’s mind, and a great mind.” According to Jisho Sara Siebert, they’re never far away.
Abhidhamma Dissects the Mind
The Abhidhamma, says Bhikkhu Bodhi, breaks open how the mind works, what cognition is, and how there can be thoughts without a thinker.
Living Buddhist Ethics
Looking primarily at the three sila aspects of the Buddha’s eightfold path—right action, right speech, and right livelihood—leading dharma figures explain how, as Buddhists in today’s world, we can live ethically, and in accord with what the dharma teaches.
Ethics, Meditation, and Wisdom
Norman Fischer on how sila, samadhi, and prajna work together to give us stability on the Buddhist path to liberation.
Understanding the Vinaya
Amy Paris Langenberg on the history, evolution, and modern manifestations of the training rules followed by Buddhist monastics.
Dukkha as a Doorway to Liberation
Scott Tusa on how Buddhist ethics transcend mere morality and help us to realize awakening.
The Six Dharmas of Naropa
Considered a fast track to buddhahood, the Six Dharmas are advanced tantric practices including tummo (inner heat), yoga of the dream state, resting in luminosity, and more. Featuring an overview by Pema Khandro Rinpoche, plus in-depth teachings by specialists in each of the Six Dharmas.
The Swift Path to Buddhahood
Pema Khandro on the fascinating history, practice, and purpose of the Six Dharmas of Naropa.
The Practice of Fierce Inner Heat
Judith Simmer-Brown on tummo, one of the most famous esoteric practices of Tibetan Vajrayana and the Six Dharmas. What is it, what are its benefits, and what role does it play in our journey to enlightenment?
A Wake-Up Call
Andrew Holecek on bardo, one of the Six Dharmas of Naropa’s two practices for helping us find our way, when the time comes, through the death experience. It can help us in life, too.