Category: Buddhist Wisdom
Don’t Be So Sure
In a changing world, certainty doesn't give us stability; it just creates more chaos. "Now is the time for far less certainty and far more curiousity."
What did Yan T’ou Whisper? A Commentary on “Te Shan Holds His Bowl”
Zen Buddhist priest Norman Fischer gives a commentary on "Te Shan Holds His Bowl", a Zen koan.
Religion Without God
What does it mean to be a religion without a God? More broadly, what does it mean to live without an exterior savior of any kind?
Meditation and Post-Meditation
Normally, when we talk about meditation, we're talking about formal meditation, meaning that our meditation session has a definite beginning and end.
Appreciate Your Life
The pitfall is always within yourself. This very body and mind is the Way. You are complete to begin with. There is no gap, but you think there is.
Do I Exist or Not?
<h4>The complete negation of everything — is that Buddhism? No, says Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, "Buddhism is more complicated than that: things don’t exist, but they don’t not exist either." </h4>
The Case for Contemplative Psychology
When spiritual tradition is viewed as its own school of psychology, it can offer more effective techniques and profound goals than conventional psychology.
On the Importance of Relating to Unseen Beings
While Westerners tend to view it as superstition or symbolism, Reginald Ray argues that spiritual ritual is at the very heart of tantric Buddhist practice.
The Sage Commander
We are all leaders in our own way. We all face conflict and chaos in our lives. But the wise leader seeks victory beyond aggression.
Approaching the Guru
A talk on devotion by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, given in 1996 in Boulder, Colorado at the commemoration of the death of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
Becoming a Buddhist
“When we take refuge in the Buddha, we mean the qualities of the Buddha that are inherent within us. We are taking refuge in our own intrinsic enlightenment.”
The Innermost Essence
From "The Innermost Essence" by the great Dzogchen teacher Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798) and translated by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Noble Heart of All Existence
Compassion is not a path that is taken because it leads somewhere else. Everything that we encounter, all that we experience, is this path.
Take a Closer Look at the Journey from Birth to Death
We could look at our life as a whole as a journey from our birth to our death, says Judy Lief. But we should not stop there. We could take a closer look.
Zen Talks and Poems
"The vastness lying beyond can only be detected by those who know what real Zen practice is all about,” said Nyogen Senzaki.
The Wisdom of Shambhala
In the classic Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, Chogyam Trungpa offered a powerful vision of spirituality founded on basic human wisdom, a path of meditation and warriorship for people of any belief or way of life. In this chapter from the long-awaited sequel, entitled Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala, Chogyam Trungpa discusses Working with Early Morning Depression. Introduction by Diana Mukpo.
The Rain and the Temple
"Pushing the dripping hair from my face, the rain running down my cheeks, I speak to my old teacher. ‘I’m here. It took me a while, but I made it.’
Sex & Buddhism
Robin Kornman argues that, unlike other religions, Buddhism doesn’t view sex as a particularly important spiritual issue.
Pure Passion
Judith Simmer-Brown on the role of desire in Buddhist Tantra: "The intensity of desire can only be liberated by desire itself."
Liberalism and Religion – We Should Talk
Liberalism's objections to mythic forms do not apply to formless awareness. Thus liberalism and authentic spirituality can walk hand in hand.