From time to time, says Anyen Rinpoche, it’s important to take an honest look at yourself and ask, how am I doing on the Buddhist path? For longtime practitioners, the question is even more pressing. It has been almost fifty years since many lamas of my parents’ and grandparents’ generation crossed the borders of Tibet and changed the spiritual face of the West forever. [...]
The 4 Noble Truths of Emotional Suffering
The Buddha laid out a four-step path to freedom from difficult emotions. The secret, says Anyen Rinpoche, is understanding why our emotions cause us so much suffering. Once we know that, the path to freedom becomes clear. Most of us start to practice Buddhism because we feel dissatisfied and disillusioned with life, in a general way or for some specific reason. Indeed, it is [...]
The Practical Practitioner
If you want to get anywhere with your practice, says Anyen Rinpoche, it must be built on intellectual and experiential certainty. As practitioners of the buddhadharma—whether we are new or experienced—we practice because we’re unhappy with the miserable state of samsara. In the Vajrayana tradition, we vow to bring temporary comfort and ultimate liberation to each and every [...]
In Search of the Genuine
Feeling disillusioned with this artificial world is the starting place of the spiritual path, say Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo. They offer a Buddhist take on the genuineness we long for. Many of us turn toward the spiritual path because of our disillusionment with the world we live in. Some of us have felt disillusioned for as long as we can remember. Even as [...]
Developing Pure Perception Through Visualization
We visualize deities to connect with their enlightened energy, purity, and sacredness, which is our own nature as well. Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo teach us how to visualize Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of perfect compassion. We are constantly thwarted by our own expectations. For most of us, fantasizing about how things “should be” is a constant source of [...]
Announcing “Finding Freedom From Painful Emotions,” the 2016 Lion’s Roar Retreat
We’re delighted to announce our annual community retreat—taking place this year at Garrison Institute in Garrison, New York, July 29 - July 31. Zen teacher Karen Maezen Miller, Tibetan teacher Anyen Rinpoche, and Insight Meditation teacher Josh Korda will come together with Lion’s Roar and Buddhadharma staff for "Finding Freedom From Painful Emotions" — and we hope you can join [...]