Zen teacher Norman Fischer looks at the famed Heart Sutra and explains why compassion and emptiness go hand in hand. Plus, Thich Nhat Hanh offers his new translation of the Heart Sutra, which teaches the transcendent wisdom that frees us from fear, wrong perceptions, and suffering. The key term in Buddhism’s Heart Sutra is the Sanskrit word shunyata, usually translated [...]
Living the Lion’s Roar: How to Practice Fearlessness
At every stage of our path, says Chögyam Trunpga Rinpoche, the fearless proclamation of the truth cuts through ego. Are we ready to hear it? We could regard enlightenment as the product of the fearfulness of ego, which constantly tries to maintain itself and to run away from any threats that might reveal its nonexistence. The samsaric kleshas, or conflicting emotions—passion, [...]
Developing the Mind of Great Capacity
A teaching on practices to generate bodhichitta by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. From one point of view, personal liberation without freeing others is selfish and unfair, because all sentient beings also have the natural right and desire to be free of suffering. Therefore, it is important for practitioners to engage in the practice of the stages of the path of the highest [...]
The Heart Sutra Will Change You Forever
Penetrate the true meaning of the Heart Sutra, says Karl Brunnhölzl, and nothing will be the same again. The secret is to make it personal. There is no doubt that the Heart Sutra is the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition, which still flourishes in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, China, parts of India and Nepal, and, [...]
Pema Chödrön on Waking Up — and Benefiting Others
Pema Chödrön offers her unique perspective on The Way of the Bodhisattva, Shantideva’s classic description of the Mahayana path. Here she addresses one of the most important of all spiritual questions—how to free ourselves from the powerful spell of the emotional afflictions. Rousing the bodhi heart means connecting with our longing for enlightenment, with the clear desire [...]
What are the Six Transcendent Perfections?
In Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattva practices the six paramitas, or transcendent perfections. These are a path to enlightenment, the fruition of the bodhisattva way, and a means to benefit sentient beings. They are transcendent because the subject, object, and practice of the perfections are all free of self, which is known as the threefold purity. Generosity [...]
Sacred Slogans
Judy Lief provides an introduction to learning The Seven Points of Training the Mind. The Seven Points of Training the Mind is a list of fifty-nine slogans, which together form a pithy instruction on the view and practical application of Mahayana Buddhism. The study and practice of these slogans is a practical and earthy way to reverse our ego-clinging and cultivate [...]
5 Buddhist Slogans for the Office
By practicing the famous mind training slogans, you can bring profound Buddhist wisdom into your day-to-day life. Lodro Rinzler highlights five slogans that are especially helpful at work. The Buddhist master Atisha (982–1054) is credited with popularizing and systematizing the lojong, or mind training, teachings of Buddhism. Prior to Atisha, these teachings were held closely [...]
The Basic Principle of Bodhicitta
Relative bodhicitta is how we learn to love each other and ourselves, according to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The basic principle of ultimate bodhicitta is to rest in the fundamental state of consciousness, before it is divided into ‘I and ‘other.' Generosity is self-existing openness, complete openness. The ultimate principle of the awakened heart is based on developing [...]
Guide to the Three-Yana Journey
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s comprehensive presentation of the three-yana journey, taught only to his senior students, is being made public for the first time in The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma. Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche takes us through this unique body of teachings. In the summer of 1980, the Vidyadhara, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, invited my father and me for [...]