"It doesn't make sense to grab at the highest teachings and reject the rest," says Tsoknyi Rinpoche in this teaching from the Lion's Roar archive. "It is the kindness of the buddhas to provide us with a complete path, and the preliminary practices are part of that path." All great teachers of the past have taught the identical message: "Gather the accumulations, purify the [...]
Shamatha–Vipashyana: Our Original Nature
Gaylon Ferguson says through the practice of both shamatha and vipashyana we bring our mind back to its original state. In the tradition of the buddhadharma that traveled from ancient India to Tibet (and, more recently, to various points west), the two main kinds of meditation practiced are shamatha (peaceful or calm abiding) and vipashyana (insight). These are two different [...]
A Buddhist Chaplain Disrupts Suffering in Rikers Island
No one escapes suffering in Rikers Island. Not prisoners, not staff. Jennifer Keishin Armstrong profiles Justin von Bujdoss, the first-ever Buddhist chaplain in America’s most notorious jail. In a small, cinder-block room lit by shards of afternoon sun sneaking in through windows in the ceiling, thirteen jail guards in dark blue uniforms sit quietly on gray plastic chairs. [...]
Just When You Think You’re Enlightened
Temporary spiritual experiences, such as flashes of bliss or clarity, can be helpful signs of progress if you know how to handle them, says Andrew Holecek. But if you don't, beware. They can be traps. Sooner or later it’s going to happen— it might be the very first time you meditate or only after years of dedicated practice, but someday you’re going to have a spiritual [...]
Forum: What Is Enlightenment?
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Ayya Tathaaloka, Setsuan Gaelyn Godwin, and David Matsumoto explore their traditions' different perspectives on awakening. Introduction by Josh Bartok For me, one of the great bait and switches of dharma practice was this: I came to the dharma wanting enlightenment, and what I found was awakening. I think I imagined that enlightenment was a thing I [...]
Why We Take Refuge
There are two kinds of refuge, says Mingyur Rinpoche—outer and inner. The reason we take refuge in the outer forms of enlightenment is so that we may find the buddha within. Everyone takes refuge in something. Often it’s in relationships, locations, or activities that offer the body or mind a sense of security and protection. Even neurotic or unhealthy habits—like eating [...]
Tibetan Buddhist temple under construction in Nashville, Tennessee
The temple will offer traditional teachings for Tibetan students as well as secular mindfulness training for non-Buddhist Nashvillians. The Padmasambhava Buddhist Center of Tennessee is building a new Tibetan Buddhist temple near downtown Nashville. The 600-square-foot temple will be called the Yeshe Tsogyal Temple. It will serve as a meditation hall, and the [...]
The Four Healing Powers Of Mind
The key to health and happiness, says Tulku Thondup, is a mind that is peaceful and positive. This respected Buddhist teacher and author offers insights and meditations to help us access the natural healing power of mind. To find true well-being, the best place to look is close to home. We could travel around the globe a hundred times, turning over every stone on earth in the [...]
The Mahayana Motivation
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on the Mahayana Buddhist path of the bodhisattva. The great tradition of Buddhism begins with the simple experience of looking at our minds and seeing that we want some kind of contentment. In a way, it is no more abstract than that. We look at our mind and we see the turmoil and we say, “How am I going to get out of this situation?” In the Buddhist [...]
Karmapa gives longevity empowerment in New York
The Gyalwang Karmapa gave a longevity empowerment to more than 2,000 people from the Tibetan and Himalayan communities in New York and New Jersey, at Queens College in Flushing, New York. The Karmapa is the head of the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The current Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is the 17th in the lineage. The empowerment was [...]
