The teacher-student relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism is intense and complex. It is easy to misunderstand and can even be misused. The respected Tibetan teacher Mingyur Rinpoche explains Vajrayana ethics, how to find a genuine teacher, and what to do if a teacher crosses the line. As a Buddhist teacher, I am often asked questions about meditation and profound Buddhist [...]
How to Feed Your Demons
Lama Tsultrim Allione teaches you an innovative technique to turn your inner demons into friends. Feeding our demons rather than fighting them contradicts the conventional approach of fighting against whatever assails us. But it turns out to be a remarkably effective path to inner integration. Demons (maras in Sanskrit) are not bloodthirsty ghouls waiting for us in dark [...]
How Am I Doing?
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. [...]
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche issues response to Sogyal Rinpoche controversy
Tibetan teacher Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche -- also known for his films, made under the name Khyentse Norbu -- has issued a public response to the allegations made against Sogyal Rinpoche, which led to Sogyal resigning as spiritual director of the international organization, Rigpa. The letter is titled "Guru and Student in the Vajrayana" and has been posted in its [...]
After allegations, Sogyal Rinpoche retires from Rigpa
Following discussion of allegations of abuse, Sogyal Rinpoche, Buddhist teacher and author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, "has decided, with immediate effect, to retire as spiritual director from all the organizations that bear the name of Rigpa in different countries around the world," according to a press release from the organization dated today. The [...]
Practice Like Your Hair’s on Fire
Enlightenment is possible in this lifetime, says Gelek Rimpoche, but time is running out. We have to make the most of this rare and fleeting opportunity to wake up. All sentient beings, including myself, have gone through continuous ups and downs, life after life, experiencing the sufferings of samsara. The reason we keep having all of these problems is because we haven’t [...]
Pain, Practice, and Pure View
When the teacher F's up, what's a Buddhist to do? In light of recent, unsettling news stories, Justin von Bujdoss offers a clarification of the pure view of the tantric Buddhist path. It may seem obvious to some, but it bears repeating: Buddhist teachers, like us, are human. Like us, they fuck up. This human fallibility of the teacher can be considered manifest in the recent [...]
The Four Essential Points of Letting Go in the Bardo
It’s when we lose the illusion of control—when we’re most vulnerable and exposed—that we can discover the creative potential of our lives. Pema Khandro Rinpoche explains four essential points for understanding what it means to let go, and what is born when we do. We are always experiencing successive births and deaths. We feel the death of loved ones most acutely—there is [...]
How to Drop Into Your Body & Feelings
Photo by Helen A. Vink. A short drop-in practice from Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Relax deeply. Don’t hold onto anything. Completely let go of thinking and judging mind while gently maintaining the clarity and knowing aspects of mind. Now raise your arms to shoulder height, pause, and let them drop suddenly to your knees. As you drop your arms, breathe out forcefully. Then say, [...]
The Art That Illustrates Another Reality
Do the strange and potent images of Tibetan art—so often misunderstood—represent a deeper and truer reality? Francesca Fremantle on the symbolism of awakened mind. Brightly-colored Buddhas holding strange ritual implements, meditational deities wearing human bone ornaments, voluptuous goddesses and terrifying, wrathful manifestations—the exotic Buddhist art of Tibet is [...]