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 [...]
Overcoming Ego With the Practice of Chöd
Lama Tsultrim Allione looks at how the traditional Buddhist practice of chöd — offerings ones own body to frightening demons — can inspire us to let go of ego and practice joyful generosity. There is a story of a rich man who said that he could not practice generosity because he was unable to give anything away. The Buddha’s advice to him was to begin by simply taking a piece [...]
The Myth of Permanence
No matter how hard we try to solidify our lives, says Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, nothing stays the same or lasts forever. Our denial of that basic truth is the reason we suffer. Human beings always want something. We are continually looking for pleasure and we are rarely satisfied with what we have. Even being able to afford a great vacation is not what we thought it was [...]
An Invitation
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know whom you’re praying to, says Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel. The very act of asking for help allows the heart to open and invite the world in. Buddhists tend to dismiss prayer, which perhaps isn’t surprising. After all, aren’t we trying to get away from putting the responsibility for our spiritual development on something outside of us? And if we [...]