Buddhist Philosophy
Phakchok Rinpoche and senior instructors offer regular audio, video, or written wisdom teachings. Philosophy represents the “inner science” or study of the mind. Many of these teachings include self-reflections or practice exercises to help you check your understanding. Browse by topic and level according to your interest.
Guru Rinpoche Day Teaching
Phakchok Rinpoche sends short email teachings to all students each Guru Rinpoche day. He chooses topics with the aspiration to inspire and encourage students. Rinpoche often uses these teachings to remind us of important topics such as devotion, motivation, and aspiration prayers. These topics remind us to bring our minds home in the midst of our busy lives. Browse Samye’s archive of 10 years of these teachings.
Radically Happy
East meets West in this fresh, modern take on a timeless challenge: how to find contentment and meaning in life. Phachok Rinpoche and Erric Solomon introduce us to our minds and help us to cultivate a sense of deep well-being. Learn how to manage your mind!
Medicine & Wellness
Wellness translates to a holistic balance–a steady mind in a healthy body. Learn how to integrate physical practices , nutrition, and breathwork with reflection and meditation.
Buddhist Arts
Students at great Buddhis universities in India and Tibet studied the science of fine arts and crafts (śilpa-karma-sthāna vidyā). Sculpture, architecture, painting, music, and dance all helped convey deep spiritual meanings throughout Buddhist history.
Grammar
By studying the science of language, we help preserve the Buddhist teachings and express core concepts. Tibetan Buddhist scholar-practitioners thought carefully as they developed a Buddhist vocabulary. When we know the etymology and context, we discover multiple levels of meaning.
Holistic Living
Regardless of our background, age, and way of life, all human beings long for true happiness, a sense of mental ease and well-being, and to be free from suffering. Here we share methods derived from 2,500 years of the Buddha’s teachings that can help us all to achieve spacious minds, a sense of ease, kind hearts, dignity, and deep contentment.
Path of Meditation
Meditation, on the relative level, helps us develop a balanced and healthy life. And ultimately, we connect with our own basic goodness, our awakened Buddha-nature. Phakchok Rinpoche encourages students to take up the practice of Mahāmudrā meditation.
Nine Yanas
The Nine Yanas (vehicles) approach provides a structured framework with which to better understand and implement the Buddha’s precious teachings. By studying, contemplating, and meditating in stages like the levels of a staircase, we can gain realization more swiftly.
Vajrayana
Vajrayana, the “diamond” or “thunderbolt” vehicle was most commonly followed by the practitioners and great masters of the past in Tibet. As Phakchok Rinpoche is a primary lineage holder of the New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa or Chokling Tersar, this path centers around these profound teachings and practices.
In the Footsteps of Bodhisattvas
Learn the view, meditation, and conduct of a bodhisattva and explore how bodhisattva training in its myriad forms lays the foundation for the dawning of genuine samadhi. This recent book by Phachok Rinpoche demonstrates how practices of the Samadhi Raja Sutra fit within the context of Vajrayana practice.
Explore by Topic
- aspiration
- balance
- bodhicitta
- Buddhist practice
- compassion
- devotion
- dharma practice
- ethics
- Guru Rinpoche
- happiness
- kindness
- Mahayana
- meditation
- meditation and daily life
- merit
- mind
- mind training
- mindfulness
- motivation
- negative emotions
- practice advice
- self-reflection
- supplication
- Tibetan Buddhist ritual
- Vajrayana
- Where to Start

With my Guru in Tharpaling
September 19, 2018

Letter from my Guru
May 24, 2018

Letter to Myself
April 25, 2018

Be Gentle with Yourself!
March 3, 2018

Long and Meaningful Life
February 25, 2018

Mahāyāna Teaching: The King of Aspiration Prayer: Part Three
January 10, 2018

Mahāyāna Teaching: The King of Aspiration Prayer Part Two
January 5, 2018

Mahāyāna Teaching: The King of Aspiration Prayer Part One
December 29, 2017

Tibetan Medicine Tools for Trying Times
December 3, 2020

Mental Maintenance Creates Stability
October 3, 2019

Jobs and the Dharma: Finding a Balance
September 30, 2019

Fourfold Cooling Method
August 21, 2019

Tibetan Medicine: An Introduction
February 4, 2019

Knowing When To Rest
November 15, 2018

Advice for Buddhist Parents
August 7, 2018

Buddha-nature: Hidden Treasure, Buried Diamond
December 5, 2019

Understand Ignorance to Reveal Buddhanature
November 21, 2019

Practicing the Pāramitās in Daily Life: Part One
September 10, 2019

Essence of Bodhicitta
August 20, 2019

Sustain the Treasure of Samadhi
October 26, 2020

The Importance of Dignity
July 29, 2020

What is Ullambana: The Hungry Ghost Month?
August 22, 2019

A Garland Of Protection – A Reflection By Chou Chuen
June 20, 2019

Experience Opens Understanding
December 11, 2018

Opening the Door to Authentic Meditation
October 16, 2020

Radically Loving: Creating Sparks of Love
July 29, 2020

Even During Lockdown, The Dharma Keeps Spreading
June 12, 2020

Being with and Caring for Those Who Are Dying
February 27, 2020

Anxiety: Seeing Through the Spin
February 6, 2020

Khandro Yeshé Tsogyel’s Prayer to Guru Rinpoche
December 24, 2020

Princess Mandarava’s Prayer to Guru Rinpoche
November 24, 2020

Birth of Guru Rinpoche
July 29, 2020

Cultivating Devotion
March 19, 2020

Announcing a New Course: In the Footsteps of Bodhisattvas
November 25, 2020

Dhāraṇī and Mantra: A Brief Introduction
May 20, 2020

Repaying the Kindness of One’s Parents
April 28, 2020

A Dharmic Journey in Facing Cancer
January 23, 2020

Jobs and the Dharma: Finding a Balance
September 30, 2019

Patience: Practicing the Pāramitās in Daily Life Part Four
September 19, 2019

Discipline: Practicing the Pāramitās in Daily Life Part 3
September 15, 2019

Knowing Mind
February 12, 2019

Five Fundamental Precepts
January 29, 2019

Meditation: Not Just Sitting
March 27, 2018

Ethical Behavior in Buddhism: The Virtues
February 27, 2018

Precious Human Life
February 6, 2018

Check Yourself! Advice for Buddhist Practitioners
February 1, 2018

Believing Karma
December 22, 2017

The Pema Khandro Global Feast Offering
January 28, 2021

Monthly 100,000 Feast Offerings (Tsok Bum)
January 7, 2021

The Sangtik Phurba Global Feast Offering
December 29, 2020

Khandro Yeshé Tsogyel’s Prayer to Guru Rinpoche
December 24, 2020

The Tukdrup Gongpa Kundü Global Feast Offering
November 30, 2020

The Guru Dorjé Draktsel Global Feast Offering
November 1, 2020

The Guru Tsokyé Nyingtik Online Global Feast Offering
October 1, 2020

The Tukdrup Sampa Lhündrup Online Global Feast Offering
September 2, 2020

FOMO Got You Down? Try Sympathetic Joy
December 26, 2019

5 Ways to Radically Increase your Joy
May 28, 2019

Inside the Radically Happy book
January 18, 2019

Listen here: Radically Happy Audiobook
November 26, 2018

Meditation Without Reflection Is Blind
October 19, 2018

Why Did We Write Radically Happy?
September 4, 2018

What is Radically Happy?
August 26, 2018

Repaying Those Who Have Previously Shown Kindness
November 3, 2020

Repaying the Kindness of One’s Parents
April 28, 2020

The Importance of Being Reliable and Kind-Hearted
April 3, 2020

Anxiety: Seeing Through the Spin
February 6, 2020

Antidotes for the Loneliness Epidemic
January 2, 2020

Essence of Bodhicitta
August 20, 2019

Training in Kindness
June 14, 2019

Tonglen Practice: Developing Bodhicitta
June 25, 2019

Buddha Nature: Where Is It?
March 24, 2019

Motivation: The Real Meaning of Bodhicitta
February 21, 2019

Beginner Tonglen Meditation
February 4, 2019

Mahāyāna Practice Supports
February 4, 2019

Aspirations Reflect Our Motivation
January 3, 2019

Exchanging Self and Others: Building Bodhicitta Part Two
November 20, 2018

Announcing a New Course: In the Footsteps of Bodhisattvas
November 25, 2020

On Forgetting
October 27, 2020

Opening the Door to Authentic Meditation
October 16, 2020

Buddha’s Radical Two-Step Approach to Happiness
September 3, 2020

Radically Loving: Creating Sparks of Love
July 29, 2020

Saga Dawa
June 1, 2020

Anxiety and Meditation on Campus–Then and Now
March 31, 2020

Busy Laziness
March 12, 2020

Tibetan Losar: New Year, New Habit!
February 22, 2020

Anxiety: Seeing Through the Spin
February 6, 2020

Auspicious Global Sangha Accumulations of Merit During Bumgyur Dawa
February 25, 2021

Monthly 100,000 Feast Offerings (Tsok Bum)
January 7, 2021

Practicing the Pāramitās in Daily Life: Part One
September 10, 2019

Ngensong Dongtruk Puja–a Student’s Eye-View
August 28, 2019

Long and Meaningful Life
February 25, 2018

Accumulating Causes for Enlightenment
February 9, 2018

Mahāyāna Teaching: The King of Aspiration Prayer: Part Three
January 10, 2018

Understand Ignorance to Reveal Buddhanature
November 21, 2019

Repeated Placement: Once Again Resting the Mind
November 14, 2019

Continuous Placement in Meditation: Bring Back the Mind
November 7, 2019

Everyone Can Meditate: Caring for Our Minds
October 31, 2019

Meditation Training with Focus
October 17, 2019

Mental Maintenance Creates Stability
October 3, 2019

Buddha’s Radical Two-Step Approach to Happiness
September 3, 2020

Meditation Training with Focus
October 17, 2019

Cultivating New Habits for Busy Minds
October 10, 2019

Mental Maintenance Creates Stability
October 3, 2019

5 Ways to Radically Increase your Joy
May 28, 2019

Experience Opens Understanding
December 11, 2018

Practicing Meditation: Three Main Points
August 21, 2018

Dharma : Understanding Mind
June 27, 2018

Antidotes for the Loneliness Epidemic
January 2, 2020

FOMO Got You Down? Try Sympathetic Joy
December 26, 2019

Repeated Placement: Once Again Resting the Mind
November 14, 2019

Meditation Training with Focus
October 17, 2019

Rituals at Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Centers
October 1, 2019

What is Ritual?
September 23, 2019

What is Ritual?
September 23, 2019

Motivation: The Real Meaning of Bodhicitta
February 21, 2019

Mahāyāna Practice Supports
February 4, 2019

Motivation or Intention
January 28, 2019

Aspirations Reflect Our Motivation
January 3, 2019

Genuine Sincere Motivation
December 4, 2018

Be Sincere!
July 10, 2018

Categorizing Buddhist Teaching: Three Levels
June 6, 2018

Reducing Negative Emotions: The Power of Meditation
September 3, 2019

Knowing Mind
February 12, 2019

Buddhist Science of Mind
January 10, 2019

Self-reflection on the Spiritual Path
December 26, 2018

Defining “Dharma”: Method and Wisdom
September 25, 2018

Understanding Our Negative Emotions
September 4, 2018

Belief Through Practice
April 10, 2018

Taking Obstacles Onto the Path
September 20, 2020

Forgetting the Goal: A Lesson on Hope and Despair
February 13, 2020

Jobs and the Dharma: Finding a Balance
September 30, 2019

Reducing Negative Emotions: The Power of Meditation
September 3, 2019

5 Ways to Radically Increase your Joy
May 28, 2019

Check Yourself! The Tool of Reflection
July 5, 2019

Buddha Nature: Where Is It?
March 24, 2019

Practicing Dharma: Continuous Journey
February 28, 2019

Mahāyāna Practice Supports
February 4, 2019

Self-reflection on the Spiritual Path
December 26, 2018

Renunciation: Wake-up Call
October 23, 2018

Meditation Without Reflection Is Blind
October 19, 2018

Khandro Yeshé Tsogyel’s Prayer to Guru Rinpoche
December 24, 2020

Princess Mandarava’s Prayer to Guru Rinpoche
November 24, 2020

Birth of Guru Rinpoche
July 29, 2020

Meditation: Correct Preparation in Three Steps
March 30, 2019

Supplication
January 18, 2019

Student Reflections on Supplication
April 16, 2018

Gaining the Blessings of the Guru
October 30, 2017

Sidok Raksha Tötreng puja, Ka-Nying monastery, 2020
February 4, 2020

Annual 3-day Sidok Raksha Tötreng Puja Event Roundup
December 22, 2019

Nyungné Fasting Practice
November 26, 2019

Impressions of the 7 day Kurukullé Puja–Day One
October 23, 2019

What is Ritual?
September 23, 2019

Ngensong Dongtruk Puja–a Student’s Eye-View
August 28, 2019

Bell and Dorje: Understanding Ritual Objects
February 4, 2019

Auspicious Global Sangha Accumulations of Merit During Bumgyur Dawa
February 25, 2021

Monthly 100,000 Feast Offerings (Tsok Bum)
January 7, 2021

Chokgyur Dechen Shikpo Lingpa
June 21, 2020

Visualization: How and Why?
March 5, 2020

Cultivating New Habits for Busy Minds
October 10, 2019

Jobs and the Dharma: Finding a Balance
September 30, 2019

Knowing Mind
February 12, 2019

Self-reflection on the Spiritual Path
December 26, 2018

Experience Opens Understanding
December 11, 2018

Genuine Sincere Motivation
December 4, 2018

Learning Buddhadharma: The Essence
October 30, 2018