Seeing the Buddha, Becoming the Buddha: Formal Meditation Instruction from Phakchok Rinpoche
Nov 12, 2020
Within In the Footsteps of Bodhisattvas, Phakchok Rinpoche clearly shows how genuine meditation is contingent upon bringing together many supportive conditions. However, Rinpoche also articulates methods for contained formal sessions that are effective, profound, and transformative....
Read MoreOn Forgetting
Oct 27, 2020
Phakchok Rinpoche teaches that if we are holding any anger, we are not free. When you’re even mildly annoyed at someone, the mind is disturbed and there is some pain. When you are holding on to a twenty-year grudge, you...
Read MoreOpening the Door to Authentic Meditation
Oct 16, 2020
The profound equality of all beings is only known in the moment in which ‘I’ no longer exists. Only through the recognition of emptiness is there stainless compassion. This stainless compassion, inseparable...
Read MoreRelying on the Four Immeasurable Qualities During a Pandemic (Part 1): Immeasurable Equanimity
Apr 9, 2020
By Erric Solomon During turbulent periods of crises, I find it really helpful to go to the heart of the teachings of the Buddhadharma. By remembering to bring forth the essential teachings...
Read MoreBusy Laziness
Mar 12, 2020
These days we are all so busy that we often don’t take time to consider how constant doing affects our minds. And we might be surprised to know that in the Buddhist tradition, busyness represents a type of spiritual laziness....
Read MoreVisualization: How and Why?
Mar 5, 2020
Visualization can seem unnecessarily complicated when we first encounter meditation instruction. But creating a mental image and using that as an object of our attention is an important technique on the Vajrayāna path. Here, Phakchok Rinpoche shares some brief instruction...
Read MoreAnxiety: Seeing Through the Spin
Feb 6, 2020
Anxiety arises for almost all sentient beings in certain situations. And there are times when worry can be useful or productive. A little stress can make us sharper, or enhance our performance at times. Yet humans, and particularly modern humans,...
Read MoreFOMO Got You Down? Try Sympathetic Joy
Dec 26, 2019
FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” afflicts many of us more dramatically in our hyper-connected world than it did in the past. Thanks to constant connectivity, we are immediately aware of what...
Read MoreBuddha-nature: Hidden Treasure, Buried Diamond
Dec 5, 2019
Buddha-nature can be understood by using classical analogies. We may have heard teachers say that every being has buddha-nature. And yet, we remain skeptical. We don’t see the evidence of this around...
Read MoreUnderstand Ignorance to Reveal Buddhanature
Nov 21, 2019
Understand ignorance. Why would we need to do that if we are studying our minds? Most of us come to meditation retreats or Buddhist teachings because we are searching for answers. We know that we are unhappy, or anxious, or...
Read More