How To Meditate With Tiredness
Think of every time you bring the attention back into the moment as no different from meditation. This helps you to develop an on-going meditative state of mind and makes it easier to link into the meditation quickly when it comes to sitting meditation. The other thing you can do is to keep making a strong wish to Awaken, at any time of day. Continue reading How To Meditate With Tiredness
Teaching on Taking the Refuge and Bodhisattva Vow
Last weekend Lama Shenpen gave Refuge and Bodhisattva vows to 26 of her students from around the world in a special online ceremony. As part of that special day she gave a teaching on the Refuge and Bodhisattva vows Continue reading Teaching on Taking the Refuge and Bodhisattva Vow
Is Enlightenment really possible and what is ‘real life’?
A student writes: I had an experience where I suddenly realised I don’t really believe complete Enlightenment is possible or that there is rebirth. And thought why should I really believe them as I have no experience of either? Sometimes the everyday world that most people are fascinated with seems so real as if that is really what life is. Throughout the years I have … Continue reading Is Enlightenment really possible and what is ‘real life’?
Offerings for Saga Dawa Düchen
Wednesday 26th May is the auspicious day of Saga Dawa Duchen in the Tibetan calendar. The special month of Saga Dawa culminates on the full moon and celebrates the Buddha’s Enlightenment and his parinirvana. On this special day it is said that positive and negative actions are magnified ten million times. It’s also lunar eclipse which is also said to magnify the punya from our practice! Continue reading Offerings for Saga Dawa Düchen
What does it mean to meet the Buddha ‘face to face’?
Another way of thinking of what meeting Buddhas face to face means is to actually break through the limitations of our present conception of time and space. The tradition says that this is actually possible and is a genuine experience that arises for the Bodhisattva at a certain stage of his or her progress towards Enlightenment. Continue reading What does it mean to meet the Buddha ‘face to face’?
What lies beyond avidya? If we have gone beyond suffering and seeking pleasure, what is there to do in this life?
The answer lies in being able to distinguish vidya from avidya and not confusing a beginner’s understanding with the real thing. For a beginner’s understanding it sounds as if one might get bored – that is a sign of an incomplete understanding, lack of realisation. Continue reading What lies beyond avidya? If we have gone beyond suffering and seeking pleasure, what is there to do in this life?
How do we work with the Formless Meditation instructions ‘Wake, Heart, Open, Be’? Doesn’t using them just involve more thinking?
The instruction is not to focus on the heart, wake, open and be. The words are there to give you the co-ordinates as it were. When you say “heart” or simply think of the word, for a fraction of a second you experience something… Continue reading How do we work with the Formless Meditation instructions ‘Wake, Heart, Open, Be’? Doesn’t using them just involve more thinking?
Who is experiencing this present experience? Which ‘I’ am I?
We have a strong sense of self all the time but a vague idea about what it really is. Then we panic and grab onto what is not self as self and it lets us down every time – it lets ‘us’ down – we still have a very strong sense of self and we need to have – otherwise what kind of being would we be? Continue reading Who is experiencing this present experience? Which ‘I’ am I?
Long read article: Who was Queen Shrimala and Why is the Shrimaladevi Sutra important?
The Shrimaladevi Sutra is a very important source for our tradition that goes right back to a person who lived at the time of Shakyamuni. It is great that that person is actually a woman and not a monastic. That feels very refreshing somehow. I don’t say that because I am a woman particularly. I think everyone, men and women, like to see that it is not just men and not just monastics that are powerful practitioners… Continue reading Long read article: Who was Queen Shrimala and Why is the Shrimaladevi Sutra important?
Where does Ngöndro – the traditional preliminary practices fit into the Awakened Heart Sangha?
Ngöndro in general means preliminary and in the context of Tibetan Buddhism often refers to the practice of the 4 x 100,000… In Tibet many people had a lot of time they could devote to Dharma practice so having the 4 x 100000 to accomplish gave them a goal and many people made it their main practice… Continue reading Where does Ngöndro – the traditional preliminary practices fit into the Awakened Heart Sangha?