What to do if you find you’re resisting Meditation & how to deal with difficult thoughts
When you have confidence in the spacious unchanging nature, and thoughts are passing and are nothing in themselves, you can gradually come to recognise that everything that appears including thoughts are a joyful play in the space of awareness. So there doesn’t have to be a point to it as such – it’s all delightful, and that joyousness is the point. Continue reading What to do if you find you’re resisting Meditation & how to deal with difficult thoughts
Short Video on: ‘Intentionality’ – the power of putting our heart into something
A short 2 minute video of Lama Shenpen on ‘intentionality’ and the power that comes from setting an intention and putting our heart into it:
“If your purpose and the meaning of your life is seeking the Truth about the fundamental nature of our experience and you follow that through, I can tell you it gets very, very interesting!” Continue reading Short Video on: ‘Intentionality’ – the power of putting our heart into something
What if Reflecting on Impermanence & Death Feels Hopeless?
You don’t actually need to maintain that pattern. Every little inch of it could be given a little nudge and a push and somehow, at some point, it could all collapse and it could be a new day, a new life, a new you and a whole different feel about life and about everything. It does happen in the end. Continue reading What if Reflecting on Impermanence & Death Feels Hopeless?
The Five Certainties & the Power to Gather
There’s the teaching, and, of course it has to come from a teacher, and there’s a time. But if the teacher teaches at one time and it’s recorded and transcribed, then it’s like it’s happening over a long time. It happened at one moment, or at one event, but then it actually kind of reverberates. If you then think about the nature of reality, and about time… is time real? If it’s not real, then actually all the reverberations are happening at the same time. So the time of the teaching is the whole time that it lasts until it stops reverberating, it’s one time. That’s a very inspiring thought, isn’t it? Continue reading The Five Certainties & the Power to Gather
What does the NVC term ‘Jackal Ears’ mean in terms of direct experience & meditation instruction?
Taking jackal ears off could be described in all sort of ways couldn’t it? That magic switch moment – switching out of one mandala into another. Like Tonglen perhaps, but for me taking off jackal ears feels like a magical, fun thing and it’s transformative in a surprising and uncontrived way. Continue reading What does the NVC term ‘Jackal Ears’ mean in terms of direct experience & meditation instruction?
How can we balance caring for others while looking after ourselves?
People often ask how to balance caring for others while looking after ourselves. If we look in our hearts and realise that what we really want is the happiness of others, then we may feel inspired to try and make everyone happy. What often happens though is that we can’t do it: instead we get exhausted and decide that what we really need is to look after ourselves. But that doesn’t sound like Bodhisattva activity does it? Continue reading How can we balance caring for others while looking after ourselves?
Practising with social anxiety: Can I still align with the ethos of the sangha if I sometimes avoid groups?
Our vision, values and ethos express our aspirations – our agreed and shared values that we are training ourselves in – training ourselves to live in alignment with them – learning from our mistakes and working with our shortcomings over time – it is our ethos to do this with openness clarity and sensitivity – which means we are constantly noticing and acknowledging to ourselves just how much further there is still to go – and that includes not letting ourselves get too discouraged! Continue reading Practising with social anxiety: Can I still align with the ethos of the sangha if I sometimes avoid groups?
Balancing Tonglen practice: can it get too spacious and become something else?
What you describe is moving in the direction of ultimate Bodhichitta and so as far as I am concerned it is good practice. Maybe there is a danger there of slipping into a Shamata meditation sense of equanimity that has dulled out a bit on the insight and compassion elements? Continue reading Balancing Tonglen practice: can it get too spacious and become something else?
How do you feel when you open to the suffering of others?
How do you feel when you open yourself to the suffering of others? Does it leave you with a hopeless feeling? Do you find yourself closing off very quickly? Since others are always going to suffer is it possible ever to experience complete joy and freedom from suffering? The Buddha, the Awakened One, said it was… Continue reading How do you feel when you open to the suffering of others?
Excerpt from Keeping the Dalai Lama Waiting & Other Stories – Karma Thinley Rinpoche & the Snake – what would you have done?
In the video below Lama Shenpen introduces the story of Karma Thinley Rinpoche and the Snake, and describes how she likes to leave some of the stories in her book open ended, in order to ask the reader, what would you have done? What spiritual teaching would you have received if you were in Lama’s place? What have you taken away from the story? Read the full excerpt below: Continue reading Excerpt from Keeping the Dalai Lama Waiting & Other Stories – Karma Thinley Rinpoche & the Snake – what would you have done?
