A student writes:

I would like to keep my practice simple. Is that possible?

Lama Shenpen:

Yes. It’s important to keep it simple and coming from your heart. Sometimes other practises help us to recognise blind spots and inspire and galvanise us – but always at the heart of it all the practice is simplicity.

If it’s not simple it’s because there are too many spiky thoughts involved. Our approach needs to always be gentle, even if the practices require a lot of mental and physical effort – these two are not contradictory in fact – strange though that may seem!

Student:

A lot of information and practices just confuse me and I shut down out of a need for protection. Yet, I wonder, is just meditating and redoing exercises from the Living the Awakened Heart training enough?

Lama Shenpen:

I really believe it is.