It is interesting isn’t it? With a bit of effort we can get certain experiences that seem to be leading in the right direction and then what? There is much more to it than passing experiences… Continue reading Putting the ‘Heart’ into Meditation
Punya is rather misleadingly translated as merit but since punya belongs to us, it is our personal wealth and power, which we can give away for the benefit of others. In order to give to others in a way that will truly benefit them, we have to think about what is the most effective way of using our punya… Continue reading What Does Accumulating ‘Merit’ Mean? Understanding Punya & that we are punya itself
There is no need to worry about having gained stability of full realisation or not because it does itself in its own time, and the signs of it are obvious – the important thing is to notice any instability and use it as a trigger of awareness. There are so many Dharma teachings to help with this. Continue reading What’s the difference between passing experiences (nyams) and stable realisation?
The essence of the actual feeling of suffering or pain (beyond all the conditioned thoughts and feelings that are associated with it) is nothing other than the fundamental quality of sensitivity that is the Indestructible Heart Essence. When we touch this we touch something that is profoundly sacred. Continue reading How does our experience of Dukkha – unsatisfactoriness & Suffering – connect to our innate quality of Sensitivity?
Accustoming ourselves is a good way of putting it because it’s not as if we have to create love and compassion – it is more like awakening it within us and then aligning with it more and more – accustomise in that sense. Continue reading Meditation as becoming accustomed to our sense of Love & Compassion
You could think of it as a kind of distorted compassion. Having failed to recognise openness, clarity and sensitivity as the true nature of reality, avidya tries to protect a separate individual self from the overwhelming nature of these qualities. Continue reading The power of Avidya – primordial ignorance – is an expression of the fundamental quality of sensitivity.
This is such an important question for so many people. I think the problem arises from approaching the whole thing from a Western cultural point of view. We value a sense of social responsibility and abhor hypocrisy and self-deception. We tend to believe in just this one life we are in now and that we have to solve the world’s problems… Continue reading What to do when we respond to the suffering of others with feeling powerless and guilty?
He was about forty at the time, small in stature, with the walk and presence of a samurai warrior. There was something very direct and yet very kind in everything he said or did. Having shown him into his room, I sat down in the semi-darkness of the gathering dusk to listen to him talking and felt an immediate sense of rightness and connection. Continue reading Meeting Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
It is an important question and I find people respond to mantra practice very differently. For some people as soon as they hear a mantra they just want to keep repeating it – and it seems to have an energy of its own… Since mantras are actually the Buddha in essence – they are powerful – but it’s not the sound so much as what is producing the sound that is important – the sound is emanating from Enlightenment itself and so can connect us directly to the energy of Enlightenment – that is why it is important who you receive the mantra from. Continue reading How do you tell which mantra you have a connection with and how best to practice with it?
Lama Shenpen’s valuable teaching on integrating meditations on Love & Compassion with our daily life, recorded live on 8th August 2020. Catch up on all of Lama Shenpen’s teachings from this year (as well as teachings by other Awakened Heart Sangha teachers) on the theme of Love & Compassion, on the new mini site dedicated to these teachings HERE. If you would like to make … Continue reading Video: Integrating Meditation & Daily Life
