The Vipashyana aspect of the Formless Meditation practice comes in as we begin to wonder what our experience actually is in itself. We do this by wondering what is the mind, what is a thought or a feeling, what is a sensation, what is the space of awareness in which all this happens. Continue reading What is Vipashyana Meditation?
As long as we haven’t realised our True Nature we will always be subject to fear and suffering. Whether we are having an easy time at the moment or a hard time – the situation can change suddenly for any of us at any time. That doesn’t stop us accessing the love and compassion of our Buddha Nature. It just means that we don’t necessarily have nice relaxed cosy feelings associated with that Continue reading How do you practise Love & Compassion when you’re dealing with fear?
Sometimes even the word compassion suggests a kind of superiority – looking down on others who are less fortunate than I am as if from some moral high ground. It leads to people saying things like ‘I don’t want your compassion or your pity!!!’ Continue reading How to get the right touch when practising sending love & compassion to others?
Notice moments when you have a strong impulse to deny, resist or try to ignore change. Instead of trying to ignore or shut off the experience, stay with the feeling and let there be a gap or a space for that feeling to spread into. Continue reading Reflection Exercise on Responding to Change/Impermanence
I have reflected for decades on how the worlds we find ourselves in are the inseparable result of my actions of body speech and mind. What I wish for is what will eventually manifest – so directing my intentions as powerfully as possible makes complete sense to me. Continue reading What if our prayers and practice feel contrived and liturgy and imagery doesn’t move us?
When NHS workers and others risk their lives on a daily basis in order to help others – somehow this gives their life meaning – working alongside others doing the same thing gives their life even more meaning – life is about the joy at the interface between ourselves and others; distinct yet not separate. Continue reading Is our need for love driven by an unconscious recognition that we are not separate?
We must cultivate the right kind of confidence in what is real and reliable about ourselves and the world. Otherwise there is always this haunting fear or sense of threat. However disheartened you feel – it is not your Buddha Nature itself that is disheartened. Buddha Nature is always the same. All you need to do is to remember it and trust it and just keep going. Continue reading Experiencing Fear & Feeling Disheartened
We prostrate to the shrine to receive the blessing of the whole Mandala of Awakening – the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – the direction our path is heading – the way we want always to be going. By this means we draw our whole world – our whole personal mandala into the Mandala of Awakening and so we are doing for everyone. Continue reading Prostration Practice During the Pandemic Lock-down: Do we prostrate ‘to’ or ‘for’ something?
Spend time doing things that touch, move or expand your heart It may be simple things… Be conscious of how the whole experience feels – the joy in the heart and the sense of freedom and space to enjoy yourself. The sense of joy and freedom is coming from the chitta. – the essence of your being. Continue reading Training ourselves to appreciate simple pleasures that expand the heart
The essence of the Dharma is love and compassion – so by using our energy to practice generosity, keep precepts, practise kshanti and meditation and develop wisdom in all we do is actually all about love and compassion – it is all about fulfilling our Bodhisattva aspiration to deliver all beings from suffering. The way we think and what we aspire for determines what eventually happens to us. So please keep up your good practice. Continue reading A message from Lama Shenpen to her students practising during this difficult time
