Tag: Meditation

Article, Lama Shenpen Teaching

Long Read Part 1: What is a Pure Land? And Why pray to be reborn there?

First of all we need to know what a Pure Land is and what it means. Eventually we learn that the pure land is nothing other than our true nature. The pure land manifests in the heart when we realise that our true nature is our Buddha nature. So why call this a pure land? Why a place? We are Buddha nature. We are expressions of Buddha nature so why talk about it as if it were a Pure Land? Eventually it’s a matter of seeing this world we are in now as being the Pure Land. Continue reading Long Read Part 1: What is a Pure Land? And Why pray to be reborn there?

Awakened Heart Sangha
Video Teaching

Video: Integrating Meditation & Daily Life

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

Loshi
Student's Question

How does imagination fit into the process of reflection and meditation?

When we try in an ego-centric way – or manipulate our experience to be what we think it should be – then it’s kind of aggressive, ambitious and pushy. But when we are simply playing in the openness of awareness – trying things out in a relaxed and gentle way that feels really alive and kind of beautiful… Continue reading How does imagination fit into the process of reflection and meditation?

Awakened Heart Sangha
Student's Question

Noticing ways we delude ourselves: noticing Avidya and Mara

This is Mara at work – it is almost a gut reaction.  Something in us is so deeply entrenched we don’t want to disturb it – or rather it doesn’t want to be disturbed. This can often account for why sometimes we find ourselves drifting off instead of really focusing in an awake and alive way when we are meditating.  We really have to look closely to see what that is all about. Continue reading Noticing ways we delude ourselves: noticing Avidya and Mara

Loshi
Lama Shenpen Teaching, Meditation

Meditation: Recognising ‘the watcher’ as thinking too

When we talk about meditation in terms of letting go of thoughts, it can seem as if it is a matter of setting oneself up as an observer of one’s mind and to root out thinking. This is a misunderstanding of the whole process. Setting up a watcher in this way perpetuates our false sense of what we are and what our experience is. The observer might well be well intentioned, but the problem is that it is heavy-handed and believes too much in itself. Continue reading Meditation: Recognising ‘the watcher’ as thinking too

Loshi
Meditation, Student's Question

Why Formless Meditation can be difficult to relate to at first and why we should keep going

Formless meditation takes time to learn, Often people get discouraged along the way and think that they would rather have something more definite to do. Formless meditation produces shamatha but in a way that opens itself up to vipashyana (insight). It is the insight that brings about liberation at a very deep and complete level. Continue reading Why Formless Meditation can be difficult to relate to at first and why we should keep going

Loshi
welcoming thoughts in meditation
Meditation

Getting the right touch with meditation: welcoming thoughts as guests

“If you try too hard to let go of thinking, the mind speeds up and more thoughts than ever seem to come up. If you don’t try hard enough it’s business as usual. Nothing changes and you discover nothing of interest. So it’s a matter of getting the right touch. One way of doing this is to adopt toward thoughts an attitude you would have … Continue reading Getting the right touch with meditation: welcoming thoughts as guests

Loshi