Longing for Happiness Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / May 14, 2013 What is it that we long for every day? What are we longing for when we want a big house, or a beautiful companion? What is it we really desire when we want a great job, a really nice car, lots of wealth, or success in our work? We want one thing: happiness. The happiness […] Longing for Happiness Read More »
Take Charge of your Practice Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / May 7, 2013 Nowadays, even older people in their seventies feel they have a lot of time to fool around. I don’t know where this comes from. Maybe it’s because in modern cultures people stay healthier, active, and mobile longer due to a better diet, more vitamins, and the latest medicines. You hear people say, “The forties are Take Charge of your Practice Read More »
That Grudge You’re Holding? It’s Really Holding You . . . Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / April 30, 2013 Why don’t we sleep well at night? Where is our peace, our joyful mind? We hold on to a lot of grudges from the past, and still more are cultivated everyday through interactions with people who provoke us and bring about unpleasant feelings. If we are unable to cleanse an unpleasant feeling when it That Grudge You’re Holding? It’s Really Holding You . . . Read More »
Getting Beyond Ourselves: Three Stages of the Practice (Part 1) Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / April 23, 2013 When we begin a session by “generating bodhicitta,” this means we start by creating the noble intention to benefit others through clearing away darkness in the minds of all beings, freeing them from ignorance to allow the recognition of their own enlightened nature. And the only effective way to be of unfailing benefit to others Getting Beyond Ourselves: Three Stages of the Practice (Part 1) Read More »
The Haunted Dominion of Mind Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / April 8, 2013 In old Tibet, practitioners went to charnel grounds, haunted places, and so on, in order to reveal how deeply their practice had cut to the core of their fears and attachments. The practice of cutting through our deepest attachments and fears to their core is called nyensa chadpa which means “cutting through the haunted dominion The Haunted Dominion of Mind Read More »
Being A Lamp For Others Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / March 25, 2013 When we’ve lived our life well, we should be able to think: “I am content with everything that’s in my life, just as it is. My deepest wish is to continue gaining wisdom, and acquiring tools to work skillfully with my mind. Although it’s true that I may have to work at my livelihood, or Being A Lamp For Others Read More »
Taking Refuge: Buddha as the Guide Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / March 17, 2013 When we speak about refuge, it is important to recognize that we’re taking refuge in order to serve the purpose that has already become very clear in our mind, which is to genuinely renounce suffering and the causes of suffering. Generally, if you’re inspired to work with your mind, which at this stage is caught Taking Refuge: Buddha as the Guide Read More »
Very Little Needs and Much Contentment Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / March 4, 2013 I would like to take this opportunity to say what is in my mind, and my heart, about how we can address the challenges that the world is facing today. I am thinking of the environmental difficulties we have seen over the past decade along with global warming, all as a result of capitalist culture Very Little Needs and Much Contentment Read More »
The Intelligence of Accepting Impermanence Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / February 24, 2013 (From commentary by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on the Words of My Perfect Teacher, February 23, 2013) “Venerable monk,” the Geshe replied, “renounce this life! Renounce this life!” -The Words of My Perfect Teacher, p. 97 Now this could be misunderstood as renouncing one’s “life.” It’s not this life that we really renounce. But, in relation The Intelligence of Accepting Impermanence Read More »
Training in Courage Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche / February 15, 2013 Training in Courage from “Its Up to You”, Chapter 6 Practitioners who train in courage become true warriors. The war we wage is not with enemies outside of ourselves but with the powerful forces of our own habitual tendencies and negative emotions. The greatest of these is fear. In order to become fearless, we need Training in Courage Read More »