MSB-Admin

Things that appear difficult and challenging, or nearly impossible from the ego’s point of view, the bodhisattva takes right on, with a vision of skillful means and a sense of joyful challenge to work on the ego, and progress further. This actually puts the self in service towards the highest outcome: toppling samsara—attaining the state …

Encouragement for Our Bodhisattva Intention: Part 2 – Staying Positive! Read More »

Lately, I’ve heard a lot about people who possess kind natures and good qualities, yet who are haunted by feelings that shake them deeply from within. As one of my friends puts it, she feels shaky inside “at the very depth of her core.” So I would like to speak about how to relate to …

Remedying a Shaky Mind: Part 1 – Choosing Faith Read More »

As human beings we have emotions. Obviously, we can’t live our life without emotions.  We enjoy them! We ought to keep emotions in our diet. But if we do not have a way to limit our unhealthy emotions, they can take over our whole mental state.  We can’t just throw away our unhealthy emotions suddenly, …

Dieting Away Unhealthy Emotions – Gaining Control of One’s Mind Read More »

Last week we learned that the experience of authentic joy lies, simply, in our ability to persistently observe the continuity of change. How can we facilitate this practice when we fall asleep, and maintain this view even while dreaming?   If we are unable to stay present during the day, we often become tired and irritated, …

Daytime, Sleep, and Dream-Part II: Falling Asleep, “Striking the Gong of the Alaya” Read More »

Many people are intelligent but they don’t have the freedom of addressing their shenpa. Many people are smart and skilled, with resources to do whatever they want to do, but it still doesn’t give them the sense of the deep self-empowerment that a person can have by being able to honestly, sincerely, and tenaciously able …

Shenpa: Part 4 of 4 – Leaving Rome, Moving Out of Self-Defeat Read More »

As human beings we will have some sense of attachment. If we could simply wave a wand and get completely rid of it to be like the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, that would be wonderful, but this is difficult because we do need to function in our world, and we find that we need to have …

Shenpa: Part 3 – A Recipe for Disappointment Read More »

The notion of enlightenment means, “not bound”. Not bound to what? Not bound to one’s own mind in ordinary ways; not bound in confusion to all the suffering that one’s mind has produced and is experiencing. So the notion of enlightenment is not something outside of one’s own mind. We cannot imagine achieving enlightenment, let …

Attaining Enlightenment – A Child’s Fantasy Or A Realistic Aspiration? Read More »