May bodhicitta, precious and sublime, arise where it has not yet come to be. Where it has arisen may it never fail, but grow and flourish more and more.
Unbroken lineages of wisdom traditions are rare in these times, and Kongtrul Rinpoche descends from a pure lineage of the Dzogpa Chenpo Longchen Nyingtik tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
We have two main study and practice centers in America: Phuntsok Choling in Colorado and Pema Osel in Vermont. Rinpoche teaches the core MSB programs at these two centers. In addition, MSB has several city centers or groups around the world where people gather for group meditation and study, and to listen to the LINK teachings together.
Browse to any of the calendars to find out more about the teaching schedules of Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Dungse Jampal Norbu, or Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel. View the upcoming events at Phuntsok Choling, Pema Osel, or find out who is giving the next LINK talk.
MSB is a part of the Longchen Nyingtik and Khyen-Kong-Chok-Sum lineages. (Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, and Terton Chokgyur Lingpa, collectively known as Khyen-Kong-Chok-Sum, were the heart of the Rimé, or nonsectarian, movement, which did so much to preserve and harmonize all schools of Tibetan Buddhism in the nineteenth century.)
Speaker: Mark Kram. Mark Kram reflects on how appreciating and working with our teachers, attaining genuine renunciation and realizing the wisdom of emptiness all require a shift in perspective. Emphasizing the importance of personal experience and contemplation, he points out how the gap between the levels of experience and insight may present challenges to both students and teachers. This gap calls for students to recognize how their own assumptions and projections may limit their understanding of the teachings. The effort to cultivate qualities embodied by the teacher such as lovingkindness, compassion, and devotion, also calls for students to question the belief in “real” self. Realizing the emptiness of self calls for shift in perspective that is ultimately nonconceptual, and that makes it possible to overcome self-cherishing. Finally, a shift in perspective generates the recognition of the cause of suffering—the mistaken belief in a real self—and a new insight into how to attain freedom from it.