Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. We can practice with whatever arises in our life, immediately. Even our busyness and especially our challenges in daily life are opportunites to look at life through the lens of the Dharma. We can “Make Good Art” with whatever arises. At the root of all suffering is self-importance. We don’t grow in the Dharma or even experience genuine connection until we start to let go of this self-importance. Enthusiastically engaging in service to the sangha is a powerful context for releasing self-importance.

Speaker: Alex Rocha. Alex reflects on how a challenging situation led him to re-assess his progress on the path. Years of diligent practice may lead us to overestimate our attainments and allow pride to creep in. But a crisis that jolts us out of our complacency can force us to see how deeply we have really assimilated the teachings. We can regard such experiences either as obstacles or as opportunities to grow. Alex relates how he navigated this kind of experience to gain more humility and a deeper appreciation of shamatha, renunciation, taking refuge, and familiarization with the nature of mind.

Speaker: Nicholas Carter. Nick contemplates the importance of making the Dharma your own by meeting your own experience directly. To do so, it is necessary to overcome the habit of believing in a solid self; to cut through the ego’s storytelling; and to engage in self-reflection, vigilant introspection, mindfulness and contemplation. These practices make it possible simply to be present with the body and one’s actual experience, and in this way to cultivate humility, strength, resolve and courage.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Speaking from the 25th annual Nyingma Summer Seminar on the second weekend, covering the Mahayana vehicle, Dungse-la encourages not being a loyalist to the ego’s narrative and impulses. By applying lojong mind training practice, we can have the tenacity to be with our own mind with the intention to be kind and compassionate. If instead we’re focused on building a fortress around the heart, it will be very hard to see from a Dharmic perspective. Lojong gives us the ability to train in the face of difficulties, to not trust the ego, and see through its desire for immediate gratification for oneself.