The Guru Principle (Link #674) MSB Student Markus Stobbs | September 17, 2023 | 56:15 Min. Speaker: Markus Stobbs. Markus reflects on how the guru principle has acted as a guide on his ever-unfolding path both within the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Markus describes how the guru can accelerate our awakening through their teachings and their physical presence. He gives examples of the different aspects of the guru principle, weaving a thread through his journey starting with his first “guru” being his mother, many years as a student of Hinduism, to his current guru, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. Markus’s devotion to the guru shines bright throughout the talk. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_09_17_LINK674_MS.mp3
Undertsanding the Bone in My Heart (Link #673) MSB Student Diane de Ford | September 10, 2023 | 22:39 Min. Speaker: Diane de Ford. Diane contemplates how the meaning of the phrase “having a bone in one’s heart” expresses the essence of bodhicitta. To have a bone in one’s heart is to have both the courage and the compassion that are required to gather insight into the nature of our own afflictive emotions, to overcome self-cherishing, and to create the conditions that allow us to put others before ourselves. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_09_10_LINK673_DDF.mp3
Understanding the Bone in My Heart (Link #673) MSB Student Diane de Ford | September 10, 2023 | 22:39 Min. Speaker: Diane de Ford. Diane contemplates how the meaning of the phrase “having a bone in one’s heart” expresses the essence of bodhicitta. To have a bone in one’s heart is to have both the courage and the compassion that are required to gather insight into the nature of our own afflictive emotions, to overcome self-cherishing, and to create the conditions that allow us to put others before ourselves. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_09_10_LINK673_DDF.mp3
Grace (Link #672) Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche | September 3, 2023 | 44:59 Min. Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This previously recorded talk was given by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on December 10, 2017 at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado. Rinpoche explains how remorse and forgiveness are the essential ingredients of the Buddhist path and their practice results in the experience of grace. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_09_03_LINK672_DKR.mp3
Reflections on Renunciation (Link #671) MSB Student Owen Ziols | August 27, 2023 | 1:08:23 Min. Speaker: Owen Ziols. Owen reflects on how he understands and cultivates renunciation. Renunciation may be understood in the context of ground, path, and fruition, the four thoughts that turn the mind to the Dharma, and the eight worldly concerns. Underlying all approaches, however, is the need for self-reflection and skillful means. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_08_27_LINK671_OZ.mp3
Making Intention and Action Meet (Link #670) MSB Student Polly Banerjee-Gallagher | August 20, 2023 | 47:06 Min. Speaker: Polly Banerjee-Gallagher. Polly Gallagher tells the story of how she and her siblings held vigil at her mother’s deathbed a year ago and how Rinpoche and the Sangha showed up for her family during that time as well as later when she took her parent’s ashes to India. She also shares details about her mother’s generous approach to life and reflects on the impact of the Dharma in her life. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_08_20_LINK670_PBG.mp3
Confession, Despair, and Saving Moths (Link #669) MSB Student Ram Jyoti | August 13, 2023 | 1:06:58 Min. Speaker: Ram Jyoti. Drawing from a broad array of sources, including the Dharma, the enneagram, A Course in Miracles, Carolyn Myss, and The Gnostic Gospels, Ram Jyoti reflects on what she has learned about confession, despair, aspiration, and kindness. Confession requires us to look honestly at ourselves, offering in return a sense of relief and purification. Cultivating the courage to “simmer” prepares us to learn the lessons that can be taught only by experiencing betrayal and despair. Extending patience and tolerance to our neuroses engenders kindness to all beings, and generates the aspiration to liberate all beings. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_08_13_LINK669_RJ.mp3
XX (Link #668) Dungse Jampal Norbu | August 6, 2023 | 1:11:16 Min. Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_08_06_LINK668_DJN.mp3
Identity and Healthy Relationship with the World (Link #668) Dungse Jampal Norbu | August 6, 2023 | 1:11:16 Min. Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Dungse-la reflects on identity and how to have a healthy relationship with the world as a Dharma practitioner. An understanding of the Four Noble Truths illuminates how sentient beings try to build a world that suits their preferences, and how this leads to suffering. The bodhisattva path provides a way beyond suffering based on reducing our neurotic attachment to self and developing a strong basis to navigate and fully engage the world in a healthy manner. This requires working with one’s identity with the skillful means of the Dharma, especially in the midst of the identity crisis of modernity and all of its challenges. A tree needs strong roots and then branches out into the world and the elements. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_08_06_LINK668_DJN.mp3
Let’s Talk About Death (Link #667) MSB Student Paddy McCarthy | July 30, 2023 | 1:04:45 Min. Speaker: Paddy McCarthy. Paddy reflects on how we can use the process of aging as an opportunity to meet the challenges of dying, training ourselves to pass with fearless confidence through illness, dissolution, and the bardos. Learning how to accept the process of aging teaches us how to die with clarity and openness. By doing so, we can increase the likelihood of attaining either enlightenment or an auspicious human rebirth that will enable us to continue on the spiritual path. http://podcast.mangalashribhuti.org/2023_07_30_LINK667_PM.mp3