Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Lojong, the Buddhist practice of mind training, is where compassion and wisdom meet. The slogans on mind training provide an important framework for how we meet the world with kindness and equanimity. Dungse-la joins us from Vermont where he teaches on Lojong, drawing on commentaries by great Lojong practitioners, and other texts referring to foundational teachings of Buddhadharma. This program is a continuation of a series on Lojong over the past three years.

Speaker: Suzy Greanias. Suzy coined the term, “the Buddha’s advocate” as a counterpoint to the more familiar phrase, “devil’s advocate.’ Recalling Rinpoche’s advice to his students never to think we have something to teach others, but to pursue our paths, she concludes that the best way to be the Buddha’s advocate is to have faith in his teachings.

Speaker: Kelly Smith. Kelly Smith recounts how MSB’s centers at Samten Ling, Phuntsok Choling, and Pema Osel developed, how Rinpoche shaped the culture of the Sangha, and what it means to be a practitioner of the Longchen Nyingtik lineage. It took the great, sustained effort of many people to build these centers. The culture that took root from these efforts reflects Rinpoche’s intention for his students: through practice, renunciation and surrender, to accumulate the blessings of the lineage.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Dungse Jampal Norbu explores our polarized political climate through the lens of Lojong mind training. How do these seeds of anxious thinking arise? Can we cut through catastrophic narratives? Are we prepared to deal with loss? Mind training gives us tools to steer ourselves out of whirlpools of thinking and shift our focus to equanimity and bodhicitta. In this way, we can be a practitioner first.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This LINK was originally given by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on February 8, 2015 from Phuntsok Choling in Ward, Colorado. It is the sixth in a series of talks given by Rinpoche called, “The Seven Riches of the Aryas”, and it covers “Sherab”, which is Tibetan for Wisdom.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This LINK was originally given by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on January 4, 2015 from Osel Ling in Crestone, Colorado. It is the fifth in a series of talks given by Rinpoche called, “The Seven Riches of the Aryas”, and it covers “Trelyupa and Ngotsa Shepa”, which are Tibetan for Conscientiousness and Propriety.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This LINK was originally given by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on January 4, 2015 from Osel Ling in Crestone, Colorado. It is the fifth in a series of talks given by Rinpoche called, “The Seven Riches of the Aryas”, and it covers “Trelyupa and Ngotsa Shepa”, which are Tibetan for Conscientiousness and Propriety.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Fairness seems to be a contemporary ideal that does not clearly appear in the Dharma. It refers largely to what is reasonable or equal. But what arises is governed by karmic theory, the nature of the vast web of interdependence, not by fairness. Fairness is usually a view from the standpoint of self-importance. The fact that samsara is not fair calls us to examine when we are caught in attachment to our ideas of fairness and self-importance. We have a great future ahead of us as practitioners when we apply the Dharma to our sufferings in samsara, applying the views of karma, interdependence, emptiness, the Four Immeasurables, and so on. Being motivated by bodhicitta is a far better approach than being motivated by fairness.

Speaker: Sara Namgyel. Sara identifies the genuine heart of sadness as the key to generating bodhicitta, cultivating renunciation, taking refuge, and attaining enlightenment. The genuine heart of sadness (choshe) arises from our willingness accept all our feelings fully. Unlike depression or despair, which lead us to feel stuck, choshe motivates us to gain freedom from samsara. Accepting our feelings fully develops the fundamental quality of Dharmic warriorship: fearlessness in the face of fear. By cultivating the genuine heart of sadness, we foster renunciation, the desire to liberate ourselves from samsara, and the determination to take refuge in the Three Jewels and attain enlightenment.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This LINK was originally given by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on December 7, 2014 at Phuntsok Choling in Ward, Colorado. It is the fourth in a series of talks given by Rinpoche called, “The Seven Riches of the Aryas”, and it covers “Tupa”, which is Tibetan for Hearing Wisdom.