June 3, 2010 | Topics: Self Reflection The Practice of Self Reflection The desire for happiness is universal. And beyond finding happiness and meaning in our lives, most of us want to be good, decent human beings. Wanting to be good, happy, and decent is not only a reasonable desire but also a noble one. Ironically, much of the time we struggle with how to go about accomplishing this. We have an idea of how we want to be, but we always find ourselves running up against our own doubts, fears, and insecurities. On the spiritual path, we speak of enlightenment. But how do we reconcile enlightenment with what we see when… Read More
Shedra Study – A Practitioner’s Backbone MSB-Admin September 3, 2018 “One who is in harmony with emptiness is in harmony with all things.” – Nagarjuna I never really thought I had intellectual prowess, something I assumed was needed to study things like calculus, physics, and Madhyamika. But when I first studied the ninth chapter of the Way of the Bodhisattva with Rinpoche at Naropa, a
Taking Refuge in the Sangha: Growing into Peace Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche January 18, 2018 The prevalence of technology in modern society presents us with a dilemma: the more dependent we become, the greater the chances that we begin to see technology as a sort of savior, as something that will become our ultimate friend, our source of joy and comfort. Our love affair with technology increases day by day,
Becoming Unstuck: Part 1 – Drowning in Familiarity MSB-Admin December 12, 2017 It seems that, week after week, we pretty much feel the same, even though so many things happen in a week. And this feeling of sameness is closely connected to the feeling of being stuck. So let’s discuss this tendency of how we often feel stuck, and examine what are the causes and conditions of
Universal Tender Heart and Universal Responsibility Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche August 15, 2017 As human beings we share in common our universal tender heart. Every move and response we make comes from our tender heart. This responsiveness has no beginning nor end; it is ongoing, from the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep. For short periods of time, when we are deep asleep,