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
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,
Living Life in Accordance with Natural Power: Part 2: Karma, Equality and Guaranteed Rights Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche August 3, 2017 As human beings, we naturally desire to be happy and free from suffering. In America, this desire translates into an expectation of guaranteed rights: the right to happiness, prosperity, freedom, and so forth. This guarantee of rights is just another idealistic view, and it fosters much resentment among Americans. For instance, we automatically assume we
Living Life in Accordance with Natural Power: Part 1 – Resistance, Surrender & Karma Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche June 22, 2017 There are two types of power. The first type of power is natural power, or things as they are. “Things as they are” means that there are naturally occurring relationships between all phenomena. For instance, if you pour water on a fire, the fire will go out. You do not need to add anything to