We are pleased to offer a selection of free recordings of talks by Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel. Simply press play and enjoy.

Dharma in the West

 

Elizabeth shares her inquiry into what we want to carry forward as the culture of Dharma comes to the West. She offers that the Buddha’s teachings of The Middle Way, which she describes as “a practice of resting in open inquiry,” serve to guide us in this process of “looking deeply” at what we’ve inherited. Most important, she suggests, is to identify what is “timeless and placeless” about the Dharma, rather than contrast various cultural differences. (86 mins.)

 

Enter the Circle of Dogs

 

Elizabeth explores a profound Kadampa teaching that exposes the pain experienced by the ego when grasping or clinging to one’s identity, and, in contrast, the freedom and confidence that can arise from realizing there is no inherent truth to identity. In this riveting exploration of what we might call “identity crisis” in the West, she identifies the difference between the humility that comes from a genuine falling away of ego-grasping, versus the “ego of low self-esteem.” (84 mins.)

 

Loving Even More … After Grief and Loss

 

Elizabeth describes brokenhearted-ness as seeing the nature of impermanence vividly, and discusses why heartbreak and loss are critical for a practitioner. The “sting” of loss can create an open heart and mind, and rather than collapse under life’s challenges, we can rouse ourselves to “love even more” by acknowledging impermanence and developing appreciation for what it teaches us. (64 mins.)