Bodhichitta

The Determination to Be Free, the First of the Three Principal Aspects of the Path   In Buddhism, we speak of three principal aspects of the path: the determination to be free, usually translated as “renunciation,” a vast enlightening aim of bodhichitta, and a profound,...

The Five Trainings from Developing Pledged Aspiring Bodhichitta The text continues: (8) Even if I have developed merely this resolve, if I lack the habit of the three types of ethical self-discipline, I will be unable to attain a (supreme) purified state. Seeing this well, I...

Verses 22 through 25 We have been going through the 37 Bodhisattva Practices by the great teacher, Togme Zangpo. We reached verse 22. Verse 22 to 24 talk about the cessation or stopping of suffering, and about deepest truth.  Developing Deepest Bodhichitta, the Realization of...

Foundation for Development of Equanimity In order to generate the enlightening aim of bodhichitta with which we wish to attain enlightenment in order to benefit all living beings, it is first necessary to develop a sense of equanimity and an equal attitude toward everyone. If...

The Great Benefits of Bodhichitta There are great benefits to be derived from the development of an enlightening aim of bodhichitta. The positive force built up by it of are discussed in twelve lines from a sutra of the Buddha which was requested by the householder Viradatta....

A Person of Advanced Spiritual Scope Atisha continues: (5) Anyone who fully wishes to eliminate completely all the sufferings of others as (he or she would) the sufferings included in his or her own mental continuum is someone of supreme motivation. This introduces the topic...

Exceptional Resolve  The next step after tonglen (giving and taking) is developing the exceptional resolve (lhag-bsam), which is the even stronger wish to be able to eliminate all the suffering of others and bring them the happiness of liberation and enlightenment. What is...

[The recording of the session on verse 10, which preceded this session, has been lost.] (10) Next, with a mind of love toward all limited beings, as a start, look to all wandering beings, barring none, suffering from birth and so forth in the three worse realms, and from...

To reach enlightenment and benefit all others, we need to regard everyone as equal and instead of cherishing only ourselves, cherish all others as our primary concern.

Learn how masters from the various Tibetan Buddhist traditions assert relative and deepest bodhichittas and how to gain simultaneous cognition of the two truths in anuttarayoga tantra.