Visualization

The Difference Between a Healthy and Inflated Ego Firstly, some questions. There was one question during the break, which was what is the difference between the “self” and the “me,” or the “I.” I think that since this question was asked by a psychologist, and terminology is a...

The Blissful Understanding of Voidness Now we go on to the second half of the six-session guru practice: Requested like this, my supreme guru alights on the crown of my head. We merge – samaja. Samaja is the Sanskrit word meaning “to unite.” It’s the same word “to come...

Brief Review The Eight Verses of Mind Training comes from a long tradition, beginning with Shantideva’s text Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior, then with Atisha, who heard of these teachings from Dharmarakshita, who wrote Wheel of Sharp Weapons, and then traveled to Sumatra to...

The Buddha-Nature Factors Going from the basis level to the resultant level through the pathway level in tantra involves working with our Buddha-nature factors. Let’s look at what they are. There are evolving factors and abiding factors, as they are called. The evolving...

How to Practice Giving and Taking: Tonglen  Now, that leads us into our discussion of tonglen and the understanding of how important it is and why then it can be our core practice. “Tonglen” is giving and taking, and is an extremely, extremely advanced and difficult practice...

There are many misunderstandings about ngondro practices, such as that they are a miracle cure for all our problems.

An in-depth look at the Buddhist practice of tantra: what’s the difference between visualizing ourselves as a Buddha-figure or as Mickey Mouse?

Tsongkhapa explains the factors required for effective meditation in both sutra and tantra practice and how both practices are necessary for cognizing voidness (emptiness) with a joined state of shamatha and vipashyana.

What you need to know for taking a Kalachakra initiation.

Mantra practice has many levels, from protecting our minds from mental wandering, to molding the energy-winds of the breath to facilitate bringing those energy-winds into the central channel, to building up causes for attaining the Enlightening Speech of a Buddha.