Engaging in Enlightening Conduct  Once we take the bodhisattva vows, which are the essence of developing this engaged level of bodhichitta, we need to actually practice what’s called “enlightening conduct,” bodhisattva conduct. This is actually what bodhisattva vows...

Training in Higher Discriminating Awareness  Removing the Obscurations to Liberation and Enlightenment The discussion of training in higher discriminating awareness starts with the second half of verse 41:  (41b) However, if you have failed to apply yourself to...

How to Train in Vipashyana You should not be content with merely a stilled and settled state of shamatha which, being non-discursive, and also having the clarity that lacks any mental dullness and possessing the special benefit of (physical) joy and (mental) bliss, as I have...

My First Meeting with Serkong Rinpoche and His Initial Advice I first met Serkong Rinpoche in Bodh Gaya in January 1970. Sharpa and Khamlung Rinpoches, two young reincarnate lamas who had studied English in America under the guidance of Geshe Wangyal, had recommended him to...

We were discussing bodhichitta and what it means to be a bodhisattva, and we saw what role taking the bodhisattva vows has in the general progression of developing bodhichitta, and in the stages of developing bodhichitta. What’s really important is to understand the role of...

Description of the Phenomena in Classical Psychoanalysis Transference and regression are phenomena that occur in most ordinary human relationships, but in classical Freudian psychoanalysis, as described by Menninger in Theory of Psychoanalytic Technique, they are...

Brief Review Tantra is a very advanced Mahayana practice aimed at the goal of attaining enlightenment in order to be of best benefit to everyone. There are three levels of tantra practice. Basis Level On the basis level, working with our Buddha-nature, we can further our...

Introduction We have covered how to transform adverse conditions into a path to enlightenment with our thoughts, and now we’ll discuss it in terms of our actions, which is explained in the last line of this section: The supreme method possesses four actions of use, (so)...

Transforming Our Behavior through Our Thoughts We’ve covered the first two points – the preliminaries and the actual training in bodhichitta. Now we’re ready for the third of the seven points, which is transforming difficult circumstances into the path to enlightenment. This...

Cherishing Difficult People (4) Whenever I see beings instinctively cruel, overpowered by negativities and serious problems, may I cherish them as difficult to find as discovering a treasure of gems. This verse deals with how to transform negative circumstances into positive...