The Founding of the Qarakhanid Empire When the Orkhon Uighur Turks were driven from Mongolia by the Kyrgyz takeover in 840 CE, they lost possession of the sacred earth-goddess mountain Otuken near their former capital, Ordubaliq. According to the pre-Buddhist and...

The first women ordained as nuns were Buddha’s maternal aunt and 500 female followers. They were given additional vows to those given to the monks in order to avoid suspicion of this mixed-gender celibate order from society at that time.

With ethical self-discipline, we can overcome the compulsiveness of our karma that causes us all levels of problems.

The universal values of kindness and honesty transcend any religious differences.

Everyone has the Buddha-nature factors that will enable them to reach enlightenment and become a Buddha.

Meditation Practices on the Laws of Karma Yesterday we talked about the laws of karma, the laws of behavioral cause and effect. In terms of karma in general, the main practice entails specifically to restrain yourself from committing any of the ten destructive, or nonvirtuous,...

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...

Introduction We’re speaking about affirmations and negations, which is a very important topic. This topic touches upon another very important topic, which is the topic of words and the meanings of words, and how, through words, do we actually mean something, feel something....

Review Throughout our lives we have the thought of ourselves in terms of “me” and “my life.” We’ve experienced this the entire span of our lives, not just one year of it, and because we’re not some rigid, solid blob that can’t be affected by anything, we’ve been influenced by...

Background We are continuing our discussion of how to adjust our mental factors within the context of developing balanced sensitivity. His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaks of the different aspects of Buddhism, and he differentiates Buddhist science from Buddhist religion...