Examining the Essential Nature of the Settled Mind The second (main section) is the exceptionally perceptive state of vipashyana. Have the essential points of your body posture be as before; but, in this case, as your way of gazing is extremely important, direct your eyes,...

Review  In our discussion about the issue of free will or choice versus predetermination or determinism, we saw that there are many, many factors that are involved and many pieces of the Buddhist teachings that we have to put together in order to understand what’s going...

An in-depth series of talks on how the question of free will versus predetermination fits into the Buddhist presentation of karma.

Blame for our karma is based on the misconceptions involved with grasping for a self-established “me,” whereas taking responsibility for our karma is based on correct understanding of voidness and dependent arising.

The Complexity of Karma Karma is a topic that concerns what happens to us and why. It is something that is very relevant to all of us on a personal level, not something outside of the sphere of our lives. If we can start to understand karma and how it works, we can begin to...

The founding of the Sautrantika tenet system is attributed to Kumaralata (Skt. Kumāralāta) (aka Kumaralabdha, Skt. Kumāralabdha) in the late first century CE. He rejected the Sarvastivada abhidharma sources in favor of relying exclusively on the Sarvastivada sutras. His views...

In accord with the Sarvastivada abhidharma texts and The Great Extensive Commentarial Treatise on Special Topics of Knowledge (Skt. Abhidharma-mahāvibhāṣa-śāstra), compiled in the late first century CE at the Fourth Buddhist Council, the Vaibhashika system that followed this...

Brief Review of the System of Karma According to Vasubandhu and Nagarjuna Last time, we presented the main components of karma, or karmic impulses, according to Vasubandhu and Nagarjuna. We saw that mental karma refers to the mental factor of a compelling urge that draws the...

The Constraints Regarding Five Systems of Natural Order According to Theravada Let me explain a little bit here about karmic and non-karmic impulses so that we have some idea of what we are actually talking about when we talk about karma and the issue of choice. In Theravada,...

Today you have asked me to give an explanation of the practice of The Three Essential Moments involved with the meditation deity of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig. The actual title of the text from which I will be teaching is called the Method of Practicing the Instructions for...