Obstacles

Voidness (emptiness) ̱̱is a very difficult topic, but a very essential topic. In order to approach it, we need to see where it fits into the general presentation of the Buddhist teachings. As we all know, Buddha taught his understanding, his realization in terms of what is...

When we talk about meditation in a Buddhist context, we’re talking about something rather specific. Nowadays, we often hear the word “meditation” in all sorts of places, because it has quite a good reputation and many people are using it as an aid to relaxation and so on....

Avoiding Overdependence on Others for Spiritual Energy Even after committing oneself to a spiritual path and establishing a disciple-mentor relationship, maintaining energy and motivation in one's spiritual practice may often present a challenge. Thus, seekers need a variety...

This weekend I’ve been asked to speak about self-voidness and other-voidness, what is called in Tibetan rangtong (rang-stong) and zhentong (gzhan-stong). This is a very advanced topic, and very complicated, and also a very important topic. Therefore, it requires a great deal...

The Meaning of Karma There are many explanations of karma in the different Indian Buddhist tenet systems. Let us use the least complicated of them, the main explanation followed by the non-Gelug Tibetan traditions. We also find it in the Gelug explanation of all the Indian...

Brief Review We started our discussion of the Eight Verses of Mind Training by Langri Tangpa, with the first verse: (1) May I always cherish all limited beings by considering how far superior they are to wish-granting gems for actualizing the supreme aim. We discussed how...

Verses 2 and 3 Review Prostration and Buddha-Nature We have been discussing the first verse of Bodhisattva’s Garland of Gems, which has to do with how to meditate in general and, more specifically, how to meditate on bodhichitta. The topic was introduced by the prostration or...

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...

Clarification of Points about Kagyu and Sakya Teachings There are many different traditions, for instance in Kagyu there’s the tradition of two streams merged together, which refers to having both sutra and tantra mixed together within the mahamudra teachings. The disciple...

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...