Rebirth

How to Develop a Mind That Is Interested in Dharma The procedure here will be one of a dialogue, back and forth, of asking questions, because if I just sit here and lecture you, that is not of great benefit as we only have a few days. Whereas, if we ask questions and talk back...

Introduction The past, the present, and the future are important topics to study on the Buddhist path. This is because, for the purification of karma, it is helpful to understand the nature of past destructive actions that we have committed and their future karmic results....

The Relevance of the Topic of Time Time (dus, Skt. kala) and such topics within the category of time like the past, the present, and the future are very important topics to study when we are on the Buddhist path. They’re not just metaphysically interesting, but they are...

The 12 links of dependent arising is a central and important topic in the Buddhist path, it’s important to know why it’s important in order to develop interest and motivation to study and learn about it. As way of introduction, let me discuss that for a little while first. The...

Background of the Text This text was written by Atisha, a great Indian master who lived about 1,000 years ago. He had been to study in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. He had made a long, very difficult journey there. Buddhism had spread there long before, and he went...

Twelve Links of Dependent Arising Describe Rebirth and How to Stop It The twelve links of dependent arising (rten-‘brel yan-lag bcu-gnyis) describe the mechanism of rebirth. Rebirth concerns the continuity of the mind. When we speak about mind in Buddhism, we are not talking...

What Is Lam-rim and How Did It Derive from Buddha’s Teachings? The graded path, lam-rim, is a way to access and integrate the basic Buddhist teachings into our lives. Buddha lived 2,500 years ago, with a community of monks, and later on, a community of nuns. He not only taught...

IntroductionWe started our discussion of tantra in general with an introduction to what tantra actually is. And one of the main points that I try to emphasize is that tantra is an advanced practice. It’s a practice that is not intended for beginners. Even if we have started...

The next three links – eight, nine, and ten – are the causal links that actualize (bsgrub-byed-kyi yan-lag). They are what activate the karmic aftermath of throwing karma in the moments preceding death so that the karmic results will actualize. Thus, they serve as the...

We were talking about the first link in this chain of dependent arising and we saw that this is the link of unawareness and it has to do with unawareness of how persons exist, both ourselves and others. And the main emphasis that we need to put first is in terms of...