Refuge

Introduction Taking refuge (skyabs-'gro) means formally putting the safe and positive direction in our lives indicated by the Triple Gem – the Buddhas, Dharma, and Sangha – and pledging to maintain this steady direction unwaveringly, until it brings us liberation or...

Review of the Main Points of the Lam-rim The lam-rim is divided into three scopes, each with different states of mind that act as pathways enabling us to reach enlightenment. This structure was first formulated by the great eleventh-century Indian master Atisha, who was...

Letting Down the Walls toward Learning As we discussed yesterday, what we try to do is to feel open to being of help to others – relating to others directly with the walls down. The walls need to be down not only toward people, but also toward learning things. It’s a similar...

This text was written by Atisha, a great Indian master who lived about a thousand years ago. He had studied in Indonesia, the island of Sumatra; he’d made a long journey there, a very difficult journey. Buddhism had spread there long before and he went there particularly to...

Review: Precious Human Life We have been going through the lam-rim graded stages of the path from the point of view of how they help us to develop a healthy sense of self. We have seen how thinking about the precious human rebirth and realizing how fortunate we actually are...

There are various types of actions that are specified for how we train ourselves to actually put the safe direction of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in our lives. They clearly indicate the practical application of refuge in our daily lives and what we actually need to do in order...

There are many forms of fear and many reasons for it to arise, but with skillful methods we can overcome fear and lead calmer, happier lives.

This weekend I’ve been asked to speak about a practice that was composed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama called The Yoga of the Spiritual Master Inseparable from Avalokiteshvara, which is a practice of guru-yoga that focuses on the development and practice of compassion. And...

Introduction Taking a safe direction in life (skyabs-'gro, taking refuge) is an active process, not a passive one of seeking protection from higher powers, as the term taking refuge might imply. By striving in this direction, we protect ourselves from fear and suffering. To...

The Three Levels of Motivation for Real Thing Dharma The lam-rim presents three levels of motivation: Initial level – we think in terms of ensuring that we have one of the better types of rebirths, not just in our next lifetime, but in all future lifetimes. ...