Shamatha and Vipashyana

Prologue In Sanskrit, (this text) is called Dharma-chatur-ratna-mala. In Tibetan, it is called Chos-bzhi rin-po-che’i ‘phreng-ba. [In English, it is called A Precious Garland for the Four Themes (of Gampopa).] I prostrate to all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. (1) With a crown...

[For background, see: Shamatha and Vipashyana: General Presentation. See also: Concentration Terminology] Objects of Shamatha Shamatha (zhi-gnas, calm abiding) is a stilled and settled state of mind that has the accompanying mental factor (sems-byung, subsidiary awareness) of...

Suffering and Rebirth The Buddhist teachings teach us methods for overcoming various types of suffering. We have the general suffering of unhappiness, which can accompany either our sensory experiences or also our mental experiences. We also have a problem with our ordinary...

Namo mahamudraya – homage to mahamudra, the great seal of reality. I respectfully bow at the feet of my peerless guru, lord of that which pervades everywhere, master of those with actual attainment, who expounds, in a denuding manner, the diamond-strong vajra sphere of...

The methods for cultivating boon experiences and stable realizations is divided into two sections: The methods for cultivating boon experiencesThe methods for cultivating stable realizations. Prayer to Cultivate Boon Experiences Properly Verse 20 is a prayer to be able to...

Through the power of achieving a stilled and settled state of mind (zhi-gnas, Skt. shamatha) – known as the indispensable preliminary stage of the first level of mental constancy (the first dhyana) (bsam-gtan dang-po'i nyer-bsdogs mi-lcogs-med)– and then going beyond to...

Introduction: The Lam-Rim Graded Stages and Levels of Motivation This evening we’re going to start our seminar on a very vital topic. The topic is how to meditate on the voidness of a false “me” experiencing the four noble truths. That sounds complicated and it is complicated....

Review We've spoke about how on any spiritual journey, like going on a caravan, we need to make preparation for the various things that we’re going to bring with us on our journey. And so what’s usually referred to as the preliminary practices are the preparation – it’s the...

Preliminaries for Shamatha Meditation The text continues with a full discussion of the sutra tradition of mahamudra,And so for this (sutra tradition of mahamudra), out of the two methods, namely seeking a meditative state on top of having gained a correct view (of voidness)...