In one of his past lives, the Buddha was the diligent student of a pious and learned teacher who wanted to test the character of his students. He told them about the hardships of poverty and that only wealth can relieve the pains of it. The teacher said one of the methods of gaining wealth…
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Reasoning and logic are essential in order to reveal what is in fact true and reliable knowledge. Pramana is a Sanskrit term that Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist traditions use to refer to the elements necessary to recognize how knowledge is understood, and how its veracity and reliability can be ascertained. Drawing from Dharmakirti’s Compendium of…
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David Mellins on the purpose of this teaching While systematic schools of Indian philosophy had yet to be formalized as textual traditions in the 6th century BCE when Gautama Buddha attained his enlightenment, the ascetic mendicant Gautama encountered, studied and ultimately refuted a broad range of doctrines professing pathways to wisdom and spiritual emancipation. This…
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Buddhist Tantra, a special Mahayana Buddhist practice transmitted and practiced for centuries, was brought from India to Tibet. It is based entirely on the realization of emptiness and the pursuit of the welfare of all beings. Dagyab Kyabgön Rinpoche has been teaching Buddhist Tantra for decades in the West and East and is considered one…
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Based on his own composition, these recordings of the oral teachings by the great Tibetan master Dagyab Kyabgön Rinpoche present the classical step-by-step method in a compact summary of the entire path to Buddhahood. Tailored for the 21st century, these teachings are based on tradition in the best sense with Dagyab Rinpoche’s characteristic warmth and…
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Rebirth, or reincarnation, was assumed by most premodern Buddhists – and is believed by many modern Buddhists – to be “the way things are” for sentient beings in the cosmos: we have lived before, and likely we will live again. Combining lecture, discussion, and guided meditation, this workshop will situate the Buddhist idea of rebirth…
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Pain is an inevitable part of life. Chronic pain disorders like chronic lower back pain, migraines /headaches, injuries, neuralgia, and fibromyalgia are a major source of suffering and disability, affecting tens of millions of people in the USA alone. Buddhism has the metaphor of the “two arrows” – the pain caused by any misfortune is…
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His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron have been developing a comprehensive multi-volume resource guide for all levels of interest in Buddhism’s foundational teachings. Ven. Chodron will touch on topics of the first six, such as the Foundations of Buddhist Practice, Samsara, Nirvana, Buddha Nature and Great Compassion and also talk about working…
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Compassion, empathy, and love are universally considered among the most positive of human emotions across spiritual traditions and ethical, humanistic, and psychological thought. Biologically and evolutionarily, affiliative emotions such as love and compassion are powerful motivators that are conserved in particular among social mammals, and seen as the foundation of family and social functioning. Some…
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Among the mental faculties as part of your mind, there are two roots for virtuous minds. These are in Tibetan ngo tsa she pa and trel yö pa. [The first] means your ability to feel embarrassed to do non-virtuous deeds by yourself. You are feeling hesitant to do it, not by the reason of others…
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