Practice Material
As you grow accustomed to this exchange, and that may take a while, you come to rest in a different way, in a profound acceptance of the pain of the world and the struggles that comprise most people’s lives. In that acceptance, there is a quiet joy, a joy in the wonder of life itself.
Article
Willingness means to let go of conventional concerns over happiness, wealth, status, and reputation, the agendas of life in society. As long as you limit your experience to what fits into the world of society, you will explore your spiritual potential only to the extent that it doesn’t impinge on your life in society.
Practice Material
Verses for the practice of the four immeasurables (or the four brahmaviharas). These verses incorporate elements from Theravada, Mahayana, and Dzogchen approaches to the four immeasurables.
Chapter 6 of “The Jewel in the Lotus”
[…] confirmed to me by a number of other teachers. Mind is empty, or the nature of mind is emptiness and clarity. The emptiness aspect is known through resting. The emptiness aspect comes to be known or experienced through resting deeply. The clarity aspect comes to be known through this quality of wakefulness. And in […]
Chapter 9 of “37 Practices of a Bodhisattva”
Dissolving fixations Ken: Verse 22: Whatever arises in experience is your own mind. Mind itself is free of any conceptual limitations. Know that and don’t generate Subject-object fixations. 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva, Tokmé Zongpo, verse 22 Now, when I was looking at this earlier today, I thought there may be a bit of […]
Chapter 2 of “37 Practices of a Bodhisattva”
[…] of Buddhist lists Ken: Okay. Precious human birth, eight favorable conditions, and the ten special conditions. Any questions? Any thoughts, reflections, anything you want to look at in connection with that? Jessica? Jessica: You had mentioned in your email that you might go over the importance of the order. Ken: Of lists. Yeah. Jessica: […]
Chapter 7 of “Being Mahamudra”
[…] seventh consciousness. The other six cease to disturb, and you rest in the seventh consciousness. So, there can be a strong sense of I, you know, “I’m resting,” but there’s not much else going on. And then as the resting mind deepens, the sense of I seems to subside and now there’s just an […]
Chapter 1 of “The Jewel in the Lotus”
[…] it occurred to him that he was simply giving away some of what he had; and that the pleasure which he obtained through his generosity was far in excess of what it really cost him to sacrifice what was after all such a small proportion of his wealth. As soon as this thought entered […]
Chapter 3 of “Finding the Way”
[…] you immediately moved to a different question. Susan: Well, there were a number of times in our conversation where it came to what I’d call a natural resting place where it would’ve been very peaceful, appropriate, to rest peacefully together with the response. And then I found myself getting anxious, “Oh my goodness, I’m […]
Chapter 8 of “A Trackless Path II”
[…] Vikramasila? Larry: Nalanda. Ken: Nalanda. So this meant that he was dammed good because there was a lot of real estate and a lot of political power resting on his debating skills. So he’s a little stuck in his head, which is how he got to Tilopa. And Tilopa did one thing after another. […]
Chapter 2 of “A Trackless Path II”
[…] that’s important here isn’t the name so much as the recognition. And it’s just “Oh, this is what’s happening. Okay, my mind’s moving.” Or “There’s movement, there’s resting.” That little recognition is the seed of wakefulness and that’s what’s being cultivated. Okay? Larry: Yes. Ken: Good. All right. Larry: Thank you. Ken: Ralph? Ralph: […]
Chapter 6 of “Mahayana Mind Training”
[…] conditions within us to remember, to remember, to remember. And mindfulness can easily be regarded as just remembering what you’re doing. So when we’re sitting in meditation, resting in the breath, we’re remembering the breath. And we forget it all the time. And it’s the same way with our intention in practice. We forget […]
Chapter 3 of “Five Elements Five Dakinis”
[…] have three components Ken: Questions about the practice this morning? Everybody totally clear about earth? Transformation into balance pristine awareness. A couple of things that came up in interviews which I think is probably helpful. First thing, the sequence that we go through in the practice where we imagine the dakini, look into the […]
Chapter 27 of “Then and Now: A Commentary on The Jewel Ornament of Liberation”
Reflections on the four black dharmas Ken: Here we are at our twenty-seventh class in the Then and Now series, April 22, 2008, right? I’m just hitting them all aren’t I? Okay, my estimate is that we will have about 12 more classes, give or take, to complete the The Jewel Ornament. I want […]
Chapter 9 of “Then and Now: A Commentary on The Jewel Ornament of Liberation”
[…] for a systematic presentation of Mahayana teachings. And I’ve mentioned this before, and I’m going to mention it again because I think it’s very important to keep in mind. This is such a classically medieval presentation, and by that I mean several things. One is, in the culture of Tibet—and I think it’s quite […]