Transcript of a conversation between Drupon Khen Rinpoche and Owen, Johannesburg, South Africa, October 2019
After yesterday afternoon’s teaching here in Johannesburg, Drupon Khen Rinpoche was on his way to meet someone when a young chap called Owen wished to ask him a question. Since we were already running late we arranged for him to see Rinpoche today. Rinpoche very much appreciated Owen’s questions and asked him if it would […]
Second day of teachings at the one-week retreat hosted by the Hwayue Foundation, Taiwan, 2019
When reading or listening to a teaching do not focus on the words; focus on your own mind. The words are like a mirror through which you can see your own anger, desire, etc. The texts do not have anger and the other afflictions, but they can help you see your own if you use […]
I think we can say that dharma is not something that you ‘do’ as such. Rather, it’s something that due to various causes and conditions happens or arises in our mind. It’s like how we experience a sudden change of mood and become sad. This change of mood, this ‘being sad’, is not something that […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Center, Teaching given to the Chinese students, 21 July 2019
What is dharma? Dharma is not something in the book that you read, nor is it something new that you need to learn and keep in mind. Anything that is not related to your mind is not dharma. So what is dharma? Dharma is everything that you see and experience right now, it is all […]
The way we think is all important. Whichever way we usually think is the same manner of thinking that will be triggered when we encounter events, circumstances, etc. If our way of thinking is negative then what we encounter will feed that, whereas if we think positively all we encounter will further that way of […]
“Several people have advised me against scolding western dharma students, but I’m unable to give up on you so easily.” Drupon Khen Rinpoche to his students in Samye Ling Retreat Centre, Holy Isle, UK – 2011
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 9 May 2019
While I do sometimes worry what will become of me after I die, it doesn’t trouble me too badly. What worries me the most is wasting the time I have now, before I die. Each day is an opportunity, an opportunity that we can never retrieve if we let it go to waste. To not […]
9th One-Week Meditation Retreat, Hong Kong, June 2019
I honestly hope and aspire to one day be able to practise the greater vehicle, mahamudra, dzogchen and other secret mantra practices. But in this life, if I am able to have an authentic practice of the lower vehicle I would be absolutely delighted and think I am doing something amazing. Actually, it’s what I […]
2nd UK Kagyu Monlam, Kagyu Samye Ling, Scotland, 13 June 2019
What is meant by the true dharma? It is a certain way of mind. It is not something outside of one. There are two areas of dharma: the dharma of scripture and the dharma of realisation. We can say that the methods found in the dharma that correct our way of thinking are the dharma […]
Excerpt from the weekend teaching in Kagyu Samye Ling, October 2018
A good student will appreciate and feel fortunate to have their faults pointed out by their lama, because they are trying to change and improve themselves. Since they are a good student they will know that their ultimate nature is good and pure, and that the faults are transient or incidental. So they will not […]
First UK Kagyu Monlam 2018, Samye Ling, UK
Most beginners see the three jewels as an outer object, as something separate from ‘me’. This is the beginner’s view, and it will not lead us to Liberation. The basic Buddhist view is that the Three Jewels are not something that truly exists externally. Buddha, Sang-Gye in Tibetan, shows us, or demonstrates to us our […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 14 March 2018
The true study of Buddhism is a quest to establish the truth; to ascertain the basic reality of things. When that happens for someone, their intelligence and understanding blossom; they become clear about the whys and wherefores of life. This intelligence and insight permeates and transforms their whole perspective and behaviour.
Advice given to western students at the start of the six-year retreat programme at Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Center, Nepal, 13 January 2015
We all feel that we have to become good Dharma practitioners. And what it means to be a good dharma practitioner is to have a view that is different from normal worldly views. We simply can’t become dharma practitioners whilst maintaining a worldly view, because that can only take us along the path of samsara, […]
Teachings on 'A Torch for the Definitive Meaning', Sekhar, Nepal, 1st March 2015
Reprimanding a student is often much more profound than just explaining the words of a text. Usually when we receive teachings on a text, we don’t feel all that much, nothing really hits home. But when we are told off, something registers. We may become a little upset at first, but later a personal truth […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, February 2017
Real understanding can never be found amongst the pages of a book. But if we can learn to look into everything we experience in the same way that we look at a mirror, we will always be gaining fresh and ever deepening insight, most importantly about ourselves. Think about how we use a mirror. We’re […]
