Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, January 2022
What do we need in order to attain the realisation of mahamudra? First, we should know how it is NOT attained. There is a quote by Master Shang in the Ocean of Definitive meaning, which reads: “This [i.e., mahamudra] is not realised through extensive study. It is not realised through great knowledge. It is not […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, December 2021
The greatest fortune in my life is having met the lamas that I did. Due to having witnessed their ways of being, faith in the dharma remains in my heart. Without this, now when the world is full of people claiming to be Buddhist but you can hardly find anyone who acts in line with […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat, Nepal, Summer 2021
It’s very important that right from the beginning we link our dharma practice and our everyday experience as much as possible. If we continue to see our practice as something we merely imagine as we sit on the cushion, unrelated to the rest of our experience that we call ‘real life’, we will never come […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 2021
Whether you’d like to admit it or not, the fact remains that you cannot study the dharma extensively in English or other European languages at the moment. When I say ‘extensively’ I mean to the level that one can study the dharma in the shedras (Buddhist colleges), for example. For a start, many of the […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal 4th January 2022
Earlier today someone sent me some pictures of Khenpo Chokhyab. As soon as you see a picture of him you get the impression, ‘Here is someone with renunciation.’ At least that is what comes to mind for me when I see his picture. There are many lamas of his generation like that. A hardheaded cynic […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, December 2021
You hear people say things like the dharma should be updated to suit people of the 21st century because it was taught that the dharma should be imparted in ways that suit the student. Personally, I cannot agree that the dharma needs to be changed to suit modern people. I don’t think that is what […]
24th December 2021, Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal
A mahamudra lama needs certain attributes and these are taught at length in the texts. To put it very simply though, they must have the way of thinking that we find explained in the mahamudra teachings. This means that they have little concern for this life, they are uncomplicated, and remain unswayed by circumstances. The […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, June 2021
The teachings of the Buddha relate to our everyday experience, the way we perceive life. This is true across the board, from the most basic teachings to teachings on the ultimate view. So of course this is true in our practice of the dharma too. Our practice must relate to what we see, hear and […]
Advice given to the teenage monks and nuns at Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, November 16th 2021
Be a good friend to people and you will never be short of good friends yourself. A good friend is honest and straight forward. So don’t cheat your friends for some small personal gain. That little something you might win by telling a fib will not last very long, but the seed of distrust and […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 5th December 2021
We shouldn’t bother wishing to be like the rich and famous. We probably have no idea of the trouble, anxiety and feelings of dissatisfaction that plague them. We should instead look up to and aspire to be like those who have control over their minds. When I was in Namo Buddha just now, I was […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, October 2021
Here’s are some good questions you can ask yourself occasionally: What if everyone were like me? What would happen to my community if everyone had the same degree of care and concern for others as me? What would happen to the community if everyone offered the same amount of service as me? What would happen […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 7th February 2018
If you are serious about learning mahamudra or dzogchen and you think you will have the opportunity to receive such authentic meditation instructions from a qualified lama, you should avoid reading any books or texts on these topics beforehand. To do so would be to commit meditation suicide. The vocabulary from such books that will […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 1st June 2020
For someone who aspires to practice the dharma, it is very important to read or hear the liberating lives of the masters of whichever lineage of teachings we follow. Even a little knowledge about their lives can help inspire faith and trust in the dharma and lineage. And when there is faith and trust, our […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 10th September 2021
In its simplest form, to recognise the nature of mind is to recognise the thoughts that run through our head and our habitual ways of thinking. It’s impossible to recognise the true nature of mind without first recognising the grosser nature of mind. The role of the lama is to first introduce us to the […]
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 10th September 2021
We do not practise the dharma to attain authority over others, to be in charge. On the contrary, we practise to become a servant or assistant to others. Our practice is to put our self-interest aside for the sake of all beings. But this has to start with those we are closest to; if we […]
