Teaching at 1st UK Kagyu Monlam, Samye Ling, Scotland, 2018.
Having our faults pointed out is receiving the Dharma, Seeing our faults is understanding the Dharma, Eradicating our faults is practising the Dharma.
Receiving the Dharma is…
Teachings
Have You Really Understood ?
Teaching at 1st UK Kagyu Monlam, Samye Ling, Scotland, 2018.
In the Dharma there are often illustrations given, such as ‘like a dream or like a mirage’. For example, ‘wealth and property are like a magic show or illusion.’ You could think, ‘yes, I understand that’. If, on hearing a teaching like this, your attachment to your wealth and property changes, then that shows you […]
Buddhism: A Quest for Truth
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.
Decorum Over Decor
HwaYue Foundation, Taiwan, 21 October 2017
Sometimes, we forget what really matters in our practice and give more emphasis to the external aspects of Buddhism; when that happens, our practice of Dharma may become a cause of upset and friction with our family and friends. But the true practice of the Dharma is not about doing external activities such as prostrating, […]
Fortunate Disciples
Teaching on the Precious Garland of the Supreme Path, HwaYue Foundation, Taiwan, 20 October 2017
The text talks about ‘worthy disciples’, sometimes this is also translated as ‘fortunate individuals’. This is talking about people who, when they encounter good conditions for receiving or practising the Dharma, become inspired and enlivened. They readily accept the teachings, seeing them as a way to transform their characters and root out their troublesome bad […]
Dharma Theatre
Teaching on the Torch of Definitive Meaning, 27 September 2017 at Kagyu Samye Ling, UK
Most of our practice is exactly like theatre. Just like actors in a play dress up in costumes and put on masks to act out their parts, wiping off the make-up and slipping back into their jeans afterwards to get on with their lives; so we go about most of our practice. We put on […]
Dharma is not a Tibetan View
Advice given to western students in Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 12 April 2017
One big difficulty we face is that as the Buddhadharma spread, it gradually became so interwoven with the traditions and customs of the countries it spread to that it’s difficult for us to identify which is which. People have become so used to seeing them as inseparable that they often take what is merely a […]
Open Mind to the Dharma
Advice given to western students in Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal, 12 April 2017
The very purpose of studying and practicing Buddhism is to bring about a positive change in our minds. But that’s never going to happen if we hold to our own views, feeling that we need to defend them. It is taught that the number one obstacle on the path is holding one’s view to be […]
Not a Tradition
Understanding Buddhism is understanding desire; desire is not a tradition. Understanding Buddhism is understanding anger and ignorance; anger is not a tradition, ignorance is not a tradition. Understanding Buddhism is understanding suffering; suffering is not a tradition. To learn Buddhism is to learn how to be kind; kindness is not a tradition. Buddhism is the […]
This Precious Day
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Center, Nepal, 27 December 2016
This day, today, is of inconceivable importance for all of our myriad future lives. Why? Because what we do today has the potential to bring benefit or harm to those countless future lives. Suppose that today, through your practice, you reduce or dent your afflictions just a little bit, or gain a tiny nugget of […]
To Study Dharma is to Study the Mind
Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, December 2016
What is it to study the Dharma? It is not about reading books, memorising the words, and bringing them to mind. The very purpose of the Dharma is to change and transform the mind. It is very important that we relate to the Dharma in this way; instead of thinking that it is something in […]
Life is practice
Thrangu Vajrayana Buddhist Centre, Hong Kong. 20 November 2016
A big misunderstanding that many of us have is that we think daily life and practice are separate. For us, practice means to put aside all activities and sit with straight backs, reciting mantras or meditating; as if there is something called practice that is separate from everything else we do. For people who […]
Dharma Check-up
Hong Kong Thrangu Vajrayana Buddhist Centre, 19 November 2016
Since conviction in the existence of past and future lives, and karma and causality are the very foundation of all our Dharma practice, it is essential that we check to see how much belief we really have in them. To gauge how convinced we are in the existence of future lives, we can ask ourselves […]
First-Hand Blessing
Thrangu Vajrayana Buddhist Centre, Hong Kong, 19 November 2016
For those of you studying and training in Tibetan Buddhism, if you can receive the instructions from your lama in their own language, you will get much more benefit. It seems though, that most people don’t give a lot of emphasis to learning Tibetan. For example, many of the Nepalese and Indian traders around Boudhanath […]
Getting the Whole Cake
Kagyu Samye Ling, UK, Teaching on Calling the Guru From Afar, 25 October 2016
It is all too easy to hear a lot of dharma and miss the point. Say if we’ve spent a whole week receiving teachings from a lama, and then still need to ask for an interview to ask; “Um, now what should I do when I go home?” Then we have to realise that we’ve […]