When we practise Guru Yoga, we visualise ourselves as Vajrayogini. From this, we can understand that a practitioner of guru yoga must be similar to Vajrayogini. There is good reason for this, for in Guru Yoga, we regard the lama as Vajradhara and only noble beings can encounter Vajradhara; ordinary beings cannot. So we can […]
I'm often asked to teach meditation (Mahamudra and Dzogchen) by the organisers of the different centres who invite me when I travel. It has been quite normal for these teachings to be given by travelling lamas who visit the West and Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. Falling in line with what has become the norm, I, […]
Many people ask what practice they should do or what they should study, but that is not the priority. We should first worry about finding a good lama, a teacher. The next step is to do as the lama says, and if they are an authentic lama, they will set us on the right path. […]
As Buddhists, especially those of us who follow the greater vehicle, we say the words 'for the sake of all sentient beings', but in practice, when it comes to doing anything for others, we lack any determination or drive. We say something nice, while in actuality we retain our selfish ways. This failing of ours […]
You don't see the dharma to be important (Rinpoche addresses the course participants). It's clear: the proof is there for anyone to see if you stop and think about it just a little bit. One proof is that most of you have children, but only a couple of you have brought your children here with […]
Most practitioners these days are pretenders, actors. That’s not good but what’s worse is that they don’t even know how to pretend. The past high lamas lived in caves, ate the simplest of foods and spent most of their time studying, practising and teaching. For example, if you visit the hills around Tsurpu in Tibet, […]
Whether we are a good vessel for the Dharma or not depends on our character. If our character is good there is a high chance we can make decent progress in the Dharma. Whether we can say we’ve made progress and are now a good practitioner or not, depends on our way of thinking, how […]
A true dharma practitioner should be humble, but that doesn't mean they lack self-confidence – they are not meek. They are confident because they possess knowledge and the ultimate view, so they have a deep-seated self-assuredness, which makes them fearless. A practitioner is humble because they are free from the afflictions of anger, desire, pride […]
If you really want to obtain spiritual accomplishment or enlightenment quickly, there are only two things you need to do: Let go of whatever you like and accept whatever you dislike. By simply doing this, you will reach a point where all thoughts of ‘I like this’ and ‘I don’t like that’ will be lost, […]
We can know that Buddhism is authentic by the fact that the more we analyse it the deeper it becomes: it more than withstands scrutiny. That is not the case for lesser philosophies etc, who’s statements are revealed as fallacious or untenable when put under the spotlight of intelligent inspection. The dharma does contain teachings […]
Foremost on a dharma practitioner’s mind is liberation, ultimate freedom. They don’t give much thought to how they feel in the moment, whether they feel happy or sad, etc. This is the opposite of worldly people, whose only thought is feeling pleasure and happiness and avoiding pain and discomfort. Practitioners do not pursue fleeting pleasures […]
Westerners are known for their love of freedom and independence, but strangely many of them have given their freedom away to drink, drugs, sex, chocolate, coffee etc. By their own admission, they have little self-control when it comes to such things and are dependent on them. Buddhists, and especially those who go all in – […]
When we are feeling down or when our mind is on edge, that is a sign that we are holding strong expectations and fear that our expectations will not be met. Drupon Khen Rinpoche October 2022
If you don’t listen to the teachings, you will not know what the Dharma is. When you don’t know what the Dharma is, you won’t know how to practise. Without knowing how to practise, you will not attain the results of the Dharma. So we cannot afford to be careless in our attendance of Dharma […]
One of my Dharma friends recently shared his perspective, stating that benefiting sentient beings and the Buddhadharma is not contingent upon one's intelligence or ability. Rather, the power of aspiration and the accumulation of merit are the pivotal factors. I find myself inclined to agree with this viewpoint. Hence, we need to make good aspirations […]
