To drill down a bit on emptiness and mere appearance, both of which are invaluable contemplations during mandala offerings and life in general … some months before he passed away, Venerable Geshe Kelsang said: All phenomena their own emptiness appears as themselves. Otherwise all phenomena do not exist at all. In The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra, Venerable Geshe Kelsang’s most recent instructions on how to do a retreat on mandala…
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What is a day really for? I’ve seen four clips these past few days that illustrate the need to think about this if I want my life to have a deeper meaning. The first, and simplest, clip…
Fairly dicey times here on Planet Earth. What direction are we headed in? In the introduction to Prayers for World Peace, which Geshe Kelsang gave us way back in 2001, he says: World peace is very important;…
If we get into the habit of making mandala offerings, we swiftly purify our mind and start to see the world in a purer way. For example, we may notice that we can still love people even…
A very handsome man, to my eyes, just walked into this London café on what looked to be a date with a woman sitting here. “Lucky her,” I was half-thinking; but in the time it took for…
Lately I’ve had no time to develop a full blown article from up my sleeve, so I thought I’d share some gentle musings instead. Gratitude Simon from Eritrea told me he is in a good mood because…
Guest appearance by the author of this popular article: Chronic pain & fatigue and the quiet power of Dharma. Rushing to hospital recently with severe pain and other never-before-experienced symptoms, I was admitted for same-day emergency surgery.…
This is the third and last part of Is Heaven real? Celebrating Je Tsongkhapa Day First of all, Happy Je Tsongkhapa Day! Today, October 25th,…
Here is the article I promised from the friend I quoted: Being a social worker makes me a better Buddhist. Being a Buddhist makes me…
Scientists say they have evidence to show that Buddhists really are happier and calmer than other people. ~ Reuters For more than twenty years now,…
In Buddhism, we train to solve our own and everybody else’s problems through compassion and wisdom. This is a bit different to the usual way…
A very handsome man, to my eyes, just walked into this London café on what looked to be a date with a woman sitting here.…
Wrote this one Valentine’s Day, but it works every day. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! How’s it going?! Feeling happy?! Feeling loved? Or feeling unloved?! Feeling…
How we treat the world’s animals—whether coldly or compassionately, selfishly or justly—is…
I just failed my drive test. I was sort of speeding without realizing it, so…
Some people talk these days about “peak experiences”, and how they give meaning to a…
First I thought it’d be helpful to give some context for the clarity of mind…
Guest article by Susan de la Vergne, native Angelino 5.5 mins read One of our weekly Kadampa branch classes in the Los Angeles area is…
I just had my flu shot. (I know, I know, some of you will disapprove, I do a bit myself). But it reminded me of…
8.5 mins read. You may know this already, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded, that people the world over are all the same in…
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Society
I’m going to assume for the moment that we’re not going to…
Impermanence
Last night I dreamt that my spiritual teacher showed me all my…
Self Confidence
(Originally written during the Covid pandemic, this article is still totally relevant.)…
Buddha nature
First a question: What do you reckon happens when we try to…