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.…
8 mins read. A question … when you’re not identifying with your Buddha nature, what are you identifying with? Over the decades I’ve observed a…
I am on the road again, this time to Glasgow. The tube was delayed into Heathrow by some undisclosed incident on the tracks, and after…
An old friend of mine, a naturopath, has had a lot of success in healing people simply by telling them — confidently – to drop…
Geshe Chekhawa, famous Kadampa master, told us how we could measure our success in training our minds: “Always rely upon a happy mind alone.” This…
7.5 mins read. Sitting in my new PJs this bitterly cold December morning, about to start my meditation, I was wondering how can I imagine…
I’m carrying on from this article on Tantra, and how we can use the power of bliss, wisdom, and the creative power of our imagination…
Here is a timely story from Eileen, aged 91, which illustrates the…
One of the most significant meditations in Buddhism – arguably in the world! – is…
We can start the meditation on the mind, as mentioned here, just by watching the…
Mahasiddha Saraha was a Mahamudra master who gave some really helpful analogies to help us…
Buddha’s teachings on Sutra and Tantra are all designed to solve our suffering and center us in the solution. This is quite a big subject,…
The other day I saw a little dude with his surfboard looking disappointedly at the ocean – it was clearly his first day of vacation…
Karma is a natural law that governs us, like the law of gravity. It’s not the same as fate or predestination because we can change…
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Society
Wild applause in Chicago. Stunned silence in Boston. Or numberless scenes like…
Impermanence
Flying through the clouds over London, I am imagining all of us…
Self Confidence
As a further incentive to ditch the attachment and grow the love,…
Buddha nature
I’ve been watching a couple of gentle dramas unfold on the other…