Luminous Emptiness

The First Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche - Lodro Thaye

Reflections on Ground Mahamudra – Jamgon Kongtrul – Vajra Song

03/06/2005 | 1 Comment

Since no essence exists anywhere, Its expression is completely unobstructed and manifests everything. Pervading all of samsara and nirvana like space, It is the ground of all confusion and liberation, With its self-luminous consciousness And its alaya-vijnana. As for the cognitive aspect of this neutral state, Its essence is empty and its nature is luminous. […]

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General Buddhism

Faith and Emptiness

25/05/2005 | 1 Comment

It seems that for many people the word ‘Faith’ is problematic. Formany people, the reason why is become of the negative connotationsthat they have with that term. For some, that is based on badexperiences they had with previous religious affiliations, or contactwith those of other religions. For some, it is because they wish thisreligion of

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Other

Reflections on Rainer Maria Rilke – On Hearing Of A Death

24/05/2005 | Leave a Comment

We lack all knowledge of this parting. Deathdoes not deal with us. We have no reasonto show death admiration, love or hate;his mask of feigned tragic lament gives us a false impression. The world’s stage is stillfilled with roles which we play. While we worrythat our performances may not please, death also performs, although to

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Dzogchen

Verse 27 – Self-Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness – Karma Lingpa / Padmasambhava

19/05/2005 | 3 Comments

Because of the unobstructed nature of the mind, there is a continuous arising of appearances.Like the waves and the waters of the ocean, which are not two (different things),Whatever arises is liberated into the natural state of the mind.However many different names are applied to it in this unceasing process of naming things,With respect to

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Mahamudra

Clarity and Emptiness

05/05/2005 | 2 Comments

How dreamlike is this life …. Bringing experiences to mind from the past – they are like shimmering dreams, with a life of their own, never quite the same, and seemingly not like the experience in the present which seemed to inspire them. And that experience in the present, which had previously seemed so solid

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General Buddhism

Is This All There Is?

31/01/2005 | 2 Comments

I was sitting next to our bath last night, with my toddler playing with his bubbles. And I was reflecting that for many years, when I first came to practice, and first had children, I used to feel very strongly that my goal in life, the goal of spiritual life, was ‘somewhere else’, ‘something else’,

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General Buddhism

Bardo

25/01/2005 | 1 Comment

Hi all – I’ve just got back from an enforced trip to the other side of the world, and am happy to receive so many kind messages regarding my absence, and happy to be back posting 🙂 Just a short reflection – I necessarily had to spend a couple of weeks in an environment where

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Mahamudra

Suffering, Compassion and Meeting Needs

14/12/2004 | Leave a Comment

Looking at a situation with a group of people, what do you see? Suffering However you look, you see either immediate suffering, the suffering that comes from the nature of change and therefore loss of present happiness, or existential suffering – the suffering that comes simply through being embodied. Looking at beings, you see beings

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Mahamudra

2 Days Later

12/12/2004 | Leave a Comment

Outside of meditation, reflecting now, 2 days later … did those thoughts arise at all? Where are they? … Are they any different in nature from the dream I had last night? Where has that gone? They both had a sense of ‘realness’ at the time, but what substance remains of either? Both resonate, and

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Dzogchen

Reflections on Longchenpa – The Middle Path

07/12/2004 | 2 Comments

Since things neither exist nor don’t exist, are neither real nor unreal, are utterly beyond adopting and rejecting – one might as well burst out laughing. Longchenpa Rabjampa Tenzin Chodron’s post to the Kagyu Online Study Group reminded me of this wonderful quote from the 14th Century Nyingma master, Longchenpa Rabjampa. So often recently I’ve

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Thanks for this. I see this as pointing to two things: 1 - Recognising the nature of your mind -…

Thanks Ali, much appreciated. I've used a number of things to help with slipping back into the contraction of conceptual…

Well explained. I found that it is quite challanging to maintain recognition of rigpa because we are easily caught up…

Thanks Paulo, I appreciate it.

This post is excellent, thank you!