Opinions, emotions, prejudices and ideas change, but even so they are still what we identify with. We think all this is ‘me,’ but actually it is just something that arises within that space [of] awareness and sensitivity. It is just a feature of that. The person in charge is not…
This month’s quotation is from a teaching Rigdzin Shikpo gave on Refuge and Bodhisattva vows. The entire teaching is made available to students who prepare to go for refuge with Rigdzin Shikpo. Some practice traditions are based on a kind of superstition in making bold statements like “May I die…
Both the Oxford and Bristol Path of Freedom groups are starting new courses this week as we ease into the summer months. Both courses are part of our Path of Freedom programme, a curriculum that is open to all and establishes a basic grounding in Buddhist ideas and practice through…
Meditation is most powerful and effective when we start with the right kind of view. View, in this sense, is a way of seeing that leads to a deeper understanding of the nature of experience, rather than holding a particular dogma or set of beliefs. Our ordinary worldview is something…
From Mandala Principles in the Dzogchen Tradition (Heidelberg 2016) If the buddhas are able infinitely to help sentient beings, why is the world in such a mess? Well, you must never forget that everybody who isn’t a fully enlightened buddha is a confused, unenlightened buddha. And that means you can…
From Rigdzin Shikpo’s talk on Mandala Principles in the Dzogchen Tradition The most important thing perhaps in a dharma mandala is that the central principle should be what is called bodhicitta, the awakened heart, which is wisdom and compassion in union. And what you want to send out, as it were,…
As a group we recently watched the recordings of Rigdzin Shikpo’s teachings on “Death and Dying” over Zoom together. One of the students from that event felt that this quotation from those teachings was deeply inspiring and submitted it as this month’s Dharma quotation. For great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, they…
We have one final Lion’s Roar Foundation weekend coming up next month, 8-9 May. For those unfamiliar with the Lion’s Roar, this is our foundational and introductory programme in Buddhist practice and view. It introduces students to a fundamentally different way of experiencing and acting in the world, free from…
Every month on Guru Day (10th day of the Lunar Month) we will publish an excerpt from one of Rigdzin Shikpo’s teaching. This teaching is from the book Never Turn Away. What is the correct way to relate to our experience mindfully and with awareness? According to Trungpa Rinpoche, the…
We have two exciting events coming up this weekend. First, on Friday evening, join the Longchen Foundation for a public viewing on Zoom of Rigdzin Shikpo’s second Heart of Buddha teaching on Death and Dying. According to these teachings, in the dying process there is a special opportunity to more fully…
