How to Tell Whether Your Practice Is Worldly or Supramundane
Therefore, for practitioners, renunciation and bodhicitta act as two crucial gates. If one fails to pass through them, even Buddhadharma degrades into a “worldly dharma.” But once one has stepped through them, even worldly affairs can become dharma.
A Teaching for Every Bodhisattva
“Regard all states of meditative absorption as the sufferings of hell.” This was Śākyamuni Buddha’s instruction to the bodhisattvas of the Realm of Fragrance Accumulation. Would anyone really dare claim that this teaching does not apply to us “bodhisattvas here on Earth”? In truth, this instruction applies fully to every bodhisattva!
Why Buddhism Sees Physiology as Rooted in the Mind
What we commonly refer to as "instinctual" and "physiological" phenomena may appear to encompass both physical and mental dimensions. At root, however, they remain entirely matters of the "mind"—because in Buddhist philosophy, the "body" is nothing more than an external reflection of the mind.
How to Counter Restlessness and Drowsiness During Buddha-Recitation (Part I)
Restlessness does not originate from Buddha-recitation. Rather, because recitation restrains the mind’s habitual modes of operation, the mind begins to rebel. What you experience directly as restlessness is this resistance.
Three Essentials of Buddhist Study: Coherence, Richness, Focus 01
Hence, the third essential in Dharma study is to identify the core focus. Some describe it as "being down to earth," while others call it "being practical." Though both meanings are similar, "focus" is the more accurate description: the theories we study and contemplate must be ultimately integrated with actual spiritual practice.
How to Counter Restlessness and Drowsiness During Buddha-Recitation (Part III)
The greatest difficulty in Buddha-recitation lies precisely in the initial stage—confronting restlessness, drowsiness, mental distraction, and the pull of habitual tendencies. Once you cross this threshold, the path ahead becomes remarkably smooth.
How to Counter Restlessness and Drowsiness During Buddha-Recitation (Part II)
Drowsiness generally stems from two causes: a lack of physical energy and a lack of mental energy. Both constitute genuine obstacles to practice.
The Relationship Between the Aggregate of Consciousness and Afflictions (Part 2)
Therefore, the state of realization in Dzogchen is described as free from hope and fear—because upon realization, the sense of individuality is relinquished: “Just relax—have some tea, eat a bun.” In the eyes of a Dzogchen master, there is often a quiet smile, yet one emotion remains difficult to abandon—compassion (karuṇā), vast and profound.
Does Hating "Bad People" Conflict with Bodhicitta?
Regardless, we must step by step uproot the deeply ingrained habit of always operating from the reference point of "self." Whether we occupy the moral high ground or collapse into the pettiness of unwholesome habitual tendencies, starting from this cognitive anchor of "self" remains the ego at work.
Why "Playing Yourself" Hiders Liberation
If the "self" were absent, one would relax instantly. Yet this relaxation does not imply recklessness or irresponsibility. Free from the grasping at a personal self, there are no longer entanglements of gain and loss; far from shrinking back, one becomes more courageous in shouldering responsibility. From this, authentic joy naturally arises—a joy that naturally radiates to everyone around us.
Bodhicitta and Self-Grasping Cannot Occupy the Mind at the Same Time
Within a Buddhist community, if everyone has genuinely aroused bodhicitta, lasting conflicts cannot arise; even when disagreements do occur, they are quickly resolved. Every conflict becomes fuel for bodhicitta, causing it to burn ever more brightly.
The Manifestations of Genuine Bodhicitta
When bodhicitta is no longer merely a concept but has genuinely arisen within the mind, the heart naturally lets go of its entanglements, suffering, anxieties, and constant preoccupation with gain and loss. The qualities of a bodhisattva—gentleness, magnanimity, clarity, and wisdom—will gradually manifest within you.
The Practice of Bodhicitta On and Off the Cushion
Naturally, as your practice matures, the tears will eventually cease; profound, sustained conditioning transforms that initial emotion into an unwavering resolve. There is no longer any need for deliberate reflection—every action begins to spring directly from this source, rendering Bodhicitta the foundational orientation and underlying motivation for all that you do.
Methods for Not Being Attached to Pleasant Feeling (Part one)
How can we truly avoid attachment to pleasant feeling? The advanced approach is to directly recognize the nature of pleasure itself. If you can do this, then no matter how much pleasure you experience, it will never give rise to suffering.
The Relationship Between External Material Conditions and Afflictions
Therefore, external objects such as mountains, rivers, and the earth have no direct connection with afflictions. The key to the arising of affliction lies in the mind: it is when the mind makes judgments about external objects and develops attachment (upādāna) that suffering is produced.
The First Step in Generating Genuine Bodhicitta: Taking It to Heart
People often say that realizing śūnyatā (emptiness) is extremely difficult. Without bodhicitta, of course it is.When self-clinging towers like a mountain and we cannot even recognize it within ourselves, how could genuine impartiality ever arise? The two are fundamentally incompatible. As Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche has taught, the essence of emptiness is impartiality.
Four Stages of Madhyamaka Practice
The First Stage: Consider All Phenomena are Empty in Nature The Second Stage: Consider Emptiness is Phenomena The Third Stage: Considers Dependent Origination as the Absence of Mental Fabrications The Fourth Stage: Consider Free of Mental Fabrications as Equipoise-nature
The Relationship Between the Aggregate of Consciousness and Afflictions (Part 1)
In discussing the relationship between the aggregate of consciousness and afflictions, other forms of consciousness can either give rise to afflictions or be influenced by them. However, the root cause of all afflictions ultimately lies in the manas—that is, in grasping at a self.
Can modern people practice the methods of channels, winds, and drops?
These practices can very easily go wrong. Therefore, if one wishes to engage in such practices, one generally requires guidance from someone with genuine experience in these methods, and one’s foundations must be extremely solid.
Is Your View of Karma Designed for Others?
All of our internal thoughts and bodily external actions — body, speech, and mind—affect our future and bring about corresponding results.