Dharma Wheel

When I think about the beginninglessness and endlessness of samsara, I feel like there's some sense that everything that could possibly have happened on a relative level has in fact occurred. That's suggestive of how samsara is an impossible, played-out situation in the end yet also full of path pot...

I used to think I'd have to appear as having a protrusion on my crown or dharmacakras on my palms at the instant of samyaksambodhi, but now when I self-generate as the deity I just imagine myself as I currently appear: boring, bespectacled, and mundane. So, if you believe that your current karmical...

I will share my perspective with reference to my biography in hopes of assisting your process, OP. I was born in 1991. I was afraid of hellfire by age 5 or so owing to an unfortunate night in an Evangelical church here in the "Natural State" (lol). At 12, I wanted to convert to Judaism, bu...

Quick question: Is Dzogchen contemplation (e.g. Norbu Rinpoche's guru yoga) a "middle way" between recognizing versus not recognizing an object? By recognition, I mean reacting to a sense impression of the object with a conscious (even an inner linguistic) affirmative cognition — like, &qu...

I have never gotten the visualization part of practice. I don't know if others feel the same way, but for me, growing up in the West, a lot of the symbols and so on lack the feeling of sacredness and/or power they would have had I been raised in a Buddhist culture. While I was raised Catholic, I ha...

The most holy foods given to Buddhas and bodhisattvas are those that do not support interdependencies of harming living things for survival. So, (harm-free) milk/dairy (cow, ewe, goat, yak, etc.) as well as fallen fruit/nuts/flowers are really excellent food offerings to support the Dharma of ahmis...

The Buddha doesn't need food nor offerings, offerings are mainly for the offerer. That's how I explain it to my kids, in simpler terms. Like how you would give your friend a gift, and the giving would bring you closer to them, even if they didn't really need the gift. On the path of Mahayana, the o...

The most holy foods given to Buddhas and bodhisattvas are those that do not support interdependencies of harming living things for survival. So, (harm-free) milk/dairy (cow, ewe, goat, yak, etc.) as well as fallen fruit/nuts/flowers are really excellent food offerings to support the Dharma of ahmisa...

I don't know if this is based in any tradition of interpretation, as I have not had opportunity to delve into primary sources in their original languages, but I feel inclined to say that one possible meaning buried in this text is that the entrance to the Mahayana path of seeing for an arahant takes...

Bodhicitta is the essence of morality, and so there will never be found a dharma that is not of the bodhicitta. Because morality is based in the principle of the necessity (ananke) of spontaneous universal liberation, bodhicitta is present to protect those on the path (i.e. all sentient beings witho...

I need to speak with a practitioner who has familiarity with the lineages of Vajravarahi as they pertain to Dzogchen and Mahamudra. Please reach out, dharma friends, because I could use some help . . . especially from a knowledgeable student connected to Norbu Rinpoche.

Thanks!

Is intentional action always mind (sems)... Intentional action is always a product of the sems 'byung or caitta , called " cetana " or volition; a mental factor always which accompanies the mind ( citta, sems) . Thank you for your response Malcolm. Does the spontaneous compassion of the b...

As far as I have heard, compassion and devotion are the skillful means in the context of rigpa. This is true for learning how to recognize and also for re-recognizing when forgetting. In retreat and otherwise, the eight vehicles with concepts are all skillful means as stepping-stones and are used f...

Thanks for the responses so far. To refine my question, I guess I'm thinking about the bodhisattva activity of bringing relative benefit to beings through our practice of things like riwo sangcho. Norbu Rinpoche talks about working with circumstances and such, and sometimes it seems like we think of...

Hello vajra friends,

I'm wondering what role the concept of "skillful means" would play in Dzogchen after one has discovered rigpa and learned to rest in view. Is there some way that resting in view benefits beings aside from conveying us towards samyaksambodhi?

Dharma blessings,

Eric

Will this retreat be webcast: http://melong.com/events_listing/spain- ... ry-1-2018/ ?

There's no schedule of sessions with times listed.

Hi vajra friends, I received the yoga tantra empowerment of Green Tara and lung for her sadhana from a terma of Dudjom Lingpa. Can anyone explain to me the view of yoga tantra and its relationship to meditation practice and conduct/samaya? I've found few resources discussing yoga tantra specifically...

We're all lazy... You don't need to worry. Vimalamitra states: One of average diligence sees the instruction of the guru, seeing the direct perception of vidyā. However, because they are distracted by worldly distractions, they never have time to practice. When they cast off this body of traces, th...

Hello friends, Can anyone tell me about this collection? I received lung for the Tara practice, Eightfold Heart Essence of Profundity, following Green Tara empowerment and I’m curious which class of tantra this practice is from (already emailed my teacher about this, but my email might have gotten ...

Hello friends, Can anyone tell me about this collection? I received lung for the Tara practice, Eightfold Heart Essence of Profundity, following Green Tara empowerment and I’m curious which class of tantra this practice is from (already emailed my teacher about this, but my email might have gotten l...