Discover which actions truly produce happiness and which result in suffering. Using discernment, take up what brings benefit and discard what causes harm. Live accordingly and you will be on the right path. 17th Karmapa
Sometimes when we practice dharma we think that we need to show some sort of external or physical sign of it. We pay a lot of attention to the rituals and these actions of our body and speech. This is practicing dharma when we’re focusing outside. But instead what we need to do is turn […]
The kindness to oneself that I was speaking of is rather different from the self-fixation of selfishness. For example, the Buddha said, “I have shown you the path to liberation but know that its achievement depends on you.” In other words, we have to take responsibility for the achievement of liberation through our own efforts. […]
The Essence of the Buddhist teachings is as the following verse states: Do not commit any evil actions, Engage in excellent virtue, And tame your own mind – This is the teaching of the Buddha. The entire Buddhist Dharma can be summarized by the instruction to give up harming others and to benefit them… For […]
There is a story that reminds us how crucial it is that we take responsibility for what we ourselves contribute to the problem, rather than laying all the blame for our harmful food systems on others – or waiting for someone else to fix the problem. This story tells of a king of a small, […]
The environment is irreplaceable. All life forms on earth coexist in delicate balance. Although some habitats are naturally more abundant than others, we are degrading the environment by exploiting and polluting it, affecting the entire world irrespective of borders. For everyone’s sake, let’s stop polluting the environment. How foolish to destroy our planet – which […]
It is clear that faults never lie exclusively on one side of a relationship. For this reason, if we are serious about forging relationships that work, we must also recognize our own faulty attitudes, and work on them. When we commit to identifying our own faults and transforming our own mind, then and only then […]
A lack of love can cause people to have no help when they need help, no friends when they need a friend. So, in a sense, the most dangerous thing in the world is apathy. We think of weapons, violence, warfare, disease as terrible dangers, and indeed they are, but we can take measures to […]
The fact that you have the intention to work for others is important. Act on your wholesome intentions and altruistic impulses. If you have the thought of benefiting society, that is significant. Nurture and treasure that thought, and act on it as best you can. Doing so will certainly change you, and that in itself […]
Most living beings seek mental happiness and want to eliminate suffering, but just wishing will not bring this about. We may even create the opposite. So we must search for the cause of suffering and the cause of happiness. The afflictions are the cause of samsara, of all mental discomfort and suffering. The remedy is […]
Although we have limitless potential, we can end up feeling boxed in to a particular role in life or a particular understanding of who we are. How does this happen? We limit ourselves when we adopt specific identities, and then believe that this is truly who we are and must be. 17th Karmapa
To live as equals with others requires a wide range of experience. The wise have much experience and fools have little. To gain experience, you need to go through good and bad times. How can you grow if your experiences are always the same? Anything that happens, good or bad, can be constructive in the […]
We human beings are all parts of the same body. Just because we do not wish to acknowledge another person’s importance does not mean that this person is unimportant to our well-being. Just because we do not wish to acknowledge what we share with others does not mean that we can separate ourselves from them. […]
Om Swasti. From the state of peace, in nature an expanse of profundity and clarity, The vast space of dharmakaya, all-pervading absolute truth, Resounds graceful music, connate magic, The pleasant melody of myriads of excellent virtues. At the sunset of Shakyamuni’s doctrine, The approach of the waning of the youthful rays, Appears a torch smiling […]
We may want to do away with a problematic relationship, without addressing the underlying cause of those problems – in our own mind and heart. There is a Tibetan saying: “You are angry with the yak, but you whip the horse.” This reminds us how ridiculous it is to respond only to things that are […]
It is harder to get rid of kleshas such as hatred, jealousy, and desire than it is to get rid of mere external adversity unless we turn inward and work on ourselves internally. As long as we fail to do that, and are focused only on externals, it is very difficult to develop true love […]
When spiritual beliefs are used to build up walls between people, this is a total misunderstanding of the purpose of spirituality. Spirituality should mean coming closer to yourself. When this happens, you become closer to others, too. Spirituality and religion should dismantle discrimination and labels, not shore them up. It should break, not create, barriers […]
Our misery or happiness depends on how we react to external events and internal thoughts. We judge and label everything based on our reactions. Sometimes our reactions are so strong that they destroy us. But the real problem is in not understanding that reactions themselves come and go based on ever-changing circumstances. 17th Karmapa
We need a balance between our outer material and our inner spiritual worlds. We can look at material things and ask ourselves: “Do I need this or not?” We don’t have to go to extremes, making huge changes and thinking that we have to give up everything like Milarepa. We need a good situation, but […]
Many methods can free us from difficulties; however, precious bodhichitta, encompassing loving-kindness and compassion, is supreme. If we meditate on it well, there is nothing we cannot remedy. When we experience many different sufferings, they can be an actual support, a situation conducive to Dharma practice. If we were problem-free, we would have a hard […]
