Keep It Simple
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche is the spiritual head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage. In this new book, The Shambhala Principle, he discusses his relationship with his father and teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. When I became overwhelmed, I would ask my father what to do. He said, “Keep it simple.” This was one of the most powerful spiritual transmissions … Continue
Coming Out as a Buddhist
I remember being in a bar one night and a newer meditator asked me about coming out to their parents as a Buddhist. “You make it sound like you’re telling them you’re gay,” I said. “Well, I think they would be more OK with that,” he replied, “Being gay they understand. Buddhism, that’s really weird … Continue
The Power of Sorrow
I don’t know if you have noticed this about your meditation practice, but one thing that many people report is a kind of softening—to your own experience, perhaps, but also to the world around you. There is a sense of permeability, of walking down the street and receiving input in a more direct way than … Continue
The Mind Body Balance
Although we think of ourselves as ourselves, our ‘selves’ are actually an amalgam of disparate psychologies. Buddhism breaks these aggregates into three categories, each having developed at different stages in the development of our race, and each with its own understanding, needs and language. Each can be segmented into two parts. In the following text BODY … Continue
Living Meditation
Humans are fundamentally good, caring and wise. We may appear otherwise, but at the core, we are basically good, sound and fully deserving of goodness. So why do we experience such pain in our lives? If we were to find our way to the truth of our existence, we’d see that so much of our struggle is created by a false sense of identification born … Continue
Meeting Your Mind Head On: Mindfulness, Driving and a Weeklong Meditation Retreat
I’ve come to realize that the act of driving is where I crash into all my attempts to be compassionate and full of equanimity toward my fellow humans. It’s where I drive head on into society’s speediness and aggression, its indifference to others, as well as my own impatience and judgmental nature. It’s when I … Continue
Enlightenment in the Age of Disruption: An Interview
Recently Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the spiritual head of Shambhala International, sat down with journalist Jonathan Fields of The Good Life Project to discuss technology, fatherhood, bravery, and living life as a journey rather than an obstacle you have to overcome. http://youtu.be/AsQRRbW_W8E
Enlightened Society in the City: Cultivating Kindness to Ourselves
I am looking forward to coming back to New York in August to lead our third annual weeklong meditation retreat. We had a rich time last year, practicing with the intention of creating enlightened society for the week. Rather than being a group of individuals meditating together, we explored how it feels to be a … Continue
The Aging Dance
A conversation between Lanny Harrison and Andrea Sherman on meditation, performing and growing older. Andrea: Could you tell us about your background in terms of the dharma, the arts and how aging fits into all of this? Lanny: I’ll go back to when I first heard about Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, because it was an important turning point … Continue
Meditation For Actors: An Interview with Parlan McGaw
By Amanda Quaid I saw a sign at Michael Howard Studios in NYC advertising Meditation for Actors. I had tried meditation several times, sitting reluctantly on my rug like a naughty child in time-out, trying to think of nothing at all in an effort to, somehow, improve my connection to the present moment. My legs … Continue
