Monthly Archives: March 2016

In Enlightenment’s spontaneous display of activity, upon witnessing the suffering of sentient beings, tears of overwhelming compassion naturally flow forth. Taking on their suffering and giving in return our own well being, we engage in healing others for their sake. … Continue reading →

If you buy the flesh, the animal was killed specifically for you. Who else is the “beneficiary”? And you, in buying the flesh, have placed an order for another animal to be slaughtered, for you or the next customer. Sell … Continue reading →

One of the common problems observed in the West is that we often impose Christian connotations on Buddhist terms. Sraddha means “trust”, and never “blind faith”. Trust is reasonable. (1) You ask a friend ten questions, and on nine instances, … Continue reading →

It is the intent of all the great instructions that I should attain insight (vypashyana) by first achieving excellent, stable calm abiding (shamata), and afterwards sustaining Right View. ―Jetsun Taranatha

I must cultivate stillness, one-pointedness, and clarity, resting contentedly in the luminous purity. This is Right Concentration. ―Jetsun Taranatha Now what, monks, is noble Right Concentration with its supports and requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven … Continue reading →

The term translated into English as “mindfulness” originates in the Sanskrit term smrti and its Pali counterpart sati, which literally means “that which is remembered”. The primary connotation of the Sanskrit term smrti is “recollection”. Thus, mindfulness implies “remembering to … Continue reading →

And what is Right Effort? There is the case where one generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds and exerts one’s intent for the sake of the non-arising of unwholesome, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen. One generates desire, endeavors, … Continue reading →

Along with Right Speech and Right Action, Right Livelihood belongs to the component of Superior Discipline in the Eightfold Noble Path (the other two being Superior Meditation and Superior Wisdom). It entails not only earning a living without compromising the … Continue reading →

Abandoning unwholesome sensuality, one abstains from sexual misconduct. One does not become sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dharma; those with partners, those who entail punishments, or … Continue reading →

Abandoning the taking of what is not given, one abstains from taking what is not given. One does not take, in the manner of a thief, things in a village or a wilderness that belong to others and have not … Continue reading →