Last month I was in Nepal at my dear lama friend’s mountaintop monastery, Druk Amitabha Gompa, overlooking the Kathmandu Valley. His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa was giving a series of teachings interspersed with special prayers and pujas, chants and rituals, dedicated for various purposes. I was seated near HH onstage in a small row of red-robed lamas, when suddenly – amidst it all, the pomp and circumstance, the deep beats of the giant drum, the Tibetan long horns, the rattle of hand rums and the cacophony of 800 people chanting together-- I realized that if I only released my resistance--...
It’s freezing (and snowy) here in New England! But it’s good to be home from my fruitful pilgrimage to India & Nepal last month. I happily sat beneath the Bodhi Tree every day, and watched it grow while the leaves occasionally fell—and hordes of pilgrims and tourists passed around and through it all—the head monks of Buddhist countries and the homeless and beggars of Bihar, the poorest state in India… on The Champs Elysees of Buddhist pilgrimage places. I was so impressed by the HH the 17th Karmapa in person, in his room at the Tergar Monastery, which Mingyur Tulku built for him in Bodhgaya....
Thanksgiving is always for me a time of reflection, how it’s never too late to start again or to turn over the garden and refresh the spirit(ual life). It’s also a time to refocus on all I have to be grateful for; the large and small blessings in my life and the lives of those around me, past and present. My Metta practice reminds me daily to perform acts of loving kindness and wish others well. This can be applied at every encounter, and is the discreet Bodhisattva’s way of blessing and cherishing every single sentient being, day to day, moment to moment, whoever you may encounter along...
METTA
Loving Kindness Meditation
By Lama Surya Das
Metta (maitri) is the practice of loving-kindness meditation and friendliness taught by the Buddha approximately 2,600 years ago. It is an important component of the Buddhist wisdom teachings and their daily practice as applied in life. I have taken the basic sacred phrases from the Metta Sutra (Loving-kindness Scripture) and added many of my own over the years as they come up for me in my own prayer and chant life; you are welcome to do the same.
Repeat them with loving attention at the conclusion of your daily meditation, or at any time you wish--in...
I was recently asked by The Huffington Post to contribute my perspective on their TED Weekend Series "Identifying the Extremist Brain" , featuring Diane Benscoter's remarkable story "I Used to Be in a Cult and Here's What It Did to My Brain".
Cults Come in All Kinds:
The Head Is Not a great neighborhood to Live In
by Lama Surya Das
Not unlike people, all cults may be created equal, but some are more equal -- or should I say, dangerous? -- than others. This is a simple fact agreed...
This is the high holy day season where I came from. At-one-ment is an excellent way to turn the ship around and start afresh, every annum, every day and every moment. I invite you to acknowledge your transgressions, make amends where possible, and at-one as well. This is the antidote to guilt and denial. I have wronged people, and I am sorry. I have finally felt a drop of heartfelt compassion, now that I've crossed the sixty yard line of life.
I myself aspire to be the Bodhisattva of Children, of all the weak and little ones, the under-dog and the marginalized, the sick, the weak, the halt,...
