Buddhadharma: Deepen Your Practice & Study of Buddhism

Visualizing a Pure and Perfect World Heidi Köppl looks at how Vajrayana visualization practice, when applied correctly, helps us to acknowledge the emptiness of the present moment.

"Through visualization practice, we can come to understand emptiness not just as a negation of real things but as an open space within which anything is possible."

The Story of Buddhist Reformer Venerable Ādicca Vamsa Hein Htet Kyaw offers a profile of a monk, author, and hero of Buddhism deserving of true appreciation.

"Despite facing severe criticism and accusations of posing a threat to Buddhism, Venerable Adicca Vamsa’s progressive stance on the revival of the bhikkhuni order has been vindicated [and] his literary contributions continue to hold significant influence."

Let the “Nine Breaths of Purification” Clear Your Mind and Open Your Heart Daniel Ahearn, LMFT, shares an article and accompanying video on the how and why of a practice he says offers "a gentle revolution, a way to clear what weighs us down, to reconnect with the body, and ...

"In a world that never stops interrupting us, this ancient Tibetan practice offers a way to reset body, mind, and spirit, clearing these poisons in a few breaths."

How YouTube Is Changing Buddhist Pilgrimage and Re-Historicizing Buddhism’s Past Nikhil Stewart shares what he's learned by interviewing 30 monks about how vlogging (video-blogging) has impacted Buddhist pilgrimage — online, and "IRL."

"What was once recorded in guidebooks, or held in the monastic library, may also be found in the form of pilgrimage YouTube vlogs (video-blogs). These vlogs are offering new pilgrimage experiences, education, and re-historicized versions of Buddhism’s past."

Why Meditation Alone Can't Heal Every Wound Amma Thanasanti asks “the question that won’t go away”: If a dharma teacher has authentic awakening, how are they able to still cause so much harm?

"When nightmares, panic, and fear began to resurface, he turned to his teacher, a highly regarded master. The teacher’s response: 'Snap out of it. You know how to meditate.'

"Perhaps he meant, 'You’ve got this.' But that’s not what landed."

Awakening the Bodhisattva Venerable Pannavati, Anne Klein, and Ejo McMullen on the possibilities and challenges of the bodhisattva path. Introduction by Taigen Dan Leighton.

"You’re a bodhisattva when you never waiver from your powerful aspiration to be of benefit to everyone, not just in meditation but throughout daily life." —Anne Klein

Looking Deeply into Impermanence, No-self, and Nirvana Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that by looking deeply we develop insight into impermanence and no self. These are the keys to the door of reality.

This is just one of the pieces featured in Buddhadharma's Deep Dive, about no-self, this month. Visit the Buddhdharma homepage for more: www.lionsroar.com/buddhadharma/

Open Letter to American Zen — Therapy for Women - Sheryl Lilke Madison WI

Psychotherapist and Zen practitioner Sheryl Lilke has written an open letter about clergy sex abuse in our sanghas to "put our understanding of wisdom and ethics into practice to create communities that prioritize the safety of vulnerable individuals." Read it via the link.

Over 250 Buddhist Nuns to Receive Full Ordination at Global Peace Prayer Festival in Bhutan Hundreds of Buddhist nuns will receive full ordination as part of the Global Peace Prayer Festival in Bhutan from November 15-19.

The upcoming bhikshuni ordination will be the final segment of the inaugural Global Peace Prayer Festival, now underway in Thimphu, Bhutan, through November 19. The festival welcomes dharma practitioners, teachers, and leaders from all Buddhist traditions and from all over the world.

Everything Is Enlightenment Enlightenment is everywhere we look, says Joan Sutherland — we can choose to notice it, but at the same time, we can also trust that it will find us, wherever we are.

"Awakening is something different from the projects of self-improvement and self-actualization many Westerners are used to; it’s not about being a better self but about discovering our true self, which is another thing entirely."

When We Have No Choice Sometimes, says Pema Khandro, there’s no way out. It’s at those times that we can discover the depth and resilience of the mind.

"In our greatest hardship, to also think of other people’s sorrow seems like too much. But by the power of our interdependence with beings, by acknowledging this interconnection through open-hearted presence, we actually find relief."

A Buddhist Response to “Climate Overshoot” ​​“Catastrophic climate chaos has become a fact​," writes Colin H. Simonds. “Once-in-a-generation disasters have become near-yearly events thanks to anthropogenic climate change. In the midst of these...

"Now, perhaps more than ever, it seems as though there is nothing that can be done about climate change. Indeed, climate change seems unstoppable, insurmountable. But so too are sentient beings innumerable, our desires inexhaustible, the dharma boundless, and the way of the buddha unattainable."

How Buddhism’s “Three Marks of Existence” Can Lead Us to Freedom and Change Chan practitioner Mark Van Buren shares how the Buddhist concepts of impermanence, interdependence, and unsatisfactoriness (often rendered as "suffering") can point the way to our liberation.

"The view that freedom and change are possible reminds us that we needn’t be limited by our conditioning, and can instead, with wisdom, practice, and understanding, respond freely and appropriately to present circumstances."

Three Ways of Working with Emotions Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche shares a new article and video on the five kleshas — ignorance, aversion, craving, pride, jealousy — how they lead to suffering, and how not to let them.

"The good news is that these emotions themselves can lead us back to our true nature. In fact, there are three main ways to work with emotions: removing, transforming, and transcending." Read to learn more and read Rinpoche's helpful meditation instructions.

True Dharma Brothers A snapshot of the special friendship between Larry Rosenberg and Jon Kabat-Zinn — two leading lights of the American vipassana and mindfulness movements — from Madeline Drexler’s introduction to the n...

"Fittingly, the two were in adjacent rooms at a meditation retreat in 1979 when Kabat-Zinn hatched the revolutionary idea of MBSR. 'Who else could I talk about it with but Larry?'”

The Mind That Knows Itself Until we begin to make the distinction between observing thoughts and observing the knowing mind, writes Ayya Dhammapida, "we have not yet begun to study or to experience the mind directly."

"Ultimately, the teaching on the six sense fields is an invitation from the Buddha to return to that which is most intimate, most present."

Spiritual Friendship Is the Path Each one of us, says David Viafora, can be a kalyana mitra, or “spiritual friend.” Here’s how.

“Just as the dawn is the forerunner of the sunrise, so good friendship is the forerunner for the arising of the noble eightfold path,” the Buddha stated.

Dhammananda Bhikkhuni Hosts Groundbreaking Conference for Thai Bhikkhuni Sangha Cindy Rasicot, author of This Fresh Existence: Heart Teachings of Bhikkhuni Dhammananda, shares a report from this historic event.

For the first time ever, 92 bhikkhunis (fully ordained female monastics) came together to connect and support each other. Venerable Dhammananda: “The key word is unity. We must be united and strongly rooted in the Dhamma Vinaya to sustain the bhikkhuni sangha in the future.”

The Practice of Wonderment When your life takes the shape of a question, says Guo Gu, then you have entered the practice of huatou.

The monk asked, “Does a dog have buddhanature?” Zhaozhou responded, “Wu [No]!”

It’s a puzzling exchange. All beings have buddhanature, so why did Zhaozhou say no?

Year of Compassion to kick off with Compassion Shift event and Tibet Week | Emory University | Atlanta GA The unveiling of a new digital learning platform will usher in Emory College’s Year of Compassion, aiming to promote the education of both heart and mind. The launch also coincides with Emory’s Tibet ...

The Compassion Shift Global Launch, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, will consist of free talks, panels and workshops highlighting the work and reach of Emory’s Compassion Center.

Speakers include Daniel Goleman; Samdhong Rinpoche (virtually), and more.

Opening to the Joy of Work Making a living while living our values can be easier said than done, but Maia Duerr has discerned six keys for cultivating the qualities and conditions for doing abundant, cheerful, sustainable work.

“Each of these six keys is easily worth a lifetime of practice; they invite us to grow in our professional lives as well as in the whole of our lives.”

Are You Ready for Death? What we see as the worst crisis of our lives is actually an opportunity to discover enlightened mind, says Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.

"...from the Buddhist point of view, we have a choice: to direct our story of living and dying now, or to wait, closing our eyes to the message of impermanence, until death itself opens them. Since we value happy endings, why choose to gamble with the Lord of Death?"

“Negation After Negation You Attain Liberation”: Shosan with Suzuki Roshi In a pivotal moment for Zen in America, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center was founded in 1967, the first Zen monastery established outside Japan. David Chadwick’s new book, Tassajara Stories (Monkfish Pre...

Sit in on the Q&A session with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi at the end of the second sesshin ever at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. An excerpt from David Chadwick’s new book, Tassajara Stories.

www.lionsroar.com/negation-aft...

Diana Mukpo, widow of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, dies As Trungpa’s partner, Mukpo played an active role in shaping Buddhism’s presence in the English-speaking world.

Diana Mukpo, known as Lady Diana to the Shambhala International Buddhist community for whom she was considered a leader, died at her home in Florida on September 10 at the age of 71.

You Don’t Have to Fear Death — But You Should In the new book How to Live and Die: The Transformative Power of Meditating on Impermanence (Wisdom Publications), Lama Zopa Rinpoche says death is just a mental construct, but it’s helpful to fear it...

"There is no real death that exists inherently, from its own side. It is merely a convenient label, ultimately unreal. ... The real death that we so fear — that real independent death — is merely labeled by the mind."

The Problem of Personality We believe deeply in ourselves as personalities, says Ajahn Sumedho, each committed to the reality of our own personal history and distinctive traits.

"Explore. Investigate. By investigating you are actually getting to notice the way it is, the Dhamma. You come to recognize that there is actually no person who is being aware. Nevertheless, awareness will include what seems personal."

See Things Clear Through Upasika Kee Nanayon, shows us how to combine concentration and clear-seeing to penetrate the "mass of deceit" that is the mind.

"If the mind keeps its balance, stopping to watch and know itself, it realizes these things for what they are. When it does that, it lets them go automatically without being attached. This is the knowledge that comes with true mindfulness and discernment."

The Clarity Aspect Emptiness without wisdom can lead to nihilism, explains Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. That's why we have the teachings on buddhanature.

"Is enlightenment a total negation, like the exhaustion of a fire or the evaporation of moisture? Is it something like that? No, we’re talking about something that is a result of elimination."

Commentary: Embrace the Queerness of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha Transgender Buddhist monastic and social justice worker Ven. Tashi Choedup on Buddha as their teacher, dharma as their guardian, and sangha as their guide.

"One might argue that these are just Buddha’s skillful actions, and even if they seem queer, that doesn’t make Buddha queer. But what makes a person queer, if not their thoughts, choices, actions??"

Founding Editor-in-Chief Melvin McLeod becomes Lion’s Roar’s First Editor at Large After more than 30 years with Lion’s Roar, our editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod is stepping into the role of editor at large.

Since becoming editor of the then-Vajradhatu Sun in 1992, Melvin has guided us from a small community publication to the largest English-language Buddhist media voice, publishing across traditions for the benefit of all.