Buddha's Advocate (Link #633)

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Dungse-la discusses Dharmic investments in mind and meritorious action. He discusses the unexamined premise of investing in external factors that we believe will bring us closer to our goal of obtaining happiness and being free from suffering. Dungse-la examines the basis of a good investment from external and internal perspectives, capping the discussion on investing in merit, the best long-term investment strategy of all.

Speaker: Vanessa Waxman. "Be content! Be content! Be content!". That is what Rinpoche told her. Vanessa shares her reflections on advice from her guru and the art of being content. She begins by contemplating how one stays in the present moment, remaining content, when one is anxious about the next unknown future event. How does one come to know, 'the grass is greener right here, right now'? By examining the teachings and the lessons she has learned from practice, Vanessa shares experiences in examining her own habitual thinking.

Speaker: Bill Roberts. Using the first and second noble truth as a starting point, Bill talks about the deep fear of failure and unrelenting anxiety that overshadowed his career as an actor. Offering his experience as a window into the workings of ego, Bill states that until we choose to boycott the demands of this indefatigable tyrant, even spiritual practice can become a place where we perform the drama of failure. Two helpful practices are bodhicitta and "putting the mind of fear in the cradle of loving kindness", which become an endless offering to the world: not to fix, save or even help, but to allow the heart's openness to express itself as love.

Speaker: Jen Kern. Jen reflects on maitri aspiration and how it leads to warm-hearted courage and "buddhanature self esteem". She contemplates two profound questions related to maitri that came up after recent talks given by Rinpoche: "Why am I still putting up walls of protection and closing down when I aspire to expand?" "How am I shirking my responsibility to self-reflect, be present with fear, and shine a light on obscurations?" Jen discovered that her fear of self-cherishing resulted in a failure to direct loving-kindness to herself, which then became an obstacle to feeling genuine compassion and open-heartedness. Reflecting on the benefits of "placing the fearful mind in the loving cradle of maîtri", she leads listeners in a loving-kindness practice that starts with oneself.

Speaker: Fredi Kaufmann. Fredi reflects on how language shapes experience and spiritual growth. Words are creative forces- our inner and outer speech manifest reality. Cultivating kind, compassionate self-talk supports well being and transformation. On the Buddhist path, mantra recitation is a sacred language, which becomes a means of transformation. Mantras hold vibrational power beyond meaning. Repetition of mantras or prayers calms the mind, aligns us with deep aspiration, and reveals the mind's nature. Over time, repetition rewires thought patterns and allows sacred words to surface in daily life, aligning us with deep wisdom and compassion.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This previously-recorded teaching was originally given by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche to the Sangha on December 6, 2015 in Crestone, Colorado. Rinpoche extensively explains the meaning of four famous lines from the Sakya tradition that address being a spiritual practitioner, renunciation, bodhicitta and the ultimate view.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This previously-recorded LINK was the third teaching of a weekend program called, "Breeze of Simplicity", given to the Naropa University student body by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel in October 2012. Part 1 aired on the September 21st LINK, and included an introduction to shamatha and calm abiding practice. Part 2 aired on September 28th where Rinpoche introduced the five (5) obstacles and the eight (8) antidotes. Today's teaching includes the nine (9) ways of resting.

Speaker: Rebecca Henry. Having recently lost her father, Rebecca shares poignant memories through poetry and verse on the profound love she and her dad shared. She immediately saw the many ways her father had been training her throughout her life to become a practitioner. Rebecca shares that his passing and what they shared in the final days was a most precious training that exemplified confidence, spontaneous presence, unpredictability and proving that living does not need to make sense.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Generally speaking, we tend to separate our spiritual practice from the rest of our life, especially when the demands of a busy life set in. Dungse-la encourages us to bring Dharma into our life holistically. He also discusses the disparate impact that negative thinking has on our minds compared to positive thinking. Oftentimes what becomes a habitual tendency begins without much thought, such as scrolling on our phones. Unraveling from this requires time, clarity and intention to improve our life, specifically our internal life. As we become free from neurotic emotions and ego-grasping, our life becomes free, and our ongoing circumstances improve because we are now moving in a positive direction. The trick is to keep moving. As practitioners, we are not seeking temporary experiences; we are seeking complete and total freedom.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This previously-recorded LINK was the second teaching of a weekend program that was given to the Naropa University student body by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel in October 2012. In Part 2, Rinpoche gave detailed instructions on shamatha meditation including the five (5) obstacles and the eight (8) antidotes.