Inside this issue...

Feature Section

THE BUDDHA

Meeting the Buddha Every Day
Getting To Know Buddha: Part IV
The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Buddha remained in Gaya for seven weeks after his enlightenment. Then, filled with compassion and the desire to help others achieve freedom from suffering, he resolved to go out into the world to teach his realization and path. The activity of the Shakyamuni Buddha continues even now, from the time of the regents and arhats to the present. "My principal regent is my speech," Buddha declared, "In the future, whoever reads my sutras, whoever hears my teachings, will meet me." Excerpt

The Buddhist Canon
Part I: The Role of Texts & the Study of View in Buddhism
By Dr. Phillip Stanley
Understanding a text entails…not only study, but also concerted engagement in meditation practice and a thoughtful engagement in how one conducts one's life. Only then, in conjunction with lived experience, can written teachings contribute to the larger process of personal transformation. Excerpt

PILGRIMAGE

His Holiness The 17th Gyalwa Karmapa Speaks to Bodhi
His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
There are many religions in the world, each with its own view and distinct tenet system. While it is important to understand and hold the view of one's own tradition, just holding or grasping onto one’s view brings neither religious experiences to oneself nor benefit to others.

Vulture Peak
By The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Just as Deer Park is the most sacred place for the Hinayana, the most sacred place for Mahayana is Rajagriha, or Vulture Peak Mountain.

Kushinagar: The Site of Buddha's Passing into Parinirvana
By Tyler Dewar
Countless disciples of the Buddha — female and male, monastic and lay, realized and ordinary beings — quickly gathered in the presence of the reclining Enlightened One. The Buddha began to utter what would be his final words….

In the Footsteps of Buddha
Cindy Shelton
Under the watchful eyes of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, two busloads of pilgrims, a spectacle even in India, journeyed into the heartland of the Buddha. Excerpt

Teachings

The Mandala of Mahamudra
Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
Taking experiences to be real is what blocks us from actually realizing the true nature. Even though, based on our experience, we have thoughts of realizing the true nature, it is those very thoughts, which take these experiences to be real that blocks our realization. Excerpt

SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT

Practicing in Family Life: Transforming Attachment into Unconditional Warmth
Dr. Judith Simmer-Brown
The essence of the entire path of dharma is working with our attachments. If we can work effectively with our own minds, especially with our own attachments, our family environments are the most conducive for dharma practice that we can ever find. Excerpt

departments

Seeds & Sprouts
Yeshi’s Luck
By Naomi C. Rose

Tsurluk Tibetan Calendar
Teaching Schedule of the Ven. Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
Teaching Schedule of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Bodhi Directory