What are buddhas and do we pray to them?
Question: I was raised Catholic with Christ Jesus and images of Mother Teresa, or Mother Mary, or what have you, and then I noticed in Buddhism, there are different images of the...
Karma is a natural law: no one made it up, no one runs it, it’s not punishment and reward
The general idea of karma, this law of karma, is that every millisecond of what we think and do and say – every millisecond, without exception, of what we think and do and say –...
The Dalai Lama is showing us what we can become (from Nov 21, 2024)
The Dalai Lama’s said to be a buddha, a fully enlightened being. That means he has done the job of ridding his mind of all the rubbish: that means there’s not one atom of...
We need to learn to know the difference between the neuroses and the virtues
Question: I’m struggling with how to want to achieve something. Answer: That's right. And stay steady or whatever. Yeah, yeah, go on, that's right. So then? Q: Let's say that I'm...
All our emotions are driven by conceptual thoughts
Okay: let’s look at the way our mind cognizes things. One way of breaking it down is this. First, we’ve got sensory consciousness, and then we have mental consciousness. Sensory...
Real compassion comes when we have the view of karma
In 2003, Richard Gere – as you know, he’s a Buddhist – invited the Dalai Lama to New York. He also decided to invite 20 former prisoners, all of whom had done some kind of...
What’s the difference between love and attachment?
Let's say I'm in love with someone. Do I have a boyfriend here? Jack. Okay, so Jack is my boyfriend – this is a really good example now – I am attached to Jack, and I also love...
A bird needs two wings: wisdom and compassion
You can divide the various practices of the entire path to buddhahood into wisdom and compassion. The work of the wisdom wing is the first stages of practice: control your body,...
One step at a time
Question: Ever since studying at Kopan, my life has changed so much, unexpectedly. Answer: Yes. Q: So I'm just more sensitive and cautious when it comes to choices now I'm making...
With equanimity we’re trying to get ourselves out of the equation
Equanimity is the starting point of developing love and compassion. It’s the heartfelt recognition that what we call friend, enemy, and stranger – and there’s no fourth category...