November 2011
3 posts
Debra Ann's Mahamudra Meditation 11-20-2011
Debra Ann in her excellent review of Mahamudra meditation mentioned the nine stages of meditation. I would like to expand on these. They come from Thrangu Rinpoche’s Four Foundations of Buddhist Meditation.
The Nine Levels of Stability of Meditation*
1. Resting the mind
(One places one’s mind on an object for a brief duration.)
2. Resting the mind longer
(One places...
Khenpo Jigme's Teaching on Seven Points of Mind...
Khenpo Jigme agreed to teach on the Seven Points of Mind Training (Tibetan logong) over a series of teachings each month. He began the first teaching by explaining that these teachings came originally from Atisha and are now taught by all four lineages of Buddhism in Tibet. Thrangu Rinpoche has taught on this topic before and there are several translations of these pith instructions (sometimes...
Vivid Awareness Blog 9 Guru Yoga Practice
Denver Center Study Group Outline for 10-30-2011
Quote of the Week: Chagdud Tulku’s mother who was a delog journeyed into the Bardo and came back with the following message: “ You in the world of the living, although you have gathered clothing for a hundred years, you will go forth naked on the morning of your death; better, then, to wear shabby clothes while practicing what is virtuous....
October 2011
3 posts
Vivid Awareness Blog 8 Mandala Practice
Thrangu Meditation Center Outline for 10-9-2011
Quote of the Week: When a simpleton abused him, Buddha listened to him in silence, but when the man had finished, asked him, “Son, if a man declined to accept a present offered to him, to whom would it belong?” The man answered, “To him who offered it.”
“My son,” Buddha said, “I decline to accept your abuse. Keep it for yourself.”
...
Vivid Awareness Blog 7 Vajrasattva
Below is the Vajrasattva mantra in two forms. The first is how the mantra is said with a Sanskrit pronunciation and the second is how the mantra is said with a Tibetan pronunciation. There are also several variations of this mantra, but this is the one that is used in Kagyu Ngondro. Finally, there is the short Vajrasattva mantra.
IF THIS PICTURE IS SMALL JUST CLICK ON IT.
And below is a photo...
Vivid Awareness Blog 6
Denver Center Meditation Group Outline for 10-2-2011 (Vivid Awareness 6)
Last week (page 35-36 of Vivid Awareness) we discussed the first uncommon preliminary which is refuge and bodhichitta. We engage our mind by visualizing the lineage tree, we engage our speech by saying the refuge prayer and we engage our body by doing prostrations in front of the visualized refuge tree. I found this in...
September 2011
3 posts
Vivid Awareness Blog 5
Quote for the Week:
In the teachings on Buddha-essence or Buddha-nature, the Buddha spoke of those whose nature was pure and of clear light, pure since beginningless time, endowed with the 32 features of enlightenment and existing within the bodies of every sentient being. The Buddha taught [in the Uttaratantra] ...
Vivid Awareness Blog 4 (Chapter 2 and 3)
Denver Center Study Group Outline for 9-11-2011 (Vivid Awareness 4)
Quote of the Week:
All the practice and all the Dharma study that you do is wasted if it doesn’t make you a better person.
— Adzom Rinpoche
Suggested Dharma Practice for the Week:
Below we have the four ordinary foundations. The...
Vivid Awareness Blog 3 (Chapter 2)
Denver Center Study Group Outline for 9-4-2011
Quote of the Week: Why We Practice the Dharma
10. All the water and drink you’ve consumed From beginningless time until noHas failed to satisfy your thirst or bring you contentment.Drink therefore of this stream Of this enlightened mind, Fortunate Ones.
— Milarepa
Suggested Dharma Practice...
August 2011
3 posts
Vivid Awareness Blog 2
Quote for the Week: Dharma in Daily Life
We shouldn’t feel that Dharma occurs only when we sit down and meditate. Dharma should be present with us all the time. Dharma should be practiced in everything we do and at all times and used in all our actions. Of course, at the moment we can’t act like Milarepa and the...
Vivid Awareness blog 1
Thrangu Rinpoche in a meeting with the Boulder and Denver study groups suggested that they study his new book, Vivid Awareness. This is then a series of blogs on this fascinating book.
Denver Center Study Group Outline for 8-21-2011
Quote of the Week: The purpose of Dharma practice is to keep us from falling back into the endless cycle of samsara.
Suggested Dharma Practice for the Week:...
Chenrezig Part 5
Below is a continuation of the prayer to Chenrezig. If the page is small, just click on it and it should become full size.
We now begin the six realms. Thrangu Rinpoche says these realms are real and not metaphors for situations we encounter in daily life. In the time of the Buddha, the picture of the six realms was posted on monastery entrances (and still are in most Tibetan Buddhist...
July 2011
2 posts
Chenrezig Part 4 (7/4/2011)
As promised in the Thrangu Meditation Group, I include a long, detailed explanation of the Chenrezig practice which was given by Khenpo Tashi Gyaltsen who was traveling with Michele Martin in the US giving teachings. These are the teachings he gave at the Vajra Vidiya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado.
Teachings on the Four-Armed Chenrezig Practice
Khenpo Tashi Gyaltsen
Crestone, CO. December...
Chenrezig Part 3 (7/3/2011)
If we were to simply think about compassion in our Shamatha meditation, it would be very difficult to do. So in the Vajrayana to help in this process tantra was adopted to help in this process. In tantra we do a spiritual practice which usually involves Visualizing a deity who represents the quality we wish to emulate (ie Chenrezig), often listing the lineage holder to establish a link to us...
June 2011
7 posts
Chenrezig Part 2 (6-29-2011)
Chenrezig (also known as Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit) is an excellent practice to begin with because it is a practice to develop compassion and a practice which is relatively simple and has almost all the elements of a sadhana (puja) so if one can understand the Chenrezig practice one can understand many other sadhana practices. This is why Kalu Rinpoche and the 16th Karmapa recommended that all...
Chenrezig Part 1 (6-23-11)
In the discussion of Chenrezig at the Thrangu Meditation Group we will not have time to go over the background and the creation stories of Chenrezig. We will also not be able to go over all the symbolism of the 6 syllables. I have found this excellent article below which covers all of these in great detail.
CHENREZIG - THE EMBODIMENT OF THE SANGHA
By Brooke Webb
Background on...
Shamatha Meditation Part 2 (6-19-11)
Study Guide and Discussion Topics on Chapter 2 of
A Guide to Shamatha by Thrangu Rinpoche
The need to meditate
We might ask, “If we are concerned with the mind alone, why do we need to think about the view or the ground?” We need the view because we must understand why we meditate. We do not meditate just because it feels good or because we want to have great experiences or something like...
Shamatha Meditation Part 1 (6-12-11)
Study and Discussion Notes
A Guide to Shamatha Meditation by Thrangu Rinpoche
(can be downloaded on NamoBuddhaPub.com/free downloads
Chapter 1
1. Does meditation bring about true happiness and how is meditation different from other material things that bring happiness?
2. What does Rinpoche mean by “as long as thoughts pass...
The Kagyu Lineage Prayer Part 4 (6-5-11)
**Detachment is the foot of meditation”
These next four verses begins the description of the four common preliminaries. The Four Common Preliminaries are also called the Four Ordinary Foundations or the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind. These are described in detail in Thrangu Rinpoche’s Four Foundations of Buddhist Practice (www.NamoBuddhaPub.com). Traditionally the Four Common Preliminaries...
The Kagyu Lineage Prayer Part 3 5-29-11
Below is a review and elaboration of the Kagyu Lineage Prayer. The prayer is given in the post of Kagyu Lineage Prayer Part I.
Why is the Lineage Prayer or Lineage Chant Important?
First of all, it is important to make a distinction between a prayer that one does in a theistic religion such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam and with Buddhism. Buddhism does not believe in God or gods...
The Kagyu Lineage Tree Part 2
In the previous blog I did not present a very organized view of the Lineage Tree. Here I have all the charts together so anyone can look up any member of the Lineage Tree and get an idea of their dates, their name, and their position. This comes from Thrangu Rinpoche’s The Path to Liberation (NamoBuddhaPub.com)
The Actual Lineage Tree (from the Vajra Vidya Retreat Center Practice...
May 2011
2 posts
The Kagyu Lineage Prayer Part 1 Posted 5-23-2011
In almost all Vajrayana centers a lineage supplication prayer is said. Each lineage obviously has its own prayer and today I will discuss the Karma Kagyu Lineage prayer which is said by most centers which are headed by His Holiness Karmapa and Lamas of the Karma Kagyu lineage including Thrangu Rinpoche’s centers.
Thrangu Rinpoche prefers to say the lineage prayer (or lineage chant) in...
1 tag
Newsletter 5/19/2011
Thrangu Meditation Center Under the Direction of the Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche Dear Sangha, We are very happy to announce that the Thrangu Meditation Center will be meeting every Sunday from 9:30 to 11:30 in Denver to practice and study. After Thrangu Rinpoche gave his blessing for a Meditation Center to be established in the Denver area, Igor, Petra, Jenifer, and Tania worked hard to find a...
