Buddha Weekly's Latest Features
Purify Karma and Accumulate Merit with Mandala
Modern life affords us so little time to practice accumulating of merit and purification—and so many excuses to postpone for today. Who has time for daily offerings? It's all most of us can do to fit in ten minutes of meditation. Isn't it better to attend the next Vajrasattva Retreat or Empowerment than...
Initiation or Empowerment: what is it, why it is important in Vajrayana, how it helps, when you need it, how to receive it
The great Lama Thubten Yeshe, one of the pioneer teachers who brought Vajrayana and Tantric Buddhism to the West, defined initiation this way: The much revered Guru Lama Yeshe. "What is initiation? It is the beginning of the experience of meditation and concentration, of penetration into the...
Samatha meditation teaching: “Resting the mind in the natural state,” video of session 1 of a Mahamudra weekend retreat
The first session of a teaching and meditation retreat on advanced Mahamudra, taught by H.E. Zasep Rinpoche, the author of Gelug Mahamudra: Enlightened Speech of Manjushri. In session one, Rinpoche introduces Mahamudra, then speaks about the nature of mind and its obstructions. He then gives detailed, and often humorous instructions on Samatha...
The forgotten nuns of Zanskar: 9 Buddhist nunneries in “one of the coldest inhabited places” have limited electricity, water and healthcare
As you might expect of 185 devoted Buddhist nuns, they ask for very little, but here in Zanskar Valley — one of the most isolated valleys in the Himalayas — many live without heat, water and electricity. Some of the nuns are children, as young as four years old — and the...
Tara, the Saviour, and Vajrayogini the Sarvabuddhadakini: how are they different, and how are they the one? The importance of Female Buddhas: Wisdom personified
Vajrayogini “is the original and prototypical female Buddha of the Tantric pantheon… compassionate, all-knowing, and supremely blissful… Vajrayogini reigns supreme as the Sarvabuddhadakini, ‘Dakini Whose Essence is That of All Buddhas.’” [2] On the other hand, Tara appears as the Divine Mother, the Female Buddha who can save sentient beings — who...
Seventh Supplication of Guru Rinpoche: “Repeat this prayer continuously” for the granting of wishes
Guru Rinpoche's supplications in Seven Chapters are recited daily at "Monasteries, retreat centers, and homes where Guru Rinpoche's presence is invoked ring daily with the sounds of these supplications." [1] They remain a vital and living spiritual legacy from the great Padmasambhava, the Lotus Born. Perhaps the best known of the Seven...
Book Excerpt: Gelug Mahamudra, Eloquent Speech of Manjushri, a commentary and practice guide on Sutra and Tantra Mahamudra by H.E. Zasep Tulku Rinpoche
On November 24, Gelug Mahamudra: Eloquent Speech of Manjushri, will release with a book signing launch event in Toronto, Canada. The beautiful book, by H.E. Zasep Rinpoche, is lavishly illustrated in colour by well-known Tangkha artist Ben Christian. [1000 word excerpt from Chapter 1 below.] The book, Gelug Mahamudra Eloquent Speech of...
5 Ways Vegetarianism Could Save the World; 5 Buddhist Teachings and Teachers Recommending a Vegetarian Lifestyle; 5 Reasons it’s the Ethical Thing to Do
Not all Buddhists are vegetarians. Did the Buddha actually suggest a vegan lifestyle? And, putting aside Buddhists, why is the meat industry growing when the science says it's hurting our planet? These are the questions that frame our special feature focusing on Vegetarianism: five ways it could save the world, five Buddhist...
Visualization Activates the Mind; Mindfulness Stills the Mind — Which is Right for Your Buddhist Practice?
The great Lama Yeshe said: "Our problem is that inside us there is a mind going, 'Impossible, impossible, impossible. I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't' ... Human beings have great potential; they can do anything. The power of the mind is limitless." To subdue this "I can't" mind, many Buddhists...
Scientific Buddhist: Peer Reviewed Studies Demonstrate Buddhist Metta Loving Kindness Meditation Can Slow Aging, Increase Brain Matter, and Decrease PTSD and Schizophrenia —Ten Benefits of Compassion
Zasep Rinpoche strongly recommends Metta practice. In two recent Buddha Weekly advice videos, teacher Zasep Tulku Rinpoche explained that mindfulness meditation and loving kindness meditations were among the best therapies for bereavement, stress, cognitive issues, memory loss and even Alzheimer's. (Bereavement Video>> and Cognitive Video>>) Perhaps not surprisingly,...
The effects of stress on your body: how meditation and 8 other lifestyle changes can help you stay healthy
Feeling stressed? Read on for more information about symptoms, effects and how to fix it.
What is stress? By Chloe Bennet Stress is the way humans respond to danger or harm whether it’s real or just in their mind. We feel threatened and then a chemical reaction causes us to act in...
Sems dpa, the Buddhist Spiritual Warrior, the Hero, the fearless Buddhist: overcoming self-ignorance and our maras
The term Spiritual Warrior (Tibetan "sems dpa") may hint at more than a whiff of bravado and violence — until it is understood that the enemy of the Spiritual Warrior is "avidya" or self-ignorance. Overcoming avidya is at the root of Buddha's teachings, and so is the conduct of the warrior spirit...
