Saturday
Interdependence and Freedom
By Sakyong MiphamWhat keeps us from tasting our inherent wisdom? Concept. We are generally chasing one conceptual creation after another. This matrix of concept appears in many variations, but its weak point is always the same: it is fabricated. Without really looking at the nature of appearances, we project a meaning-generality onto the world, shaping it with our assumption of independent existence.
The Buddha taught that we can’t realize enlightenment until we experience a very basic truth: everything in the world is interdependent. That is the notion of emptiness. We say something is empty because there is no single entity that is sustained in space independently. If the tree were really there, it would not take seeds, sun, water, leaves, and bark to make a tree.
People sometimes confuse emptiness with “blankness” or “voidness,” as if Buddhists are into nihilism. But we’re not into nihilism any more than we are into permanence. Enlightenment is a level of wisdom that transcends both those concepts. Continue…
Author Archive
2 responses - Posted 11.13.09
By Lois Lungta, on-the-scene reporter in Halifax Ah, the many uses of chapstick. Last night, Stuart Lord (our new president of Naropa University) hosted a dinner for alumni. On each table were little offerings: pens, notepads, and bumper stickers branded with Naropa insignia. And chapstick. Little ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.11.09
By Lois Lungta, on-the-scene blogger in Halifax It is fascinating to experience the full richness of Shambhala. The Vidyadhara once described the physical environment of Shambhala as dripping with gold and jewels, and being here for this week of celebration is actually an experience of this. ...continue
1 response - Posted 11.10.09
Yes, cybermandala, I am awake and writing at 4:15am. The city is dark and the only ones up and about in the lobby are the kasung, preparing for the arrival of His Eminence. I will be brief, but as many of you rouse yourselves at ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.09.09
By Lois Lungta, on-the-scene blogger in Halifax On my second trip to the lobby this morning, I encountered the delegates from Gampo Abbey. I have always thought of my pre-dawn waking habits as weird, or unconventional, but upon encountering cheerful faces and maroon robes at that ...continue
1 response - Posted 11.08.09
By Lois Lungta, on-the-scene blogger in Halifax I awoke this morning contemplating dreams. The ones I had awaken from, the ones I live, the ones that guide my life and my choices. Dreams are like navigating with an internal compass – the little piece of metal ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.07.09
Early Morning, November 7, 2009 By Lois Lungta, on-the-scene blogger The first thing I did this morning was an act of economic treason. Well, according to my country of birth it may be considered patriotism, but since I consider myself a citizen of a global community of ...continue
no responses - Posted 11.03.09
Using the Power of the Internet to Radiate Basic Goodness By Jennifer Holder Early this year, my boss at the book publishing company where I worked sat me down in front of Twitter and Facebook and gave me the pith instruction on how the modern ...continue
2 responses - Posted 11.01.09
The story of the evolution of Shambhala Congress. Part Two of Jennifer Holder’s interview with Amy Conway. Click here for Part One: A Precious Exchange. Shambhala has held three Congresses: the first in November of 2003, the second in February of 2005 and the third in ...continue
no responses - Posted 10.26.09
By Lois Lungta On Sunday, the New York Shambhala Center was bursting at the seams, as usual, with Shambhala Training levels, gateway programs, and vajrayana practice sessions. But somehow we managed to reserve the main shrine room for a very important event–the recitation of mantras to ...continue
8 responses - Posted 10.25.09
October 20, Acharya Bill McKeever faced the possibility that he could die that day. Once recovered, he wrote this letter recalling the experience. ____________________________ Dear Family and Friends, I just wanted to relate an experience I had on Tuesday. It was a beautiful fall day, sunny with ...continue
2 responses - Posted 10.19.09
The Magic of Shambhala Congress Jennifer Holder interviews Amy Conway about her experience at all three Shambhala congresses. Click here for Part Two in our series: Walking the Yanas of Congress. Amy, you’ve attended all three previous congresses and will be in Halifax for the fourth ...continue
no responses - Posted 10.14.09
A photo gallery of the changing season, by Jennifer Holder This lovely experience of a photo-taking rampage was made possible by beautiful weather, an iPhone, and the gardens and streets of Chappaqua, NY. Click on photos to enlarge or view as a slideshow. continue
no responses - Posted 10.11.09
Jennifer Holder interviews Acharya Judy Lief about her work on the Root Text Project. This project is an effort to compile 13 years of seminary transcripts into three volumes, one for each yana, that are organized by topic. To read more about the project, ...continue
no responses - Posted 10.10.09
Based on an interview with Acharya Judy Lief Click here to read Buddhist Lists Meet Dharmic Riffs, a Q & A with Acharya Lief about the Root Text Project. Every year, starting in 1973 until he died in 1986, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche taught a seminary that lasted ...continue