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The Teacher-Student Relationship: Liberating or a Trap?

July 27, 2017   |   33 Comments

I’m a 20+ year practitioner in a Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. It is based on teachings brought to the West by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. There are things in these seemingly straightforward sentences that might piss some people off. There are people who say that the Vajrayana (the third “yana” or vehicle of Buddhist teachings, aka the esoteric teachings) is not even... READ MORE

The Open Heart Project: 2015 Annual Report

January 5, 2016   |   11 Comments

Hello, to all! I hope your year is beginning in a delightfully auspicious way. Mine is, because I finished this $(#) annual report which has somehow taken about a week to write. (I thought it would take a couple of hours.) I share it with you here as an account of the ups and downs of 2015 which, as it... READ MORE

Start Here Now comes out today

September 15, 2015   |   11 Comments

My new book is out today. I am honored to share it with you. Personally, I really, really like it. I’m so happy about it. I woke up this morning at 5:30 wondering how the day would go, how I would feel about it all, (it’s such a vulnerable situation), and if the world would embrace it in any way.... READ MORE

The magic of a morning routine

September 9, 2015   |   4 Comments

Yesterday was a wonderful day. I felt productive, connected, and easeful. I accomplished work I was proud of. I liked myself. I focused on what mattered to me and honored my energy ebbs and flows. When I went to bed, I felt good-tired. The day before yesterday sucked. I wandered around in a fog. I watched a lot of television.... READ MORE

The one where I asked the Dalai Lama a question

September 8, 2015   |   9 Comments

Some years ago, my friend Josh was organizing a press conference at MIT for the Dalai Lama and the prominent neuroscientist Richard Davidson. They were there to answer questions about the Dalai Lama’s decades-long dialogue with scientists exploring the relationship of science and Eastern thought. Josh asked me if I wanted to go and of course I did. There were... READ MORE

Is writing an egotistical act?

July 8, 2015   |   2 Comments

I recently saw this question: Does anyone of you write morning pages? With Sokuzan Brown‘s talk today (in the Daily Dharma Gathering) I thought about the observing of the I and I was wondering if it is an act of holding on to the ego to constantly make I-statements in the free-writing. Generally, I would be interested what others think of journaling in connection to meditation.... READ MORE

Rediscovering basic goodness

June 10, 2015   |   2 Comments

I just finished teaching an Open Heart retreat in beautiful Dechen Choling which is situated in rural south-central France, near Limoges. The beauty here reminds me of what the world felt like when I was a kid in summertime:  Verdant, lush, quiet, warm…all you want to do is be outside. These words are misleadingly prosaic… But when you arrive here... READ MORE

How do Buddhists respond to violence?

April 28, 2015   |   8 Comments

I was teaching a workshop in Baltimore this past weekend, just as the rioting and agitation of the protests was ramping up. We all felt frozen. One of the students brought up this question—what are we supposed to do? What, as non-violent people, do we do when faced with violence, including our own? She was enraged at everyone. Enraged at... READ MORE

Transforming Betrayal and Non-Closure

March 25, 2015   |   3 Comments

I wanted to use today’s email to respond to a post (on our Facebook page) from Barba Twin regarding anger and forgiveness. In it, she describes a situation that many of you may be familiar with: a relationship that has ended with no opportunity for closure. The person seeking it is then left on his or her own to find... READ MORE

En respuesta a la Violencia y a la Locura (Una perspectiva Budista)

January 11, 2015   |   2 Comments

Translation courtesy of Yolanda Andrade. Tal vez han visto las noticias donde hombres armados abrieron fuego en las oficinas de la “revista satírica” Charlie Hebdo, publicación francesa que en el pasado ha enfurecido a los extremistas islámicos. 12 personas, incluyendo el famoso caricaturista francés, fueron asesinadas. Pensé que era un chiste, No lo es. Nada puede mejorar lo sucedido. No hay explicación... READ MORE

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