Mangala Shri Bhuti - The Link

Speaker: Michael Velasco. Michael recounts the early days of becoming a student of Mangala Shri Bhuti, and a series of auspicious coincidences he encountered before meeting his teacher. Unsuspecting of what was to come, Michael shares how he has been the beneficiary of myriad opportunities to fully enter the path including pilgrimages, living in India and spending his life in service. He expresses deep gratitude for how fully the Dharma has transformed his life through the extraordinary generosity of his teacher's efforts to "increase his capacity" over the years. Having been given these gifts, including the gift of self-reflection, he realizes he can now relax into the tremendous opportunity to transform his mind on this noble path of the Bodhisattva.

Speaker: Joey Waxman. Joey reflects on Rinpoche's book, It's Up to You, asking why we resist seeing ourselves as ordinary. We cling to self-importance seeking comfort, resources, and reputation while fearing loss, discomfort, or criticism. This clinging arises from the belief in a fixed self. If dismantled, we uncover our Buddha-nature, which is the same as the Buddha's, and see our connection to all beings, even insects, without hierarchy. When obscurations fall away, we gain the freedom to benefit others with creativity and joy. The path begins with self-reflection: look deeply in the mirror and you may discover you are gazing at the body of a Buddha.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Dungse Jampal Norbu examines how we let go of holding onto principles and concepts in order to enter into an authentic relationship with how things appear, and therefore act from a place of harmony. Investment in our personal principles and ideas can become neurotic, preventing us from relating with a flexible frame of mind to the interdependent nature of our experience. For example, in valuing generosity, we might expect it to be reflected in the world around us in a particular way. Dungse-la encourages us to be uncompromising with our ego attachments and value bodhicitta as a basic principle, which provides us with a skillful means to respond to life's specific situations.

Speaker: Polly Banerjee-Gallagher. Polly explores how deeply-rooted habits can block our ability to appreciate the blessings of practice. Drawing from Rinpoche's book Diligence and teachings from the 2023 Shedra, Polly discusses the four key factors shaping positive and negative habits. She explains their fluid and dynamic nature and our power to change them. The Dharma offers tools like Lojong slogans, prayer and mantras to support this work. Polly concludes the talk with a reflection on the Four Reliances of the Kadampa tradition, highlighting their guidance in cultivating habits that support our Dharmic journey.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. In this LINK, originally given on February 5, 2017 from Crestone, Colorado, Rinpoche explains how we can cultivate happiness though the practice of bodhicitta and serving others.

Speaker: Scott Gallagher. Scott describes how he accommodates the powerful imagery and energy of a space like Tara Dzong, where he was recently in retreat. He shares how he normally thinks of himself as a solitary being on the path with a small view, but his experiences have revealed a much larger world that is available to him. In retreat, Scott recognized the many different forces at play in his life, leaving him with a valuable reminder that, even if he cannot see them, these forces can have a significant impact on his life moving forward.

Speaker: Jennifer Shippee. Jennifer expounds on how all sentient beings, without exception, are connected in their desire to be happy and to avoid the pain of suffering. Jennifer invites us to contemplate equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy on a daily basis. By establishing a deep familiarity with the bodhisattva vow and the four immeasurables contemplation, how we relate to the world will naturally shift.

Speaker: Sarah Ellsworth. Sarah shares how the Dharma informs and enriches her work as a nurse and midwife. Although shift work and long hours can make it challenging to maintain a consistent meditation practice, her professional life offers profound opportunities for spiritual growth. She reflects on how her contemplations of the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind Towards the Dharma are vividly present in her daily work. Sarah describes how the Dharma softens and ripens the heart and mind, which has lead to a deep sense of contentment and happiness in her personal relationships. The inner shift that Dharma brings not only transforms one's own experience but also creates space for those around us to change and grow as well.

Speaker: Katherine Teahen. Katherine recounts the sights and sounds of a pilgrimage she made to Tibet thirty years ago, reflecting on how the journey profoundly transformed her relationship with the Dharma. Drawing from her journal entries written during the trip, she offers a vivid portrayal of the sacred sites she visited. Her time spent in caves and shrines associated with great masters such as Vimalamitra, Guru Rinpoche, and Longchenpa became moments of deep connection with the lineage and teachings. By retracing her steps to Lhasa and sharing these reflections, Katherine hopes to inspire other practitioners to embark on their own pilgrimages and deepen their spiritual practice.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Dungse-la shares open questions he is exploring on how to develop genuine confidence in our own direct experience of life in a world full of contrasting information. He describes the complexity of making a commitment to the path amidst contemporary discourses overloaded with opinions. Rather than providing answers, he offers a few questions for reflection including, (1) How do we reconcile the universal insights of Dharma with our culturally conditioned narratives, including those shaped by culture, family, and personal identity? (2) How can we have genuine confidence in our experience in an age dominated by relativism, where our experience is constantly questioned by cultural trends and competing worldviews? (3) How do we cultivate a healthy sense of self that is not rooted in ego clinging?

Speaker: Bill Bothwell. Fresh out of retreat, Bill shares his journey from a young poet and songwriter to his encounter with the Buddhadharma and becoming a student of Choygam Trungpa Rinpoche. Taking to heart Rinpoche's instruction that working within society is a necessity on the spiritual path, Bill became a lawyer. He recollects the essential teachings of his root teacher who challenged his students to embrace the view that conventional society was an expression of the ultimate truth, and that our tendency to judge others and our habit of wanting to fix things disrupts our ability to experience the natural purity of the world. Bill also shares experiences of his time at Naropa University with Alan Ginsburg, and Trungpa Rinpoche's instruction that his students call themselves Buddhist in order to establish an enlightened society of serious practitioners while living a conventional life.

Speaker: Vaishali Mamgain. Referring to herself as a "brainiac" who is more comfortable with wisdom than compassion, Vaishali shares how she used to approach the Dharma as a mental exercise. In her recent travels to Sri Lanka, surrounded by beauty and kind and humble people, she learned the value of simple ways of being. This experience opened up a path of embodiment, and discovery of new practices helping her to slow down, take care of herself, appreciate the wisdom of her body, feel gratitude for the natural world and deepen compassion toward herself and other people. Becoming more embodied has allowed Vaishali to work through her own trauma and become more sensitive to others.

Speaker: Bob Reid. Bob delves into the Four Immeasurables: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity as the foundation for arousing bodhicitta, the altruistic intention to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. Drawing from the Mahayana tradition, Bob explores how these boundless qualities open the heart and mind to the vast path of awakening.

Speaker: Morgan Starr. Morgan describes how navigating personal challenges has allowed him to explore the idea of turning toward suffering rather than avoiding it. Leaning into grief and heartbreak rather than resisting or numbing it has opened the door to compassion, presence, and growth. He recalls a sense of sacredness and wonder he felt in early life, which has faded over time but is now restored through his spiritual practice with MSB. Morgan recounts multiple quotes from Rinpoche about pain, which, when met with courage and curiosity, can serve as the gateway to liberation. Choosing to soften, lighten up, and cultivate self-awareness and love for others can create spaciousness and clarity even in moments of heartbreak.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. This LINK was originally given on August 2, 2015. In this talk, Dungse-la describes how careful introspection coupled with the study of karma cultivates choice, changes perceptions, clears habitual tendencies and creates one's environment.

Speaker: Stanton Dossett. Stanton contemplates the phrase, ‘connecting the dots’, used by Rinpoche in his book The Intelligent Heart. The first dot is suffering. For Stanton, it is only with the aid of daily practice that the dots become connectable, and the relationship between self-importance and negative karma can be understood. When walking one day in his local neighbourhood, Stanton had a sudden, vivid insight that everyone wishes, just like him, for happiness and to be free of suffering. Contemplating this insight and the aspiration of the Buddha to become enlightened for the benefit of all beings was a profound experience that stayed with him on the MSB Dana pilgrimage to Bodhgaya. Aware of the passage of time, Stanton encourages us to ask ourselves, as he does, "At what point do I commit completely to the aspiration of the Buddha, putting Dharma at the centre of my life?"

Speaker: Deborah Crouse. Deborah expresses her gratitude for the many resources that are available for practice and study and for the way Rinpoche has organized MSB to support his students. Some examples include the Study and Practice Representatives, Lobpons and Khenchungs who lead classes year round. She recalls Rinpoche saying that the point of study is certitude and study helps us untangle the knots. Because he is passionate about his students learning to study correctly, Deborah discusses his ‘How to Study’ guide, which provides detailed methods of study using the three wisdoms of hearing, contemplating and meditating. She also remembers Rinpoche saying that when we are able to grasp concepts previously unknown, we can fill the storehouse of our alaya with the “gold coins of wisdom” that will serve us on our path both now and in future lives. Finally, Deborah reminds us of how rare it is to find a teacher in the west who so generously offers word for word transmissions of classical texts in both Tibetan

Speaker: Deborah Haynes. In this second installment on the topic of death, Deborah recounts many losses experienced throughout her life. These include the recent death of her spouse and her son's current, terminal illness. These encounters with suffering and impermanence inform her Dharma path and animate her daily practice. Deborah's Buddhist path is the aspiration to meet whatever arises, both now and in lifetimes to come, with unwavering fearlessness and compassion.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Dungse-la reminds us to review the eighteen freedoms and advantages and ascertain whether we are meeting them in our lives. If we find that we are lacking any, then we can strive to overcome the obstacles that prevent them from being present. Pointing to Milarepa as an example, Dungse-la emphasizes that it was his longing to meet the Dharma and his deep devotion that allowed him to overcome all circumstantial obstacles. Therefore, we too, need to keep our longing alive to whatever extent it currently resides in each of us, and reaffirm aspiration bodhicitta to engage our minds to benefit beings and bring them to enlightenment.

Speaker: Ani Nyima Dolma. Ani shares some of her daily positivity practices, prayers and readings, including a gratitude mala for those who are or have been in her life. This has proven to be an uplifting morning alternative to waking in rushed anxiety thinking of all the things that need to be done. She goes on to share details about the new, MSB online program to foster fellowship and build community. Ani sees it as an excellent way to get to know Sangha, especially those who don't live close to a community retreat center.