Mangala Shri Bhuti - The Link

This excerpt from the 2011 Dzogchen Seminar explores what Rinpoche calls the "predator mentality", the default state of mind in samsara when you do not reflect on how yourself and all beings desire happiness equally.

Vern contemplates why we fear sadness and describes the richness inherent in sadness--a genuine part of the human experience worth exploring in its own right. He describes the beauty and joy of sadness and why this "emotion" was held in high regard by the lineage masters.

Elizabeth describes brokenheartedness as seeing the nature of impermanence vividly, and discusses why heartbreak and loss are critical for a practitioner--how the "sting" of loss is necessary in creating an openheartedness, which is the place where practitioners need to reside. She describes how loss pushes us in the direction of a bigger way of being.

Dungse-la discusses the necessity of having a solid "individual life" as a foundation to be of benefit to the larger community, which he defines as all sentient beings. He describes how thinking of and caring for others brings greater joy than caring for ourselves, and with repeated practice how the "illusion of duality begins to fade."

Rinpoche encourages us to get back to our roots by transforming our state of mind with the four samtens, the Four Immeasurables as a daily practice, in order to have a rich internal life. He describes in detail the first two stages of bodhisattva training, generating respectful equality and universal love and care for all beings.

Gretchen speaks about mind and emotions from her experience as a western and contemplative psychologist and a Buddhist practitioner. She explains how the practice of tonglen combats the two tendencies and protects from impulsivity, while holding a space for others.

Pema explains how the hardest of circumstances can be the greatest opportunity for awakening. She offers steps toward staying "awake and open" to the intensity and describes how emotions become a catalyst for emptiness or egolessness.

Elizabeth explores the many usages of the word "belief", how we experience beliefs and belief as it relates to the Buddha' s teachings on emptiness and the Middle Way. Talk given from Crestone, Colorado.

Dungse-la speaks about Timuk- "a dull flat state of disconnectedness" and outlines various remedies including mindfulness, a keen awareness of one' s environment and how the practice of the four noble truths brings us back.

Rinpoche discusses the tendency for humans to feel the "privilege"of self-pity and contrasts this with the qualities of a mature mind. Rinpoche explores the differences of feeling burdened by the sufferings of samsara versus feeling encouraged to find a solution.

Rinpoche talks about the necessity of some suffering in developing a happy and cheerful mind that has stability. He goes on to discuss how to experience growth.

Elizabeth shares her personal experiences in relating with her teacher and describes the skillful means and "practice" in this relationship. Elizabeth describes what it means to be a student and the discipline of falling apart and letting go into humbleness.

Dungse-la observes that in our fast paced modern world, awareness often gets "stretched thin." Without awareness, there' s more of a chance that the five negative emotions will slip in and overtake our mind. So putting an emphasis on maintaining awareness as a bodhcitta practice bridges the gap between meditation and post meditation practice, allowing us to carry out working with the paramitas to counter the negative emotions in our daily lives, even with the speed of modernity.

Five Steps to Handle Chaos. Rinpoche explains five steps to skillfully handle situations when chaos arises in our lives, talks about the practice of acceptance and harvesting the pain of failure to gain success.

Exertion: honoring our Buddha nature. Sasha explores how to experience exertion as a natural expression of our Buddha nature.

How do we develop a certainty that is not static or about being a ' knower' ? Elizabeth delves into the question of having confidence in an uncertain world and upon what that confidence is based.

Ani Pema provides a commentary on the Lojong slogan, "Drive All Blames Into One", and gives us tips on distinguishing between what causes our suffering and what triggers it.