Tag: meditation
-
Practice Notes
Limiting Your Activity In Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki writes: You may think that if there is no purpose or no goal in our practice, we will not know what to do. But there is a way. The way to practice without having any goal is to limit your activity, or to be…
-
Tilopa’s Song to Naropa, Part 4
This is Part Four in a series of commentaries on the text, Tilopa’s Song to Naropa, or as it is sometimes called, Song of the Mahamudra. I am using the English translation by Lex Hixon. Lex Hixon (1941-1995) In researching this piece, I looked him up to inquire about permission to use his translation, and…
-
Tilopa’s Song to Naropa, Part 3
Some years ago, while I was in seminary, I began sitting with a group led by Roshi Ruben Habito. There was a weekly practice, and several other more intensive practices. “Day of Zen” was an all day Saturday event. And “sesshin,” was a week long silent intensive training. These practices were offered in the Zen…
-
Commentary on Tilopa’s Song to Naropa, part 1.
This is part 1 in a series of commentaries I am writing on the text, “Tilopa’s Song to Naropa,” or, as it is sometimes called, “Tilopa’s Song of the Mahamudra.” 1. “Mahamudra, the royal way, is freefrom every word and sacred symbol.“ The word, “mahamudra:” The word “mahamudra” is a Sanskrit term. It combines two…
-
Milarepa’s Fortress
My teacher, Khenchen Konchok Gyaltsen, once gave a short talk on Milarepa that was very powerful. It went something like this: Khenchen said, “The only way to be free from the fear of death is to practice the Dharma. We all know we will die someday. But we don’t know when. We think we are…
-
Tilopa’s Song to Naropa
original text, translated by Lex Hixon The Text: Song of the Mahamudra (Tilopa’s Song to Naropa) by Tilopa English version by Lex Hixon Mahamudra, the royal way, is freefrom every word and sacred symbol.For you alone, beloved Naropa,this wonderful song springs forth from Tilopaas spontaneous friendship that never ends. The completely open natureof all dimensions and…
-
Experiencing Emptiness
The discussion and the idea of emptiness in Buddhist philosophy attracts many intellectual and highly intelligent people. For these people, understanding emptiness becomes an abstract problem in logic and reasoning, the solution of which is an ego-oriented goal to obtain. The fact that emptiness is a difficult concept to grasp makes the goal all the…
Ed Gabrielsen 