Mangala Shri Bhuti - The Link

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This previously recorded talk was given by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on November 5, 2017 at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado. Rinpoche addresses the importance of having strong perseverence to accomplish one's goals on the path.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This previously recorded Personal Link was given by Rinpoche to the local sangha on March 19, 2006 at Osel Ling in Crestone, Colorado. Rinpoche spoke in how we can move forward in our path as individuals by having clarity and intention, commitment and endurance.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This previously recorded Personal Link was given by Rinpoche on February 5, 2006 at Pema Osel Do Ngak Choling in Vershire, Vermont. Rinpoche talks about how devotion in the Vajrayana is fuel to excel in accomplishing the path.

Speaker: Ani Nyima Dolma. Ani Nyima reflects on how the monastic life and the practice of the four immeasurables support the freedom from attachment that leads to sympathetic joy. Drawing a distinction between mundane happiness and sympathetic joy, she explains how becoming ordained liberated her from worldly concerns and enhanced her capacity to generate the virtues of equanimity, happiness, compassion and great joy.

Speaker: Suzy Greanias. Suzy addresses the importance of learning how to train the mind in order to cultivate bodhicitta. When we become aware of our thoughts and of the circumstances that generate them, we recognize that they are temporary and dependent on causes and conditions. This leads us to realize that we don't need to identify with them. Meditation and contemplation train the mind to recognize how our habitual responses and concepts merely obscure the true nature of our mind. Contemplating the four immeasurables, beginning with equanimity, gives us the spaciousness to cultivate the wisdom, equanimity and patience necessary to arouse bodhicitta.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This is a re-broadcast of a Personal Link Rinpoche gave on 4/09/2006 at Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado. Rinpoche discusses the topic of devotion.

Speaker: Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. This is a re-broadcast of a Personal Link Rinpoche gave on 8/15/1999 at Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado. Rinpoche discusses the benefits of keeping a positive attitude toward all experiences.

Speaker: Matthew Minier. Matthew contemplates how staying open to the suffering in the world allows us to support our aspiration to benefit beings and to liberate ourselves from samsara. Succumbing to the temptation to avoid discomfort only leads us deeper into our cocoons, narrowing our understanding and ability to respond to painful situations. But if we instead choose to face painful situations directly, we cultivate the means to benefit ourselves and others. Our ability to respond to suffering supports others. It enables us to respond compassionately and to recognize unforeseen possibilities for relieving pain; it develops our sense of grit and perseverance, preparing us to meet future adversity with equanimity and courage; and it enriches our lives with the understanding that the stories we tell ourselves about "how things are" do not actually represent what is true or what is possible.

Speaker: Greg Richardson. Greg Richardson explores how Dharma is established in new cultures and how practitioners can best adapt aspects of their culture to further their attainments on the path. Focusing in particular on the establishment and practice of Dharma in the United States, he cites the American qualities of vigor and grit as traits we can apply to cultivate our own practice. Stripped of competitiveness and re-oriented away from external achievements, vigor can help us overcome the three kinds of laziness (distraction, procrastination, and self-doubt); grit can provide the determination to develop and perfect the skills we need to attain enlightenment and buddhahood.

Speaker: Karuna Chung. Karuna reflects on the importance of contemplating impermanence to make our life meaningful and to prepare for death. Cultivating bodhicitta gives our life meaning by opening our hearts to others; practicing meditation, especially meditation on impermanence, stabilizes our mind, clarifies our understanding of our own buddha nature and deepens our understanding of our mortality. Meeting painful circumstances fearlessly strengthens our renunciation, heightens our appreciation for our lives and encourages us to embrace death as an opportunity for liberation from samsara.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Dungse-la explores the aspiration to live a meaningful life and how freedom from the need to validate our own identity leads to the development of true authenticity. As we make the commitment to turn to the path of the Dharma and see through our neurotic grasping at a self, we can find a naturalness that goes beyond self.

Speaker: Mark Kram. Mark Kram reflects on how appreciating and working with our teachers, attaining genuine renunciation and realizing the wisdom of emptiness all require a shift in perspective. Emphasizing the importance of personal experience and contemplation, he points out how the gap between the levels of experience and insight may present challenges to both students and teachers. This gap calls for students to recognize how their own assumptions and projections may limit their understanding of the teachings. The effort to cultivate qualities embodied by the teacher such as lovingkindness, compassion, and devotion, also calls for students to question the belief in "real" self. Realizing the emptiness of self calls for shift in perspective that is ultimately nonconceptual, and that makes it possible to overcome self-cherishing. Finally, a shift in perspective generates the recognition of the cause of suffering---the mistaken belief in a real self---and a new insight into how to attain freedom from it.

Speaker: Dungse Jampal Norbu. Dungse-la teaches on the Mahayana in Talk 7 of the 2021 Nyingma Summer Seminar.

Speaker: Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel. Elizabeth teaches on the Hinayana in Talk 4 of the 2021 Nyingma Summer Seminar.

Speaker: Jean Wilkins. Jean reflects on how her experiences with the dying have deepened her understanding of impermanence and her appreciation for the importance of patience and being fully open to the present moment. Recognizing the impermanence of all things enables us to see that life and death are intertwined. Cultivating familiarity with uncertainty can empower us to accept the certainty of death. Our capacity to exercise patience gives us the courage to face all experiences fully, enabling us to make decisions about the circumstances of our death that will support our intention to accept it without fear or resistance. It is important to make aspirations about how we want to experience our death in order to attain a fortunate rebirth. Practices that enable us to keep an open heart, develop patience, deepen tsewa, and connect to our buddha nature will all prepare us for a good death and higher rebirth.