Meditation Resources

Phakchok Rinpoche explains the purpose of our meditation practice. Here he stresses that we can familiarize ourselves through direct experience with the four qualities of...

Phakchok Rinpoche encourages us to meditate correctly every morning. Don’t meditate like a dead tree! That means that we are approaching the session alone....

Rituals at Tibetan Buddhist Dharma Centers can delight, intrigue, and/or confuse newcomers. Here we offer some brief guidelines for the curious onlooker....

Practitioners should take advantage of all opportunities to increase the accumulation of merit easily and swiftly. We need to know how to magnify our virtues....

In this excerpt from "In the Footsteps of Bodhisattvas", Phakchok Rinpoche discusses discipline, and how it is essential to a strong meditation practice....

Within In the Footsteps of Bodhisattvas, Phakchok Rinpoche clearly shows how genuine meditation is contingent upon bringing together many supportive conditions. However, Rinpoche also articulates...

Phakchok Rinpoche teaches that if we are holding any anger, we are not free. When you’re even mildly annoyed at someone, the mind is disturbed...

Jack DeTar shares Rinpoche's path of authentic meditation taken from "In The Footsteps of Bodhisattvas"...

Samye Institute's students share their experiences during 2020's online retreats....

Erric Solomon begins a four part explorations of the Four Immeasurables....

These days we are all so busy that we often don’t take time to consider how constant doing affects our minds. And we might be...

Visualization can seem unnecessarily complicated when we first encounter meditation instruction. But creating a mental image and using that as an object of our attention...

Anxiety arises for almost all sentient beings in certain situations. And there are times when worry can be useful or productive. A little stress can...

Hilary Herdman discusses the reading of the life-stories of great masters (Tib. Namtar) as spiritual practice....

Learn about an ancient Buddhist tool to overcome FOMO....

Giving joyously is the first of the "perfections" praised in the Vajrayana tradition....

"Meditation training with focus" takes many forms. As we begin to build a habit of mindfulness, we can use one or more of these techniques....

When we hear the word "meditation" we may think that we can't keep still for an hour and be calm. But, as Tulku Migmar as...

"Mental Maintenance" means working with our own minds. Anxiety, depression, and stress can affect anybody. First, we need to take care of our actual physical...

Our minds are full of thoughts, full of afflictive emotions, and full of unhappiness. This is why dharma practice is really indispensable to us all....

We know that we ourselves will eventually die. We know, and yet ... are we really taking these teachings to heart as the Buddha and...

Learning meditation requires both study and actual practice. Correct preparation before starting a meditation session allows us to experience authentic results...

When we hear that our innate nature is Buddha -nature, are we confident that it is so? How do we develop dignity--a sense of certainty...

Preferences dominate our thinking most of the time whether we consciously note them or not. We carry them into our meditation practice. But is that...

Every one of the Buddha's teachings has a purpose--each one suits the needs of a particular person. When we examine a teaching, we should ask...

When we really want to practice Dharma we wish to carry on until we die. We don't want to stop! Dharma practice is a continuous...

In this teaching, Phakchok Rinpoche challenges us to come to understand the correct motivation. “Motivation is a reflection of yourself”, he teaches. This shows how...

Science of mind occupies a great deal of attention in Buddhist philosophy. This is not some new development; ancient Buddhist texts include major treatises investigating...

We're busy people and have lots of responsibilities and activities, so often we may forget to engage in self-reflection. But, we may want to look...

How do we begin Buddhist practice? We can first listen to explanations from a qualified teacher, and take time to reflect on what we have...

Exchanging self and others is the supreme method for building our bodhicitta. We develop this through a process called tonglen, or "sending and receiving"....

As Buddhist practitioners, we begin by always bringing our practice to our own mind, and our own level of experience--regardless of what practice we do....

Learning Buddhadharma can be done in a number of ways. Especially in these modern times. We can go to retreats, listen to teachings, take courses,...

We have a lot of negative emotions, don't we? And traditionally, Buddhist teachers explain that the antidote for our negative emotions is the application of...

Buddha-nature refers to the ground, the basic nature that we all share. It is our "starting point", so to speak. We refer to the ground...

Spacious Meditation is important throughout our practice. Buddhist teachers often emphasize spaciousness as a quality we should develop. But sometimes, we can become confused about...

Practicing meditation is a key point of applying Buddhist Dharma. And many other traditions also feature meditation. Phakchok Rinpoche suggests that we need to approach...

Understanding emotions serves as the first step toward overcoming our basic ignorance. In this video clip, Phakchok Rinpoche shares his personal experience of coming to...

Just be kind! Phakchok Rinpoche observes that as he travels around the world, he finds that many of us have forgotten this basic skill. Basic,...

Do we need to meditate? And if so, why? Is there a real benefit from meditation? In this video teaching, Phakchok Rinpoche answers with an...

Improving ourselves, or making progress, while practicing the Buddhadharma should be a natural outcome. Phakchok Rinpoche observes that we practice correctly when our behavior and…

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Dharma means understanding the mind--our own mind-- and how it functions. When we hear the word "Dharma" we can realize that we are engaging in...

Real kindness means that you aren't looking for praise or thanks. We don't attach strings to that kindness--we act kindly without expectation. Agenda-free kindness doesn't...

Phakchok Rinpoche observes that many Dharma students these days are not decisive. Why aren't we more decisive? Because we lack confidence. We need to develop...

Why meditate? What benefits does meditation bring, and why might we want to take the time for practice? Phakchok Rinpoche, in this video teaching from...

Who was the Buddha? We see the image so often these days and we may know some quotes attributed to him, but what do we...

When we practice meditation, we should aim for unselfish meditation. That means we need to learn how to set our motivation. In this audio teaching...

Meditation certainly includes formal sitting practice, but we can appreciate that there is more to it than that! Here, Phakchok Rinpoche explains that meditation doesn't...

Learning what the Buddha taught could take a lifetime of study, contemplation, and meditation. However, the Buddha often summarized his teachings in simple, easy-to-understand key...

Transformation is something that many of us seek. Some of us might attend a talk about meditation or mindfulness if we think it leads to...

Khenpo Gyaltsen knows that discussions of impermanence can cause strange reactions. Our nature is impermanent. There is no reason to feel unhappy about it. We...

In this video instruction, Phakchok Rinpoche responds to a student's question about thoughts arising during four foundations practice sessions. Rinpoche advises the student to look...

As we begin to practice meditation, many of us experience doubts. One of the biggest questions is, "How can I concentrate? My mind gets distracted...

Building routine helps us carry our practice throughout our daily life. Family and work are both very important in our lives. But first, we need...

Regardless on who we are, or what our plans and goals are, life goes on. Phakchok Rinpoche, in this audio clip, suggests that we remind...

Over 2500 years ago, the Buddha chose a different approach. We could call it uncommon sense: meaning it was almost the opposite of how we...

Bodhisattvas arise from their practice of the path, but mainly through their own aspirations. Here, Phakchok Rinpoche briefly explains the importance of aspiration and the...

Believing karma, cause and effect, makes us authentic practitioners. Here, Phakchok Rinpoche speaks very directly to our cynicism and doubts. He says frankly that we...

Becoming genuine should be a milestone that we can use to measure our practice. We can learn how to become fully genuine. To begin on...

Failure is something we usually try to avoid at all costs. One main reason we fail -- both in mundane and spiritual life -- is...

When we practice meditation, we should have a vision. And our vision should really be vast. We practice to awaken to become Buddhas....

The point of meditation is not to be calm. Instead, in this video teaching, Phakchok Rinpoche reminds us that the point of meditation is to...

Handling our habits is a crucial practice for meditators. How does a beginning meditator train?...

Aspiration is like water, and motivation is like the seed. You plant a seed and want to see the plant grow. Water is the aspiration....

Shaking off tiredness is an important technique for meditators to learn. Often we rise early to meditate and we may not be fully alert. Or,...

Integrating Dharma into our daily activities means that Dharma serves a deep purpose. When we integrate Dharma successfully, it becomes truly functional. Here, Phakchok Rinpoche...

Inspiration for our meditation training is a boost for our practice. We love to think we can be independent and do everything by ourselves, but...

"Mind" is the word we should recollect repeatedly and contemplate. The word "mantra" has one general meaning as an instrument of thought....

When we learn meditation, we need to start with the base, or ground. First, we should learn not just how to meditate, but also why...

Spaciousness is an opportunity to rest our minds. Rinpoche discusses how meditation is not such a big deal. As we start out, it is helpful...

In this advice session with students, Phakchok Rinpoche explains that Buddhism encompasses a great deal. "Buddhism is everything!" he says....

Expanding the heart brings great benefit for both ourselves and others. In this video teaching, Phakchok Rinpoche advises each of us to develop big and...

Remembering the kindness of others is an important practice for all of us. We should not forget those many individuals who have been kind to...

In this audio teaching given at Riwoche Temple in Toronto, Phakchok Rinpoche relates personal examples of how he encourages himself....

When we interact with our partners, our parents, our children, and our extended family, we should always switch our perspective back and forth between ourselves...

Applying a teacher's practice advice may seem to be something we all wish to do. We ask questions and we may get some very profound...

Our minds swing back and forth crazily without any stability. That is the "swing" of karma. If we don't "swing" with karma, it cannot do...

If our motivation for Buddhist practice is based on excitement, what happens when that excitement goes away? And the excitement does go away -- that's...

Phakchok Rinpoche says that if we really examine ourselves, we can learn how to develop stable confidence. The good news is that as practitioners we...

Many of us may have experienced genuine harm from others in the past or we may be experiencing this now. Phakchok Rinpoche agrees that such...

Distilling the Dharma into three core principles is an important teaching for us as we begin to learn about Buddhism. Likewise, it can be a...

Transforming anger is a skill we can all work to achieve. We often feel that we have the right or to be angry, but anger...

Rhythm can develop into a deeper practice with more complexity. In the second part of this talk, Phakchok Rinpoche explains how we may continue to...

Many of us want to be helpful and do charity or volunteer work since it is needed in so many places, but it can also...

Balancing Dharma and life can be difficult to do well. Phakchok Rinpoche understands that many of us have a spiritual practice and life responsibilities....

Let the Dharma resonate fully by accumulating merit. This is the best method, Rinpoche advises. But we do this without lots of expectations and thoughts...

Persistence in practice is something we often don't talk much about. But being persistent can make a big difference in our progress on the path....

Perception has power and it can be surprisingly strong. Normally, perception and habits work together to create a mistaken view of our world.Perception always comes...

Transformation can come about through meditation because meditation has many aspects. It’s more than you think! And, meditation is actually transformation. In this audio teaching,…

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Truly understanding the five poisons, also known as the five negative emotions, is a crucial step for mental well-being. In this audio teaching, Phakchok Rinpoche...

Defining Dharma is an important place to begin. First, we must know about Dharma and then about meditation. Dharma means the transformation of our mind....

Here he reminds us that if we remember the goal of our practice, we should achieve the goal. And genuine compassion and devotion can bring...

Meditation can bring us good results. But, conversely, if our motivation is bad, it can also give us very bad results. If we start our...

Returning to the root of our practice is something we should all do from time to time as practitioners. This means repeatedly studying the core...

Have patience with the teachings and with yourself. Phakchok Rinpoche gives advice that the proper attitude for receiving teachings is with an open mind....

Three fundamental qualities -- in order to learn how to be open, truthful, and sincere in order to develop spiritually daily life....

Meaningful Life Meaningful life –what tools do we need to make our lives truly meaningful? What is important so that we can make the most...

How can we make meditation practice a habit? We need to encourage ourselves. Many of us have good intentions, but our lives are very busy....

Philosophy or religion? Which is Buddhism? It is a common question. You can find many people who offer very different opinions. What is Buddhism all...

Real happiness means having a spacious and calm mind. Happiness is not just about having fun. We become happy when we develop a grounded mind...

We hear a lot about reducing ego in Buddhist teachings. But we often don't know how to go about this. Here Rinpoche gives practical advice...

What is a good practitioner? What are the signs? How can I check my meditation practice? We may wonder if our meditation is going well....

Why begin your day with meditation? It is the best antidote for "brain-jam." Tulku Migmar Tsering is known for giving very practical advice......

A key teaching of Buddhism is contentment. To understand what this means, we need to see our own experience. Contentment is a state......

Dharma practice means training our minds. What kind of mind training do we need as dharma practitioners? Tolerance training!...

You should learn to meditate". We hear this frequently. How do we learn to meditate? What does it really mean? What are we supposed to...