Alan Wallace on the topic of Shamatha

Reposted from Sravasti Abbey – www.sravastiabbey.org Lama Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) was one of Tibetan Buddhism’s greatest scholars and yogis. His brilliant illumination of Buddha’s teachings shines through to this day in his Lamrim Chenmo—The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment—and other profound texts. His spiritual heirs include His Holiness the Dalai Lama….

Thubten Jinpa, translator of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, speaks at google about a fearless heart and the natural and powerful benefits of compassion.  

For when, with irreversible intent, The mind embraces bodhicitta, Willing to set free the endless multitudes of beings, In that instant, from that moment on,   A great unremitting stream, A strength of wholesome merit, Even during sleep and inattention, Rises equal to the vastness of the sky.

Shantideva cites three benefits of pain. First, it is valuable because through sorrow, pride is driven out. No matter how arrogant and condescending we’ve been, great suffering can humble us. The pain of a serious illness or loss of a loved one can be transformative, softening us and making us less self-centered. The second benefit…

Posted on January 15, 2017 by LamaMani on Kalachakra2017.net “We’ve been going through teachings for the last few days,” His Holiness observed. “Check your motivation. Don’t let yourself become preoccupied with things of this life or even of the next. Don’t settle for finding peace for yourself alone either. Reflect on the difficulty of finding this…