Working for the Benefit of Others Brings Meaning to Our Lives A core practice of the seven points of mind training, or lojong, is exchanging oneself for others. This practice has many beneficial aspects. To begin with, our general tendency is to cherish ourselves and live a self-centered life. This translates as “whatever I like, […]| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
The Heart Sutra is a short but profound texts that explains the Buddha's mahayana teaching on emptiness, eliciting challenge and inspiration.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Mahayana Buddhism, meaning the Great Vehicle, is the most widely practiced school of Buddhism worldwide. Fundamental Mahayana Buddhist teachings include the principle of Buddha nature, that each of us has the seed of enlightenment within. We can awaken to our true nature in this very lifetime, by gathering merit along the bodhisattva path. Learn more […] The post What Are The Fundamental Mahayana Buddhist Teachings? appeared first on Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
The bodhisattva vow is a commitment to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. This altruistic practice sets the tone for each day.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
The core Buddhist values are non-harming and being of benefit to others. When we practice this, we make way for a peaceful state of mind.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
In Buddhism, dharma is the Sanskrit term used to describe the teachings of the Buddha. The word dharma also describes reality itself and the way in which we relate to it. When we adopt a wise view, all that we see, hear and experience becomes the dharma, a sacred teaching. Buddhist Belief in Reincarnation The […] The post What Do Buddhists Believe? appeared first on Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Sacred Buddhist scripture includes written accounts of the Buddha’s teachings, those by his disciples, and commentaries on those teachings.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
What is the essence of Buddhism? In this article, learn what defines Buddhism and what Buddhists believe. Buddhism definitions and facts Buddhist history Schools of Buddhism Buddhist symbolism and meaning What do Buddhists believe? What are the core Buddhist teachings? Buddhism Definition and Facts Buddhism originated in India approximately 2,600 years ago when the Buddha […] The post What Is Buddhism? appeared first on Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Lama Atisa Dipankara lived at the beginning of the 11th century. Born in Bengal, the Buddhist master is well known for his work at the Vikramashila monastery in India and for reforming Buddhism in Tibet, where he spent the final years of his life. A Buddhist Master’s Journey to Enlightenment Lama Atisha was born in […] The post The Life of Atisha appeared first on Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Buddhism has a complex history that spans thousands of years. Different schools have arisen, but each is rooted in the four noble truths.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
The good news is that right here, right now, we have agency: we can purify negative karma and build on positive karma.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Fresh ways of looking at a concept that is often misunderstood How can we understand the concept of emptiness in Buddhism? Emptiness is an approximate translation of the Sanskrit term shunyata. The key to understanding what is meant by this translation is in the ness—the ness of emptiness means that emptiness is not empty. This […]| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Buddhism teaches the practice of ethics, meditation and wisdom as a means of liberating oneself from suffering. But what, exactly, are the core teachings of Buddhism, and are they true? Learn more about the following foundational Buddhist teachings. What are Buddhism’s three main disciplines? What are the four noble truths of Buddhism? What is dukkha […]| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
The three turnings exemplify the many skillful means with which the Buddha taught and serve to clarify and categorize the Buddha’s teachings.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
The Buddhist concept of near enemies describes virtues close but not quite the real thing. Understanding them leads to wisdom and true action.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Karma is intentional actions and their consequences. This creates mental imprints on how we perceive, and react to events in a certain way.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Om mani padme hum, translated as ‘jewel in the lotus,’ is a compassion mantra containing the essence of all dharma within its 6 syllables.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
The Heart Sutra is perhaps the most well-known sutra of Mahayana Buddhism, describing the heart of the teachings of the Perfection of Wisdom.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Aspiration bodhicitta is the practice of using every situation to cultivate positive intent. How can we put bodhicitta into practice?| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Understanding Hinayana and Mahayana, the major Buddhist schools of thought, helps us differentiate between the primary branches of Buddhism.| Mindworks
The classic mind training verse ‘drive all blames into one’ teaches us to look for the one single source of our suffering, our own mind.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
The lojong mind training slogans are brief pith statements that serve as mindfulness reminders for integrating meditation in our daily lives.| Mindworks
According to the Buddha’s teachings of the two truths, there is a difference between how we and awakened beings experience the world.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Bodhicitta, awakened heart, inspires us to follow the Buddhist path to the very end to help free not just ourselves but all beings everywhere.| Mindworks
Compassion and bodhicitta are related, but there is a difference. Understanding how bodhicitta evolves can help us encourage the process.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Everyone has the capacity to achieve enlightenment and to manifest the qualities of a buddha: wisdom, compassion and power.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
In Buddhism, the middle way is a descriptor of skillful, beneficial practices and behaviors that inform the Buddhist worldview.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Tonglen means ‘giving and taking.’ This beautiful meditation practice is a mind training exercise for cultivating and expanding compassion.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
Emptiness in Buddhism is the teaching that things are empty of self-existence. All that we perceive is dependent on us, the perceiver.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
In prajñā or Buddhist wisdom there are two things to know: the nature of the so-called self and the nature of the other, subject and object.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
How we close our meditation sessions, and what we do after meditation, can help us turn a meditative state of mind into a lasting trait.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
When we’re able to stay in the present with mindfulness, our awareness begins to open up and we can transition to vipashyana meditation.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path
We can cultivate equanimity with meditation, but also by living more mindfully. We can remain grounded, even in the face of adversity.| Mindworks Meditation & Buddhist Path