tonglen—whether in the specific form of using breath as a medium, or in the various other ways of exchanging self

It’s like a rainbow that appears when all the right factors (sun, rain, the perspective of the viewer) come together. But a rainbow, just like an object in a dream, and just like a disturbing emotion, doesn’t exist in any solid way, or in any particular place. It is just a passing effect. With this kind of exploration, we can discover that everythi

These thoughts are usually based on sensory perceptions.

dedicating ourselves to bodhicitta, to tonglen, to stepping out of the small self and embracing the universal self?

the exchange of position, is a specific antidote to three of our most disturbing emotions: arrogance, competitiveness, and jealousy.

All we know, and usually only vaguely, is that we want things to be different. The second way we’re ignorant is that even if we have a glimpse of what’s going on, we have no idea what to do about it. Not knowing what’s happening and not knowing what to do are both deeply painful. We may not be aware of this, but we go through life feeling constantl

When we say phenomena are empty, we mean that we can’t grasp

absolute bodhicitta.

We are constantly engaged in thoughts, which shape our feelings and attitudes.