[This episode originally aired on December 27, 2022] I'd like to introduce three simple short meditation practices that help us tune in to the rich and ongoing process of exchange that marks our lives altogether • we're always giving something out to the world and receiving something from it • we are affected by others and we affect others in so many ways; and we're also quite susceptible to the energies and the outpourings from those around us • in the first practice we begin by looking at the simple and ordinary process of breathing, feeling the qualities of the different rhythms of the breath • this is working with exchange at the simple bodily level • the second practice is referred to as meeting suffering with kindness and compassion • to begin with, you could look within to see how much love and compassion is there • how do you experience that? what happens when you send it out? can you send it out? does it flow out or is it more buried within? • the third practice is connected with the idea of space • here, you relate to the outbreath as letting go into space; when breathing in, you let that outer spaciousness mix completely with the spaciousness within you and your state of mind and consciousness • you're simply stirring space and infusing space with tenderness and love.
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Episode 158: The Row, Row, Row Your Boat Sutra
[This episode originally aired on December 20, 2022] One of my favorite nursery rhymes contains quite a bit of wisdom: “Row row, row, row your boat gently down the stream; merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream” • if we think of the stream as a stream of teachings, then we could consider the Buddha as the source of the stream • from that beginning a great river continues to flow over thousands of years • where does this stream flow? It flows into an ocean, which you could say is the awakening of the practitioner • you have a boat to carry you down this stream, and you have a set of oars to row with • what kind of effort do you apply? it's a steady effort, but it's also a relaxed effort: you're rowing gently, but regularly and persistently • and how are you doing all this? you're doing it merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily • it's not a big struggle; there's a sense of delight • in fact it could be dreamlike because it's not so solid, it's not so frozen • we're in a shifting and changing world; it's so dreamlike and so unreal in so many ways, but so beautiful and colorful at the same time.
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Episode 157: When You Lose Your Mind, Come Back
[This episode originally aired on January 15, 2024] The phrase, “When you lose your mind, come back” describes a lot of what happens in meditation: repeatedly losing our minds, and repeatedly bringing ourselves back • the moment we’ve noticed we’ve lost it is the moment we can return • what are we returning to? the simplicity of the present moment • another phrase Trungpa Rinpoche used quite a lot was, “Don’t think too much” • what are the benefits and what are the limits of thinking and conceptual understanding? • in the Buddhist tradition scholarship is highly valued • however, to be a realized person, to live a dharmic lifestyle, you don’t need to be a scholar; you don’t need to be all that clever • “coming back” in this context could mean coming back from the tangle of conceptual notes and fascinations to something immediate and basic and close to the heart • Trungpa Rinpoche used the term “intellect and intuition” when referring to these two streams • they are not in opposition or at war; there’s a sense of sophistication in the interplay between these two.
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Episode 156: Strength and Vulnerability
[This episode originally aired on January 8, 2024] At our core is our tender heart, tinged with a touch of sadness • it is sweet and vulnerable • this soft spot may be deeply buried, but it is always there • even very simple or momentary experiences can connect us with this heart: you might watch a pair of swallows fly back and forth, over and over, bringing food to their hungry chicks, and something melts or softens in you • it is so beautiful to be touched in this way • but this inner core of tenderness can also make us feel threatened and vulnerable • so we learn to armor up, to wrap that tenderness in layers of protection • we begin to buy into the dichotomy between strength on the one hand and vulnerability on the other • and little by little, we dull our feelings to hide our vulnerability • but as we hide that openness and vulnerability, we also cut off the tender wellspring of kindness and compassion • the posture of meditation, with its strong back and soft belly, symbolizes the integration of strength and vulnerability • when these two are in harmony, we may discover that our vulnerability is not actually a weakness, but our greatest source of strength • when we bring vulnerability and strength together in harmony, we begin to live in this world in a more confident, fresh, and vivid way.
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Episode 155: Three Aspects of Space
[This episode originally aired on January 1, 2024] Trungpa Rinpoche emphasized the importance of understanding space • he encouraged us to explore our experiences of boredom, our discomfort with stillness, and our tendency to fill space • he pointed out that the basic energy pervading all of space is love and kindness; so to cultivate greater kindness and love, it makes sense to relate to space and its qualities • he introduced three aspects or qualities of space • the first is that space is indestructible, because it doesn't come from anywhere and doesn’t go anywhere; it is unborn, it is unceasing, and it is impossible to manipulate • the second aspect of space is that it accommodates birth and death: things are always arising and dissolving within it, and space accommodates all of that • the third aspect of space is that it creates obstacles • it seems to rebel against our ideas of importance and what we'd like to accomplish • this aspect of space reminds me of the kind of space that people can experience in the vicinity of a dying person • in that space, all projects and activities and preoccupations just dissolve on the spot • I'd like to invite you to explore these qualities of space in your daily life experience and in your meditation practice.
DHARMA GLIMPSES is an introduction to The Profound Treasury teachings of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, taught by Judy Lief. In these short, accessible talks, Judy invites listeners to explore the subtleties and delights of the Buddhist path of meditation and insight. She introduces listeners to some of the key ways that mark Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's unique and brilliant exposition of the dharma in the context of contemporary Western society.
Ireland