This issue has developed amidst the ongoing turbulence of a remarkable year—a year which has seen relatively little dharma activity in the public arena, but which has afforded great opportunity for practice. For practicing Buddhists, as social activities, travel and other diversions simply fell away during the periods of quarantine and isolation, the precious gift of time for meditation practice opened up. As noted in the excerpt from Practical Buddhism at the end of this issue, “Once one has become part of the Karma Kagyu family, entering into the awareness stream of great yogis like Marpa, Milarepa, and the Karmapas, it is most important to make everything in life a practice and to use all experiences as a step along the way.” This idea is mirrored on the cover, with an image from our beautiful retreat center in Switzerland, with a meditator sitting next to a stupa and looking out into the vastness of the mountains, an image that 2020 has perhaps given us the opportunity to see with greater clarity.
Probably the longest article ever published in this magazine, the third installation of the commentary by Thaye Dorje, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, on the third chapter of The Way of the Bodhisattvas, brilliantly elucidates the meaning of this traditional Mahayana text and makes its somewhat antiquated language accessible for the modern Diamond Way practitioner. It is long, but we did not want to keep any parts of the flowing commentary from our readers.
In this issue, the Buddhism Today team has gathered a rich collection of Diamond Way content for you. The second part of a talk by the 14th Shamar Rinpoche on karma helps the Western mind to better understand the idea of karma in the Buddhist tradition. A real dharma treasure, Lama Ole Nydahl’s talk from 1995 in San Francisco on the nature of dreams, shares insight on how we can see this world “as a dream, as a fantasy, as a film,” something which again seems timely.
In 2003, our wonderful Hannah Nydahl taught calm abiding meditation (Tib. shinay) in relation to our main meditation on the 16th Karmapa. In this excerpt, the practitioner can access deeper and deeper levels of awareness and insight.
Finally, continuing our series on Buddhism and Science, guest author Jeff Su explores how a Buddhist understanding of phenomena can contribute to the process of scientific inquiry, using examples in the fields of biology and ecology.
Whether you are new to Diamond Way Buddhism or a seasoned yogi, we hope you will enjoy and be enriched by this exciting edition of Buddhism Today!
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The following text is a transcript of a portion of a lecture held at the 2003 Summer course in Kassel, in Immenhausen, Germany. During this course, Hannah Nydahl taught calm abiding meditation (Tib. shinay). Other excerpts of this lecture were published in Buddhism Today, issue 36, in 2015. The excerpt below now presents these teachings in relation to the 16th Karmapa meditation.
Shinay and the 16th Karmapa Meditation Read More »
The following text is a transcript of a portion of a lecture that was given in 1995 during a ten day course in San Francisco, California. During this course, Lama Ole Nydahl gave comprehensive teachings on many detailed aspects of the Karma Kagyu Buddhist path.
Discover the revolutionary insights of Maturana, Varela, and other visionary scientists who challenged the assumptions of reductionism and the independent observer, revealing the profound interdependence of life, environment, and perception – a paradigm shift that echoes the ancient wisdom of Buddhism.
This article continues from the first part, which was published in Buddhism Today, edition 45. Both parts are excerpts from lectures given in 2004 in Germany.
The Bodhicaryavatara, often translated as “The Way of the Bodhisattvas,” is one of the most famous texts of the Mahayana, or Great Way. Shantideva composed the text around 700 CE. The author was one of the 84 Mahasiddhas and lived at that time as a Buddhist monk in the Nalanda University in India. In 2014, Thaye Dorje, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, began teaching this text, chapter by chapter, at his public courses at the Karmapa International Buddhist Institute in New Delhi, India. It was Karmapa’s suggestion that we publish these teachings in Buddhism Today. This chapter follows the second chapter published in Buddhism Today Issue 45.
Gyalwa Karmapa teaching Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara, Chapter 3, March 2016, at Karmapa International Buddhist Institute, Delhi. Karmapa uses the following English translations: “The Way of the Bodhisattva” by Padmakara Translation Group and “A guide to the Bodhisattva’s way of life” by Stephen Batchelor.
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