Reggie discusses the ways meditation helps us shed habitual patterns so we can discover the true purpose of our life. The human journey, he says, is not about getting rid of our ego but rather connecting more deeply with our authentic person. Then the ego can help us on our path. Today’s teachings are drawn from […]
Episode 27: Mahamudra for the Modern World – Part II
An impediment to the practice of Mahamudra for modern people is the notion that we are insufficiently equipped to make the full spiritual journey: that we are too busy, too materialistic, and too distracted. In today’s episode, Reggie offers an alternative, more optimistic perspective on the spiritual capacity of modern people, examining the traditional context […]
Episode 26: Mahamudra for the Modern World – Part I
“The purpose of Mahamudra is to bring us into a state where our mind is so peaceful and so open and so available that every human experience appears as a kind of miracle.” So Reggie begins his description of Mahamudra, the topic of today’s podcast. This profound tradition of Tibetan Buddhist meditation provides a unique […]
Episode 25: The Quick Path
Vajrayana Buddhism is sometimes called “the quick path to realization.” In today’s episode, Reggie describes the travails, inspiration, and bravery of practitioners who choose the quick path, an approach to dharma whereby one places meditation at the very center of life. Practitioners who take this approach to the spiritual journey often face “gradations and domains […]
Episode 24: Integrity of the Lineage Part II
Today’s episode expands upon Reggie’s remarks from last week on the meaning of lineage. Here he suggests that a living lineage is not a fixed entity – it constantly gives birth to new life and unexpected situations. With examples from his own journey, Reggie shows how the lineage “can only be as deep and as […]
Episode 23: Integrity of the Lineage Part I
In today’s teaching, Reggie discusses how the power of a living lineage is carried forth through directness, honesty, and an uncompromising commitment to the integrity of the dharma. He shares stories from the lives of Chögyam Trungpa and his teachers, Jamgon Kongtrul and Khenpo Gangshar, to demonstrate how the blazing fire of an authentic lineage […]
Episode 22: The Vajrayana Path of Desire
This week’s episode presents part two of Reggie’s talk on the lives of the tantric saints in ancient India given at Stanford University in 2009. Here he discusses the essential role of desire in Vajrayana Buddhism. He begins by asking, does an embrace of desire imply that the Vajrayana tradition is not recognizably Buddhist? In […]
Episode 21: Tantric Saints in Indian Buddhism
In this symposium lecture, given at Stanford University in 2009, Reggie discusses the prototype of the tantric saint in ancient India. As he explains, the tantric path is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by several characteristics: an emphasis on enlightened female lineage holders, an embrace of ordinary “householder” lifestyles, and a recognition of the […]
Episode 20: Desire is the Gateway
In this week’s episode, Reggie responds to the commonly held notion that passion and attachment are obstacles to the practice of meditation. He explains that the animating life force of the universe is fundamentally an unbridled attraction that we ourselves discover when we fully open to our hunger, wanting, and longing. Tantra invites us further […]
Episode 19: The Spiritual Journey is Down
In this talk, Reggie challenges the notion of spirituality as a journey of attainment – of progressing towards higher states of enlightened being. He explains that, according to the tantric tradition, true spirituality is actually a downward journey – into the unconscious, into the earth, into the grittiness of our humanity. This talk was given […]
Episode 18: The Example of Jesus
In today’s podcast, recorded on a Christmas Day, Reggie speaks on the life and crucifixion of Jesus. He says that we, as modern practitioners, can look to Jesus as an example of someone who maintained integrity in the face of the brutality and materialism of the dominant culture. Further, he recognizes that within the beauty […]
Episode 17: Bravery of the Bodhisattva
This week, Reggie discusses the bodhisattva — one who has committed their life to relieving the suffering of others. Far from being an unattainable ideal, the way of the bodhisattva is discovered in how we express our own innermost nature. When we overcome our habitual thinking, we realize that everything in our life is a […]
Episode 16: Vajrayana Tonglen
In this episode Reggie discusses tonglen, a Buddhist compassion practice, within the context of the Vajrayana understanding of interdependence. He says that when we encounter any difficult person, situation, or emotion we are meeting a part of ourselves that we have rejected. By opening to these rejected aspects we become whole. Today’s episode was drawn […]
Episode 15: Awakening Heart
In today’s episode, Reggie discusses the somatic experience of knowing the world through our hearts. He says that the thinking mind has become the primary way of knowing in modern society and as a result we’ve lost touch with the intelligence of our hearts. By connecting with our hearts in meditation practice, we regain the […]
Episode 14: Wellspring of Love
Although meditation has become popularized as a tool for stress reduction and basic wellness, it can, in fact, take us much further. In this week’s podcast, Reggie discusses how the practice of meditation can carry us beyond the confines of ego to true liberation. This talk was given at the 2011 Winter Dathun — a […]
Episode 13: Meditation and the Path of Healing
Today’s teaching expands on the previous podcast’s theme of the importance of healing on the spiritual journey. Reggie shows how healing begins when we open to our deepest pain and trauma. Surrendering to the reality of our lives, painful though it may sometimes be, is how we transmute our suffering and discover unconditional freedom. This […]
Episode 12: Healing, Wholeness, and Compassion
In this talk Reggie shows how the human journey of spirituality involves three aspects: healing, wholeness, and compassion. He explains that in order to progress in our meditation practice we must look at our overall health and work to resolve our pain and traumas in an integrative way. This work, he says, is also how […]
Episode 11: Refuge in the Sangha
Today, as we finish our exploration of the meaning of Refuge, Reggie discusses the intimacy we share with one another in retreat and how that intimacy gives rise to a sense of profound devotion to our community of fellow practitioners. These excerpts were taken from two different talks given at the 2003 and 2006 Winter […]
Episode 10: Refuge in the Dharma
Today’s talk is a continuation of last week’s topic: the role of refuge on the Buddhist path. In this episode Reggie discusses refuge in the Dharma. He shows how our understanding of the meaning of dharma deepens in profound ways as we grow in the different stages of the journey. This talk was given at […]