Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche ~ The Empty Nature of Thoughts ~ Dzogchen

This is a guided meditation on the soft butter method introspective meditation as detailed by Zen Master Hakuin. It was taught to Hakuin as he was suffering from "Zen sickness" (exhaustion) caused by over-exertion and extreme austerities. 🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage or become at Patron at: https://www.patreon.com/jayasara 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.

20 Marras 202233min

This is meditation on the Nature of the Mind by Lama Shabkar taken from the text, "The Flight of the Garuda" - translated by Keith Dowman. Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol (1781-1851) was a Tibetan Buddhist yogi and poet from Amdo. Shabkar's yogic and poetic skill is considered second only to Milarepa. Shabkar begin his spiritual practice early, completing a one-year retreat at the age of 16, later becoming a Gelug monk at 20. Shabkar studied with masters of all major Tibetan Buddhist schools including Gelug and Nyingma, and received Dzogchen teachings from his main root guru Chögyal Ngakgi Wangpo. He spent years in solitary retreats in various caves, woods and mountains of Tibet. Shabkar's works express non-sectarian ideals similar to those of the 19th century Rimé movement, even though he predates the movement by about three decades and never met with any of the Rime masters from Kham. 🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage or become at Patron at: https://www.patreon.com/jayasara 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.

14 Marras 202222min

A reading for meditation of Ajahn Buddhadasa's teaching on the immanence of Nibbana - translated by Santikaro. Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu (Servant of the Buddha) went forth as a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk) in 1926, at the age of twenty. After a few years of study in Bangkok, which convinced him “purity is not to be found in the big city,” he was inspired to live intimately with nature in order to investigate Buddha-Dhamma in study and practice. Thus, he established Suan Mokkhabālārama (The Grove of the Power of Liberation) in 1932 near his hometown of Pum Riang (now in Chaiya District). Ajahn Buddhadāsa worked painstakingly to establish and explain the correct and essential principles of what he called “pristine Buddhism” or “the heart of Buddha-Dhamma,” that is, the original awakening realizations of Lord Buddha before it was buried under commentaries, ritualism, clerical politics, and the like. His work was based in extensive research of the Pāli texts (Canon and commentary), especially of Buddha's discourses (suttas), followed by personal experiment and practice with these teachings. He then taught whatever he could say truly quenches dukkha (dissatisfaction, distress, suffering). His goal was to produce a complete set of references for present and future research and practice. His approach was always scientific, straight-forward, and practical. (Extract of biography taken from Suan Mokkh website - https://www.suanmokkh.org/buddhadasa) 🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage or become at Patron at: https://www.patreon.com/jayasara 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.

9 Marras 202237min

Esther (Etty) Hillesum (15 January 1914 – 30 November 1943) was the Dutch author of confessional letters and diaries which describe both her religious awakening and the persecutions of Jewish people in Amsterdam during the German occupation. In 1943, she was deported and murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp. Hillesum’s approach to spirituality was not about striving for ecstasy. Rather, she longed to meet the depth of her own interior and life itself. Her spirituality was not confined to her intellectual understanding of a greater power and the depth of her direct insights is reflected in her diaries. In the concentration camp of Westerbork, she had unusual experiences of spiritual awakenings and insight: "Those two months behind barbed wire have been the two richest and most intense months of my life, in which my highest values were so deeply confirmed." These excerpts of her writings have been primarily sourced from the text: An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941–1943 🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage or become at Patron at: https://www.patreon.com/jayasara 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.

6 Marras 202225min

This is a reading for meditation of the Vajra Song of Drubwang Tsoknyi Rinpoche. Drubwang Tsoknyi (the first), Padma Drimé Özer (1828/49-1904) was born in Nangchen, Eastern Tibet, in the first half of the 19th century and was a contemporary of the three great lamas of the time: Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Jamgön Kongtrul and Chokgyur Lingpa. He fully mastered the practices of the Six Yogas of Naropa and became the principal guru for the Sixth Khamtrul Rinpoche, Tenpé Nyima (1849-1907), and the great master Tokden Shakya Shri. He excelled in the yogas of the Nyingma tradition of Ratna Lingpa as well, which laid the foundation for establishing many nunneries of this special lineage, which was unique in Tibet. 🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage or become at Patron at: https://www.patreon.com/jayasara 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.

30 Loka 20228min

This sublime and profound teaching on the nature of reality by the great master, Longchenpa is taken from the Finding Rest in Illusion trilogy . It is suitable for those practitioners who have a in-depth understanding and insight into Dzogchen's concepts and paradigm. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Longchenpa, also known as Longchen Rabjam , ‘Infinite, Vast Expanse of Space’, or Drimé Özer (1308-1364), was one of the most brilliant teachers of the Nyingma lineage. He systematized the Nyingma teachings in his ‘Seven Treasures’ and wrote extensively on Dzogchen. 🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage or become at Patron at: https://www.patreon.com/jayasara 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.

26 Loka 202245min

A reading of Bodhidharma's formative teaching "Outline of Practice" which describes the four all-inclusive habits that lead to enlightenment. Translated by Red Pine. Bodhidharma is considered the founder of Zen Buddhism in China and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. He brought the Buddha's teachings to China from India in 520 AD. While much of his biography may be the stuff of legend and his historicity is still in question, numerous early records speak of him (or someone by the name of Bodhidharma) as a wise and compassionate monk. Whether or not he was ever a living person, the legend of Bodhidharma has made him as real in the Zen tradition as anyone else. 🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage or become at Patron at: https://www.patreon.com/jayasara 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.

22 Loka 202210min

A selection of some key pointers for meditation from Simone Weil taken from various texts and sources. Simone Adolphine Weil (1909 -1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Weil received spiritual direction from a Dominican friar and learned much from the Catholic author Gustave Thibon. She was especially rooted in Neoplatonic thinking in her spiritual writings. Yet her spiritual curiosity took her far. She learned Sanskrit to read the Bhagavad Gita. She studied Mahayana Buddhism and the ancient Greek and Egyptian mystery religions. She believed that each religion, when we are within it, is true. But she was opposed to religious syncretism. She saw a blending of religions as diminishing the particularity of each tradition and the truth of that path to God. Though she learned from other faiths, she plunged deeper into her own Catholicism. For Weil, truth was deeply personal and could only be approached through deep introspection. She experienced a powerful and ecstatic experience in the same church where Saint Francis had prayed. Weil wrote intensely about spirituality, mysticism, beauty and social struggle. Her writings sought to develop the intellectual consequences of the religious experiences she was having. 🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage or become at Patron at: https://www.patreon.com/jayasara 🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.

18 Loka 202212min