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Giving yourself permission to rejoice in what’s good…

In the Discovering Buddhism program it’s often repeated that we should regret our bad actions, words and thoughts, but that we can also rejoice in what’s good. Rejoicing is not a part of our Western Culture, especially Dutch culture. The Dutch are very good at complaining, my mom even suspects that this is one of [...]

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Best Buddhist Blogs

I’ve done a list of best spiritual blogs several times. Now that I’m a Buddhist officially, it’s time to find out what the best Buddhist blogs of today are. My criteria: Last post in Oct. 2011 Something interesting to say Controversy is good Scholarly underpinning is good Personal stories are good Poetry: boring (sorry people) [...]

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Becoming awake for others: Bodhicitta or the Bodhisattva Motivation

It’s time to blog about what they call in Tibetan Buddhism the ‘large scope’ in the Lam Rim. On one level this scope is the only one which we, as Westerners can relate to: it’s all about universal and impartial love. We can think of Christ, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and the Dalai [...]

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No more reincarnation… intermediate scope motivation in Mahayana Buddhism

The Path to Enlightenment, the Lam Rim in Tibetan Buddhism, is divided in three ‘stages’ or three motivations. I started out my explaining the Beginners Motivation. It is, as Lodro Rinzler says in his upcoming ‘The Buddha Walks into a Bar: A Guide to Life for a New Generation‘: a process of getting your act [...]

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My Buddhism for today, why I choose only ONE lineage…

As I’ve noted before, on my Dutch blog people respond very critically. This is often annoying, but they also sometimes ask great questions. The question asked in this case was: doesn’t your present path contradict your earlier assertion that we need to balance certainty and uncertainty? The answer is – as it often is – [...]

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Tibetan Buddhism and Lam Rim

I was on a Tibetan Buddhist (FPMT) retreat for half of August, so what I was able to share with you all since then was mostly inspired by that tradition. I wrote one book review: When the chocolate runs out, Lama Yeshe. I’ve become a big Lama Yeshe fan, in fact.  For All Considering I wrote [...]

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Gratitude meditation – thanking our teachers

I’ve written about gratitude before, but I think the topic merits a revisit. For one thing: in our culture we’re taught, by psychologists, to face up to the negative things our parents and teachers did to us as we grew up. Facing up to our emotions, including the negative, is a good thing no doubt. [...]

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Beginners motivation in Mahayana Buddhism

I’ve decided to translate what I learned over the past two weeks at an FPMT Lam Rim retreat into blog posts by simply explaining to you all my understanding of some basic concepts from those teachings. I am of course merely a beginner on this path, so please take this as no more than what [...]

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Between drowsiness and distraction: meditation and certainty

I was on an intense FPMT Lam Rim retreat for the past two weeks. One of the things they teach is meditation: meditation techniques as well as pitfalls. On all levels of meditation one of the pitfalls is not finding a middle ground between drowsiness and distraction. Both are recognizable at our level: nearly falling [...]

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Shunryu Suzuki Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind give away

Apparently, by Shambhala’s mysterious standards, last months contest went well, so they’ve arranged for another one. I don’t think we should get used to this, but let’s enjoy the privilege while we can. There’s a 40 year anniversary edition out of the spiritual classic: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mindby Shunryu Suzuki (here’s my review). Not to [...]

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