Contemplative Studies Program Blog
Our compassion training combines both a wise mind and an open heart, analysis and emotion.
Here we take a deep dive to expose the root cause (mula klesha) of the myriad forms of suffering, ecological, social and personal.
Try to trace the chain link of events for the most extreme atrocities...
Reflect on the spectrum of superiority and inferiority.
Where do you put yourself, consciously and unconsciously, and how does this impact your relations with others?
What are the reinforcements in evolution, family systems, culture, and media that determine an imbalance between self and other?
...Recognize all beings as kin helps us feel solidarity.
Remembering their kindness helps us feel gratitude.
Now repay their kindness. Identify all the contaminated motivations for giving - obligation, guilt, fear etc.
Now try to imagine coming from a place of basic trust over mistrust, abundance...
The world is undergoing an unprecedented period of metamorphosis. No one remains unimpacted by death, loss, and change, yet all spiritual teachings agree that through the dark night a new, more meaningful life is possible for those who are well prepared.
Join us for an innovative, 2 hour guided...
Remember the Kindness of all Mother Beings.
We are sculpting our minds towards industrial strength altruism.
In this series of reflections we are consciously choosing what to focus on. Step 16 recognizes all beings as kin, step 17 remembers their kindness.
Let’s define kindness as the...
Though we postponed our annual Buddhist pilgrimage to Nepal and India due to the pandemic until October 2022, Miles offers his reflections on purification, collecting merit, and thinking of others in the meantime.
Miles also shares some exciting news about a very rare and auspicious pre-trip...
In order to develop sustainable compassion capable of withstanding the strong forces of social negativity we need to also develop a realistic worldview, which appreciates our inter-relationality and interdependence since beginingless time.
What if we could see, that at one time or another,...
Whereas the steps leading to the first milestone of renunciation cultivated the view and skills for individual freedom, we have now transitioned to a series of steps leading to the second milestone of altruism.
This transition in emphasis from self liberation to liberation of others, is...
Renunciation: Evolutionary Self-Care.
Congratulations on making it to the first milestone on our journey of awakening!
The gradual path is comprised of a series of reflections that step-by-step lead us to three major milestone or realizations:
1) Renunciation, the determination to be free.
2)...
The Defects of Compulsive Life Inspire Disinterest.
It’s not that life is suffering, it’s that the compulsive, mindless, unconscious life called samsara is suffering. In order to prompt our waking up from the long sleep we are asked to take a sobering inventory of just how...
Causality Inspires Agency.
What are your thoughts on pop culture versions of karma theory like the boomerang effect “what goes are comes around”, or the law of attraction?
While everything is based on a principle of causation, the Buddha’s emphasis with karma was on mental...
What is refuge?
What have been our “usual suspects”, the sources we automatically turn to for quick relief? More than just behaviors and coping mechanism, what have been the relationships and subtle beliefs we have turned towards to provide safety and comfort?
While these may...
