The Gradual PathĀ Blog
Renunciation | Step 14 of Awakening in 30 Steps bodhichitta four mind turnings renunciation right view samsara Jul 27, 2021

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)...

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The Defects of Samsara | Step 13 of Awakening in 30 Steps death eight worldly winds lam rim rebirth samsara six types of suffering Jul 27, 2021

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...

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Karma | Step 12 of Awakening in 30 Steps causality four characteristics of karma karma lam rim Jul 27, 2021

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...

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Refuge Offers Safe Direction | Step 11 buddha dharma gradual awakening gradual path lam rim refuge sangha three jewels triple gem Jul 22, 2021

 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...

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Death Inspires Urgency | Step 10 of Awakening in 30 Steps death lam rim Jul 21, 2021

Compare the pervasive attitude towards death found in industrialized verses indigenous cultures. Then ask how our attitude towards death changes our relationship to life?

The lam rim reflection on death has three sub-reflections:

1) Death is certain. Can you identify one thing that doesn’t...

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Preciousness of Human Life Inspires Appreciation | Step 9 of Awakening in 30 Steps eight freedoms infinite life preciousness of life rebirth ten fortunes virtue Jul 20, 2021

Life is beginingless and consciousness is infinite.

Over the course of evolution our karma has compelled us to ascended and descend to various pleasant and unpleasant states of existence. But fundamentally we have always been trapped in a condition of blindness, not knowing who we really are,...

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Become a Suitable Student | Step 8 of Awakening in 30 Steps gradual awakening gradual path lam rim three defects of the vessel Jul 18, 2021

 Step 8 emphasizes the need for the student to be as prepared and qualified as the teacher for an optimal learning experience.

We are responsible for avoiding the 'three defects of the vessel'. Our mind is like a vessel, the teachings are an elixir. We can’t be:

1) too full

2)...

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Find a Qualified Spiritual Mentor | Step 7 of Awakening in 30 Steps gradual awakening gradual path guru lam rim spiritual mentor Jul 17, 2021

 Find a Real-world Mentor.

Question for you, since we are at step 7, what is it about our culture and social media use that makes reflecting on more than three steps or points a challenge? And what is it about you that helps keep you moving forward on a more enduring path?

Distinguish the...

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Offer a Mandala & Prayers | Step 6 of Awakening in 30 Steps mandala prayer six preliminaries visualization Jul 16, 2021

 Step 6 concludes the Six ‘Ordinary Preliminaries,’ a container or crucible for our visualization practice.

Can you integrate your personal spiritual practice - yoga, dance, martial arts, art, writing etc. - into this container?

Conclude your daily practice by offering a...

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Seven Step Mentor Bonding Process Part 2 | Step 5 of Awakening in 30 Steps guru devotion guru yoga mentor merit offerings Jul 14, 2021

Seven-step Mentor Bonding Process = a virtual reality psychotherapeutic encounter that we can have as many times as we wish, for however long we need, at no cost.

1) Admire Qualities - orients us towards the good in others countering the negativity bias.

2) Make Offerings - builds reciprocity,...

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The Mentor Bonding Process | Step 5 enlightenment mentor middle way virtue Jul 13, 2021

Work with virtue and vice using the mentor-bonding process.

The engine of enlightenment is a sacred relationship.

It’s in the context of a close relational bond that we will eliminate vice, and cultivate virtue, and achieve enlightenment. No one makes it alone!

We must strike a balance, a...

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Evoke the Mentor and the Jewel Tree Refuge | Step 4 buddhahood gradual awakening gradual path guru jewel tree lam rim spiritual mentor Jul 11, 2021

If you’d like, start memorizing the steps and recalling them prior to hitting play on the next video in the series. By the end of our journey they will be installed in your heart.

Humans learn best through mimicry with more skilled parental figures or mentors. Unlike childhood we now get...

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