The Gradual PathĀ Blog
Lam Rim on the Road: Severed butterflies death freedom koh pha ngan life of milarepa rebirth relationships shadow Feb 17, 2022

Part One in a Mini-Series on Death & Rebirth

As I reflect on a term I heard in a documentary yesterday, “reemergence,” a small, delicate object lands on the table. It looks like a leaf or flower. Wind from the fan blows it onto the ground. Something pulls me to look at it again. I...

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Lam Rim on the Road: Reflections on Life, Legacy, and Death buddhist pilgrimage death lam rim lam rim on the road sri lanka Nov 12, 2021

Rolling thunder rumbled as I reflected on the number of dead bodies surrounding me. Who had these people been? What were their stories? Did they live with integrity? Were their deaths peaceful or wrought with fear? Who did they leave behind? Looking around at the inscriptions, I recognized many...

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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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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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Contemplations on Death contemplation death dying eight worldly winds lam rim meditation preciousness of life tibetan buddhism Jul 03, 2020

Like many many spiritual traditions, the lam rim (gradual path) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism teaches how to prepare for death. This is done by three contemplations, designed to evoke a sense of the preciousness of life and a sense of urgency to make it meaningful. Dr. Miles Neale explains in...

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