After the Buddha passed into nirvana, Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism became the two prevalent paths that spread throughout Asia There are many differences between the two traditions and depending on who you ask, those differences can be great or quite small.
Unfortunately, the Three Poisons we discuss often in Buddhism do not come with attention-grabbing labels. They tend to sneak into our lives and cause suffering until we gain an awareness of them. Though not always pleasant, gaining that awareness and learning to work...
Have you ever journaled or wanted to add that to your meditation practice but didn’t know how to get started? Journaling is a great way to record your thoughts, relieve stress, and self-reflect. Grab a cup of hot tea, your favorite blanket, and settle in as we give...
With the change of seasons comes the opportunity to reinvigorate our practice. Whether you’re feeling burned out or just ready for a change, here are some of our favorite guided meditations for you to try. Clearing the Stale Energies. Not sure how to start off your...
Like the rest of the world, we’ve shifted the way we do things in order to navigate the ever-changing COVID-19 crisis. When physical distancing became the norm to keep us all safe, we started brainstorming how best to support our community during these new times. We...
Last week on Awakin Calls, Jacques Verduin, an expert in prison rehabilitation and Founding Director and Minister of Transformation of Insight-Out and Founder of its GRIP (Guiding Rage into Power) Program, and Lama Tsomo discussed how we can free ourselves from...
The need or desire to stay connected to what’s happening right now, to soak in all the information we can to make informed decisions, and to make sure we stay active in the world can cause us to feel burned out emotionally and mentally. While it can leave us feeling...
Back to school is often a frenzied time for families with children in school. Back to school looks a little different this year. For a lot of us, the normal excitement has been replaced with tough decision making and anxiety. How we wish we could provide a blanket...
It is true that compassion has the power to increase your happiness and that of others. But there is a caveat. First, you must feel like you are being compassionate to yourself. However, this doesn’t mean you have to engage in overly self-indulgent activities in order...
Lama Tsomo and Khen Rinpoche describe mindfulness simply as remembering what we are doing. How often are we walking through life without paying attention to the fact that we are walking or taking in the sights around us? Often it seems that we are moving too fast to...
The essence of the Buddha’s teachings can be summed up in four short statements, which are referred to as the Four Noble Truths.
The four boundless qualities or the four immeasurables in Buddhism are related to four capacities that can be developed for greater joy, connection, peace, and love. The Buddha taught meditation practices that we can use to develop these innate qualities.
The Compassion in Action Fellowship: A Yearlong Inner & Outer Change Journey for Student Leaders Students today are facing complex challenges like no other generation before. We are excited to be launching a new program for college & university students to...