Category Archives: Dharma in Daily Life

Seeing Oneself as Lower Than Others

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Dharma in Daily Life, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Practice Commentary

So main thing is by practicing oneself as lower, then pride does not rise.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Listen to Day Two from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s 2003 commentary on Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, an essential mind training text composed by Kadampa Geshe Langri Tangpa. This teaching was given at Tse Chen Ling Center, in San Francisco, California USA. Rinpoche explains why we must purify the mind of pride, how to prepare our mind to be able to see ourselves as lower than all others and describes the great joy we will feel upon accomplishing this powerfully medicinal state of mind. You can read along with the transcript at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/day-two-seeing-oneself-lower-others

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The Importance of Compassion in Daily Life

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Dharma in Daily Life, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

If you have compassion for others, then that gives meaning to everything, all the expenses that we do, all the hard works that we do, including studying, doing job, many hours of job—it gives meaning to everything.

Listen to a talk given by Kyabje Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche on the beneficial results of practicing compassion for others during all our actions. This talk was given during a three-day series of teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New York, in August 1999. Follow along with the transcript at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/talk-guru-devotion-audio-and-unedited-transcripts

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Fulfilling Life’s Purpose

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Dharma in Daily Life, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Perfect Human Rebirth

If we take care of others, work for their happiness, we are automatically taking care of ourselves. Trying to make others happy is the best way of loving ourselves.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Listen to this profound teaching by Lama Zopa Rinpoche on transforming everyday actions into the cause of enlightenment. Given during a four-day course at FPMT’s Tilopa Center in Decatur, Illinois, August, 1997, these teachings detail practical methods for developing compassion and wisdom in our everyday lives. The teachings in this podcast were ultimately published as Chapter 1 in Virtue and Reality bit.ly/Fulfilling-Lifes-Purpose

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The Benefits of Bodhicitta

Compassion and Bodhicitta, Dharma in Daily Life, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Three Principal Aspects of the Path

The benefits of bodhicitta can never be finished explaining it is said in the teachings by Buddha, like limitless sky.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave these lamrim teachings on the immeasurable benefits of bodhicitta at the 29th Kopan Meditation Course held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in 1996. You can also read along with the transcript by navigating to https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/benefits-bodhicitta 

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How to be free of stress by changing the way we think

Dharma in Daily Life, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lamrim (Path to Enlightenment)

In this teaching given in Bendigo, Australia in August, 1991, Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches us how to manage our stress by recognizing that stress is not forced upon us from outside but comes from within our own mind and is dependent upon the way we think. Rinpoche then explains how our own mind creates stress and how our own mind is also what can liberate us from stress. Read along with the transcript by visiting https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/how-i-exists

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Peaceful action means skillful action

Dharma in Daily Life, Lama Yeshe

Lama Yeshe answers questions from the audience after a public talk given in 1983 in Berkeley, California about how to deal with our anxiety during divisive political times. By letting go of judgment and relaxing our mind, we can reduce our anxiety about the state of the world and become more skillful and effective in our personal and political interactions with others.

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Your Mental Bureaucracy

Dharma in Daily Life, Introductory, Lama Yeshe, Lamrim (Path to Enlightenment), Renunciation

Understanding, the wisdom makes you happy. Always with you. But all the material, what you consider build up this life, is, when you need, not there. It’s there, it’s not there.

Lama Yeshe explains in his uniquely skillful and powerful way how our mental bureaucracy, the departments of ego and attachment, are working together constantly to confuse us and keep us from finding the door to everlasting peace and happiness. Instead, these departments divert us into thinking that everlasting happiness can be found by clinging to compounded phenomena that are in fact impermanent by nature. This talk was given at a five-day meditation retreat in Australia, March 28-April 1, 1975 and is the basis for Chapter Four in the LYWA free book “Ego, Attachment and Liberation.” You can read along with the unedited transcript at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/your-mental-bureaucracy-audio-and-unedited-transcript

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Make Your Mind an Ocean

Dharma in Daily Life, Emptiness, Lama Yeshe

Listen to Lama Yeshe’s original teaching which was later edited by Nicholas Ribush into the widely read and revered LYWA free book “Make Your Mind An Ocean.” This talk highlights the clarity and skill of Lama’s western teaching methods and explores the general topic of the mind during the course of Lama Yeshe’s and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s second world teaching tour in 1975. You can also read along with the transcript at http://www.lamayeshe.com/article/make-your-mind-ocean-audio-unedited-transcript.

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Making Space for Wisdom

Dharma in Daily Life, Introductory, Lama Yeshe, Practice Commentary

An experiential teaching given by Lama Yeshe during a five-day meditation retreat in Australia in 1975. The edited version of this talk has been published as Chapter One in the book Ego, Attachment and Liberation.  You can also follow along with the unedited transcript at www.lamayeshe.com/article/making-space-wisdom-audio-and-unedited-transcript

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