Category Archives: Lama Zopa Rinpoche

It’s all in your mind

Dharma in Daily Life, Introductory, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lamrim (Path to Enlightenment), Perfect Human Rebirth, Renunciation

You have no enemy when you don’t have anger. Only when you have anger you have enemy in your life. So it’s all to do with your concept. It’s all in your mind.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

These teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the power of our perfect human rebirth are from a commentary Rinpoche gave on the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, an essential mind training text composed by Kadampa Geshe Langri Tangpa. These teachings were hosted by Tse Chen Ling Center, in San Francisco, California, in November 2003. You can also listen along with the transcript on our website.

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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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A Meditation on Emptiness

Emptiness, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Delusion and karma come from the mind; they don’t come from outside. The main cause is the mind, so we need to learn more about our own mind, about delusion and karma, and about the path.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Like a star, a defective view, a butter lamp flame, an illusion. These classic teachings on emptiness are explained with great compassion by Lama Zopa Rinpoche during a retreat on the four Kadampa deities held at Institut Vajra Yogini, France in 2003. Read along with a lightly edited transcript at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/6-meditation-emptiness

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The Emptiness of Sound

Emptiness, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

When we hear the sound, we will know what is the hallucination and what is the reality, what is false and what is the truth of our view of the sound.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

This short excerpt is from a series of teachings given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at a retreat held at Institut Vajra Yogini, France, from April 18 to May 11, 2003. A torrential rainstorm had begun and Rinpoche takes that opportunity to lead the students in a profound meditation on the emptiness of sound. Read the transcript of these teachings at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/3-emptiness-sound

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The Kindness of the Enemy

Dharma in Daily Life, Introductory, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Purification

The minute our anger arises, we find an enemy in our life. We see a person that we hate or we want to hurt, or a person harms us and we see them as an enemy. But the minute our anger is gone, we don’t see them as an enemy.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

These teachings were given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at the 36th Kopan Meditation Course, held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in 2003. In this session, Rinpoche discusses how we can only practice patience with those who appear to be our enemy. By resisting our urge to respond to the enemy in anger, we protect our mind and advance our realizations. Because these benefits are dependent upon the practice of patience, Rinpoche urges us to recognize the special kindness of the enemy and to feel a very deep sense of gratitude towards them.

You can also read along with the transcript of this podcast at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/lecture-3-kindness-enemy.

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The Path of Universal Responsibility

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

Just by lecturing that we need compassion, that alone cannot generate compassion in the hearts of the people in this world. We need to learn how to develop compassion. Compassion, like rain falling, doesn’t just happen.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

These teachings were given by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche at the 36th Kopan Meditation Course, held at Kopan Monastery, Nepal, in 2003. In this first lecture, Rinpoche begins by describing universal responsibility and illustrates this practice by telling the story of the four harmonious brothers. Rinpoche explains how living in harmony is the cause of inner and outer peace and powerful beauty. Rinpoche also gives commentary on the eight Mahayana precepts and ends with a guided meditation on universal responsibility. You can read along with a lightly edited transcript on our website at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/lecture-1-universal-responsibility

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Teachings From the Medicine Buddha Retreat

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Practice Commentary, Sutras, Mantras and Root Texts

This talk by Lama Zopa Rinpoche about the Medicine Buddha practice was given in 2001 during the Medicine Buddha Retreat held in California, 2001. Follow along with the unedited transcript here and the entire teachings were published as a book in October 2009.

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Cultivating the view of impermanence

Emptiness, Karma, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lamrim (Path to Enlightenment)

Lama Zopa Rinpoche helps us understand how the wrong view of permanence is the cause of so much of our negative karma and creates so much fear.  Rinpoche further explores how to realize gross and subtle impermanence which cultivates courage and is an essential part of realizing the Four Noble Truths. Rinpoche also gives profound teachings on how all things are merely imputed by the mind. These teachings were given during the 33rd Kopan Course held in 2000 at Kopan Monastery in Nepal.  Read along with the transcript at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/day-5-four-noble-truths-karma

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Everything Depends on Your Mind

Dharma in Daily Life, Emptiness, Karma, Lama Zopa Rinpoche

As Buddha said, you are your own enemy or you are your own liberator. You can create a hell realm or you can create enlightenment. Everything depends on what you do with your mind.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

In these 2000 teachings given during the 33rd Kopan Course, Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains how everything is merely imputed by the mind and then shows how this wisdom can enable us to transform all karmic appearances into happiness. You can read along with the full transcript at https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/day-2-emptiness-everything-comes-mind

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The Essence of the Dharma

Dharma in Daily Life, Emptiness, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Sutras, Mantras and Root Texts

The essence of the Dharma is to subdue one’s mind by taming the disturbing, obscuring, emotional thoughts that bring so much suffering to yourself and to others, from life to life.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche

In this teaching from the 33rd Kopan Course in 2000, Lama Zopa Rinpoche discusses the classic Buddhist instruction “Engage in the perfect wholesome action. Subdue one’s own mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha.” Rinpoche then leads us in the ultimate exercise to subdue the mind: a contemplation of emptiness. Read along with a transcript of these teachings on our website here.

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