One Minute Dharma

Are you busy? Do you know anyone who is not busy? It seems that part of living in the 21st century is being busy. Just being alive seems to require that so many things be done. That’s just the things that have to be done to keep our life functioning. If we add on the...

Is Dharma going to the dogs? No, I don’t mean is it deteriorating. I mean, are we taking the benefits of Dharma to dogs and other animals? Let me explain… According to the teachings of the Buddha there are three higher realms and three lower realms. The animal realm,...

Surveys often report that a large number of people feel lonely. Does the Buddhadharma offer any help in this regard? Fortunately, there are at least two Dharma remedies for this unhappy emotion: relative and absolute.   The absolute remedy asks the question: Who...

The Six Pollutions to Overcome When Receiving Dharma Teachings According to the great Sakya master Venerable Dezchung Rinpoche, there are six pollutions, or faults, to be overcome when receiving Dharma teachings: -Pride. "I probably know as much as this Dharma...

Question: Are sutras and dharanis the words of the Buddha? What is the difference between them? Answer: Sutras are the words and teachings of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha, as recorded by his disciples. Dharanis, on the other hand, are beginningless. Like many...

If Given a Choice, Which One of These Practices Would You Do? Number one, you can accumulate all the wealth in all the universe and offer it to the Three Jewels[1], or number two, you can go for refuge to the Three Jewels three times. Which practice would you choose...

A Few Words About Visualization Some people visualize quite naturally, and others do not. When I first started meditating more than 40 years ago, I could not visualize at all. My teacher would say, “Visualize this, or visualize that…” and I would see nothing at all....