Dharma Glimpses with Judy Lief

[This episode originally aired on May 16, 2023]  I find it inspiring to discover wisdom in the midst of so many ordinary stories, even simple children's stories  •  the Wizard of Oz is one such story  •  the main character is Dorothy, whose life changes completely when she is swept up in a tornado and lands in a magical place called Oz  •  there she embarks on a journey of discovery, accompanied by her little dog Toto and three companions: a scarecrow, who is looking for a brain; a tin man, who is looking for a heart, and a lion, who is looking for courage  •  t...

[This episode originally aired on May 9, 2023]  Buddha nature, or “enlightened genes,” isn’t something outside of us that we need to construct or to import  • it is a force of awakening that is within us, and it is quite simple and quite natural  •  it is like the strong determination of children to learn and to develop; it’s almost a kind of discontent looking to awaken  •  traditional texts point to this inherent nature as the root cause of awakening  •  the second cause of awakening is the pivotal point where that cause from within meets a cause from without—when you meet a teacher or a sp...

[This episode originally aired on May 2, 2023]  Today we are exploring four traditional methods or practices we can use to awaken our enlightened genes  •  the first method is cultivating loving kindness, or maitri, which is a key theme in the mahayana; it is connected with the wish that all beings be happy, and that includes you  •  the second method is cultivating compassion, or karuna  •  while loving kindness looks into the nature of happiness, compassion looks into the nature and causes of suffering  •  the third method is cultivating sympathetic joy — a joy based on appreciating others' happiness and accomplishments  •  the fourth method is cultivating e...

[This episode originally aired on April 25, 2023]  In this episode we will be looking at the obstacles we might encounter in trying to awaken our enlightened genes, as well as situations that support their awakening  • Trungpa Rinpoche called the first obstacle intrinsic slavery: we become slaves to our schemes, to our work, to our possessions  •  the second obstacle is being unaware: having a limited kind of awareness which does not look beyond the superficial level of things  •  the third obstacle says that enlightened genes won't awaken in the midst of evil actions or harmful behavior  •  the fourth obstacle is sleepiness, which is similar...

[This episode originally aired on April 18, 2023]  Buddhists are always talking about awakening, but what does that actually mean?  •  Trungpa Rinpoche taught that what is being awakened are our "enlightened genes" — a term which implies that awakening is somewhat natural, somewhat part of our makeup  •  sometimes Tibetans use the analogy of an acorn: if you try to get an oak tree by planting a bean seed, it will never work; but if you plant an acorn, you get an oak tree, not anything else  •  in the same way when you plant a human, you end up with an awakened being  •  there are two tradi...

[This episode originally aired on April 11, 2023]  An important transition point on the Buddhist path occurs between the foundational stage, where we focus on our own development, and the mahayana tradition, where the focus is directed toward the cultivation of compassion and concern for others  •  what makes this vitally important transition possible is training in shamatha and vipashyana, or mindfulness and awareness  •  shamatha is about taming our mind; it is about cutting through mental speed, neurotic patterning, discursiveness, and distracted mind  •  shamatha enables us to be more present; it brings about a quality of gentleness or making friends with oneself, and frees us...

[This episode originally aired on April 4, 2023]  Meditation practice doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it happens in the context of our life, and our life situations can vary tremendously  •  in extreme situations it can be easy to lose our connection to practice  •  one extreme is when our situation is really cozy and going really well  •  the other extreme, which I would like to focus on here, is when our lives take a dramatic turn and we are faced with dire situations of pain and loss  •  the idea is to bring our practice to bear, no matter what the situation is  •  there's a sa...

[This episode originally aired on March 28, 2023]  Buddhism’s emphasis on facing the reality of suffering could lead to the perception that the Buddhist path is only focused on what's wrong; but the Buddha also taught how to free ourselves from suffering  •  facing the reality of suffering straightforwardly can actually be a tremendous relief  •  when I first encountered Buddhist teachings, I never went to a talk where people didn't just burst into laughter from time to time  •  there was a sense that you could laugh and find humor and lightness, even when discussing the heaviest of topics  •  joy is an essential part of B...

[This episode originally aired on March 21, 2023]  The teachings of the Buddha are often divided into three components: intelligence or discriminating awareness; discipline; and meditation  •  there can be so much emphasis on sitting practice that there is less discussion of the importance of cultivating knowledge and discipline — what it actually takes to put the teachings into action in our everyday life  •  being able to observe what is going on with some precision and insight is extremely important; this includes ordinary knowledge, self-knowledge, and psychological knowledge  •  Trungpa Rinpoche pointed out the difference between discriminating awareness and comfort-seeking mind  •  he talked about the earthy quality...

[This episode originally aired on March 14, 2023]  The great teacher Shantideva emphasized the importance of vigilance, of protecting our minds  •  at the same time, tremendous emphasis is placed on maintaining an open, welcoming mind  •  so what's the difference between vigilance and just closing our mind in a negative or unhelpful way?  •  one way of looking at this is to think of your mind as a house  •  inside your house are your children or maybe a safe with all your resources in it  •  someone knocks on the door, and you have to decide whether to let them in  •  you want to be willing to accommodate...

[This episode originally aired on March 7, 2023]  It may seem odd to talk about the benefits of “don't know mind” in a tradition that places such value on learning and on study, and the harm that comes from lack of knowledge, lack of awareness, lack of critical thinking  •  so how is don't know mind different from delusory mind or ignorance?  •  the main difference is that don't know mind is about opening out, whereas ignorance is about shutting down  •  Trungpa Rinpoche warned about developing a mind like an iron kettle, as though we could pour all sorts of teachings into that kettle and hold t...

[This episode originally aired on February 28, 2023]  The Buddhist path includes many methods for reminding us to wake up — from our blurriness, our sleepiness, and the busyness and distractedness of life  •  it's easy to get lost in the woods; reminders help us find our way back to the path  •  traditionally there are what are called the four basic or fundamental reminders  •  the first reminder is acknowledging the amazing opportunity of having this human life, how precious it is to be embodied in this particular realm of reality  •  the second reminder is the reality of death; it is a reminder about the reality that ev...

[This episode originally aired on February 21, 2023]  Is there a way to make a sane relationship with our bad deeds and our regrets?  •  it's not easy to face up to all that we've done; it's not easy to find a way between wallowing in guilt and evading responsibility  •  in the Buddhist monastic traditions, there is a practice that provides a way of directly facing and working with the harm we have caused  •  the starting point is remorse; we feel bad about what we have done, and we want to do something about it  •  remorse leads us to the second step: acknowledging our...

[This episode originally aired on February 14, 2023]  Images of the Buddha sitting in meditation posture give the impression that the buddhist path is quiescent and still; but actually it's a very dynamic, ever-evolving, and important journey  •  personally, I connect this idea of journey with a sense of something within us that we have lost and are trying to get back to  •  I think of this missing thing as our “heart of hearts”  •   it’s as though we are grieving the loss of something sweet and tender and vulnerable, a kind of childhood innocence that we have become estranged from  •  we learn over time to cove...

[This episode originally aired on February 7, 2023]  Early Buddhist meditators spent quite a lot of time alone in retreat in remote, rugged areas  •  as a result, they were very much in tune with the the five basic elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space  •  they observed that everything inside is mirrored by what is outside, and everything outside is mirrored by what is inside  •  the earth element has the quality of being solid, embodied, unmoving  •  the water element has a quality of flowing, cleansing, and cohesion  •  the element of fire is connected with warmth, compassion, and burning through obstacles  •  the element of wind is po...

[This episode originally aired on January 31, 2023]  A common idea about the spiritual path is that it is punctuated by gigantic breakthroughs, by big revelations  •  but many deep and important insights don't come in that way; they come in through glimpses, which can be sudden or they can just kind of seep in  •  in some ways glimpses are similar to a jigsaw puzzle: we have all these pieces, and we have little insights that this piece fits into that, or this piece doesn't fit into that  •  we begin to put some things together and we kind of swim around and we don't real...

[This episode originally aired on January 24, 2023]  Through infusing mindfulness and awareness into our everyday actions, we can invoke or evoke a magical quality to existence, a natural wisdom which is known as “drala”  •  there's a famous line from the movie Field of Dreams that's often repeated: “If you build it, they will come”  •  in some ways, through our mindfulness and awareness, we're building a world that will attract this magical quality, this natural wisdom  •  if we build our mindfulness and awareness, something is transformed, something magical descends — and it connects us with something very deep and fundamental, not just within us, but within t...

[This episode originally aired on January 17, 2023]  A large part of our reality involves talking, or working with our speech; it is one of the main ways we connect with our world  •  but our speech can also get us into a lot of trouble, including using it as a way of escaping from reality  •  Trungpa Rinpoche said that paying attention to speech is a way of paying attention to reality  •  but often we use speech just in the opposite way — as a way to avoid dealing with what is actually going on, covering it over with as many words as we can so we ca...

[This episode originally aired on January 10, 2023]  The image of remaining like a log comes up in a number of different traditional Buddhist texts  •  think of a log rotting slowly in an ancient forest — it just lies there placidly, providing sustenance and a home for various critters as it gradually dissolves into the forest floor  •  sometimes remaining like a log is talked about in terms of vigilance: maintaining vigilance over one's mind and heart  •  usually we associate vigilance with putting a guard at the door; so what does the remaining like a log have to do with vigilance?  •  there are many ways that we l...

[This episode originally aired on January 3, 2023]  In exploring the idea of transmission, we're looking into how the teachings are passed on, how the teachings are taught, and how the student can access the teachings  •  but what do we mean by transmission?  •  a helpful analogy is to think of music: you can learn to play all the notes in a song, but the music is not there  •  so what makes the actual music?  •  there's a famous jazz phrase: “it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing” •  that “swing” is related to the notion of transmission: it’s something that happens beyond...

[This episode originally aired on December 27, 2022]   I'd like to introduce three simple short meditation practices that help us tune in to the rich and ongoing process of exchange that marks our lives altogether  •  we're always giving something out to the world and receiving something from it  •  we are affected by others and we affect others in so many ways; and we're also quite susceptible to the energies and the outpourings from those around us  •  in the first practice we begin by looking at the simple and ordinary process of breathing, feeling the qualities of the different rhythms of the breath  •  thi...

[This episode originally aired on December 20, 2022]  One of my favorite nursery rhymes contains quite a bit of wisdom: “Row row, row, row your boat gently down the stream; merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream”  •  if we think of the stream as a stream of teachings, then we could consider the Buddha as the source of the stream  •  from that beginning a great river continues to flow over thousands of years  •  where does this stream flow? It flows into an ocean, which you could say is the awakening of the practitioner  •  you have a boat to carry you down this s...

[This episode originally aired on December 13, 2022]  We tend to think of hope and fear as opposites, but they are intimately entangled with one another  •  they are both based on our desires and our hopes, our expectations of what the future might bring: what we want to happen in the future, what we don't want to happen, and what we fear might happen  •  sometimes hope describes a positive outlook, one that is connected with a certain kind of confidence  •  but it also could be connected with a certain kind of naivete that things will just work out — just hoping for the best  •  th...

[This episode originally aired on December 6, 2022] Trungpa Rinpoche often spoke about the importance of a sense of humor on the spiritual path, but what did he really mean by it?  •  he was obviously not referring to telling jokes or being some kind of a comedian  •  instead he seemed to be pointing to a kind of a carefree quality or lightness of being — something very different from how seriously we take ourselves and everything we do  • spirituality or religion is often thought of as a very solemn affair, something so deadly serious, so important, that we fall prey to religiosity  •  we don't always k...

 [This episode originally aired on November 29, 2022]  Many people associate the practices of Buddhism with stillness; but actually the path of dharma is one of continual movement and growth  •  it's an organic process, one where everything cycles and everything is interconnected  •  it's like having a seed in the earth that grows and bears fruit and flowers and produces new seeds, and then another cycle begins  •  in my tradition, the different ways of moving forward on the path are described as three vehicles, because they carry us along in three stages  •  the first stage is a narrowing down, getting down to bare bones; it is...

[This episode originally aired on November 22, 2022]  Continuing our discussion of the sense perceptions, and how they are connected with a subtle kind of grasping  •  in Buddhism we talk about the senses as having three components: the sense organ, the sense object, and the sense consciousness  •  every sense perception we have is a meeting of those three elements  •  it is an active process, one that involves a great deal of selection and interpretation; we are creating our world as much as we are responding to it  •  there is a form of walking meditation that highlights how easily the sense perceptions are distorted  • ...

[This episode originally aired on November 15, 2022]  In Buddhism there is a lot of interest in the sense perceptions  •  traditionally, it is said that there are six senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking  (in Buddhism, the way we perceive thoughts is similar to the way we hear sounds or see sights)  •  the sense perceptions can be compared to the windows of a house: if the windows are clean, you have a clear perception of your world; if the windows are dirty or distorted, the world that you see is also distorted  •  we often think we're just passive receivers through the se...

[This episode originally aired on November 8, 2022]  When we contemplate impermanence, we're basically looking at the facts of life  •  the fact is that we all die; we all have losses, sorrow and heartbreak  •  we don’t contemplate impermanence as a way to overcome it, but as a way to figure out how to live with it—and even how to honor it  •  this is the world that we have, and without this ever-changing world, none of us would be here  •  impermanence is not only about loss; it is also about fresh arising  •  it is about possibility  •  there are occasions—for example, at the moment of birth...

[This episode originally aired on November 1, 2022]  Of all the contemplative practices of Buddhism, it is said that the contemplation of impermanence is the most useful  •  dealing with change isn’t easy: we’d like to put things together and have them stay together  •  we tend to see change as disruption rather than as the way things are  •  but in reality, change is not a disruption, it is fundamental  •  change just is; it is the nature of everything  •  trying to hold onto the non-reality that one can prevent change creates a burden that depletes our strength and energy  •  traditionally, four different ways are prese...

[This episode originally aired on October 25, 2022]  The six paramitas challenge the mistaken view that we can make ourselves secure by grasping more and more tightly  •  to practice the paramita of generosity, we need to make a point of letting go, of giving away  •  the paramita of discipline challenges our attachment to sloppiness and comfort, to cruising through life in a superficial way  •  the paramita of patience works with our attachment to speed and aggression as a way to sustain or protect ourselves  •  the paramita of exertion addresses our attachment to laziness, inertia, and the avoidance of effort and hard work  •  the para...

It can be easy to fall into religiosity as we pursue a spiritual path  •  contemplative traditions designed to cut through pretense and nurture humility can do just the opposite  •  we grow up with all sorts of ideas of what a spiritual person is, and we may try to model ourselves into some kind of preset image, trying to be and act “spiritual,” trying to do everything spiritually  •  this can create a feeling or the sense that we're being super religious, super good  • this quality of religiosity often carries the atmosphere of everything being serious and solemn  •  we may benefit from a certain level of...

Today I'd like to explore this question: Why is meditation so difficult?  •  meditation can be as simple as this Zen instruction: “Sit down, shut up, pay attention. Repeat.”  •  my teacher once said that to meditate, all you have to do is be spacious and not wait for anything  •  anyone should be capable of doing that; so why is it so hard?  •  partly it's hard to do anything with consistency and follow through  •  but it's even harder to stick with doing nothing, just sitting, observing, paying attention. Why is that so?  •  Trungpa Rinpoche talked quite a bit about comfort mind and entertainment mind  •  i...

Buddhism is often seen as an esoteric philosophical or psychological system; but at a profound and important level, the Buddha's teachings are very much grounded in nature  • many Buddhist insights took birth out of direct observation of the world of nature, the world of rocks and trees and clouds and rain and sunshine  •  everything outside is mirrored within, and everything inside is mirrored in the outside world  •  relating to the five elements — earth, water, fire, wind, and space — requires getting out of our heads; we have to pay attention, to listen, to be simple  •  the EARTH element is about steadiness, simplic...

Today I'd like to introduce a traditional list called “the five strengths” — determination, faith, virtue, remorse, and aspiration  •  determination points to the need to stick with the path we're on, the path we've chosen  •  it’s connected with patience, recognizing that genuine spiritual training is not a quick fix, but a lifelong process  •  faith is trusting that what we're doing is worthwhile and valid, and it’s also the confidence that we are worthwhile and valid  •  determination is balanced by faith: there's no point in being determined to do something if we don't think we can do it, or if we don't fundamentally...

[This episode originally aired on October 18, 2022]  In continuing our exploration of the prajna paramita, I'd like to focus on the inseparable trio of prajna (knowledge or wisdom), shunyata (emptiness), and compassion (karuna)  •  according to Trungpa Rinpoche, the freshness of prajna insight and the warmth of compassion are always connected  •  this challenges some common assumptions: that intelligence or sharpness of mind is harsh and aggressive; that compassion and love are fuzzy, soft, and weak; and that both compassion and sharpness of mind are solid and fixed  •  in the famous teaching called “The Heart Sutra,” the three main characters embody this inseparable trio ...

[This episode originally aired on October 11, 2022]  The sixth and final paramita is the prajna paramita  •  the sanskrit term “prajna” means supreme knowledge: the best of knowing, the best of cognitive mind  •  even though the Buddhist tradition is widely known for non-conceptual practices such as sitting meditation, there is also a great reverence and respect for learning and for knowledge at all levels  •  prajna is not just about knowing this or that; it is seeing without bias  •  prajna is fresh and on the spot; it is sharp, and it is direct  •  prajna is a way of seeing without any capturing or storing; it is the fir...

[This episode originally aired on October 4, 2022]  The topic of meditation reminds me of the old saying, “all roads lead to Rome”  •  in the Buddhist tradition, all teachings seem to lead to meditation  •  sometimes we think of meditation as just stillness, but as one of the six paramitas, meditation is considered to be one of the skillful actions of a bodhisattva, essential for cultivating wisdom and compassion  •  meditation helps us to settle and to open; it helps us to hold our mind steady and not simply react impulsively when we are challenged by other people and the pressures of life  •  with meditation, you...

[This episode originally aired on September 27, 2022]  In the Buddhist tradition there’s a lot of talk about practice, which is connected with the paramita of exertion  •  practice is something that you do over and over again, and as you do so, hopefully you get better and better, and develop more and more understanding and sophistication about what you're doing  •  in the paramita of exertion, the development is from a kind of self-conscious or imposed approach to a more natural approach, even reaching a point where exertion is actually joyful  •  instead of making a division between when we're having fun on the one hand...

[This episode originally aired on September 20, 2022]  In the English language, the words “patience” and “patient” derive from the same word, meaning “to suffer” •  the Tibetan term for patience has more of a sense of forbearance; in Sanskrit, it has more to do with a of a sense of equilibrium  •  the practice of patience has to do with boycotting our addiction to rushing through things, aggressively trying to force life to move in the ways we would like it to  •  patience is not inaction; in fact, the paramita of patience points to the possibility of addressing problems in the world more effectively because...

[This episode originally aired on September 13, 2022]  Coming from the vast and expansive ground of the first paramita, the paramita of generosity, we now turn our attention to the second paramita, the paramita of discipline  •  discipline has to do with meticulousness of behavior and a sharpening of mindfulness and awareness  •  when we work with generosity and discipline, we're really working with a fundamental challenge: when do we need to tighten, and when do we need to loosen up?  •  when do we need to think large, and when do we need to draw in and pay attention to the specifics of what is right...