We’re excited to share what’s new to the Wisdom Experience this April and hope these resources continue to provide you with moments of inspiration, adventure, and awakening all month long.
Remember to keep an eye out for the membership level icon in the corner of each image. These mark what level of membership the content is available to.
During the month of April, The Lotus Sutra and the film Under the Bodhi Tree are available to Free members.
The Lotus Sutra is regarded as one of the world’s great religious scriptures and most influential texts. It’s a seminal work in the development of Buddhism throughout East Asia and, by extension, in the development of Mahayana Buddhism throughout the world. Taking place in a vast and fantastical cosmic setting, the Lotus Sutra places emphasis on skillfully doing whatever is needed to serve and compassionately care for others, on breaking down distinctions between the fully enlightened buddha and the bodhisattva who vows to postpone salvation until all beings may share it, and especially on each and every being’s innate capacity to become a buddha.
Filmed in the winter of 2003, Under the Bodhi Tree features His Holiness the XVII Gyalwa Karmapa as he leads a nine day prayer ceremony called the Kagyu Monlam. From his seat under the historic Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya, the place of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, the Karmapa performs ceremonies and ritual empowerments, accompanied by high lamas of the Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism. A vivid and intimate portrait of Tibetan Buddhism at this holiest of sites includes commentary by the Karmapa.
Don’t forget, you can invite your friends to sign up for a Free membership to join you.
We are once again proud to partner with Gompa—Tibetan Services to bring you a teaching on creation and completion stages according to the practice of Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara). In this teaching, Venerable Drupon Khenpo Lodro Namgyal gives a detailed guide to the very essence of mind training–the creation and completion stages of Vajrayana practice. According to the Vajrayana path, the main practices of meditation, which follow the successful conclusion of the preliminary practices, include the generation and the completion stages. The initial generation stage is characterized by the meditative processes of the practitioner’s gradual identification with the form and pristine cognition (yeshe/jnana) of the meditational deity and it is during this stage that, with the support of mantra recitation, the elaborate visualization of the deity is gradually generated and stabilized. The completion stage then follows, which includes techniques for controlling the energy channels and vital energies within the visualized transmuted body, with the purpose of generating an ever-deepening realization of the ultimate nature of mind. The teaching is given based on the practices related to the meditational deity Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara), the embodiment of the compassion of all the buddhas. The teaching is given in Tibetan with translation in English by Karma Yeshe Chodron.
We are thrilled to announce there will be three Wisdom Dharma Chats in April. See below for details!
We kick off the month with special guest, Karl Brunnhölzl, on Wednesday, April 5 at 7:00 PM EDT. This episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats will stream live over Zoom. Host, Daniel Aitken, and Karl Brunnhölzl will discuss his latest translation work, the third volume in the Sounds of Innate Freedom series, and much more. To watch this episode register here.
Next, join us live in New York City, with our special guest, Malcolm Smith, on Wednesday, April 12 at 7:00 PM EDT for a special episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats filmed in front of a live studio audience. During this Wisdom Dharma Chat Daniel and Malcolm will discuss Malcolm’s new upcoming Wisdom Academy course, Dzogchen: Ten Key Terms, his work as a translator, and much more. This is a live event which will include both an in-person and Zoom audience. Seats are limited for both so please be sure to register. To join us on Zoom register here.
Tickets for the in-person audience are available for $10.00, the proceeds of which go entirely to Malcolm. To attend this Wisdom Dharma Chat in-person, reserve your ticket here. Seats are limited, please only reserve a ticket if you plan on attending in person.
Come back and join us as we wrap up April with another episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats on Wednesday, April 26th at 7:00 PM EDT with special guest Donagh Coleman. He and host, Daniel Aitken will discuss his film Tukdam: Between Worlds and much more. To register for this Wisdom Dharma Chat click here.
Discover all of the books in our Reading Room under the “Explore” menu on our website. Books in our Reading Room are available exclusively for Plus and All-Access members.
New and Featured in the Reading Room
Ecodharma
By David R. Loy
“Ecodharma lays an invaluable foundation for Buddhist environmental analysis and activism. Anyone concerned about the future of sentient beings and living systems on this planet should read this book.”
—Christopher Ives, author of Zen on the Trail: Hiking as Pilgrimage
Sublime Continuum
By Bo Jiang
“This volume is a testament to the richness and creativity of Buddhist traditions in India and Tibet and expands our appreciation not only of the import of the Tathāgata Essence (tathāgatagarbha), but also of the dialecticist Centrist (prāsaṅgika-madhyamaka) view.”
—Douglas Duckworth, Professor of Religion, Temple University
Also in Your Reading Room
Exclusively for Plus and All-Access members
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- Illuminating the Intent by Tsongkhapa Translated by Thupten Jinpa
- Mahamudra by His Eminence Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche
- The Theravada Abhidhamma by Y. Karunadasa
- The Diamond Cutter by Khenpo Sodargye
- and many more!
New Releases & Back in Stock
The following books were released in March, are available to purchase early on our website, or are now back in stock:
- Nāgārjuna’s Advice for Buddhists by Geshe Lhundub Sopa, with Beth Newman
- The Swift Path translated by Szegee Toh
- The Secret Revelations Of Chittamani Tara translated by David Gonsalez
- Sounds Of Innate Freedom, Volume 3 translated by Karl Brunnhölzl
- The Two Truths In Indian Buddhism by Sonam Thakchoe
- The Sublime Continuum And Its Explanatory Commentary translated by Bo Jiang
This Wisdom Podcast filmed as a live Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest Karl Brunnhölzl. Karl is a senior teacher and translator in the Nalandabodhi community of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, as well as at Nitartha Institute. He is also the author and translator of numerous texts, including most recently Sounds of Innate Freedom, Volume 3: The Indian Texts of Mahāmudrā, the canon of the mahasiddhas.
In this episode, Karl and host Daniel Aitken discuss:
- his book, Sounds of Innate Freedom, Volume 4: The Indian Texts of Mahāmudrā;
- the dohā tradition of the mahasiddhas;
- singing and dancing as part of the path;
- the voice of women in the Mahāmudrā songs of realization;
- Karl’s musical recordings of the dohās, which can be found here;
- and much more.
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features special guest His Eminence the 12th Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche speaking with host Daniel Aitken. His Eminence the 12th Zurmang Gharwang Rinpoche was born a son of the Sikkimese royal court and was recognized by His Holiness the 16th Karmapa as the twelfth incarnation of the Gharwang tulkus. Rinpoche is the supreme lineage holder of the Whispered Lineage of the Zurmang Kagyu tradition. He teaches around the world. As head of the Zurmang Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, Rinpoche is the spiritual head of thirteen monasteries and one nunnery in Tibet as well as monasteries and nunneries in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Rinpoche oversees the spiritual education of the four thousand monks and nuns and approximately fifty thousand followers in the Zurmang Kagyu tradition worldwide.
His Eminence and Daniel discuss:
- the Mahāmudrā teaching lineage and tradition of texts and practices
- Rinpoche’s book, Mahāmudrā: A Practical Guide
- practical, everyday advice from the Zurmang Mahāmudrā tradition
- Rinpoche’s memories of the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
- the Zurmang lineage and monastery in Sikkim
- and much more!