February 2023 Member Newsletter

We’re excited to share what’s new to the Wisdom Experience this February and hope these resources continue to provide you with moments of inspiration, adventure, and awakening in the new year. 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 too. 

 

During the month of February, The Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the film Nurturing Compassion are available to Free members.

An absolute essential of Buddhist thought and practice.

In addition to practitioners of Insight meditation, those who engage in other meditation forms such as dzogchen, mahamudra, and zazen will find that The Four Foundations of Mindfulness provides new means of understanding how to approach and deepen their own practices.

 

Nurturing Compassion portrays the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa, leader of the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and his tour of Germany in 2014, his first-ever visit to Europe. Following in the footsteps of his previous incarnation, genuinely regarded as one of the 20th Century’s great saints, the Karmapa faces major challenges.

 

Don’t forget, you can invite your friends to sign up for a Free membership to join you.

 

 

This spring Wisdom is pleased to offer The Vajra Essence, Part 4 in partnership with Lama Alan Wallace and the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. The retreat will take place from March 31 to May 27 and there will be multiple ways to join: in-person, video, or audio recordings. So mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information.

Plus, the only prerequisite for taking part is having completed Part 1.

If you missed Part 1 and still want to join, don’t worry! There’s plenty of time for you to complete Part 1 before Part 4 begins. If you are an All-Access member you can watch Part 1 here, or if you’re not an All-Access member you can enroll directly in Part 1 here. All-Access members currently have access to Parts 1 and 2 of this retreat series through their membership, and Part 3 will be added soon. We hope you’ll join us!

 

Be sure to check out all our Wisdom Dharma Chat recordings.

In this special video version of the Wisdom Podcast, we are joined by Wisdom Publications’ cofounder and spiritual director, Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Rinpoche is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and meditator who for 30 years has overseen the spiritual activities of the extensive worldwide network of centers, projects and services that form the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), which he founded with Lama Thubten Yeshe. In this incredible teaching recorded at the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Lama Zopa discusses how Buddhism in the West has evolved and changed since the development of FPMT. 

You’ll hear Lama Zopa offer insights on:

  • challenges faced by Western Dharma students, and what is needed in order for the Dharma to flourish in the West 
  •  insights on the subtleties of the imputed “I” 
  • the five aggregates
  • the emptiness of the self
  • and more!

 

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

The Swift Path
Panchen Losang Yeshe, Translated by Szegee Toh

“In easy and engaging prose, the Paṇchen Lama’s Swift Path comes powerfully alive for the contemporary practitioner. Rarely have I seen a Tibetan text rendered in such masterful, effortless English. With this publication, we now have all of the ‘eight great guides’ to the lamrim available in English, a landmark in the growing resources on Tibetan Buddhism.”—Thupten Jinpa, principal English translator to His Holiness the Dalai Lama

 

 

Also in Your Reading Room

Exclusively for Plus and All-Access members

New Releases & Back in Stock

The following books were released in January, are available to purchase early on our website, or are now back in stock:

 

 

This episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat, features Susan A. Landesman interviewed by Prof. Robert Thurman and host Daniel Aitken.

Susan A. Landesman, independent scholar and educator in New York City, is the author and translator of “The Tārā Tantra: Tārā’s Fundamental Ritual Text (Tārā-mūla-kalpa),” “Goddess Tārā: Silence and Secrecy on the Path to Enlightenment,” “Tara” (in the Oxford Bibliographies), and “The Tārā Tantra: Part II: The Uttara-tantra” (forthcoming). Having completed her doctorate in Indian and Tibetan languages and cultures at Columbia University, she specializes in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan art, and women in Buddhism.

Robert Thurman is an American Buddhist author, academic, and former Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, before retiring in June 2019. Graduate of Philips Exeter and Harvard, he studied Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 

Susan, Robert, and Daniel discuss:

  • Susan’s background in visual arts and pathway to Tibetan Buddhism with Prof. Alex Wayman
  • the vivid, inspiring imagery of the tantras
  • Tārā’s important role as a Buddha and enlightened protector
  • and much more!

 

Don’t miss the recordings of our one-day retreat with Guy and Sally Armstrong, Empty and Aware, now available for All-Access members. This retreat is focused on experience orientated practice related to the nature of the awareness that will be familiar to those following the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions. With the guidance of the Armstrongs, this practice will lead you to discover a dimension of your mind that is inherently free by recognizing awareness and its connection to the truth of emptiness. No matter where you’re starting from, this intensive one-day experience will help you dive deeper into your practice.

 

Noble Truth, Noble Path
by Bhikkhu Bodhi

“With his intimate knowledge of the suttas and a heartfelt wish for the welfare of beings, Bhikkhu Bodhi has crafted an anthology that takes us straight to the heart of the Buddha’s teachings, then leads us with great skill into their depths. This profound book urges us to stay focused on the path and motivates us to practice with diligence and integrity so as to free our hearts from the conundrum of craving. Timeless and timely, it is a guide to awaken us to our highest potential. For the dedicated practitioner, this may be the most precious book you will ever hold in your hands.”—Anandabodhi Bhikkhuni

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